Chapter 36
XXXVI.
brYNN
As they followed her out of the chamber, the corridors felt even more oppressive on the way back. Every shadow potentially hiding a guard, every alcove a reminder of how deeply they'd walked into enemy territory.
Dante's expression gave nothing away. His shadows did. Darkness writhed around his boots, coiling and snapping in patterns she'd learned meant he was fighting his temper.
"Your investigation techniques need work," Seraphina said conversationally as they climbed the stone steps. "Too eager, too revealing. Fatal when dealing with enemies."
"Are you our enemy?" Dante asked, his voice quiet in that way that made the air feel thinner.
"That depends." Seraphina paused at a junction, glancing back. "Everyone who enters my domain is evaluated for threat level." Her gaze fixed on Brynn. "Your little pet here... she's more interesting than I expected."
Brynn kept her expression neutral, but her nails bit into her palms. She'd proven herself capable, and this Death Lord still couldn't find a better word than pet.
They reached the main level of the fortress, where corridors branched off into different sections. Seraphina gestured toward what appeared to be guest quarters. Comfortable spaces with excellent views of what was probably an execution ground.
"You'll need to rest before traveling in this heat," she said. "The desert doesn't forgive weakness."
"We can manage—" Brynn started.
"Can you?" Seraphina's smile cut. "How refreshingly confident."
A guard approached Dante, murmuring about escort protocols and the safest route through the desert. He turned to address the warrior, his attention diverted by logistics.
Seraphina waited exactly long enough for his focus to shift before stepping closer to Brynn.
Too close.
"You think you know him, little thief?" Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "The great Reaper?"
Brynn held her ground through the chill running down her spine.
"I know enough."
"Do you?" Seraphina tilted her head. "Tell me, has he mentioned the last human who got too close?"
Brynn forced herself not to react. Her fingers curled tight.
"What are you talking about?"
"He hasn't told you." Seraphina's laugh was soft, merciless. "How interesting. The great Reaper, keeping secrets from his pet."
Brynn glanced toward Dante, still engaged with the guard.
He was hiding something. She just didn't know what yet.
"He doesn't scare me," she said, lifting her chin.
"He should." Seraphina's expression shifted. The mockery fell away, and what replaced it was worse. It looked almost like pity. "We all should. You're playing with forces that have destroyed everything they've touched."
Brynn studied her face, trying to separate truth from manipulation. Seraphina held her gaze without flinching.
"You're trying to turn me against him."
"I'm trying to save your life." Seraphina's voice dropped lower. "The wards aren't the only things breaking. Ask him about the tribute he became attached to. And what happened when she started asking the wrong questions."
She'd assumed this was unprecedented. All of it.
The way his shadows curled toward her when he wasn't paying attention.
The way his voice roughened when he said thief, like the word had changed shape in his mouth.
The way he'd spread his darkness over her in the desert without thinking, adjusting it to track the sun so it never left her skin exposed.
She'd assumed she was the first person to stand this close to him and not run.
The suggestion that someone else had stood exactly where she was standing. That he'd watched someone else with that same intensity. Shielded someone else with those same shadows. Said someone else's name in that same low, rough voice.
And that person was probably dead now.
Because of him.
Her nails carved crescents into her palms. She kept her face still, kept her breathing even, kept every single thing she was feeling locked behind her teeth. Because if Seraphina saw what those words had done, she'd won.
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Seraphina stepped back, her voice returning to normal volume as Dante finished with the guard. The shift was seamless. Performer to audience in a single breath.
Dante's attention snapped to them. His shadows tightened, darkness pooling between him and Seraphina.
"Is there a problem?"
His voice was neutral. The warning underneath was not.
"No problem." Seraphina's mouth curved. "Just sharing history with your companion. The desert has so many fascinating stories."
She watched Brynn as she said it. Watching to see if the seed had taken root.
"What kind of stories?" Dante's voice could have frozen the desert outside.
"Oh, the usual tales of mortals who ventured too deep into our realm." Seraphina gestured toward the guest quarters. "Most don't end well, I'm afraid. The death realm has a way of consuming those who don't belong."
Her tone shifted to something light, pleasant, hollow. "Rest well. The journey back to your court will be... illuminating."
As Seraphina disappeared down a corridor, Brynn felt Dante's focus settle on her.
"She told you something."
Of course he'd noticed.
Brynn met his gaze. Seraphina's words sat in her chest like swallowed glass.
Ask him about the tribute he became attached to. Ask him what happened when she started asking the wrong questions.
She wanted to demand the truth. Wanted to ask if any of this was real or if she was just history repeating itself. If the way he looked at her meant what she thought it meant, or if someone else had stood exactly where she was standing and believed the same thing.
But the questions wouldn't come. Because asking meant hearing an answer. And she wasn't ready for what that answer might break.
"Nothing important," she said.
Dante studied her face for a long moment. His shadows reached toward her, tentative, and she stepped out of range before they could touch her.
A flicker crossed his expression. There and gone.
She turned toward the guest quarters and didn't look back.