I pushed off the couch and offered her my hand. She looked at it, cocking a single eyebrow at the gesture, before threading her fingers through mine.
I led her to the bed, and she crawled across the mattress, sitting with her back against the headboard. She looked expectantly at the pillow next to hers.
I was about to join when there was another knock at the door. Damn. Cecil was faster than I’d given him credit for.
“Come in,” I called.
The door swung inward, revealing the librarian clutching a thick book in his arms. On his heels was Holga, here no doubt to see if Rayven was still alive. She’d always had a bleeding heart, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’d become fond of Cecil since Asmodeus sent her soul back. That in itself was hilarious because the two had always hated each other.
“As you requested, sir,” Cecil said, leading the way across my bedroom and holding it out to me with a shallow bow.
They’d both been instructed to drop my honorifics in this form when Rayven was present. I couldn’t risk my plan going to shit because of them. If they ruined this for me, I’d send their souls straight to Belphegor to live out the rest of their miserable existence.
I watched them, noticing how their hands brushed. Well, at least I would send them together. I was a romantic, after all.
“Thank you, Cecil,” I said, opening the front cover of the book and glancing at the first page to ensure it was the right book.
“My pleasure,” he said, tugging at the cravat around his neck. “How else can I offer my services?”
“This is all, thank you. You may go.”
He bowed again, so deeply his brittle spine made an uncomfortable cracking sound. His gaze flicked to the bed, radiating curiosity when he noticed my guest.
If I wasn’t so fond of Cecil, I’d rip apart his eye sockets tooth by tooth for looking too long.
Catching my disapproval, he gave another bow and hurried out the door.
Holga lingered a second longer, cocking her head and looking like she wanted to say something. Then she turned and hurried to catch up with Cecil, snapping the door closed behind her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was pressed against the door, eavesdropping. Making sure I didn’t harm her mistress.
I smiled to myself. The price of getting Holga back from my brother had been worth it. It didn’t matter if she hated me. She cared for Rayven.
My little queen deserves to have someone in her corner that wasn’t me, someone far kinder.
My fingers stroked over the book’s leather binding. It wasn’t old compared to most of the other souls. It was one of the few newer ones that had made it through the queue in the last two decades.
I held it close to my chest, keeping my back turned toward her as I stood at the foot of the bed.
This feeling—this excitement—I couldn’t remember when I’d last felt it. It was the simple joy of giving a gift just for the pleasure of seeing the receiver's face light up. It almost made me feel human again.
“What is that?”
I turned to see my raven haired human eyeing me with more curiosity than ever.
I took a seat beside her on the bed with the book resting on my lap. “A gift.”
“What is it?” Rayven asked, reaching into my lap to run her fingers along the book’s coarse spine.
“This is a book of the dead. It’s a catalog of someone’s soul,” I explained carefully, knowing it would be a lot for her to wrap her mind around.
What I was about to show her would be a lot for anyone to unpack.
“The Lord of Bones keeps a library of souls that he deems worthy of saving from the lower levels of hell. Each soul has its own book, and it records the most special moments from that person’s life. The moments that were most deeply ingrained in their hearts when they died. It’s in those special memories where they’re most happy that their soul resides.”
Her eyes grew big as saucers. “Either your library is fucking huge, or he’s really picky about who he deems worthy.”
I laughed at her assessment. She wasn’t wrong. “A little bit of both.”
She pulled herself up on her elbows, a bewildered look wrinkling her perfect features. “So… What about heaven?”
