“Don't worry,” he says. “We will.”
Pain digs its claws into the table. It wants me to leave.
I need to leave.
But Ican’t.
“I need to reap his soul,” I say, feeling the pull of duty somewhere beneath the weird sensations I feel. “His life has clearly come to an end. It's time for me to take him to the beyond.”
“You will do no such thing,” Foxface disagrees. “This man belongs to us.”
I'm speechless.
“Belongs to you?” The words barely leave my lips.
Belongs to them?
Souls don’t belong to anyone—not to the living, not to the dead. They follow the rules of fate, of time, of death itself.
“That’s not how this works,” I say.
Foxface's smile doesn't waver. The green of his eye flashes with something raw and dangerous. “Maybe not in your little Reaper rulebook, but we’re not playing by your rules, sweetheart.”
A chill slithers down my spine.
What? No—no, this is nonsense.
I know the pull, the call of a departing soul. I know when it's time. And this man—his soul should be leaving, should be slipping away even now. His body is failing, his breaths turning shallow, erratic, wet. Any second now, any moment—
“You can’t stop me,” I say. “I will take his soul whether you like it or not.”
“We can’t stop you?” Cassian murmurs, tilting his head. “Really?”
His tone slides under my skin. I chose to ignore him, looking at the dying man, studying him, searching for the telltale unraveling of life. When I came here, I expected his soul to slip free within moments—seconds, at best.
Just like now.
But here I am.Minuteshave passed.Toomany minutes.
And his soul hasn’t moved.
His body is dying, but his soul—
His soul is still stuck.
It’s not just lingering. It’strapped.
Just… like me?
My pulse pounds in my ears as I whip my head toward the two men—toward their calm, uncaring stances, the cruel amusement in their eyes.
They know.
They know what’s happening. They’re the ones doing this. They’re stopping the cycle, holding his soul hostage.
“You’re keeping him here,” I whisper. “You’re stopping his soul from moving on.”
Foxface claps his hands slowly, mockingly, like I’ve finally figured out the obvious game they’ve been playing the whole time.
