Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels 5)

Not everyone, he said and with such ferocity the very world around us quivered under its force. Definitely not everyone.

Then he reached out, grabbed my arm, and yanked me forward.

Not into death.

Into life.

I have no idea how long it took me to wake. I know I fought it for a very long time, desperate to snatch back what had been taken. Desperate to find that reaper again and move on, to be with my mother and far away from the pain and the hurt and the guilt and the never-ending expectations of others.

But that was an option that was not mine to take. Not now.

When I finally did open my eyes, it was to discover I wasn’t alone. I guess that was no surprise. I did have people who cared for me, even if a tiny part of me actually resented that fact right now. If I’d moved on, as fate had destined me to, then I would not once again be responsible for their safety.

You are not responsible for our safety, Risa. We are more than capable of taking care of ourselves.

The voice wasn’t Azriel’s. It was Aunt Riley’s.

I turned my head and looked at her. She was standing at the end of my hospital bed, her arms crossed and her expression severe. “You, my girl, will stop wishing yourself dead and start celebrating the fact you were given a second chance.”

“I wasn’t given anything,” I retorted. “It was forced onto me.”

“Running away, however you intended to do it, is never the answer—trust me on that.”

“It would have been a hell of a lot easier than remaining here and being forced—”

I cut the words off before I could reveal a little too much, and she narrowed her eyes. “Being forced to do what?”

“The bidding of the fucking Raziq and my father and god knows who else. Ilianna was kidnapped because of me. Tao fights for control of his own body because of me. My mother is dead because of me—”

She sucked in her breath. “How did Dia get into this?”

Tears stung my eyes, and all that anger suddenly just washed away. “It was Lucian who killed her.”

“And he’s dead?”

“Well and truly.”

“Good.” She moved up the side of the bed, then sat and gathered my hand in hers. “I know it feels right now that death would be the easier option, but trust me, it isn’t.”

“But the keys—”

“We can sort out the key problem together,” she said. “But you cannot allow yourself to fall into the trap of death. There are those in this world who can recall spirits and force them to do their bidding. What makes you think they will not do that to you?”

“Because they need me in flesh form to find—”

“So they’ve told you,” she cut in, “but are you certain it’s the truth?”

No, I wasn’t. I took a deep, shuddering breath and released it slowly. “Life,” I said softly, “sucks.”

She laughed and bent over to drop a kiss on my forehead. “Yeah, it often does. But I’m so glad you decided to stay with us. I couldn’t bear to lose you so soon after losing your mother.”

If she’d wanted me in tears, then she’d damn well succeeded. She smiled and brushed them away with a gentle finger. “I couldn’t be more proud of you if you were one of my own. You know that, don’t you?”

I knew. In her eyes, she’d always had six children, not five. Dia might have given birth to me, but Riley had nevertheless adopted me. And I loved her almost as much as I loved my own mother. Which was why I couldn’t let—

She pressed her fingers against my lips. “Enough with the self-sacrificing behavior. You can and will have our help, whether you like it or not. Now,” she added, brisk and businesslike, “Ilianna is waiting out in the hall, desperate to see you, but she’s under strict orders from the nurses and from me not to be more than a few minutes. Okay?”

“Okay.”