“Mom?” He tried to move her, and I shook my head.
“She’s gone,” I whispered. Motioning toward June, I said, “But there may still be time to save her soul if you want me to.”
I left the choice up to him, unsure if it was the right thing to do. I was a Reaper, I was supposed to help the dead move on, but with all she’d done, and all she’d put him through, I felt he had a right to decide.
Several long moments passed as his face went through a myriad of expressions from rage to grief.
Finally, he said, “Do it.”
I reached my hand toward her chest then hesitated. “Maybe you should look away.”
He breathed in shakily and turned his head as I thrust my hand inside. It took several moments to extract her spirit from the Dark One’s hold. I wasn’t even sure if I could, the control it had had over her in life had been so strong. In the end, I sent it to hell where it belonged and lifted out the small whisp of what had been good in Helene Warner. I nudged Heath then, believing he should at least see this much of her.
She smiled at him, and his eyes went wide. “Remember what I told you, son. Revenge is the key to my safe.”
And then she was gone.
My confusion was reflected in Heath’s eyes, then it cleared.
“Her safe! She was telling me the password to her safe.”
CHAPTER 18
SIERRA
WARNER ESTATE
I was conflicted as we arrived at the Warner Estate. So much had happened there, yet after we’d made sure it was empty, it was still the safest place for all of us to be at the moment.
Shortly after Helene had passed, the Warner ring that she had been wearing had transferred to me. I tried to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“It won’t come off until you die, or name someone else your heir,” Heath had said, and smiled sadly. “It must have gone to my mother after Harold died.”
I silently noted how he still referred to his dad as “Harold” but now called Helene his mother. My heart ached for him.
“Then why not go to you?”
He shrugged. “Because Harris was the rightful heir before he died, then it legitimately went to Harold. After Harold, Cordelia would have to give it to either any children they had, or to his next living relative, which was my dad.”
We could only assume that Harris was dead (again!) or else it would have reverted to him.
“But still – then why not to you, instead of me?”
He shrugged. “I guess because you were supposed to have been the heir all along, but nobody knew that until now.”
I frowned and he suddenly grinned. “What time were you born?” he asked, like that somehow made sense.
“I don’t know.”
“Any guesses?”
“Sometime in the morning, since I remember mom complaining about not being able to eat until lunch because she was waiting for me to be born, why?”
He laughed, although with a tinge of bitterness. “There you go. I was born in the evening. You’re older than I am.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you know? We have the same birthday. Same day, same year. Except you are apparently hours older than I am.”
My mouth dropped. “How do you know that?”
He smirked, but it faded quickly, and he looked ashamed. “I saw your license when we first met.”
“Oh,” I said quietly. No wonder he was ashamed. He should be. I didn’t even want to remember that time.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. God. We’d been through so much. I just wanted to make sure Anna was safe, then go home and hug my little brother.
A strangled laugh caught in throat. My other little brother. Ethan.
Heath raised his eyebrows and silently questioned me, but I shook my head. I wasn’t going there yet. It was still way too soon.
Instead, I stood looking up at the house that apparently now only answered to me, and a slither of unease rippled through my stomach.
“Rye, Tor, everything okay?” I asked, noticing their anxious expressions. Heath and I had asked them all to meet us here to keep them from returning to Ravenswood.
They nodded and let me know their parents were fine. Shaken, but still alive.
