Reapers of the Dark (Cora Roberts #4)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

If it walks like a princess, talks like a princess, and acts like a princess—it must be a princess.

D ave, Rebecca, Liz, and I descended the stairs, meaning they were seeing me, Hudson, Rebecca, and Dave. We left everyone else in my room, because this was complicated enough.

“Try not to speak much,” Rebecca told Liz. “They hate me, and I hate them. They want me to fall in line and marry some stupid, silly little prince. I ran and have been ignoring them since.”

“Actually, you’ve been in hiding since,” I added.

“Ugh. We should just claim I’m out or dead. Whatever works,” Rebecca griped.

I paused on the landing and turned to face my friend, who was trapped inside the body of my mate. “You knew this day was coming. You’ve been avoiding them for long enough. It’s time. I love you and believe in you. Everyone here has your back.”

“This is so weird,” Dave said.

I shot him a glare. “You need to pretend to be the powerful owner of Summer Grove House. Don’t give an inch, because they will try to bully you.”

Dave grinned. I never looked like that when I smiled. It was menacing. Maybe there were benefits to having Dangerous Dave in charge while we dealt with Rebecca’s parents.

“Let’s do this,” I said.

I pushed Aunt Liz out in front of us. It could have been worse; Dayna could have taken over Rebecca’s body. My youngest aunt couldn’t pull off a stoic vampire princess.

Rebecca’s parents waited in the parlor by the fireplace, while two tuxedo-wearing vampires stood by the door. Bodyguards? Made sense, I guess, that vampire royalty needed protection, unless it was a display of wealth and power. Whatever their purpose, it wouldn’t be to detain Rebecca, and if they dared to try, then I would happily start an international war. She was my people, and I protected my people.

Rebecca’s mother had her nose turned in the air, like we smelled nasty. She was a slightly older and pointier version of Rebecca—same blue eyes, same blonde hair, same dainty build. She wore a stiff yet elegant red shift dress and classic black pumps. Her father was taller than his wife and wore a navy three-piece suit like he did it every day. He effortlessly pulled off the timeless look, so much so that if his photograph was taken today, people wouldn’t be able to tell which century it was from. Dark lashes framed his green eyes, and he looked like he spent time outside in the sun.

“Mother, Father,” Aunt Liz said. “What brings you here?”

Caroline Lexington narrowed her gaze. “You abandoned your manners when you left your family and country.”

I arched a brow at Rebecca. How did that question constitute no manners?

“Please sit,” Dave said. “I’ll have refreshments brought in.”

Bryn Lexington made a shoo gesture like Dave, AKA me, was his servant. Dave looked at me, asking permission to put Bryn in his place. I shook my head. This situation was delicate enough. It would take more than that to rattle my cage.

Dave muttered something and took off into the kitchen.

“We need to speak to our daughter alone,” Caroline declared.

“Not happening,” Rebecca replied, folding herself onto the sofa with far too much grace.

“Principal, this is not your problem,” Bryn snapped.

Rebecca snorted. “You are in my country, in my mate’s house, threatening one of my mate’s best friends. This is most definitely my problem. I live here, just like everyone else you see around you. You are on our turf, you are in our home, you are here uninvited. I urge you to spit out whatever you came to say so we can return to our rather uneventful evening.”

Rebecca was channeling her inner beast, and I was one hundred percent here for it.

“Does your pet dog need to be here for this?” Caroline sneered at me. Pet dog? Oh, she means Dave.

I arched a brow and folded my arms. Luckily for me, Dave was known to be a man of few words.

“Careful, Caroline. He bites,” Rebecca said with a smirk.

Dave came back into the tense room with Maggie following behind him, carrying a tray of homemade lemonade and cookies. I had to force back the irrational urge to grab the plate of cookies and shout “assholes don’t get cookies.”

Dave grimaced as he took a seat next to Rebecca, and she slid her arm over his shoulders. Oh, this was priceless.

Realizing this wouldn’t be as easy as snapping their fingers, the Lexingtons took a seat on the sofa and eyeballed Liz. Maggie twisted her hands together before running off back to the kitchen.

“It’s time for you to come home, Rebecca,” her mother said softly. Okay, so we were going to go about this all differently now. “You’ve had your wild years and gotten it out of your system. Now you need to return home and do your duty.”

Liz shook her head. “I’m happy here. I’m never returning.”

Bryn sighed. “We’re relying on you to marry to ensure our ties with Europe remain strong. You aren’t safe here. There have been rumblings in the community.” He glanced at Dave.

Oh shit.

“What kind of rumblings?” Liz asked.

Bryn pointed at Dave. “Her grandmother is trying to take control, and you’re on the verge of a civil war. The prudent thing is to come with us today so we can protect you.”

“Pimp me, you mean.”

Bryn scowled. “You are behaving like a child. Marriages have been used to create ties between families for centuries. Your sister managed it just fine.”

“And I don’t begrudge her that, but my life is here now. I have friends, family, and people I love.”

“Love is a fickle and fleeting emotion. You cannot form a lifelong bond because of love,” Bryn argued.

I felt sorry for him. People who’d never had it, didn’t understand it, and that was okay. But he would not rip away my friend from her happy place.

“Eloise Roberts is about to rain down chaos. It’s for your protection that you should return to us now,” Caroline said.

There was no love among these three, not a kind word or warm feeling. It was no wonder Rebecca sought it out in partners.

Liz leaned forward. “I am exactly where I need to be. With exactly who I need to be. I like myself here. That’s more than I can say for who I was back home. Family isn’t a right, it’s a gift, one you did not treasure until it slipped through your grasp. So turn around, take your British bullshit back home with you, and leave me in peace.”

Bella stalked into the room, glared at the vampire royalty, and jumped into Dave’s lap. What on earth? She never picked me. She turned her head and winked at me. She knew. The scary, weird-ass feline knew our fucked-up souls were in places they shouldn’t be.

“I am not leaving here without you,” Bryn said while pushing himself to his feet. His muscles twitched like he was about to make a grab for her. Dave moved fast, blocking him with my tiny body. But it was the look of pure menace on his face that made Bryn Lexington freeze. I needed to practice that look in the mirror—it would get me out of so much.

“No,” Liz said, poking her head around Dave.

“Rebecca Charlotte Lexington,” Caroline said. Her middle name was Charlotte? “You will get in that car now.” Everyone stayed silent, and the air grew heavy as we waited for the first person to break. Caroline sighed. “Haven’t you bedded enough riff-raff?”

She leaned forward to swipe a cookie, and I lurched out of my chair, grabbing the plate away. She reared back in shock. “Mothers who call their children whores don’t deserve cookies.”

“Leave, mother,” Liz said.

Bryn glowered at me. “This isn’t over.”

Dave pointed at the door. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are welcome again. My wards will skin you alive if you try to return.”

I could make that happen.

Caroline stood, and the pair stalked out of my house, the door swinging shut behind their bodyguards. No one spoke until the car left the property.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Rebecca muttered.

“Did I handle it okay?” Liz asked.

“Perfectly,” Rebecca answered.

Dave slouched back onto the sofa. “I hate being in this body. You are too small.”

“We can’t all be lumbering six-foot mountain men.”

Footsteps echoed on the stairs, and Ezra turned the corner. He tilted his head at our group, stalked over to us, and dropped his lips onto Liz’s. Oh shit.

Dave jumped up and threw a punch at Ezra, knocking him on his ass. More footsteps pounded down the stairs as Hudson stood up and pushed Dave over.

Ezra cupped his jaw. “What the actual fuck is happening?”

“Everyone needs to stop kissing each other, stop punching each other, just stop,” I shouted as the rest of the soul swapping group joined us. Hudson moved over to me. “You okay?”

Ezra’s mouth dropped open at us. I get that—it looked like Dayna was cozying up with Dangerous Dave.

“We swapped souls,” I explained to Ezra.

He tilted his head. “Cora?” I nodded. He shook his head and glanced around the room, settling his gaze on Rebecca in Hudson’s body. “Becca?”

She pouted. “How did you know?”

“Call it a hunch. So who was I kissing?”

“Liz,” Rebecca said.

Ezra grinned. “Meaning Cora’s body is housing Dave. Hence the punch.”

“Yup,” I said.

“How long for?” he asked.

“A day, maybe two,” Dayna informed him.

Ezra jumped to his feet. “So, the real question is, who is sleeping with who tonight?” He eyeballed Rebecca. “I’m not averse to a little kinky shit.”

“Don’t I know it,” Rebecca muttered.

“No kinky shit with my mate’s body,” I snapped. How would that even work? Never mind, I didn’t want to know. I pointed at Rebecca. “You can sleep with me.”

Ezra smirked. “Again?—”

Dayna smacked the back of his head. “No.”

He chuckled. “So Liz sleeps with me?”

“No,” Rebecca and Dave shouted.

“Well, there’s not enough beds for everyone to sleep alone, so we need to figure this out.”

“And I am not sharing with Sebastian,” Dave stated.

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not my type.”

Everyone started arguing about a solution. Maggie stood in the hallway, slack jawed. I waved her over. “We had a soul mishap, and we are all muddled up,” I explained. “I’m Cora. Dave is in my body.”

She sucked in a breath. “That’s why you were mean in the kitchen before.”

I was going to murder Dave. Slowly. “Everything will go back to normal soon, but tonight we need a solution, so nobody kills anyone.”

She grinned and raised her hand like she was in class. “I have an idea.”

Oh boy, the teenage bobcat had a plan. We were saved.