“You lost two friends,” he said gently. “And you wanted revenge.”

“That didn’t mean I was allowed to torture that reaper.”

“I’m not going to judge you, Ellie. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

I hesitated, feeling a heaviness in my chest. “What I did made me as bad as them.”

“I think we’re past worrying about fighting dirty.”

“Were you afraid of me last night?” I asked him, my voice tiny. Just a squeak. “When you saw my eyes?”

This time, he hesitated. My heart only beat once or twice, but it seemed like a lifetime passed in those moments. “Yes.”

The silence that fell between us then thankfully didn’t last long. Marcus appeared out of the Grim midflight and he landed in the yard. Will and I slid off the bench swing and headed toward him.

“Hey,” he greeted us, stretching out his wings and taking a deep breath. “Wanted to see how you’re both doing and to let you know we might have something. I put in a call to Lauren and—”

“What the hell?”

All three of us jumped and spun. Kate stood at the top of the hill beside the house, staring down at us—right at Marcus’s wings. She was frozen solid and her hands covered her mouth, the shock and confusion splattered across her face like an Impressionist painting. I, on the other hand, was staring at her extremely blue hair.

“What the hell?” she repeated.

My jaw dropped. “Oh my God, Kate. What the hell happened to your hair?”

She looked aghast. “Why the hell does he have wings?”

Marcus withdrew his wings in a flash and started toward her. “Babe,” he said gently, like coaxing a frightened animal. “Babe,” he said again.

“I am not on drugs,” Kate murmured, her voice blank. “I am not on drugs and I just saw you had wings.”

“No, Babe. What are you talking about?”

He reached for her and she slapped his hands back. “Don’t even lie to me! You had freaking wings! I saw them! Just like those things from last night! What the hell? What the hell? You’re one of them!”

Then she lost it. She loosed a blood-curdling scream and wheeled away from him, but he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest and held her tight. She thrashed and shrieked as he crooned gently to her, but she wouldn’t relax.

I bolted toward them and held Kate’s face in my hands. “Kate, calm down. It’s okay.” I shushed her, but she was crying hysterically.

“I’m crazy,” she rasped over and over again. “I’m crazy. I’m totally crazy.”

“You’re not crazy,” I said.

She sagged heavily in Marcus’s arms. “Just let me go. Let me go, damn it.”

I could see on his face that this was the last thing he wanted to happen. If he’d ever wanted to reveal himself to Kate, it was clear that this wasn’t the way he’d planned to do it. He slowly loosened his grip on her and she stumbled away, wiping her tear-streaked face with her arm.

“Please tell me I’m crazy,” she begged. “Please tell that what I saw last night wasn’t real and I didn’t just see your wings and that you aren’t one of those monsters. Marcus, don’t freaking lie to me.”

“I would never lie to you,” he said, the ache in his tone brimming with honesty and shame. “You aren’t crazy. What you’ve seen was real.”

“Stop screwing with me!” she shrieked in anger.

“I’m not!” he shot back.

“He’s telling the truth,” Will said, the look on his face deadly serious.

Kate stared at him and then looked pleadingly at me. “Ellie, you’re my best friend. Please don’t screw with me. Landon is freaking dead, for Christ’s sake. He’s dead! I haven’t slept. I’m still terrified. Please, please tell me—honestly—what the hell is going on.”

“I don’t—don’t know what to say,” I stammered. “But you aren’t crazy. Marcus, show her. It’s too late to hide it anymore.”

He closed his eyes and his jaw clenched and he did something he’d likely never done before. He showed his wings to a human. The sparrow-brown feathers gleamed gold in the morning light, that unusual reaper quality giving them a sort of shimmer. Kate’s eyes grew wide as apples and she collapsed to her knees in front of Marcus as he spread his wings.

“What are you?” she breathed. “Are you an angel?”

He shook his head. “I’m a reaper. Like Will.”

Will looked at me, questioning me with his eyes. I nodded and he knew what to do. He slipped his shirt over his head and dropped it onto the grass. Kate gaped up at him, a tear sliding down her cheek. Will’s white wings sprang free and Kate jumped in surprise. Her hands covered her mouth and she whispered something I couldn’t make out. I knelt next to her and pulled her into my arms. She shook and shuddered like she was freezing.

“What is happening?” she murmured under her breath. “What is happening? It’s not real. It’s not real….”

“Kate, sweetie,” I said to her and put my forehead to her temple. Her skin was cold and clammy. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. I’ll explain everything to you if you want me to.”

“How can you explain this?” she asked. “None of this makes any sense. Those things killed my friends, people I’ve known since kindergarten. They’re reapers? And Marcus is one of them. And Will. And…you?” She pulled away to stare at me, her eyes wide and pupils tiny pinpricks of black drowning in blue.