Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
Death
I stood outside, listening to the sounds of the night. There had been no light here for a year, only darkness. My realm was part of me, and I felt as black and cold inside as it was out here.
Nox lived to cause me pain. How could you despise your children so much? I would give anything to have Marigold with me, to end the curse my twisted bitch of a mother put on me and have her back. Sometimes, just the thought of my daughter shattered me into a million pieces. If it weren’t for Somnus taking care of her, I would have lost my mind long ago.
But that wasn’t enough for Nox; no, she wanted to destroy me in every way possible. Her curse had blocked Zinnia’s soul from remembering me, from remembering us and our life together, and had bound Magnolia to her realm.
Surrounded by her demons, Nox sat in her temple plotting ways to fuck with me. She’d even gone as far as creating a soulless creature to impersonate the only female I had ever wanted—the mother of my child—and make me think the end of the curse was near, that I could have my family back with me like we’d once been.
Another god more malicious and evil didn’t exist.
I strode back inside, and even though I told myself not to, I stopped at Zinnia’s bedroom door. My Zinnia. When I first saw her when she was only fifteen years old, something had reached through the shadows and tugged sharply. Her soul had been back many times before. Somnus would find her, would take me to her, and I’d bring them back to the castle. But none of them had been able to reach me; they’d cringed away in fear, in horror. And I’d stayed in the shadows, trapped in darkness.
Zinnia wasn’t just a vessel for her soul; she and Aster were one and the same. Zinnia hadn’t been second best or a replacement for the female I’d lost; she was my beloved. And somehow, I loved her more now than I ever had. My soul had ached for hers. We were meant to walk side by side, but again, she’d run from me. Nox had cursed me to be alone, which meant she would always run from me. I would always lose her.
On our journey to the Outer Realm, I’d taken her to the cave we’d lived in together so very long ago, then to the tree house where we’d spent countless hours in each other’s arms, but nothing had worked, not the castle, or the bedroom she’d slept in when she first came here, not Egon, and not me, nothing had made her remember.
All she had to do was fucking remember , and the curse would be broken. Just remember she loved me, choose to be with me of her own free will, and we’d be together again and our daughter would finally be released from Nox’s grip.
My hand lifted, curling around the door handle to her room. The demons had dragged that creature from my castle the day before, and I was still shaken. For a moment, I’d truly believed she was back, that she wanted me. I realized now that was an impossibility.
Walk away.
My feet wouldn’t move, wouldn’t carry me away to my own room, where I would lie back down and let myself waste away for eternity. I stared at the door. I shouldn’t go in there; it would do no good to surround myself with her things, with the shadows of her existence here with me. But I couldn’t stop myself. I turned the handle and shoved the door open.
Something darted across the room—something white. It flew toward me, trying to escape. I scooped it up, lifting it higher to get a good look at the rodent.
Nox had actually gone as far as creating a familiar for her creature? It squeaked and wriggled in my hand frantically, trying to get away.
I gritted my teeth, and tightened my grip, about to squeeze, about to tear it to pieces and have this be over with, but it stilled suddenly, staring at me, its little nose twitching. Bringing it closer, I stared into its tiny black eyes, reaching inside the soulless creature—
I froze. “How do you have a soul?”
He squeaked again.
“Hemlock?” I choked.
He squeaked again and started wriggling frantically. I loosened my grip, and he scurried up my arm and down my side, then ran to the pack sitting on the ground. He scrambled inside… and then something was tossed out. I picked it up. A finger—Zinnia’s finger—and it was wrapped in enchanted gold. Fuck, embedded in the flesh. Only the gods had access to this; it would poison whoever it touched, conceal them—shroud their soul.
No .
I spun around, and my gaze landed on a small pot sitting on the dresser. A plant of some kind. I strode over to it. No, an herb covered with tiny purple flowers. Vervain . I remembered the way Zinnia had described it when I was with her in her garden. She’d brought it with her. She’d brought it here because she wanted to make this her home—because she’d chosen me.
A tiny wooden box sat beside the bed, I’d seen it before, after she’d left, but thought nothing of it. She’d touched it; I felt her. Picking it up now, I opened it. There was a piece of paper inside. I unfolded it.
If you’re reading this, you’re one of the lucky ones. Fate chose you to be his. I know it doesn’t feel that way now, and I know you’re scared, but take my advice—don’t waste time being afraid. Instead, make the most of whatever time you have with him. Love him.
Zinnia, consort to Mors, the God of Death.
“Zinnia,” I choked out. She’d come back for me, and I’d sent her away.
Scooping up Hemlock and Zinnia’s things, I ran from the room and pounded down the stairs.
“My lord?” Egon said.
“I’m going after Zinnia.”
“Thank the gods.”
I rushed out of the castle and whistled loudly. A moment later, Raze and Zuri ran from the trees. Egon was already at my side with the girth straps and bridles we’d need, and Lyle rushed out with provisions and strapped them to Zuri while I swung up onto Raze. Lyle was shaking, and there were tears in his eyes.
Then I remembered what Zinnia said. “Look at me, Lyle.”
He trembled harder but did as he was told. “You were approached by one of my reapers, given a message, weren’t you?”
He nodded, and tears spilled down his cheeks.
Fuck. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why would you keep it from me?”
“Nox,” he choked out. “One of her demons threatened to hurt my mate and my son. He said he was always watching. He saw the reaper, he knew what the message was, and he said I wasn’t to tell you, or he’d kill them.”
Egon growled. “You betrayed his lordship? What were you thinking?”
“Where is the demon now?” I asked.
“H-he lives in the forest.”
“I’ll take care of the demon,” Egon said, fury in his eyes.
“And you,” I said to Lyle, “you will not leave the castle until I return, and you better pray that her ladyship is alive.” Because if she wasn’t, I would tear Limbo apart. I would destroy it, balance be damned. I would throw the universe into chaos until I found her again.
He spun and ran inside.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave,” Egon said and straightened his shoulders, fighting back his own emotions.
I gave the older demon a nod and nudged Raze. He took off, Zuri right behind him.
They had a day’s head start. I wasn’t stopping until I reached my consort.
* * *
Zinnia
We’d spent the night out in the forest. The demons had placed some kind of icons around our camp to prevent anything from attacking us. It’d worked, but the farther away from the castle we got, the creepier they seemed to get, and I realized it wasn’t what skulked in the forest that I really needed to be worried about.
The four of them watched me now, and one of them actually wiped drool from the corner of his mouth while he did it.
“Why does Death send you to his mother?” he asked. “Why does his lordship want you banished from his realm?”
“We should get going,” I said and winced as I stood. My feet were all cut up, and I was frozen to the bone. Moving meant they were distracted. Moving meant they had other things to focus on than me. I needed them to get me through this forest, and then I could figure out what to do next. I was a sitting duck on my own, and the pain from the fever still had me weakened and struggling. Add in the cold, and my magic was seriously weakened as well. I wasn’t going to fight these assholes until we were close to the tree house Death had taken me to, if it was still there. I was counting on it still being there. I was pretty sure I knew where it was. I’d be able to rest up there, get warm, then work out my next step before I made my way back to the castle.
I would make Death listen to me.
The pain in my limbs intensified, and my core temperature changed so suddenly, my heart jumped in my chest. I wasn’t shivering anymore; I was sweating. When the demons around me spoke, I could see their breath on the cold air. The last thing I should be was hot.
My fever was coming back. “We need to move,” I said, because it was only a matter of time before my magic was completely gone and I was delirious, possibly unconscious, and utterly at the mercy of these demons, who didn’t know the meaning of the word.
“We’ll move when we’re good and ready, female,” another demon said.
“Your master told you to deliver me to Nox. Perhaps you should do as you’re told,” I said, trying to insert authority into my voice—not easy when I was standing in only a T-shirt with sweat dripping down my face.
“He’s not here, though, is he? He won’t give you a second thought now that he knows you’re an imposter. He and his mother don’t exactly talk, so how will he know if you make it to the Night Realm or not?”
“Death knows everything, and you’d be fools to cross him.” I tried to keep the fear from my voice while I called on my weakened magic, letting it build and swirl inside me. They weren’t going to leave me any other choice but to fight them here. Shit.
“Death has forgotten you exist. There’s only one female he wants, and you’re not her. The moment we left with you, he forgot all about you.” The demon stood and cracked his neck. “I’m not really in the mood to journey all the way to the Night Realm. What about you?” he asked his friend.
The drooling one stood, swiping his nose with the back of his hand. “Nah, I’d rather stay here.”
Grunting their agreement, the others stood as well.
I lifted my hands and called on the anger burning in my gut. “You want to know what I am?” I said as flames appeared, dancing above my palms. “A witch. A witch who has killed more than her fair share of demons. Come any closer, and I will incinerate you.” Maybe I could brazen this out, make them believe I was at full power and send them running.
A wave of pain washed through me, and I stumbled to the right. The drooler lunged, and I sent a bolt of fire at him, setting his feet on fire. Shit.
He stomped and cursed while his buddies laughed it up.
I was trying to set the asshole on fire, not just singe his shoe leather. I was screwed.
“Is that all you got, witch?” one of the demons said, chuckling.
“No, that was just a warning. Now back the fuck up, or I’ll burn you to a crisp,” I said through clenched teeth, fighting to stay conscious.
He grabbed the demon closest to him by the back of the shirt and threw him toward me.
With a cry, I fired my power at him. His shirt ignited, and he yanked it off and stomped it out. They all laughed again and rushed me. Screaming, I called on every bit of magic I had left and let it rush from me with force. The demons were knocked back, but they jumped back up. If I’d been at full power, I would have blown them yards way. If I’d been at full power, I would have set them all on fire and removed their heads one at a time.
As it was, I could barely stand.
They came running back, and I tried to fight. I swung and kicked and bit and scratched, but there were four of them. They overpowered me, slamming me into the ground. The air was knocked from my lungs, and I fought for breath as they pinned me down.
One minute, one of the demons was looming over me, trying to shove his disgusting body between my legs; the next, the ground was shaking and the demon was flying through the air. The earth cracked and branches snapped. I rolled, pushing myself up so I was sitting. The demons were screaming, suspended five feet in the air, backs bowed, heads tilted up, arms and legs thrust back. Death sat on the back of Raze, his hand lifted and aimed at them, rage contorting his emaciated face.
He climbed off Raze and walked over to them. His hand was black and he reached up and grabbed the first demon by the throat. The demon screamed as blood poured from his mouth, brain matter slid from his ears, and then he disintegrated, turning to ash. The others screamed in terror as he gave them all the same treatment one by one.
Then, finally, when nothing but ash remained, his gaze slid to me.
I couldn’t read his expression. I didn’t know what he was thinking or feeling.
Unsteadily, I climbed to my feet.
Death started walking, his cloak opening, flowing behind him, and in only a pair of trousers, I saw just how much damage he’d done to himself. He was skin and bone. He didn’t stop until he was standing in front of me. So incredibly tall, he towered over me. I tilted my head back. “Mors….”
He lifted his blackened hand and held it in front of my face. I tried to jerk back, but he grabbed me with the other one, holding me in place. Power flowed into me from his palm, and I felt it tug on something, something foreign, something that shouldn’t be there. My mouth opened on a cry as it was drawn out, as Death manipulated it in midair, then flung it on the ground. A golden liquid. I watched as it ran together, forming a mass that hardened into solid gold.
“What was that?” I gasped, looking up at Death.
“Enchanted gold. It’s poisonous unless you’re a god,” he said, staring into my eyes, searching.
“Mors?”
He flinched, then dropped to his knees. Trembling, he wrapped his thin body around me. “Forgive me,” he choked out. “Forgive me, my love.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I slid my hands under his hood and slipped it off. It dropped, and I tilted his head back, exposing his drawn face and the agony shining from his blue eyes. “You see me?” I asked.
“I see the past and the future. I see my heart in your eyes and my soul sitting in the palm of your hand.” He stared deeper into my eyes. “I see you, my perfect, feisty, incredibly powerful witch, and I see your soul, a soul that is more familiar to me than the stars in the sky. I see the life we shared together, the loss, the heartache, and the joy. You have been mine since the dawn of creation. I see you, my love, and finally…” His throat worked, and a tear slid down his sunken-in cheek. “You see me too.”
Tears welled in my eyes, and I leaned down, pressing my lips to his. They were cool, not hot like they usually were. “How can I help you?” I rasped.
“Kiss me again,” he choked out. “The more I’m in your presence—the more you look at me like that, talk to me, touch me—the more I will be pulled from the shadows.”
When I first came to Limbo, he’d stayed concealed because, under his cloak, he’d wasted away. That was why he’d finally been able to go without it, because I’d been with him long enough that he’d been restored. I lowered myself to the ground in front of him and pressed my body to his.
“Are you hurt, love? Did they hurt you?” he said in a pained voice.
I shook my head. “I’m not hurt.”
His mouth slid down the side of my cheek, seeking my mouth, and I turned toward him, offering it to him. He kissed me again, deeper, more urgently. I shivered, and he surrounded us with his cloak, in his dark, rich, smooth scent. Warmth washed over me, the world around us disappearing. We were no longer in the forest; we were in the night sky, stars blinking above. Death lowered me to the ground, and it was like I was lying on the softest mattress.
“I need you,” I whispered against his lips.
“You have me, my beautiful consort, for an eternity.”
“Eternity?”
“Not even death can reach you now. You will forever be by my side.”
Finally, I got my forever with the love of my life. “When they tore our daughter from my back and I fell to my death, I vowed to return to you.” My hands trembled as I touched his face. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.”
He made an agonized sound. “No one will ever take you from me again.”
I ran my hands up his back, my fingers sliding over his cool skin, feeling every rib, every bone on his skeletal form. I held him closer, running my hands over him, touching him, whispering to him, doing whatever I needed to heal him, to bring every part of him back to me.
I kissed him more fiercely. “I love you,” I said as tears slid down my cheeks. “I’ve missed you.” A sob left me. “I didn’t know how much, but now I do, and it hurts so much that I’ve been parted from you for so long.”
He groaned. “Time was stolen from us, but our love transcends all. What we share will survive even the end of times.”
He slid my shirt up and off, his cold, trembling hands moving over my breasts. I reached between us and shoved down my underwear, kicking them aside, then quickly undid his pants and took him in my hand. His narrow hips moved between mine as I led him to me, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“My love,” he groaned as he slid inside me, filling me.
We moved together under the shadows and stars of his cloak, and with every glide of my hand down his back, I felt him transform. My beautiful Death. He was perfect to me no matter how he looked. When he stared into my eyes, he saw the soul beneath, and I did as well. But when he thrust into me next, the sharpness of his bones under skin had been replaced by flesh and muscle. He wasn’t cold anymore; he was so incredibly warm.
He moved faster, and I rocked with him, lifting my hips, crying out when he hit me so deep. He moaned my name against my ear, and I clung to him as he claimed me, as we were reunited again, just two more stars in the sky.
I came with a sob, shaking and clinging to him as he groaned, coming with me.
Panting, we lay in each other’s arms.
He rose up, staring down at me, sliding the tip of his finger along my hairline and down the side of my face. “This was destined. You made it so,” he said roughly, and then his hand went to his chest, right over the three stars tattooed there. “I’ve been waiting so long to have you back, my little witch, my Zinnia… and our Marigold.”
He’d carried us on his chest, me and Marigold, a part of him, surrounded by him, and now I knew what the constant ache in mine was. It was them. “Let’s go and get our daughter.”