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Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Death

The candlelight and shadows made her red hair look like dimming embers. Her face was to the side, her thick lashes resting against her cheeks. My consort was just as fiery in temperament, possessed a warrior's heart, and had the kind of beauty that could bring the strongest of gods to their knees.

But I would not fall.

I would not let sadistic hope infiltrate my heart. I knew better. Still, I approached the bed to get a closer look, drawn by a higher power, by a force I had no control over. Resisting her wouldn't be easy, but if I let myself fall again, Nox would only take pleasure in my inevitable destruction; it was all she had left.

I'd bartered for our nightly question time because not only did I want an excuse to learn all there was to know about her life, but I craved her nearness and the sound of her voice. I thought I might actually be addicted to her sexy husky laugh, when she had occasion to, though that only usually happened when she was with Egon or Lyle.

And though I knew I shouldn't, that it was dangerous beyond measure, I climbed in beside the female sleeping soundly in my bed. I may not have hope, but this little witch was still my guiding star, and not getting closer to her was like asking the wind not to blow or the snow not to fall.

Just tonight.

I'd sleep beside her only tonight.

* * *

Zinnia

Wrapping the fur around her shoulders, she walked to the hearth. The fire crackled, light dancing on the stone walls. Anticipation moved through her while she waited for him to come home. She missed him when he left and counted the hours until he returned.

But tiredness eventually won out, and she got into bed.

She woke as his palm drifted up her thigh. Shivering, she covered it and brought his big, tattooed hand to her lips, kissing his scarred fingers. "I missed you, my love."

I woke with a jolt, gasping in a breath. It was dark, only a small candle glowing from somewhere deep in the room. My eyes were desperately trying to adjust while my heart still raced, and my belly, it felt… strange.

That's when I became aware of the massive male lying under me. I was draped over a wide chest, my hand resting on ridged abdominal muscles, skin molten and smooth. Death's intoxicating scent filled my lungs, and my body buzzed with electricity.

I broke out in a sweat.

I was lying on him, draped over his body like I had a right to be here. I was frozen in place, wanting to pull away but too scared to move in case I woke him. My nerve endings itched, and my belly squirmed. I couldn't take it; I scrambled back, but I shouldn't have been worried about waking him. His eyes glittered in the candlelight, not blue but black, the night sky in their depths, and they weren't cold; they were hot, smoldering.

"What… what are you doing?" I choked out.

"I was sleeping."

"You can't just get in here with me," I fired at him, freaking out so bad, I was breathing hard.

His lips peeled back. "That's where you're wrong, wife."

Oh goddess. "You look… as if you want to…."

"How do I look, little witch? Tell me." His voice was nothing but gravel, resonating through me, over me.

"Like you want to …" Punish me. Hurt me.

Suddenly, shadows swirled around him, thick and heavy, and the room filled with a deep and horrible dread. Darkness moved around his face, reshaping it, gathering at his eyes and cheeks, his nose, transforming his face into a skull, into Death. His hand shot out, and I scrambled out of his reach.

It paused midair.

"Mors?" I said. Yes, it was stupid to say his name again, but something was wrong, and I needed to get through to him somehow.

Rage blasted from him, like a furious storm, and I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I will not harm you," he roared, his words and his tone a total contradiction. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, and it was unsettling as hell.

Then he climbed out of bed, and his cloak settled around him as he stormed across the cave. A door appeared, swinging open, and he strode out before it slammed behind him.

I stood there frozen, staring after him for several seconds. At least until the adrenaline drained from me and that awful heaviness left the room with him. My legs shook, and I flopped back on the bed. What the hell was that? And not just the weird way Death was behaving.

That hadn't just been a dream; it was more… an apparition, a manifestation? Maybe my medium powers weren't totally smothered here? What I'd seen, it was like one of the visions I had when I communed with a spirit, when they wanted to pass on a message, and the vision I'd just received was here in this cave. Did one of his consorts die here? Is that who I saw? I only saw it for a moment, but that had been Death's hand she'd kissed. No one else had hands like he did.

I tried to go back to sleep, but I lay awake for hours; my mind wouldn't shut the hell up. I had too many unanswered questions. Who was that with him in the dream? Why was she reaching out to me now? If she was one of Death's consorts, how did she die?

Somehow, I'd managed to drift back to sleep, because when I woke again, it was to the smell of bacon and coffee.

Shoving back the covers, I scooped up Hemy and got out of bed. Death was sitting at the table, facing the hearth. He was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, a mug of coffee in his hands, and he was staring into the unlit fire.

I stood there, not sure what to say.

"Come and eat," he said, not looking my way. "We need to leave soon."

Cautiously, I walked over. I wasn't sure what to expect. I could say nothing about what happened last night and pretend he hadn't done what he had, but I wasn't going to do that, not anymore. I'd been coming here, to Limbo, for a long time, putting up with his mood swings, and if what he said was true, and he had no reason to lie, all his consorts died, which meant I might not have all that much time left. So what the hell did I have to lose? Yes, he scared the hell out of me at times, but again, dead girl walking over here.

"You want to tell me what happened last night?" I asked as I pulled out one of the chairs and sat. I put Hemlock on my lap. "'Cause I have to tell you, it was fucking weird." There was a mug of hot coffee in front of me, and I sipped it as he straightened and turned in his seat to face me. And go me! When his blue eyes collided with mine, and there was a good amount of fury in them, I didn't shudder or pee myself. "Don't look at me like that. I've put up with your mood swings for eighteen months. I'm not going to cower before you anymore," I said and snatched up a slice of bacon, broke off a small piece, and gave it to Hemy. My hand was hardly even trembling when I shoved the rest in my mouth. Again, go me!

"I don't recall one instance of you cowering before me, consort. You have snarked and battled your way through every one of our conversations. You have conveyed your disdain for me with every encounter. You leave my castle with glee when every cycle of the moon has passed and return with a thundercloud over that head of fiery red hair when your time with your family has ended." He shook his head, and his lips actually twitched. "But cower? No, there has been no cowering, little witch."

I was momentarily stunned, and I shoved another piece of bacon into my mouth while I rallied. "Will I live long enough, do you think, to truly know you? I can't help but wonder, because you are not the male I first met. You're constantly changing."

He quirked a brow, and the blue of his eyes deepened, darkness swirling from within. "How so?"

He knew exactly how so , but he was trying to intimidate me, daring me to say it out loud… testing me. "Your moods, for one," I said, taking some toast and smearing it with butter, then spooning scrambled eggs on top. "You raged all the time when I first came here."

"Did I now?" he said.

A little shiver slid through me, but I ignored it and pushed on. "You also hid under your cloak, skulking around the castle like a pissed off, moody shadow." I bit my toast and chewed, looking across at him. "It was like you were trying to scare me off, which was kind of surprising considering how desperate you were to get me here. Why is that?"

He just stared at me.

"Your intimidation tactics won't work on me, not anymore. The way I see it, my days are numbered. The worst is already coming, probably sooner than I'd like." I shrugged, even as the thought of never seeing my family again twisted brutally in my gut. "There's nothing you can do or say now to scare me, so why don't you just answer the damn question?"

He ran his hand over his tattooed skull, making his biceps bulge, then sat forward in a deceptively relaxed pose. Like we were just two normal people shooting the shit over breakfast. "What did you expect me to do?" he asked instead of answering.

I noted, with not a little unhappiness, that he hadn't contradicted my premonition of my own rapidly approaching demise. "Honestly? I thought you were going to force me into your bed and make me your sex slave. I am your wife, right? Essentially. I thought you'd want to consummate this unholy union, then try and breed me until I eventually died a shriveled, used-up old crone." I scooped another forkful of eggs into my mouth and watched with satisfaction as his expression, always so stoic—except when he was raging, that was—shifted into genuine surprise. I mean, I was exaggerating. I hadn't expected him to attempt to breed me until I died or make me his sex slave, but I hadn't really known either. I had, at the very least, assumed he'd force me into his bed, and I was more than thankful he hadn't.

Then he'd gotten into bed with me last night and looked at me like he wanted to make a meal of me. In that moment, terrifyingly, I knew he'd wanted me, and that seemed to just piss him off more.

His fingers tightened around his mug. "You thought I would repeatedly rape you and force you to bear my offspring?"

I shrugged and sipped my drink. "Yeah, kind of."

He shot to his feet, the chair crashing to the floor, making me jump, and then he paced from one side of the room to the other. He turned back to me now with those shadows swirling around him, his eyes darkening, his face transforming.

I opened my mouth to say something. I wasn't quite sure what, but I needed to defuse the situation somehow because what was coming off him wasn't… good.

But before I could, he spun away and stormed out of the cave.

Well, shit, perhaps I'd pushed him too far? The god's moods swung on a dime. You never knew what you were going to get. What I wanted to do was stay right the hell here, but I didn't think it was wise to make him wait, not now. So I quickly finished my coffee, put Hemy in his bag with some breakfast, and headed outside.

Death stood with our beasts. He'd already put on their girth straps and bridles and was tying a water bladder to Zuri.

I was stuck with him, with no escape for at least a week. I needed to rein it the hell in or this trip would be unbearable. Biting my lip, I walked over to him, fighting my nerves. I was going to have to apologize, wasn't I? Goddammit. "I'm sorry," I muttered. "I thought you were—"

"The kind of male who would force himself on a female?" he snarled low, still with his back to me.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "But in my defense, you are a god. Some of you guys have a pretty bad rep, even you have to admit that."

He turned to me, his eyes so bright a blue, I startled. "You're right—we're all sick, evil monsters," he said, and there was definitely sarcasm in his voice.

That was also new. Right, time to change the subject. "So how far are we riding today?"

He closed the space between us, so close now, I had to tilt my head all the way back. "About the same as yesterday," he said, then curled his fingers around my waist.

My breath punched from my lungs, and then I was in the air, tossed up onto Zuri's back, and he was already walking away before I realized what had happened. I let out a shaky breath and tried to get my shit together while he swung up onto Raze.

He glanced my way. "Try and keep up." Then he told Raze to run.

Zuri took off instantly without me having to tell her to, and I held on for dear life as we bounded through the forest at full speed.

Toward what? I had no idea, but I got the feeling wherever we were going—whatever came next—would change me in ways I couldn't even imagine.

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