28. Katrin

Chapter 28

Katrin

A ll through the journey to The Between, Eunice regaled me with stories of her life. She told me of her life as a farmer's daughter, the day she met Claude, when they ran away to the city to be wed and start a life of their own.

Her tales enthralled me to the point of longing.

This was what I wanted. This was what I was fighting for—the chance to live a long and glorious life of my own making, unburdened by some gloomy fate that threatened to bottle me up at my peak ripeness.

The door to the carriage flew open, and I jumped, unaware that we had stopped. Evander had left his hood down, his windswept hair drawing my eye in a way that reminded me I'd called him nice to look at only minutes before.

My cheeks heated. Eunice smirked and gave me a knowing look. In return, I pursed my lips and widened my eyes, willing her to keep quiet. She smiled bigger and mimed buttoning her mouth shut.

Evander watched this all without a word. One look at his smug expression and I knew he was aware of everything that went unsaid.

"Eunice, this is your stop." He beckoned her forward with a gloved hand.

Eunice looked at me with watery eyes. "You're not coming, Kat?"

One look at Evander's stern expression told me his opinion on the matter. I shook my head and smiled at Eunice. "It's not my time."

"Just as well." Eunice shrugged. "Someone has to keep this fellow in line."

She ducked out the door, pulling Evander in tow. I smiled, clutching my hands in front of my chest as they disappeared into the mists.

When their forms blended into the trees, I fell back against the cushioned bench.

The journey to the living world had been much shorter than I remembered, or perhaps it was that I was filled with excitement rather than trepidation.

The manor had become a prison of my own making. Though I was accustomed to the confinement and solitude, accompanying the Ferrier soothed the part of me that yearned to experience everything. Finally, I was doing something . Though I never dreamed I'd be aiding the recently departed, I couldn't deny the overwhelming sense of rightness that warmed me from the inside out.

I wrapped my arms around my middle like I could contain the feeling and that was how Evander found me.

"What are you smiling about?"

His voice jolted me back to reality. I traced the shape of my lips with my fingers, surprised to find I was indeed smiling. "It was a good night, don't you think?"

He hummed a noncommittal noise and I rolled my eyes.

"I never noticed your teeth are black as well."

I clamped my hands over my mouth, eyes widening in horror before I caught the twinkle of mirth in his gaze. "Shut your mouth," I said, swatting his arm as heat rose to my cheeks.

He chuckled and my insides warmed for another reason. "Vain, Miss Fil'Owen?"

"You would care about your looks as well if they were holding you back from the life you desire."

"I thought it was the threat of Death holding you back." Leaning against the door to the carriage, he folded his arms across his chest, the gesture daring me to argue with him.

"No, not exactly. It's true I don't want to die. In some ways, I fear Death, but we're all dying, present company excluded." Evander's face betrayed no emotions, but he dipped his chin and I continued. "What I truly feared was dying without living. You might not remember, but people can be quite horrible when they don't understand something." I glanced down at the hand permanently wreathed in shadows. "They thought I was diseased or cursed. I was marked and suddenly, I was no longer human. I no longer mattered. Suddenly, everything I'd been looking forward to had become unattainable. It wasn't long before their prejudices began to sound like gospels. People thought me unworthy and I became so. Yes, I hid from Death, but I was also hiding from myself."

Silence stretched until the air between us was fragile with strain.

Evander cleared his throat and I glanced up as he shoved his hands in hidden pockets. "For the record, I think you are rather nice to look at."

It was an echo of the sentiment I'd confessed to Eunice earlier that night. Whether he meant it or was just trying to make me feel better, his words were a rainbow on a rainy day. I captured my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to contain the smile that threatened to betray my true feelings.

"Black teeth and all." He grinned.

I lunged, but Evander was faster. My hand passed through the shadows left in his wake, and I scrambled to keep from falling out of the carriage as his laughter filled the space around me. The door eased shut as by an invisible hand and we lurched into motion.

Though the forest beyond my window was dark as pitch, I felt lighter than I had in a long time. An unfamiliar feeling bubbled inside me, like being tickled, only deeper and less intense. If I had to put a name to it, I'd say I was giddy.

The scene beyond my window returned to the sparse trees and heavy fog of The Between. By comparison, I was radiant. My cheeks ached from being pulled up so long. I clamped my lips together to contain my smile, feeling like a fool as I grinned through the liminal space.

"This part of The Between is called The Corridor." Evander's voice was muffled by the layers of cloth and carriage between us.

It was as good a name as any for the road that stretched into eternity.

"You can't see them, but there are doorways branching off in every direction. Portals to other parts of The Between, the dwellings of other reapers—"

"There are more of you?"

He laughed, and I wondered if he also felt the lightening effects of a job well done. "Thousands, all over the world."

My mouth opened on a silent oh.

Thousands of reapers. I didn't want to consider what would have happened if I'd met a different reaper on the crossroads that night. What were the chances that I lived in Evander's territory? I didn't know when I set out that night that luck was on my side in the form of a long-held grudge and a quest for freedom. I could just as easily have met a reaper who was loyal to Death and been delivered promptly to him.

The desolate forest blurred past us, each tree as unremarkable as the last. "How do you know which turn to take? I would never find my way home in this place."

"I am pulled toward Tyr Anigh , just as I am pulled toward the souls that I must ferry. Eventually, you'll notice the differences, little markers left by other reapers, signs of space beyond. It gets easier."

He spoke as if I'd be staying in The Between indefinitely or traveling it frequently on my own. "I think I'll leave that part to you," I said. "No need to fill my head with nonsense." They were my mother's words and they tasted foul on my tongue. I didn't think it was nonsense, but learning those things, seeking out the knowledge that would help me navigate this place on my own, it felt like too much commitment when I planned to leave some day soon.

My comment landed like a bucket of ice water, shocking us both into silence for the remainder of the ride.