Page 153 of In Between Death and the Devil

“Does he need anything?” Fen asked.

Daphne shook her head. “The healers have done everything they can. His only hope is…” Her voice broke and she sucked in a breath, trying to keep it together. When her eyes met mine, they were lined with silver.

My chest tightened. Titus’s only hope was for me to become Death so I could heal him but, looking at him, I didn’t know if he’d last that long.

“Did you figure out the third trial?” Daphne asked.

Reaching into the bag at my side, I pulled the Orb out. “I did more than that.” My lips curled in a shy smile at her gasp.

“So, you’re ready to challenge her.” The hope in Daphne’s eyes made my heart ache.

I swallowed and nodded, trying not to flinch as the enormity of the task ahead hit me. With nothing standing between me and the battle with Death, I could no longer avoid the sinking feeling that I was completely outclassed. What chance did I have against her when I’d only had my powers for a matter of months? She’d had hers for centuries.

My gaze flitted to Titus, the tightness in my chest spreading to my shoulders and neck. There was so much riding on the outcome. Failure was not an option, but I didn’t know how I could possibly succeed.

“What happens now?” Marcus asked.

“Maeve takes the Orb to the Pomegranate Grove,” Fen said when I couldn’t get my voice to work. “Bea and I will go with her as witnesses. We need one from each castle.”

Bea nodded, like he’d asked her to go for a walk and not witness a battle that would determine the fate of the realms.

A hysterical laugh bubbled in my throat, but I swallowed it back down, determined to keep it together. “What’s the Pomegranate Grove?” I asked instead, tucking the Orb back into the bag at my side.

“It used to be the most sacred spot in the In Between,” Fen said, his voice filled with reverence, and grief. “It was filled with pomegranate trees that connected this place to the World of the Living.”

“Like the one in the convent I came from.” I remembered the one in the cloisters, and how it produced one fruit a year that contained the anchors for the Ritual.

He nodded. “The roots of those are connected to the ones here.”

“You said it used to be the most sacred spot,” Bea said. “What happened to it?”

His expression hardened. “Not long after I ascended, the soil turned bad, like it was being leeched of life. Trees started to wither and die. Overnight, Death transported most of the remaining ones to a greenhouse in her castle, so that the connection with the World of the Living could be maintained.”

Daphne and Marcus looked like they’d tasted something sour.

“Did you take any?” I asked.

“There weren’t many left by the time we realized what she’d done. We salvaged what we could.” Fen’s voice was almost a low growl.

“Do your Orders in the World of the Living have them too?” I asked.

“Yes,” Daphne said. “Though not as many as before. It’s why there are fewer Tempter trainees than Judge trainees.”

I pressed my lips together. Another offense to lay at Death’s feet. “How do we get there?”

“There’s a portal,” Fen said.

Everyone looked at me, their gazes expectant. I resisted the urge to squirm or turn and run. There wasn’t any point in delaying. It was time.

My gaze shifted to Titus once more. A lump formed in my throat as I realized I might never see him conscious again. “Can I have a moment?”

The others nodded, and there was a bit of shuffling as they left the room.

Fen pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “We’ll be right outside.”

I sat heavily in Daphne’s usual chair next to Titus. His hand had a large spot of black on the top, but I gently took it in both of my own like I’d seen Daphne do. So many things crowded on my tongue it took several moments to figure out where to start.

“I miss you.” The words came out as a whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I know you were just trying to help, but I wish you hadn’t. My family tried to help me once and they ended up dead.” An angry flush crept up my neck. “Why did you have to try to be a hero? If you’d stayed away from me, you’d be awake like you should be instead of lying there unconscious. No one makes dirty jokes to try to make me relax. I’m a mess. I could really use that right now.”