“A mortal…” Death broke off, glancing between the two of us. “Sephtis, what I’ve done to you cannot be undone. I can’t give youlife.And even if I could, you’d die. You’d eventually lose one another.”
Sephtis’s arms around me tightened again before he pushed back… just enough to step so we stood side by side, so he could take my hand in his. It made something in my chest relax, the wild thrum of my heartbeat that had been trying to thunder from my chest since the moment Aiden had taken it finally started to settle. “Then I choose death. For him, I choose death. I choose dying and finding him a thousand lives over. I’ll always choosehim.”
Fuck, I loved him. I wanted to get out of this situation so I could tell him that over and over. So I could show him with soft touches, a thousand kisses. So I could show him for my entire life. Our entire life. I’d come this far on faith—I’d let Aiden nearly kill me because I trusted that Sephtis and I wereright.
“Please?” I didn’t know who I was asking, but my eyes darted from the pale monster in front of me to the man who’d held my heart in his hands. “Please.”
Aiden let out a sigh. “I suppose it’s only fair… since my cupid did tangle them together.”
Death’s eyes turned to Aiden, and he frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, you can’t give him life… but I certainly can. There’s enough heart and Vitality for them both to share. And when they’re done, they can come back to me.”
“No.” My stomach clenched—the word sounded so final. Death seemed incapable of budging, of giving this up, but he kept on before I could argue. “When you die, Sephtis, you come back to where you belong, to what you were destined for. Youarea Reaper.” His eyes narrowed, turning to me in irritation. “I suppose you’ll both be Reapers when the time comes.”
Aiden’s head tilted, and the curve of his lips was mischievous. “Maybe Sephtis is yours, but remember… the little human is mine. I suppose we’ll have to share. Two Reapers who can feel… imagine what they could do for the balance.”
“Oh look, Mommy and Daddy are going to share custody. How cute.” Gethin’s voice actually startled me—he’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was there. But he was standing at full attention now, his eyes swinging between Sephtis and Aiden. He took a breath like he was steeling himself for what he was about to say and stepped forward. “But Sephtis owes me a favor, and I don’t think I can call it in if he’shuman. So…”
He’d been so afraid before, so ready to run when Aiden had appeared. Did hereallycare about Liam so much that he’d speak up now? Stand up to both Death and Fate for the hope of something that could change his future?
“There will be no need for favors when I’m finished with you, Gethin, I?—”
“No.” The amusement in Death’s voice told me he was up to no good… or perhaps he was finally seeing a place where he could best Aiden. “No… if a debt is owed, a debt will be paid. You can keep the little human, and I’ll share when he’s a Reaper, but this one…” Death turned his eyes to Gethin. “I get this one.”
Before Aiden had a chance to respond, Gethin moved forward. He held his hand out, palm up, to Death. I could see the mark Sephtis had left there, and I realized when Aiden saw it too. His shoulders set, but he nodded.
“Fine.”
Death grinned, taking Gethin by the hand. When their palms met, darkness flared between them—the same liquid I’d seen running through Sephtis’s veins, the same that spilled in my heart.
Death, creeping into Gethin’s body through a promise. If I were him, I would have been terrified. Then again, he killed people.
For fun.
And the smile on his face as he stepped back, his pupils blown and his breath coming in sharp bursts… well…
I was glad I wasn’t him.
“Now that that’s done… shall we settle this?” Aiden tore his irritated gaze from Gethin and brought it back to me. “Death still needs back what you’ve taken. Come on, Sephtis. Are you ready to experience the human condition?”
He didn’t hesitate. Sephtis nodded and stepped forward, offering Aiden his hand… and Fatesmiledbefore wrapping his arms around the Reaper and pressing his lips to his.
The kiss was chaste, but I heard a snarl spill out—not from my chest, but from Death. I might have been angry at the contact, but I was too busy feeling the sensation ripping through me—heat, pooling through the connection that tethered me to Sephtis, and I couldseeit. That darkness that had been gathering inside of me, spilling down the red line, wrapped in the stolen Vitality… slipping back into Sephtis and then into Aiden’s lips. When he reached out again and pressed his fingers to my chest, I was ready this time.
He held my heart in his hand… and then he brought that hand to Sephtis’s chest.
My heart.
His heart.
They beat in tandem—they beat together. And Sephtis let out a low groan and fell back against me when Aiden let him go. He wasn’t cold anymore.
He was warm…
Warm and breathing… and when I pressed my hand to the side of his neck, I could feel the soft pulse of a heart beating.
“Sephtis…” His eyes were a sweet, golden brown. Not liquid like the sun…
