Dead Girl Walking (17 page)
“What?”
“Leila just kissed you!”
Wynter smiled. “Yeah, I know. I think we’re dating.” His ears turned red. Just thinking about her made his heart soar.
“You think?” Jasper laughed. “You two haven’t talked about it?”
Wynter rolled his eyes. “It’s been complicated with me becoming a dark angel and Warner de Clare’s death. I guess it hasn’t come up.” A part of him was nervous to bring it up to Leila. She’d been through a lot. The last thing he wanted was to push her away. What they had was working for them.
“You’re going to have to talk eventually, about where your relationship is heading,” Jasper said.
Wynter rolled his eyes. “Right. You know so much about dating. When was the last time you took Violetta out?”
Jasper grimaced. “That isn’t the point. I don’t want to see you getting hurt. You’re a dark angel. She's a grim reaper. It seems like a disaster waiting to happen.”
“Mind your own business, okay? Leila and I are happy together.” That was all that mattered to Wynter. They’d figure out the rest as it was thrown at them. It was how they handled things so far, just fine.
Jasper glanced over his shoulder before digging into his jacket pocket. “I wanted to give you this.” He handed Wynter a folded piece of parchment.
Wynter struggled to read it in the dark. “I’ll look at it when we get back to the house.” At least under candlelight he could see.
Ten minutes later, they walked into the cottage, and Jasper shut the door behind them. Wynter felt around in the darkness, retrieving a lantern. He placed it on the kitchen table and lit it. Sitting down, Wynter removed the paper, unfolding it under light.
“Where did you get this?” Wynter glanced at Jasper.
“Princess Mara posted it to a tree, just outside the market. She’s looking for Leila.”
Wynter felt his stomach somersault and his wings expanded, causing him to grimace. “Why?” What reason could Mara want with Leila? Had she remembered what happened that night at the Winter Solstice Ball? Certainly she would have questions about her maid Sophia’s death, but why call upon Leila for questioning? Maybe Wynter was looking at it all wrong. Perhaps Mara wanted to befriend Leila. He snorted under his breath. It was doubtful.
Jasper cleared his throat and glanced over Wynter’s shoulder. “No idea. Do you think she remembers Juliana?” If Mara so much as dreamt about the dark angel, eventually the memories would resurface. “What do you think we should do?”
“We can’t tell Leila.” Wynter knew that Leila missed her sister. He could see it in her eyes, and faraway glances in the direction of Casmerelda. She’d promised not to return, but for how long? Grim reapers didn’t age. Would she wait twenty years and then seek out her sister, Princess Mara? It would be too dangerous for Leila. The last thing he wanted was to lose her. “She can’t know, Jasper. You have to promise not to tell Violetta either. We can’t let Leila go anywhere near the kingdom.”
Jasper nodded. “I swear, I won’t tell a soul, living or undead.”
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my beta readers that always provide both helpful and encouraging feedback. Brittany Elsen and Alicia Batista, I know I can always count on the two of you for honest suggestions on how to make the story stronger. Thank you to Natalie Jane Proofreading for beta reading a very rough draft of Dead Girl Walking. Your suggestions made it easier to decide which way to move the story. A huge thank you to author and beta reader Rhiannon Paille. Your expertise further shaped the story out of the fourteenth century and into a fantasy world.
Without my editors, this book would be a mess. Thank you: Laurel L. Horan, Tracy Seybold, and Sheila Haab for all that you girls do.
Book bloggers, thank you for taking the time to read, review, and promote my novel on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. I appreciate everything that you do.
About the Author
Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of ABERRANT, a young adult dystopian adventure series published by Patchwork Press and Lazy Day Publishing, in 2013. Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required, because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian, paranormal, and fantasy young adult stories. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.
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