The Dark City Chronicles ⁓ Book Three
The apocalypse looms ever closer! Steamy romance, heart-stopping action, seductive vampires, magic that defies nature, sprinkles of dark-humor, and, as always, the everlasting bonds of friendship.
Hannah's strug...
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"I told you Evan wouldn't understand."
Hannah whipped the shower curtain aside. She glared at the handsome ghost standing in the middle of the steamy bathroom, unperturbed that he had just invaded her privacy. "Get out!" She didn't have the necklace. He must be using the magic left in the stone to stay corporeal. "Kane did understand, actually. He's dealing with...other things."
"Other things?"
"That I'm not going to be telling you."
Why was she being so hostile? He deserved some anger, but she was downright ready to start a fistfight with a spirit. Valrus's presence had always made her anxious and excited, on the edge of something dark and enticing. It had drawn her to him months ago, but now she loathed his effect on her.
"I thought you'd want to know. The poisoner in your basement..."
Valrus paused and tilted his head, trying to catch a peek around the shower curtain. She gasped indignantly, moving the plastic back angrily.
"I've seen you naked before," Valrus said.
"No, you haven't."
"Many times."
"You're such a creep."
"You had sex plenty. I suffered through it all."
"You watched!?"
There was no answer, and then, "I'm going mad with boredom."
Hannah snapped, "Stop watching me have sex!"
"Fine."
He sounded genuinely annoyed. How pent-up was he? She had a feeling he wouldn't keep his word.
Hannah sighed. "What were you saying about the guy in the basement?"
"Oh, yes. He's trying to kill himself. Failing at it spectacularly, but you should know he's begun chewing at his wrists."
Hannah washed the soap from her hair quickly. What the hell?
"He's, um, not tied up?"
She realized how messed up even asking that was. But they were fighting a war, and it wasn't like they would hurt him beyond his pride. She didn't think so. Reid had said they'd need to make sacrifices to win. But she drew a bold line at torture.
"He is. That's why he's taken to his wrists. Smashing his head on the nearby table didn't work. Suicide is complicated. Oftentimes, the natural will to live overrides the desire to die. He's committed but gives up quickly."
Hannah's hands stilled in her sudsy hair. "You saw him? How?"
"Sometimes, when you bore me, I go watch others."
She peeked her head around the curtain and hissed, "You went down there? What the hell, Val? That's creepy. You can't watch people." He stared at her without remorse, not even a blink to give away life. "There's a dampener on magic here. How are you still able to pop up?"
