Dark Alpha's Demand: A Reaper Novel (Reapers) by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online

things and moving items around in the house.”
    Talin’s first thought was Bran. If he were at court, it would make sense that he would’ve seen Neve with Talin and gone after Neve as he had with Jordyn and attempted with River.
    “What else?”
    Atris hesitated for a second. “There were black roses left on her bed.”
    In the world of the Fae, black meant Dark. None of the Reapers knew how Bran passed on the powers given to him by Death—or how he managed to retain them.
    When Talin saw Bran, he hadn’t been Dark. Then again, Bran could’ve used glamour to hide that fact.
    “I’ll go to Neve. You find your parents,” Talin said.
    Atris nodded and turned on his heel before hurrying away. Talin made his way outside the castle and teleported to Neve’s flat.
    His stomach was in knots. His chest was so heavy it felt as if every Dark pummeled him with magic. Talin was veiled as he walked around her building, looking for signs of Bran or anyone else.
    There was nothing, which only frustrated him more. Talin unveiled himself in an alley and hurried up to her flat. He felt the magic around her door before he reached it.
    As a Reaper, there wasn’t much magic that could keep him out. He sensed Atris’s magic added to Neve’s. That meant someone had passed through Neve’s strong magic.
    A Dragon King could do that, but they had no reason to target Neve. That left Bran or one of his many Dark underlings. Talin didn’t know how long he had before Atris showed up with Neve’s parents.
    He passed through the magic shields and spells to open the door. As soon as he entered the flat, he smelled the distinct aroma of poison infused with Dark magic. He paused long enough to put his own spell in place to keep anyone out that wasn’t a friend to Neve or himself.
    Talin rushed into the bedroom where Neve lay upon the bed, unmoving. His heart stopped until he saw her chest move.
    Humans believed the Fae were immortal. That wasn’t true at all. A Fae could be killed using a blade forged in the fires of Erwar—or by magic.
    He slowly made his way to the bed. Talin sat and gathered one of Neve’s hands in his own. Her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to focus on him.
    “Talin,” she murmured.
    “It’s me. I’m going to watch over you until Atris returns with your parents.”
    She swallowed, a shadow of pain crossing her face.
    He rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me someone was bothering you?”
    “I thought it was my imagination at first.” She had difficulty swallowing again.
    Talin looked around and saw the glass of wine knocked over, the red liquid staining the carpet. The poison must’ve been in the wine. If he took it to Cael, they might be able to figure out what kind of poison—and magic—was used.
    “And the flowers?” he urged.
    She shrugged and looked away. “Perhaps a prank.”
    “I wish you would’ve told me. I could’ve protected you.”
    Neve’s gaze returned to him. “On one of the few occasions you’re here?”
    He bowed his head. “Point taken. But had I known, measures could’ve been taken.”
    “I took them,” she said angrily. Then she paused as she put a hand to her throat. “Whoever this is, got through the layers of magic I used.”
    “Do you know who it is?”
    She shook her head. “Atris and I looked into it a few days ago, but we found nothing.”
    “You need to be somewhere more secure. I’m fairly certain your parents will feel the same when they arrive.” Talin glanced over his shoulder. Where was Atris?
    “I can still feel the poison within me.”
    That shocked him. He’d just assumed Atris was able to remove it all. Talin put his hand over her throat and mumbled a spell that would pull the poison from her.
    Except it didn’t work. Not properly, at least. Talin felt some of the poison fade away, but not enough to heal her as she needed.
    “You need to fight the poison and magic,” he told her.
    She gave him a