The sound had come from Death, who was staring with wide eyes at the heart he still held.
“What is this?” he hissed. His gaze turned up to Aiden. “What did youdo?”
“I didn’t do anything.” He looked as confused as Death did, though his expression was chased with soft amusement. It was Cole who gave the softest smile.
“Your Reapers are a part of you… and he’s a part of me. We’ve always been a part of each other. If you kill me, you’ll take everyone with you. Can Death be unmade?”
He sounded sosure. So full of faith that our connection was strong enough to tear down Death himself.
And beside me, Death’s eyes widened as he clenched his fingers around Cole’s heart and our screams echoed out in duet again.
That pale hand jerked away, and he hissed. “Put it back.”
He wasn’t talking to Cole. His eyes were all for Aiden, who arched a brow as he looked at him, actually pushing his hand forward.
“Are you sure? You don’t want it?” He pressed Cole’s heart forward like it wasn’t the most precious thing in the world, and it was only the strength of my soulmate’s fingers in mine that kept me still. The surety in his gaze that this would work—that what we were was so strong we could survive this.
“Put itback, Fate. Before you shatter the entire balance of the worlds above and below. Souls have already been reborn before their time because of the Vitality he’s stolen.”
I’d never heard Death sound… worried. But his eyes darted between that precious red heart in Aiden’s hand and our joined fingers…
“Mmm, if I put it back, he doesn’t just belong to you anymore. You realize that, right? He belongs to me. A human and a Reaper in love… imagine the possibilities.”
“Put itback.”
With a laugh, Aiden nodded. His fingers closed, and the shining red in his hand disappeared, and Cole drew in a deep breath.
I could feel it—the beat in my chest started up again, stronger than ever, back behind my ribs where it belonged.
Cole stumbled, and I caught him, pulling him to my chest as though my arms around him could keep him safe.
I wanted to press my lips to his—wanted to taste his heartbeat on my tongue so I knew it was really real, reallythere.
Instead, I dragged him so my body was between his and Death’s. There would be time for that later—I had to believe there would be time for everything later. I had to believe as much as Cole did, because some part of me knew that it was his faith in me… inus,just as much as the red thread that had saved us just now.
Love.
He hadn’t even said it, but I could feel it burning through our connection, pouring into me.
“You’re a clever little human, I’ll give you that. A cheat, pulling Fate’s little red lines around you like a shield… but that changes nothing.” Death’s voice was a furious hiss when he turned his gaze back to Cole. “You’re full of life that doesn’t belong to you, and my essence is keeping your soul from fleeing your body. You’re a ticking time bomb, ready to be torn apart by the soul hounds and spill Vitality and chaos across the world.” That fury in his tone dropped, and his eyes flicked between the two of us. “I see the connection, I feel it. But it doesn’t mean anything. You can’t keep the Vitality running through you, and it’s the only thing keeping you alive. Youhaveto die.”
Chapter 33
Cole
I’d spentthe 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 withindeath.”
“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.”
