Chapter 10

10

E lektra woke on an unfamiliar couch, with a pillow under her head and a soft woolen blanket tucked around her. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, and it took her a few disorientated moments to realize she was back in Tarael Vanth's house. She tried to remember how she got there and came up blank. Slowly, the previous night came back to her, and she recalled the crematorium and poor Heidi.

Lazarus really is crazy, she thought as she stared at the stars that someone had stuck to the roof. She suspected that they were glow-in-the-dark.

Vanth really was nothing like she expected, and when his magic had filled the room, it had felt like some primal beast waking up and stretching. What kind of male was he? Would he be able to see this through? He was still her best shot at stopping Lazarus. She was so fucking fucked.

Elektra couldn't keep hiding who his father was from him. She really hoped that she wasn't about to deal with another megalomaniac when he found out. They really needed to talk to his mother, and he would probably not believe Elektra even if she told him.

Eiline was a legend amongst the reapers. Despite the circumstances, Elektra couldn't wait to meet her. She wanted to know about the curse that was currently eating away at her. Was it something that was a side-effect of the spell she had done seventy-seven years ago to protect the Veil? All Elektra had was more and more questions. She could only imagine how Vanth was feeling.

A door opened further into the house, and Vanth appeared shirtless, wearing only a pair of black flannelette pajama pants with grinning skulls on them and the necklace that matched her own. Elektra pretended to be asleep so she could get a better look at him.

He was beautiful in a strange and alternative type of way. His fae genetics were strong with his pointed ears and a lean build. He had a surprising amount of muscle that had been hidden under his black shirt and leather jacket the night before.

Peeking out from the hem of his pajamas was a tattoo that crept up his hips and stomach to his navel. She could make out skulls and roses and serpents, but she looked higher as heat crept over her cheeks. Most of his straight black hair had been styled into a half-pulled-through knot, the rest spilling down his back in a silken wave. She wanted to know how he got the scars on his ear. He looked her way, and his black brows drew together in a frown.

"Are you awake over there, princess?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.

"Only just," she replied and yawned. "What time is it?"

"A little after 9 a.m. The facility where my mother is held won't allow visitors before ten, so we have time for coffee. All the coffee. I might be convinced to share if you want some." Vanth grinned, and the unfamiliar heat flared through her again. She pulled the blanket over her head.

Maybe you are coming down with a fever? Elektra really hoped so. She mumbled. "Yes, please."

"Not a morning person either? Maybe it's a necromancer thing."

Elektra waited until his footsteps receded, and she stuck her head out again. The blanket smelled of lavender laundry detergent and an unfamiliar male cologne. She wasn't mentally equipped to deal with the fact his scent was now all over her. It was a weird fae thing to be bothered by it.

She had lived with the temple for decades, far away from palaces swathed in twilight, and yet some things never left her. Smelling like a male that you weren't related to or were mated to was frowned upon amongst royalty. Not that she was a princess anymore. If she was, there was no way in the seven hells that she would be on some male's couch. She allowed herself a small smile. She was so glad she wasn't royalty anymore.

Elektra slowly sat up and ran her hands through her curls. She was still fully dressed, thank the dark gods. She had been so out of it, she didn't want to think about if she would have passed out in front of anyone who wasn't Vanth. She stood up and stretched, her neck cracking so hard, dark spots danced in front of her eyes. Gods, she needed coffee.

"It's only for a few days…" she heard Vanth say when she neared the kitchen.

"You know what she is, Vanth! She's going to reap me!" a woman's voice argued.

"No one is going to reap you, Cecelia, not until you're ready," Vanth replied before the espresso machine purred to life.

Elektra walked around the side of the wall in time to see a pretty ghost girl perched on the edge of the kitchen counter. She glanced over at Elektra and then glared at her.

"I don't have the energy to reap you right now," Elektra said, amusement quirking her lips. "Maybe after I have coffee."

"Don't tease her." Vanth offered Elektra a steaming cup of black espresso. "Princess."

"Stop calling me that," she sighed and thanked him for the coffee.

Cecelia made a disgruntled huffing sound. "Don't you dare get him killed, or I will go full poltergeist on your ass," she said before vanishing.

"Ex-girlfriend of yours?" Elektra asked. If he said yes, maybe she would find the energy to reap her after all. She had a big mouthful of too-hot coffee and let it scorch the feeling away.

Vanth chuckled. "She wishes. She is a hitchhiker I picked up when I was in London, and I've been trying to convince her to move on ever since."

"Why don't you just send her through the Veil? You know how."

"Because I believe in having a choice," Vanth said and leaned a hip against the counter. It was weirdly sexy, and Elektra figured she must have hit her head when she fainted the night before. "Ceclia is harmless, and she keeps the other ghosts in line for the most part."

Elektra lifted her cup to her lips. "Better be careful she doesn't siphon you in your sleep in an effort to become alive again."

"She knows it won't work. Besides, it's keeping her out of the bathroom while I'm showering that I struggle with."

Hot coffee shot up Elektra's nose as she choked back a laugh. "She doesn't."

"Oh, she does. I had to ward the whole room." Vanth's smile widened. "Better make sure she doesn't do the same to you."

"If she does, I really will reap her."

Vanth's smile softened. "You okay after last night?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Elektra asked.

"Heidi was one of your reapers. It must have been hard to see her like that," he said, dark eyes softening with compassion.

Elektra ignored the sudden ache in her chest. "They both deserved better. I'll grieve once Lazarus and all of his followers are tossed into Tartarus."

"Oh, that sounds like fun. Can you really dictate where a soul goes?"

Elektra laughed. "No, but I can always try."

"Damn. I thought you had some sexy reaper superpower to do that. I usually just turn my enemies into ghouls and make them serve me to teach them a lesson." Vanth said it casually, but it didn't stop the chill from sweeping down Elektra's spine.

"Do they know that they are ghouls in there?"

Vanth's smile turned vicious. "Hardly seems like punishment if they didn't. Does that bother you?"

"All depends if they actually deserve it and didn't do something like cut you off in traffic," Elektra replied. She had never tried to make a ghoul. The temple and its reapers were about stopping things from coming back from the dead, not bringing them back to life. Or a half-life.

Vanth's smile disappeared. "If you really want to know, my current two ghouls were pieces of shit. One tried to kill me, and the other was a ghost eater."

"A what?" Elektra asked, putting her coffee down.

"He was a mage that was using magic to trap ghosts and then feed off their soul energy. Kind of like a less advanced version of what Lazarus did to those females in the morgue, now that I think about it. And if you are worried about what the ghouls were eating last night, he was a serial killer with a fondness for children who was going to pay me to clean up his mess. I decided to clean him up instead," Vanth replied and crossed his arms. "Anything else?"

Elektra took a moment to think about it. "Did the serial killer suffer?"

"Most assuredly."

"Good," was all she said. She knew she needed Vanth to stop Lazarus, but she really hadn't expected to like him as much as she did. She cleared her throat. "You better go and find a shirt, Tarael."

Mischief sparked in his dark eyes. "And why is that, princess? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Elektra snorted. "Fine. We will visit your mother with you in your skull pjs." She reached over and snapped his hem. "Very cute, by the way."

"I'm glad you think so," he replied, a smile dancing over his lips. "I can't wait to see what yours look like. Let me guess, moon and stars? I can only imagine."

"Wrong." Elektra put her cup in the sink. "I sleep naked."

Vanth's smile widened. "That's okay. I have a very good imagination."