From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(29)

Echo shimmered as she moved, her head down. When she lifted her eyes, Dita saw the sadness even though a smile graced her lips.

“For you.”

Echo’s hands moved into her robes, and she pulled out the gilded mirror Dita had given her ages before. Heff had forged and enchanted it for her, and her breath caught when she saw it.

“I…I haven’t seen this in so long. I’d forgotten all about it. But why…”

The nymph looked at the mirror, which rippled and shone. When it came to rest, she saw Adonis through the looking glass.

“Gods,” Dita breathed, her fingers to her lips, her eyes locked on the mirror.

Echo extended it, and Dita took a step, outstretching a trembling hand to take it.

Adonis ran through the brush of Elysium with his bow drawn, and when he loosed, the arrow flew straight into the heart of a doe as she cut in front of him. He let out a whoop, and his smile was brighter than the sun as he chased the beautiful creature.

Dita’s breath hitched, and she clutched the mirror to her chest. “How can I ever thank you?”

Echo held out a hand to stay her, the pain on her face lessened by a degree at the sight of Dita’s relief.

“Thank you.” Dita bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

The nymph glimmered as she bowed, her eyes lingering for a moment longer on the mirror before she smiled graciously and turned to leave.

Dita walked to her couch and sank down, her hands tingling and her eyes never leaving the mirror. There he was, right there in her hand, as real as he had ever been. He wouldn’t remember her, but she knew everything about him, knew every plane and angle of his face, every curve of every muscle, knew the depth of his eyes and the feel of his hands on her.

He was there, right there.

She could feel his presence, could feel his soul as he opened the deer and worked on cleaning it, but the gore of it all didn’t even faze her. She couldn’t look away.





Day 3





JON’S DAMP HAIR FELL into his face as he reached for his laptop to pack it into his leather messenger bag just as Tori walked into the kitchen behind him. Her head was tilted as she fastened her earring with her hair done up in a fancy bun and her heels clicking on the hardwood. She gave him a smile and bumped him with her hip as she walked by, jerking her chin at his lock pick set on the table.

“You’re packing the big set?” she asked while she poured herself a cup of coffee.

He tucked the picks into a pocket of his bag and flipped the flap closed. “I’m doing recon today. A jewelry dealer in the Garment District needs some help locating some lost goods from his ex-partner. I’ve got to look around the guy’s apartment to see if they’re there.”

“You’re sure he stole them? What if the guy who hired you wants you to steal them?”

“I’m not touchin’ anything. I’ll tell him if I find them, and he can hash it out with the cops.”

“Or with a Glock,” she said with a frown. “Sounds dangerous.”

“You know me. I’ll be careful; don’t worry.”

“You’d better be. How come you can’t have a job pushing paper somewhere?”

He locked the buckles and straightened up. “Because I’m addicted to adrenaline, and I’m pretty sure I’d go through some wicked withdrawals if I had to sit in a cubicle all day. Breaking and entering is way more fun.”

Lola ran in and stopped in front of him, her blue eyes beaming. “Daddy, you like my kitty-cat dress?” She smoothed her hand down the front of the dress that was covered in illustrations of kittens with big eyes and long eyelashes.

He knelt down and smiled. “I love it, baby. This one’s my favorite.” He pointed to one near the hem. “You ready to go to Gram and Pop Pop’s?”

She nodded with her pink little lips bending into a smile.

“Okay. Go get your backpack.”

“I’ll go get it!” She ran out of the room.

Jon shook his head as he stood. “Does she walk anywhere?”

“Nope.” Tori took a sip of her coffee. “You sure you’re good to take Lola to my mom’s?”

“Yeah. Your dad doesn’t scare me.”

Tori laughed. “He’ll never get over the fact that you knocked me up and didn’t make an honest woman out of me.”

Jon snorted. “Honest. Ha. Anyway, he knows we would have killed each other.”

“Yeah, well, our feelings on the matter mean very little to him,” she said with a shrug. “We’ve been living together all this time. I’m sure he thinks we’re still banging.”

“In your dreams, Victoria,” he gibed, knowing she hated being called by her full name. “It won’t be for much longer if I keep picking up jobs and you keep busting your ass at lawyer waitressing.”

“We can only hope, Jonny.”

Jon looked down, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops, his eyes tracing the seams of the wooden planks of the floor. “It feels like we’ve been living together forever. Wonder what it’ll be like to live alone.” And without Lola. That thought in particular cut to the quick.

She smiled wistfully. “It’ll be glorious. I can walk around in my underwear and pee with the door open.”