Rogue reapers dragged Layla away from the scene the moment police and ambulances showed up. You cannot be here. Not while you’re starving and covered in blood. So she went back to Harlem reaper territory and hunted, then waited by Saint territory until dawn. The moment she saw Elise’s bedroom light flicker on, Layla climbed the vines leading to her window and tumbled into her room.
Elise had changed out of her bloody, torn dress, and now she sat at her window seat in a pristine, white nightgown. Layla underestimated just how much she would react to seeing Elise alive and well when only an hour ago, she had been dying in her arms. When Elise looked at her from her seat, eyes bright with recent tears, Layla went to her, arms outstretched. Despite having just fed, her knees gave out when she felt Elise’s warm, human body against her own. The life thrumming through her veins beat right against her own damned heart and Layla hugged her tighter. They were almost on top of each other, their legs tangled on the cushioned window seat while Elise stroked her fingers over Layla’s back.
“Thank you,” Elise whispered. She placed her hand over her chest, where new scars covered her heart.
“Are you…” Layla pulled back and studied the scars. “I’ve never used so much of my blood to bring someone back from the brink of death. If it has any effects—”
Elise covered Layla’s hand with her own and smiled. “I feel fine. Human, if that’s what you’re asking. The rogue reapers sensed your bite on me and I think that’s why they showed up for us even when your plans went south.”
Layla’s mouth twisted as she remembered the carnage she had awoken. Her eyes dropped to the scars on Elise’s chest, this time lingering on the older ones from her attack years ago. “I was a monster.”
Elise touched her chin and lifted Layla’s gaze to hers. “You were my salvation. You saved me.” The glint of fresh tears on Elise’s cheeks cleaved Layla’s heart. But she understood it was better to process her emotions now. To hold them in and keep them against her heart would only turn it cold. Layla could attest to that. For the first time in ages, she felt warmth now and it was all because of Elise. And this Saint girl had no idea.
“It was instinct. Though I cannot believe you jumped in front of a bullet for me,” Layla said softly.
A smile broke across Elise’s beautiful face. “It was instinct,” she said gently. “How are you feeling?”
Layla moved closer to Elise, her hand coming up to wipe her tears. “Better now. Better than I have in years.”
Elise nodded. “Good.” She reached forward to touch Layla’s jaw. “I wish we didn’t have five years of hate between us.”
Layla laughed. “It builds character.”
A soft sigh escaped Elise’s lips. “Right.”
“We can start over,” Layla offered.
To Layla’s surprise, Elise shook her head. “No. If you have never felt better than you do now, then I like where we are.”
The faintest tear in Layla’s heart mended at the whispered assurance in Elise’s voice. And in that moment, Layla tumbled hopelessly back into every emotion she had left behind for the five years they had been distanced from each other. New hopes sprung up around her and she welcomed those, her heart stretching to accommodate every part of her that wanted to love Elise Saint.
She had never felt so full. So right.
“You’re my best everything,” Layla whispered.
Smiling, Elise blinked more tears away. She touched Layla’s cheek, her hand warm and perfectly placed. And when her eyes dipped to her mouth, Layla’s heart leapt in her chest. “Saint,” she whispered.
“Say my name,” Elise murmured.
A smile broke across Layla’s face. “Elise. My Elise.”
Light spilled in from the window as Elise closed the distance between them. Her lips brushed Layla’s gently at first, tentatively, then as she drew more confidence from the answering stroke of Layla’s hand down her arm, Elise kissed her with more fervor. Layla was peacefully unprepared for the way kissing Elise Saint would make her feel. Warmth blossomed in her chest and unfurled in every aching, cold part of her body. Where she hurt, the sensation of Elise mended. The gentle pull of Elise was the only source of heat. And for once, Layla embraced it. She let Elise in. Once she opened up, there was no stopping. Elise poured into her in waves, with each stroke of her tongue and each whispered word against Layla’s lips. They were so fully each other’s by now, should they pull apart, Layla knew Elise would be imprinted in her like a tattoo on her heart. There was no escaping her feelings now. Elise had set Layla on fire. And Layla welcomed the burn.
By the time they pulled apart for air, Layla was on Elise’s lap. Layla’s hands tangled in Elise’s hair, and Elise’s lips moved down to Layla’s neck. Already, Layla was wanting more of Elise, and they had not even separated.
Elise glanced up at her, eyes heavy with bliss. “You’re my best everything too.”
Layla opened her mouth to respond, but the bedroom door flew open, and Analia Saint walked in. “Oh!” Elise’s mother covered her mouth with her hands. Layla stilled as Elise stiffened beneath her. But when Analia Saint dropped her hands, she was smiling. “I never thought I would live to see the day you two made up. I always thought you had the best friendship.” She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I came to check on you, Elise, but you’re clearly fine. Let me know if you two need anything.” Mrs. Saint was gone another second later.
Layla shared a look with Elise. Then they both burst into a fit of laughter.
“I cannot tell if it’s denial, or pure ignorance,” Elise managed to get out between laughs.
“It must be denial. It’s the only way she can carry on right now,” Layla breathed, still trying to tame her amusement.
“My father sent her across town because he knew what would happen today. At least he saved her.” Elise wiped at her eyes and moved away from Layla. Missing her, Layla followed her while she crossed the room to put on her slippers and robe. “I should check on her. I need to tell her that Josi is gone.” Elise’s voice broke.
Layla nodded. There had been no sign of Josi, even back at her lair. No one had seen Valeriya escape with her earlier. “I’ll go back to the lair. There are bound to be questions anyway.”
Elise waited at the door, one hand resting on the frame. “I wish you could stay. I want things to go back to the way we were before. When we were together all the time. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to make this worse. And for what my father has done.”
The memory of blood spilling from Tobias Saint’s lips surfaced in Layla’s mind, and her heart thundered at the thought of him refusing to apologize for everything he had done that hurt Elise. Layla came forward and took Elise’s hand in hers. “Don’t apologize for your father. He doesn’t deserve any part of you.”
Elise’s jaw tightened. She looked like she wanted to cry again and that broke something in Layla. “I’m tired of crying. I just want this whole situation to be over. I’m not anticipating a happy ending. I just want an ending.”
Layla’s thumb stroked over Elise’s knuckles. “You deserve a happy ending.”
“I cannot believe any of this. I thought we… I thought your father wanted things to get better. Now he’s lying in a hospital bed, and our youngest is nowhere to be found. I won’t sleep tonight. Not while the police are out looking for her.” Mrs. Saint shook her head and pressed a handkerchief to the edge of her eye. Elise sat on top of a mound of pillows at the foot of her bed. It felt empty now without her father to take up at least half of it.
Elise’s mother lowered her hand and stroked a curl behind Elise’s ear. “How could I not have known how much pain you were in? It’s like I…let him do this to you.” Her voice trembled as her eyes filled with more tears.
“I don’t think there is anything you could have done, Mother,” Elise spoke softly. “You know how Father is. I’m just glad you and Josi are all right. Stephen almost ruined us today, and to think Josi was almost here to witness all of this…”
A sob tore from Mrs. Saint then, and Elise tensed as her mother broke down. “I’m your mother. You should not be worrying about me. I’m supposed to be the strong one.”
Elise moved closer and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Neither of us need to be strong. It’s okay to just be.”
Mrs. Saint sniffed. “This is how my own mother taught me to survive. Listen to my husband, always keep moving, never slow down enough to let me realize my pain, or ask for help because I would fall apart otherwise. But I see the damage that has caused now and I want you to know, Elise…” She moved back so she could look her daughter in the eye. “I am always here for you and I do not want you to carry your pain alone.”
With those words, the pressure of the past few weeks began to drop from Elise’s shoulders. She thought then of Layla and how she had no one to go home to, no one to assure her.
“Mother,” Elise said quietly. “It’s not your fault.”
Her mother’s brow creased. “He is not the man I married. Josi was so little, still sleeping in our room after the incident with the Quinns. Your father was having a hard time letting her out of his sight. I’d never seen him so scared. He…he never seemed like the person to intentionally hurt anyone, much less a child.” Analia Saint dabbed at her eyes. Her voice broke as she continued. “He said it was an accident and that he only wanted the reapers to refuse the treaty, not kill the Quinns. He certainly did not think Layla would have been involved.”
Tears filled Elise’s eyes, and her mouth went dry. “Mama, I think he lied. He might have been honest about wanting to protect us, but his means to do so were just as sinister as his fear of losing us was intense.”
Analia Saint touched her fingertips to her lips. Her eyes were shiny, and her hand shook. “I always thought it was admirable how much he cared for us, but I can see now how suffocating and dangerous it’s become. Particularly for you.” She cupped Elise’s cheek. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Elise broke down. And when her mother pulled her in for an embrace, she finally felt at home.
A familiar face met Layla at the entrance of the Hotel Clarice when she returned that night. Valeriya stood by the door, arms crossed while she blew out smoke from her cigarette.
“You’ve made a mess of my clan, Layla,” Valeriya drawled.
Layla’s jaw ticked. “You were gone for weeks. I assumed you didn’t care about us.”
“There’s no one left to care for. You made sure of that.” Valeriya stubbed out her cigarette and approached Layla. Despite having just finished a smoke, she smelled of crushed roses and powder. The sweetness drew Layla in like a moth to a flame, memories of comfort associated with that scent.
“Where is Josephine Saint?” Layla demanded.
The older reaper sighed. “You’re not here for her.”
“You worked with Stephen and Tobias behind my back—”
Valeriya shook her head. “But you said we could trust them, remember? I only did as you asked.” She pulled something out of her pocket and it wasn’t until the wind picked up and the white fabric spread that Layla realized Valeriya held Josi’s ribbon between her fingers. “I know I’m selfish. I no longer want this life. Josephine reminds me of my own daughter. Innocent and undeserving of the inevitable cruelty of this world. I only wished to protect her when her father approached me with a deal. How depraved this world has made us…eradicating reaperhood is the only chance for her. For everyone else.” Valeriya crushed the ribbon in her hand and glared at Layla. “I would have made you my heir. But you never know when to quit.”
Layla’s heart lurched. “Valeriya, I’m sorry—”
“No, you are not.” Valeriya’s next words emerged as a low snarl. “I gave you everything I could not give my own child, and you still turned away from me.”
Goose bumps rose on Layla’s body. “I want to make things up to you. The Saints are done. And with Elise and her mother on our side, perhaps we can settle this mutiny.”
At this, Valeriya laughed. “You cannot possibly think any of this will end well. It has been only a few weeks and you’re already so infatuated with that Saint girl, you’re willing to put everything on the line for her—”
Layla glared. “It’s not just about her. A eugenicist wants to turn us into weapons and destroy the world. Stephen Wayne poisoned us; he turned Giana and Shirley and Mei into monsters and wanted to use science to justify violence against us. He stole a young woman’s research to benefit his philanthropy, then he killed her. His power is built on nothing but lies and manipulation. Elise Saint helped us. She did that on her own. Her father had no hand in that.”
“You’re sick with love, and that’s all it is: an illness. It will pass. She is a Saint, Layla. I know you’re not dumb enough to believe she will ever truly be on your side. For heaven’s sake, the Saint patriarch was willing to hurt his own daughters to get ahead. In centuries of living, I have never seen a human change,” Valeriya snapped.
Her words flipped in Layla’s mind for a moment. She knew there was no simplicity in the choices they made surrounding the Saints, nor would there be any simplicity in the consequences that arose with those decisions.
“I’m not dumb. Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I learn. And you might have hundreds of years of knowledge and experience on me, but you were the one who hid while your reapers put their lives on the line to prevent a poison from being administered to our entire community. I made things happen. You did nothing.”
Anger rose around Valeriya so strongly, Layla felt it bristle between them. But she did not lash out. She looked back down at her fists and said in a soft voice, “When you live as long as me, life becomes less precious and second chances less feasible. Until you have been sold like cattle, bound to a surgical table, forced to ingest contaminants, and stripped of everything but your name, you will not speak of my sacrifices for our race. My body was host to countless abuses. I was made to hold the plagues that the white men brought to this country so they could figure out how to cure them. I was made to suffer the consequences of their ignorance. Do not tell me I did nothing when I was held down and injected over and over, forced to hear my daughter scream for me while they filled her with another experimental cure. Even when my body was chained down, I did not do nothing. I fed her opium until her heart stopped so she would no longer need to suffer. And even then I said her name so the last thing she heard was my voice. How dare you condemn me. You know nothing. So do what you want. But do not expect my sympathy, or my mercy when the Saint stabs you in the back.”
Layla’s breath stuck in her throat. The pain in her mentor’s fixed stare was so sharp, Layla felt her own eyes burning with tears. “Valeriya. I won’t accept the destruction of this relationship on my end. If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine, but if you need me, I will be here for you. Because I still appreciate you for what you’ve done for me.” Layla didn’t wait to hear Valeriya’s response. She left with a decision made.