46. Katrin

Chapter 46

Katrin

T he shadows scattered, and Behryn came into view, pale skin glowing in the candlelight. The dark marks across his head and neck stood out in stark contrast to his white and gold suit. He almost looked the part of the white knight, aside from the dark eyes that marked him as a demon.

"Hello, Katrin," Death growled. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Evander shifted, placing himself between Behryn and me.

"The pleasure is yours alone." My voice shook despite the steel I'd intended.

Death had come. Death was here. He'd found me.

He smiled, revealing elongated canines. "I'd heard you had spirit. It would be a shame if someone broke it."

"Is that a threat?" I bit out, finding strength in my anger.

"Not at all." Behryn stalked closer, hands in his pockets, his gait deceptively casual.

Shadows swarmed to my side, Evander and I islands in a sea of darkness. Why didn't he reach for me? With his shadows, we could be swept away in the blink of an eye.

"I don't know what lies Evander has been telling you, but I am not your enemy," Death crooned.

"Bullshit," Evander spat.

Behryn's head whipped to him as though noticing him for the first time. He tsked, bringing one hand to his chest as though pained. "You wound me, Evander. After all I've done for you. I think you've interfered enough."

With a downward slash of Death's hand, Evander fell to his knees.

"No!" I lurched forward, halted by shadows that rose to block my path. Their translucent bodies hardened to resist where I pushed. Evander trembled where he knelt but made no move to rise. "What did you do to him?"

"I merely reminded him of his place."

"If you take her," Evander bit out, "it will be your undoing."

"Silence." Death flicked his wrist, and Evander fell quiet.

With growing horror, I watched as those same shadows that kept me from Evander yielded to an ever-approaching Behryn.

My surprise must have shown on my face. The king of the Afterworld chuckled, flicking a stray shadow from his shoulder like a piece of lint. "These shadows are a gift from me to my servant. It would be foolish to grant him anything that would give him power over me. They do not impede me, not even my sight."

His eyes danced with mirth, and I knew he'd seen me the first time he'd visited Evander. I'd thought his comment was mere coincidence, but he had known I was there. Known and done nothing.

"You're a monster," I spat.

I stepped back, needing space from the stalking beast. Two shadows diverted from the pool, lazily creeping in my direction. Inky and Storm. They eased closer, a step ahead of Death.

"I am nothing more than what I was born to be."

"You are cruel." My shadow guardians wrapped around my legs.

"Some would call me tough but fair." Though his steps were unhurried, Behryn was nearly upon me.

"You enslave people. You take their souls." A familiar tug urged me to step into the shadow and disappear. I shook my head. I would not leave Evander.

"I do not take what is not willingly given."

"You wish me dead."

Death paused a step away, head tilted as he regarded me.

"You needn't die to join me in the Afterworld. In fact, I find your vitality quite alluring." Behryn's gaze traveled the length of my body, reminding me that I wore only a dressing gown. "I could show you such wonders—"

I held up my hand, silencing whatever pretty promises he was about to make me. "I have no interest in coming with you. I want only to live out my life as I had before I was marked."

His eyes left mine, regarding that mark with open curiosity. "Was it so interesting, this life of yours? Was it so satisfying that you yearn to return to it even now? The Between is a mere glimpse of what awaits in the next world." He leaned in close until his words were a soft caress against my cheek. "I would give you everything."

He lifted a hand toward my face but did not touch me.

"Why?" I asked, squirming to create distance between us. "To convince me to be your bride? I have no interest in ruling the Afterworld with you." My eyes flicked to Evander, a small movement that Behryn noticed immediately.

His answering smile was all teeth. "What if I make you a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" I'd made one bargain already, was I so ready to enter into another?

"I'll free Evander of his indenture, return him to the world of the living." Behryn's hand dropped from my face, extending between us as an offering.

I eyed his hand dubiously, taking in the thick black lines that wove over it like veins. "What do you ask in return?"

"Come with me to the Afterworld and remain there for the remainder of your bargain to the Ferrier."

I didn't ask how he knew of our bargain, nor did I confirm how much time remained of our deal. "And after that time is up?"

He shrugged. "The choice is yours. You may return to the world of the living and live out the life you dreamed of as a child, or you will remain in the Afterworld as my queen."

Moira had said being queen was my destiny, that I was only prolonging the inevitable.

My focus shifted over Death's shoulder to the reaper still held in a position of submission. It should have been an easy choice. Here was Death, offering me everything I thought I wanted. The only cost was spending the rest of my twenty-first year in the Afterworld rather than The Between, with Death instead of Evander.

In less than a year, Evander and I could both be free, both be alive .

"I tire of these games, Katrin. Do we have a deal or not?"

A sour taste filled my mouth. All I knew of Death were his deceptions, and there, I had my answer.

The shadows tugged again, and this time, I submitted to the pull. As they gathered me into their cool embrace, Behryn's expression morphed into one of pure fury, brows furrowed and lips pulled back in a snarl. The world began to fade, and I conveyed the order to collect Evander as well. Darkness engulfed me, and a pale hand punched through.

I screamed as Death clawed his way into my shadows, tearing through them like bits of paper. His fingers grazed my bare skin, and he flew back as if pushed away by invisible hands. He grunted as he collided with the wall.

Redoubling their efforts, the shadows swirled around me. They plucked me from where I stood rooted to the floor and launched me into motion. Again, Death grabbed me from midair, and again, he was blasted by some unknown force.

I dropped to the floor, and strong hands lifted me back up. I whirled to find Evander, upright and furious, Death's control having slipped in the fray. He urged me behind him, turning to face Behryn where he dusted fallen plaster from his clothes.

The king straightened, heat rippling from him in waves. "You have twenty-four hours to consider my offer."

I debated telling him where he could shove his offer, but with a burst of flame, he was gone.

Evander faced me, mouth set in a grim line. I didn't give him the chance to speak before I fell into his arms and wept.