City of Smoke and Brimstone (House of Devils, #4)

by Kayla Edwards

As if they hadn’t been doomed right from the start. Since the moment they’d met, they’d been thwarted with bad luck. Everything that could go wrong in their lives had indeed gone wrong. But they’d fought it—had fought hard for each other. For love. But in the end, death always won—even when pitted against the force that could move mountains.

“She just…dropped into my life one day like an angel. I took one look at her, and I was obsessed. Completely obsessed.”

Darien… His name was etched into every beat. Tattooed on her heart in ink that would never come off.

“Then I guess I need to do a better job of showing you just how insanely in love with you I am. Don’t I? Because I am, Loren—insanely in love with you. Whether you hate me or not, whether you want to be with me or not, and whether you refuse to believe me or not. And I will spend the rest of my life—our life—showing you just how much I care.”

Death was coming for them—for every last district, every last street, every last home. No one and nothing would be left unscathed.

I do love you, she thought. I always love you. Every second of every day. And I’ll never stop—not even when my heart does.

“—And this woman here, her name’s Taken.”

It had never been about him, though. The fact that his life was tied to Loren’s changed nothing. Even if he hadn’t made that deal with the Widow, he would still protect her just as hard. And every time her life was threatened, it was not his own he was worried about. It was only hers. It had only ever been about her.

“It’s a reminder. To choose love, kindness. To never lose sight of the things that matter.

And that love is a powerful force that always triumphs, no matter how dark the road.”

When he was with her, everything felt like it was going to be okay. Maybe not right now…but one day. The world may be loud, and the future uncertain, but this…this was what heaven felt like. This woman and her beautiful soul were his heaven.

Their world may be falling apart, but this right here... No one could touch this. No one could take away what they had. They would rebuild. Someway. Somehow. Together, the Shadowmaster and the Selkie would rebuild.