Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

brother well enough to recognize the concern Magnus was trying very hard to conceal.
    “What’s going to happen to me now?” Imogen asked.
    “You’re going to stay here, of course,” his mother said at once, without even an ounce of hesitation. “There are plenty of rooms and we can always use another girl around.”
    On Imogen’s other side, Riley nodded as well.
    It was pretty evident that the women had already made up their minds. Neither one seemed to care that they didn’t know a damn thing about their guest, not even her race. It only mattered that she was alone, scared, and too young.
    Gideon couldn’t blame them. Even he had to admit that he probably would have done the same given the choice. Final Judgment wasn’t just their home. It belonged to anyone in need of sanctuary, except humans. There were strong spells placed by angels preventing humans from finding the manor. It wasn’t foolproof. Riley was proof of that, as was Daphne—Reggie’s mate and another human.
    There had been one other human that had found them, Larry, but he’d been part demon. He was also the first person Gideon had ever seen get cleansed by the Guardians. He wasn’t sure what they’d done with his soul, probably destroyed it because of the demon blood, but Gideon had helped Octavian bury his body in the woods. Usually, the soul was reborn with no memory of their previous life. He’d heard that that was where the term déjà vu came from. However, it was clear that Imogen was not a human. If she was a demon, she would not be permitted to remain at Final Judgment. It was too risky, what with them guarding the gates of hell and all. The head demon council would be summoned and they would have to retrieve her. She would be their problem after that. It would be their responsibility to locate her family’s killer. The only association Casters had with demons was to either grant them permission to walk the human world, or kill them for breaking the contract.
    “What are you?” he found himself asking when it became apparent that no one else would.
    Imogen sniffled, wiping her nose and eyes with the crumpled bit of tissue Riley stuffed into her hand.
    “I’m a bean sídhe,” she murmured.
    A chorus of oh’s went up around the room as the mystery was solved. Only Riley looked confused by the confession.
    “What’s a bean salad?” And just like that, everyone chuckled, even Imogen.
    “Bean sidhe !” the girl repeated, pronouncing sidhe loudly and carefully.
    “She’s a banshee.”
    Octavian moved away from the window to perch down on the armrest next to Riley’s shoulder. She instinctively leaned into him and was rewarded by the feel of his hands on her shoulder.
    “Aren’t they usually old hags that stop souls from crossing over?”
    A crinkle formed on Imogen’s brow, a sign of indignation. “Our wails help souls move on. It’s how we mourn for the dead. It’s worse when we’re infants, you know, crying all the time. But we get better at controlling it when we get older.”
    “That’s why you lived in seclusion,” his father deduced.
    “We used to live closer to a town,” Imogen said sorrowfully. “But my youngest sister was born and she cried a lot. The locals began suspecting the woods were haunted and people started tromping through it, looking for ghosts. Dad said we had to find somewhere further away.”
    “Sweetie.” His mom edged closer to the girl. “Is there nothing you can remember about last night? A smell, maybe? A sound? Did your father say what was after you?”
    “Has anyone strange been coming around that you may have noticed?” his father piped in.
    Brutal concentration twisted Imogen’s face. Her green eyes darted back and forth as though scanning the pages of a book for clues. Her thin, pale brows were drawn together tight and frustration colored her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip with enough force to draw blood.
    “No!” she blurted after several long, tense minutes. Her thin