Page 101 of In Between Death and the Devil

My laugh was weak. “Really? How?”

“Because you were meant to.” He looked at me like I was everything, and I had to blink to keep from crying.

“Has anyone ever lost a challenge?”

He didn’t answer right away; I suspected because the answer to my question was yes, and because he was weighing how to respond. His determination was clear in our bond. “Let me show you how I know.”

I shivered when he stepped behind me, close enough that his chest touched my back. He’d touched me in the Guardian’s cave, but this felt different. Those touches had been reassuring. This was purposeful, a little greedy and possessive. I felt it in his body and in our bond. Maybe watching me face the Guardian had changed things for him. Whatever had brought on this change, I didn’t care. I leaned into him, wanting to soak up the feel of him and his scent.

“Create a ribbon of light.” Fen’s lips brushed the shell of my ear as his hands stroked my arms. “Make it circle us.”

I bit down on the whimper that wanted to escape. The brush of his fingertips against my skin, the heat of him at my back, stoked desire deep within me. The contact wasn’t enough. I wanted more. So much more.

“Maeve?” His voice and our bond were threaded with amusement, like he knew where my mind had gone.

“Right.” I allowed myself one more long inhale to take in his scent. Then I ruthlessly shoved my longing aside and focused on the task he’d given me. Drawing a bit of power from him, I let it flow down my arm. Light filled my hand until I let it spool out in an undulating ribbon that hovered in the air around us.

“Perfect. Keep it there.” Fen reached out one arm in front of us, shadows already wreathing his fingers. They flowed forward, curling around my light until they sank in, combining into a single strand.

My body jolted at the contact and I almost moaned. It felt like sinking into a hot bath. Warmth flooded my body, surging through my limbs and pooling between my legs. A familiar bass note vibrated in my chest, followed by another a few steps higher. My eyes drifted close.

Fen let out a hiss of pleasure, and his free hand wound around my waist, pulling me closer. “Watch.”

It took effort to force my eyes open, but as I did his shadows tugged my light forward until they reached the mural. As soon as our combined powers touched it, the entire wall lit up, and dozens of figures stepped out of the painting into the air. My jaw dropped. Each one was translucent but brightly colored, as if they were lit from within. They floated down to the floor, turning to those on either side and greeting each other. They no longer looked like painted figures. They looked like the ghosts of the people they’d been.

“What in the realms?” I whispered.

“They’re echoes of the people who served before us,” Fen said in my ear, his beard prickling pleasantly against my skin. “The In Between preserved a little bit of each of them in the mural so they can impart wisdom when needed. Only a Death or Devil can summon them. You may be a Successor, but you are meant to be Death. The In Between wouldn’t allow your power to summon them otherwise.” His nose touched a spot behind my ear that made me shiver.

“My power was combined with yours,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but if you weren’t meant to be Death it wouldn’t work.”

“You don’t know that. You can’t know that.” My eyes swept over the figures who milled around the balcony. The ones closest to us were watching us with open expressions, as if curious about what we needed from them.

“I can and I do.” Fen nipped at my earlobe. His ridiculous certainty shouldn’t have been so appealing, but I found it sexy as hell.

A loud noise behind us startled us both. Fen and I whipped around as our combined powers fizzled out. The translucent figures surrounding us faded to reveal Talia standing frozen at the top of the nearby staircase. A crystal of some kind lay on the floor between us. It glowed, leaching the color out of the black tile on the floor.

My body tensed, my power pushing against my skin as it detected a threat. She had no magic and Fen was with me, which meant I was physically safe, but nothing good could come from a confrontation with her. Whatever was said here would get back to Death, and that knowledge made my skin crawl.

Talia’s wide eyes settled on me, and I could see her mentally calculating her options. I also saw the exact moment she decided to retreat.

Shadows flew towards her, fast and menacing. She only made it a couple steps before they twined around her, lashing her in place.

Fen stepped forward, blocking me with his body. Anger, hot and thick, filled our bond. He practically vibrated with it. The vehemence of it surprised me, as did the regret and guilt I detected swirling through it.

If anything happened to her, it would give Death an excuse to retaliate.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, placing a hand on Fen’s arms, hoping to prevent him from doing anything rash.

“Death sent her,” Fen said. “To try to destroy the mural. Didn’t she?”

My eyes flicked to the crystal on the ground between us. It lay in the center of a large patch of all-white tile—the black having faded completely—no longer glowing.

“But it never works, does it? No matter what she tries. Because the In Between won’t allow it.” There was a cruel edge to Fen’s voice that I’d seldom heard. It set my teeth on edge.

Talia glared at us. “Anything you do to me, Death will pay you back tenfold.”