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

and rose from the bed. She walked to Talin and stared deeply into his pale silver eyes. “Tell me what you so desperately don’t want to.”
    He briefly looked away. “Atris was taken.”
    “Taken?” she repeated, shock rolling through her, turning her blood to ice. “By who? Are my parents looking for me?”
    Talin visibly grimaced. “Your parents were with him.”
    Neve took a step back as she fought to draw breath into her lungs. “They were taken as well?”
    He gave a single nod.
    It must have been shock that kept her upright and silent. Because in her mind, she was screaming.
    “Who?” she demanded when she was able to speak past the lump of grief and panic in her throat. “Who took them?”
    “Those at court say the Reapers.”
    There was something about the way he said it, as if it took everything Talin had to get the words out. Neve narrowed her gaze on him. “You don’t believe that?”
    “I wasn’t there. I was with you.”
    She had no way of knowing since she’d been out of her mind from the poison. Then something occurred to her. How had Talin gotten into her flat? Both she and Atris had put spells in place so that no one could get into her place without one of them present.
    But Atris hadn’t come with Talin to her flat. Talin had told her Atris went to find their parents. So how had Talin gotten in?
    Talin couldn’t hold her gaze. He turned to the window and stared out across the rain—drenched landscape of western Ireland. “I’m sorry, Neve. I did as much for you as I could until Eoghan arrived. Then I went looking for your family.”
    “Look at me,” she demanded.
    Talin swiveled his head and met her gaze. She looked deep into his eyes. Neve had seen the way Talin could easily slip over the truth or not speak of it at all in order to keep his secrets.
    What she saw in his gaze was nothing but honesty. It surprised her as much as the news of her family. Every time she and Talin had been together, he’d always kept a wall up between them, as if he were afraid to get too close.
    There were two names he’d let slip now—whether on purpose or not. Kyran and Eoghan. Men from his life she’d never heard of before.
    Neve decided to test Talin to see if what she suspected was right. “Where you alone when you went to court for my family?”
    “No. Kyran was with me.”
    The truth lay bare before her. Neve dropped her chin to her chest and covered her face with her hands. “Why is this happening to my family?”
    “Because of me.”
    Her head jerked up. She thought back to all she knew of Talin. For a while, she’d begun to deduce that Talin was spying on the Light court. What she hadn’t figured out was why or for who?
    Neve squared her shoulders. “Can I get my family back?”
    “I don’t know.”
    At least, she had the truth, but that wasn’t going to stop her. “Whether this involves you or not, they’re my family. I want to see where they were taken from.”
    “It happened at court.”
    “And I want to know everything you know about the Reapers.”
    He hesitated before he blew out a breath. “I know what you know.”
    There it was, that easy way he manipulated words or phrases in order to lie. Neve wanted to pound his chest and get him to admit all that he knew, but she didn’t.
    She needed to save her energy for dealing with whoever took her family. It didn’t matter why they were kidnapped. All that mattered was getting them back.
    Neve was used to doing things her own way so she didn’t ask Talin for his advice as she walked to her wardrobe and threw open the doors.
    If she were going to court, she was going to have to dress the part. Everyone would expect it. The Light, the queen . . . the Reapers.
    And even her family’s kidnapper.
    She waved her hands down her body, using magic to change her clothes, add jewelry, and fix her hair. Only after, did she face Talin.
    “Thank you for saving me.”
    He held her gaze, disappointment tightening his face. “Don’t