Chapter 33
Cole
I’d spent the last year wondering if I wanted to die, wondering if that would make things easier. For the first time since Caiden had left, I knew the answer.
“I don’t want to die.” It came out solid, sure. Sephtis’s arms around me tightened.
“You can’t have him.”
Those eerie eyes turned to me, a ring of light in the darkness—a lunar eclipse to Sephtis’s halo of gold. “You can’t keep feeding from Vitality. As long as my essence runs through you, as long as you’re tethered to a Reaper, it’s the only thing that will keep you alive.”
Beside us, Aiden snorted. “Dramatic, darling. Always so dramatic. You’re worse than my brothers. Just take it back.”
“Didn’t you hear me? It’s what’s keeping him alive. There will be other lifetimes, Fate. They’ll find each other again when his soul is properly tethered. He’s tied to a Reaper. Their connection will always exist within death.”
“So take it back,” Sephtis murmured, an echo of what Aiden had said. When Death turned an irritated gaze to him, he shook his head. “Not the Vitality. Take back what you gave me. Let me live a mortal life with him.”
“A mortal…” Death broke off, glancing between the two of us. “Sephtis, what I’ve done to you cannot be undone. I can’t give you life. And even if I could, you’d die. You’d eventually lose one another.”
Sephtis’s arms around me tightened again before he pushed back…
just enough to step so we stood side by side, so he could take my hand in his.
It made something in my chest relax, the wild thrum of my heartbeat that had been trying to thunder from my chest since the moment Aiden had taken it finally started to settle.
“Then I choose death. For him, I choose death. I choose dying and finding him a thousand lives over. I’ll always choose him. ”
Fuck, I loved him. I wanted to get out of this situation so I could tell him that over and over.
So I could show him with soft touches, a thousand kisses.
So I could show him for my entire life. Our entire life.
I’d come this far on faith—I’d let Aiden nearly kill me because I trusted that Sephtis and I were right.
“Please?” I didn’t know who I was asking, but my eyes darted from the pale monster in front of me to the man who’d held my heart in his hands. “Please.”
Aiden let out a sigh. “I suppose it’s only fair… since my cupid did tangle them together.”
Death’s eyes turned to Aiden, and he frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, you can’t give him life… but I certainly can. There’s enough heart and Vitality for them both to share. And when they’re done, they can come back to me.”
“No.” My stomach clenched—the word sounded so final.
Death seemed incapable of budging, of giving this up, but he kept on before I could argue.
“When you die, Sephtis, you come back to where you belong, to what you were destined for. You are a Reaper.” His eyes narrowed, turning to me in irritation.
“I suppose you’ll both be Reapers when the time comes. ”
Aiden’s head tilted, and the curve of his lips was mischievous. “Maybe Sephtis is yours, but remember… the little human is mine. I suppose we’ll have to share. Two Reapers who can feel… imagine what they could do for the balance.”
“Oh look, Mommy and Daddy are going to share custody. How cute.” Gethin’s voice actually startled me—he’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was there.
But he was standing at full attention now, his eyes swinging between Sephtis and Aiden.
He took a breath like he was steeling himself for what he was about to say and stepped forward.
“But Sephtis owes me a favor, and I don’t think I can call it in if he’s human. So…”
He’d been so afraid before, so ready to run when Aiden had appeared. Did he really care about Liam so much that he’d speak up now? Stand up to both Death and Fate for the hope of something that could change his future?
“There will be no need for favors when I’m finished with you, Gethin, I—”
“No.” The amusement in Death’s voice told me he was up to no good…
or perhaps he was finally seeing a place where he could best Aiden.
“No… if a debt is owed, a debt will be paid. You can keep the little human, and I’ll share when he’s a Reaper, but this one…
” Death turned his eyes to Gethin. “I get this one.”
Before Aiden had a chance to respond, Gethin moved forward. He held his hand out, palm up, to Death. I could see the mark Sephtis had left there, and I realized when Aiden saw it too. His shoulders set, but he nodded.
“Fine.”
Death grinned, taking Gethin by the hand. When their palms met, darkness flared between them—the same liquid I’d seen running through Sephtis’s veins, the same that spilled in my heart.
Death, creeping into Gethin’s body through a promise. If I were him, I would have been terrified. Then again, he killed people.
For fun.
And the smile on his face as he stepped back, his pupils blown and his breath coming in sharp bursts… well…
I was glad I wasn’t him.
“Now that that’s done… shall we settle this?” Aiden tore his irritated gaze from Gethin and brought it back to me. “Death still needs back what you’ve taken. Come on, Sephtis. Are you ready to experience the human condition?”
He didn’t hesitate. Sephtis nodded and stepped forward, offering Aiden his hand… and Fate smiled before wrapping his arms around the Reaper and pressing his lips to his.
The kiss was chaste, but I heard a snarl spill out—not from my chest, but from Death.
I might have been angry at the contact, but I was too busy feeling the sensation ripping through me—heat, pooling through the connection that tethered me to Sephtis, and I could see it.
That darkness that had been gathering inside of me, spilling down the red line, wrapped in the stolen Vitality…
slipping back into Sephtis and then into Aiden’s lips.
When he reached out again and pressed his fingers to my chest, I was ready this time.
He held my heart in his hand… and then he brought that hand to Sephtis’s chest.
My heart.
His heart.
They beat in tandem—they beat together. And Sephtis let out a low groan and fell back against me when Aiden let him go. He wasn’t cold anymore.
He was warm…
Warm and breathing… and when I pressed my hand to the side of his neck, I could feel the soft pulse of a heart beating.
“Sephtis…” His eyes were a sweet, golden brown. Not liquid like the sun…
Human.
Like me.
“As touching as this is, remember, it’s not permanent.
When you die… and it looks like you’ll die together now…
this human shroud will fall away, and Sephtis will ferry you to me, as he should have from the beginning.
Then you’ll both be put to work.” I could barely tear my eyes from Sephtis to look at Death, who was staring at Aiden expectantly.
“Come take it if you want it, Death.”
Sharp teeth flared at Aiden’s tease, and Death stepped forward. When they were standing together, it was hard not to notice how much taller he was than the blond man, how his willowy frame looked less human standing next to Fate.
It was impossible to ignore the tension dancing between them as Death tangled his fingers in Fate’s hair and jerked his head back before pressing his lips to his.
This wasn’t a chaste kiss. This felt like a battle—like war waged mouth to mouth, all tongue and teeth.
Death’s arm wrapped around Aiden’s waist, and I recoiled when I watched those claws dig into flesh, piercing through skin as he dragged him so close it almost felt like he was trying to merge them into one.
They kissed each other like they were trying to kill each other—like they’d been desperate for the contact all along and they were going to take any excuse they could to get the most out of it.
They kissed each other like they either wanted to fight or fuck or both, and by the time Death pulled back and I watched the last wisps of that black spill between his lips, I had a feeling it was definitely both.
I was starting to think that if this heat and tension weren’t there between them, none of this would have happened the way it did.
“One of these days, Fate… I’ll get my claws into you for more than a kiss.”
Aiden laughed as he shoved away, bringing his thumb up to wipe at his lower lip before he popped the digit into his mouth with a grin. “Good luck with that, darling. Fate can’t die.”
“Hm, we’ll see about that.” Death’s eyes swung to Gethin. “And you… I’ll speak with you soon.”
And then he was gone—not in a flash, or as dark smoke. He just… vanished. The tension that had been running through me, the fear that somehow we wouldn’t pull this off and I’d literally have to fight Death to keep Sephtis by my side faded… and I nearly collapsed in his arms.
Of course, we weren’t quite free yet. Aiden turned his attention to us, looking from our joined hands to the place where I knew that red line still existed between us.
“Strange things indeed. Tell Wren I said hello the next time you see him. And you…” His eyes flicked to Gethin.
“Watch yourself. You don’t understand what you just sold yourself into. ”
“Oh, fuck off. It can’t be worse than what you did to me.” Gethin sounded awfully brave for someone who’d been cowering away from Aiden only a few minutes ago, but Aiden just shook his head.
“We’ll see about that. Don’t come to me when you realize all favors come with… strings attached.” Aiden’s eyes flicked to Gethin’s chest… and then he disappeared too.
As soon as Aiden was gone, Gethin swayed and then fell to the ground. When I started forward, he jerked his head up. “You absolute shit. Why didn’t you tell me that was your fucking plan?”
I wanted to apologize. I wanted to tell him I hadn’t meant to trick him… but my body was slowly melting against the warmth of Sephtis’s arms around me. Like he could see it, Gethin let out a grunt of irritation and pushed himself to standing.
“Sorry,” I murmured, though I wasn’t looking at him.
“Fuck off, Cole.” At least he didn’t just disappear. Gethin stalked off, and I turned my face up to Sephtis as soon as he rounded the corner.
We’d been through hell—caught between Fate and Death. I’d seen my brother, and there was still a red petal that glowed, caught between us on the ground… and all I could do was let accusation melt into my voice when I lifted my hand and slapped him on the shoulder. “You said you loved me.”
Sephtis’s eyes—God, were they even prettier this color?—widened at the contact, and he winced.
“I did.”
“You said you loved me and then you let Death abduct you.”
Sephtis bit his lower lip. Maybe this was my way of coping. Everything that had happened was too much. Death and Fate… and Sephtis.
Real and whole and human.
Mine.
“I did.” He said it again, leaning his head down. His lips brushed softly against mine, and the warmth of his breath drew a moan from my chest. “And I’ll say it again, Cole. For the rest of our lives… our lives,” he whispered. “I love you.”
I was so caught up in the warmth of him that I nearly broke down in his arms. “You need to spend the next sixty years showing me you’re worth an eternity of working for an asshole like Death.”
The smile that spilled across his face was too much—I couldn’t resist it anymore. My fingers darted up, tangling in his hair, and I pressed my mouth to his. It was all warmth and heat, a kiss I felt like I’d been waiting my entire life for.
A kiss I would happily give forever to keep.
I opened myself up to it, and for the first time, I felt like I could give him everything.
All of me—every piece I’d held back because I was too afraid of what it would mean, too guilty to think I deserved it.
I pulled back and looked at him—really looked at him—and realized…
we really did have forever. And I wanted forever to start today.
“Come on,” I whispered against his lips. “Let’s go home.”
“Home…” he echoed, and then took my hand in his again. “Okay. Let’s go home.”
The petal on the ground caught in the breeze, flickering and fading to a soft red as it drifted away.