Cadan stood and tugged his sword from her body. Things cracked inside, and she cried out in agony, falling onto her knees. Her body suddenly lurched upright, but she lost her balance and staggered back, nearly collapsing again. Her hand clutched the wound in her chest as blood seeped from it. She lifted her head heavily and stared at Cadan. The look in her eyes broke my heart, despite my hatred for her.

“Why?” she sputtered.

Cadan’s expression remained cruelly resolute as he stepped up to her and raised his sword again, the blade glossy and wet with Ivar’s blood.

Her eyes were glued to his. “You’re going to kill me?”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I can’t let you go back to Bastian knowing what you know. I can’t let any of this happen.”

He swung, lightning fast, sweeping the blade through her neck cleanly. Her head slipped free, hit the ground, and rolled away, her pale hair streaked with red. Her body hardened to stone, and as she collapsed, it shattered into a thousand pieces.

I shut my eyes for just a moment, feeling Ivar’s pain echoing through my heart. When I opened them again, I saw that Cadan hadn’t moved except to let his arms hang heavily. He stared at Ivar’s remains and said nothing.

I stepped closer to him, reaching out a hand to touch him, but he jerked away from me. “Cadan—?”

He turned his face only slightly in my direction, but it was enough for me to see the shattering pain across his face. With that look, I wondered if he might have loved Ivar once or if something had happened between them.

“Don’t, Ellie,” he said. His voice wasn’t cold or cruel, just full of hurt.

I studied his face carefully, perplexed by what had just happened. “Are you okay?”

His fiery eyes were dull, and he didn’t look away from me. Snowflakes clung to his hair. “No.”

His wings spread and he leaped into the air, disappearing from sight as he melted into the Grim.

And then it was just me and Ivar’s crumbled remains. I didn’t move, didn’t speak, just sat there on the cold pavement as the snow settled on me. The cold was beginning to affect me, but I couldn’t bring myself to move to reach my coat.

“Ellie?”

I blinked at the sound of my name. My first thought was that Cadan had come back, but then I saw Will running toward me.

“Ellie,” he called again as he reached me and dropped to his knees. He inspected me as usual, but I didn’t even have a scratch on me. Thanks to Cadan. Fuzz balls swarmed in my head again as the reality hit me.

“What happened?” Will asked. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head. “He killed her.”

“Who?” he asked, brushing my hair out of my face. “Who killed who?” He noticed my shivering and grabbed my coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. It didn’t help at all.

“Cadan,” I said robotically, still staring at the stone pile in front of me. “He killed Ivar.”

Will paused, maybe to absorb the absurd truth I’d just given him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. She was going to tell Bastian that Cadan has been talking to me and then she attacked me. He stopped her from doing both. He killed her to protect me.”

“Ivar’s dead,” Will said in disbelief. “And Cadan tracked you down again? Ellie, you can’t—”

“It’s not like that,” I interjected. “He’s helped me! The necklace Zane was protecting, it was made by Aldebaran, the Lord of the East, and it’s cursed with some seriously strong mojo. It’s the real deal, and Cadan warned me that the same demonic vir who took Zane out will be coming for me next. Their names are Merodach and Kelaeno, and they’ve got almost everything they need for Bastian. Cadan killed Ivar to protect the information he told me, so don’t just dismiss this.”

Will’s jaw tightened. “All right. We’ll look into this with Nathaniel, but please don’t see Cadan alone again. Please.”

“It’s not like I’m going looking for him,” I grumbled. “Cadan really wants to help us. He’s risking his life to do so.”

Another long silence. I couldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t have believed me, either. At least there was one less of Bastian’s lackeys to worry about. A demonic reaper asked to be my valentine and then killed his crazy ex-girlfriend to save my life. Tomorrow I was starting up antipsychotic meds.

“Let’s get you home before your fingers freeze off,” Will suggested. He stood and took my hand, then helped me to my feet, and we walked to my car in silence.

12

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING AGAIN?” WILL ASKED IN A bored voice, on the other side of my closet door. “A Valentine’s Day party?”

I rolled my eyes as I shimmied the red strapless sheath dress up and over my hips. The difficulty in accomplishing this made me wish I’d started putting it on over my head. “It is not a Valentine’s Day party. That would be lame.”

He laughed. “It’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s not,” I grumbled. “This is a Hearts Afire party. Totally different.”

“How is it different? Valentine’s Day is in a few days.”

“It’s a Hearts Afire party.” The seam along the side of the dress was ruched and allowed a little movement, and the pencil shape gave me more of an hourglass figure than I had in normal clothes. I leaned against the closet shelves to keep my balance as I slipped on a pair of black heels.