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as if you know the history of the Fae. Do you?”
    “Maybe.”
    He wished she would look at him, but her eyes didn’t waver from the flames. Kyran walked to get one of the two chairs at the kitchen table and brought it to the fire. He sat and leaned his forearms on his thighs.
    River looked sideways at him, then returned to studying the fire.
    “If you do know our history, then you must’ve read about the existence of Reapers.”
    River lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Maybe.”
    “That’s what I am, River. A Reaper.”
    There was a beat of silence before she slowly turned her head to him. “The Reapers are nothing more than a Fae folktale.”
    “We’re very real. There are seven of us who do Death’s bidding. We’re a mix of both Light and Dark Fae. It’s why I’m not like other Dark you’ve seen. Becoming a Reaper shifts a Fae’s focus. We bind ourselves to Death and the group.”
    Her interest was evident in the way her pale blue eyes glittered in the firelight. “How does Death choose you? Or do you volunteer?”
    “Each of us suffered a betrayal of some sort that resulted in our deaths. Before our soul left us, Death was there to offer us an opportunity to keep the balance of good and evil.”
    River looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry you were betrayed.”
    “I am too. However, it brought me to the Reapers. Those men—and now Jordyn—are my family.”
    Her gaze returned to him as her head leaned to the side. “How is Jordyn a part of this?”
    “The Dark who attacked us tonight are led by a Fae named Bran. He was part of the first group of Reapers. Death had rules. A Reaper was never to tell a Fae who they were. If a Fae discovered it, that Fae must be killed immediately.”
    “Wow,” River murmured.
    “A Reaper could never have any relationship with any species.”
    River fiddled with the edge of one of the quilts. “Meaning you could never have a family.”
    “Right. Our focus needs to be entirely on the Reapers and what Death asks of us. But Bran fell in love. When Death ordered him to kill the woman, he refused and turned half of the Reapers to his side. He then killed the original leader, Theo, and attempted to kill Cael and Eoghan. They survived.”
    River gave him a baleful look. “You can’t stop there. I know there’s more.”
    “Death took Bran. Cael and Eoghan thought Bran was killed, but Death instead took him to the Netherworld.”
    “A place he should still be in,” River said.
    Kyran nodded. “Aye. He should. He had help escaping.”
    “Now he seeks vengeance on the Reapers, right?”
    “And Death.”
    River rolled her eyes. “He sounds idiotic to be going after Death.”
    Kyran couldn’t help but grin. “That he is.” The smile died though. “He attempted to trick us into killing the half-Fae by making Cael believe the order came from Death. When we didn’t carry out the plan, he and his men began their annihilation of all half-Fae on this realm.”
    “How does Jordyn fit into this?”
    “Baylon found her when the Dark attacked. He saved her. We ended up telling her everything, and in exchange, she offered to use herself as bait.”
    River flattened her lips. “That’s never a good idea.”
    “It was the only one we had at the time.”
    “Did it work?”
    Kyran gave a single shake of his head. “It led us to figure out it was Bran, but in the end he cornered us and killed Jordyn.”
    “She looked very much alive a few minutes ago.”
    “Death offered her a position with the Reapers. She doesn’t execute as we do.”
    River’s exasperated look told him exactly what she thought of Jordyn. “So she’s a Reaper now?”
    “In a manner.”
    “She and Baylon fell in love, didn’t they?”
    Kyran sat back, surprised at her assessment. “How did you know?”
    “A good guess. So Death changed the rules.”
    “Aye. Death realized if the rules didn’t shift then history would repeat itself.”
    River folded her hands in the quilt. “Too