Ethereal Underground (Ethereal Underground Trilogy) by Briana Gaitan, Brooke Kennedy

perhaps she would find out if he knew for sure what was happening to these seraphs. She turned her head to the side and peeked through a lowered lid to see her counterpart shake his head in worry, look back at her, and then back to his friend. He lowered his voice even more then and she wasn’t able to hear what was said. Still, she was surprised at what she’d learned: one, that Finlay was not spilling her secrets, which was odd; and two, that there were more seraphs missing. It was terrifying for her. Some had spoken of closing off the realm for a short time to see if they could figure out what was killing them off one by one. Others argued that would send the world into chaos, mortals living as if immortal or souls floating about, mortals dying when they weren’t supposed to or following a path other than their destiny. Most agreed they couldn’t survive without the seraphs, so they would not close off the realm. Still, it was something that worried Annalise now that she knew Leon was concerned. He was so brave, so ready for battle, and his apprehension had her mind spinning. Maybe she should stay home, not go out on reapings, especially if she couldn’t do it right.
    Pushing herself up on her elbows in the large feather mattress, she heard him dismiss Finlay and then turn his attention back to her. She gave Leon a small smile as he walked back over to her.
    His calloused hand reached out to grip her chin, locking his eyes on hers, “You have been asleep for two days, Anna. Are you okay?”
    “I am fine,” she insisted with a nod of her head. She was shocked to hear that she had been out so long, but she tried not to let it show. She knew he was concerned, so she placed her hand on his and gave it a small reassuring rub, “I just over exerted myself. No need to worry.”
    He pulled his eyebrows further together as he shook his head and sat back from her on the bed, “You are not being honest with me.”
    She had tried to hide the worry that crept up on her as she remembered the reason for her being so tired. Two days was longer than she had ever slept. It was normal for Leon to sleep that long after battle, after protecting his charges at times, but never her. She understood his concern, but she wasn’t sure what to say to make him feel better. There was no way she could stand it if he hated her, if he was disappointed in her. There had never been a time that she had ever been less than honest with him, and she wasn’t sure where to begin. Even as she spoke, her thoughts drifted back to those blue eyes in that boy’s face. His face had been youthful, but the way he carried himself shown that he was a man and had seen many battles. It was something she had to tell her counterpart, he would know what to do. Maybe it was what was meant to happen, a prophecy maybe. She continued to try to convince herself that maybe this was supposed to happen, and that her counterpart would understand. Even though she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at betraying what she had always known.
    “Leon…” she started, but stopped, not wanting to let the words flow form her mouth for fear of his rejection.
    “Anna….please tell me. What happened to you for you to become so tired? In two days’ time, I have not left your side. Finlay has been covering my charges as I tended to you. There is no reason for you to be like this and he would not answer any of my questions. Also, the council has been here…but I would not let them in,” he explained, still looking to her for answers.
    So the Elders were looking for her. They knew what she had done and they had come to punish her. Annalise had known there was no way for her to get out of this, no way they would not have noticed the soul missing. She wasn’t sure what happened to the person once they were brought back to life when they were supposed to be taken. Not sure what kind of kink she had put in the way of the world, she was scared to even think about it. It was possible