Page 70 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

His voice almost quivers, but he keeps himself together, and I can tell he’s panicking.

I wish he would give me the real him all the time—every ounce of him, the light, and more importantly, the dark.

The strong and the weak. I would take it all with open arms. Nothing he could ever do or say would scare me away or be too dark for my battered soul to handle.

“Every trial is permanent, Hade,” I remind him.

“I will fight today as I have for the last twenty years of my life. I will do everything in my power to stay on this side of the stars. You don’t need to start worrying about me now, big guy,” I tease, giving him a soft, reassuring smile, but he still looks so desperate, it sets me on edge.

What did he know that I didn’t?

His arms lash out, crashing onto the wall on both sides of my head, caging me in. He looks at me, and all I see is a broken man staring back. Leaning down, he presses his forehead to mine, letting out a long, defeated breath.

I relish in the feeling of his warm skin on mine, fortifying the tether running from my soul to his. My hands move instantly, reaching up to rest softly on each of his muscular shoulders.

“You don’t understand,” he says under his breath, more to himself than me. “I cannot help you, and I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”

Giant, warm hands grasp each side of my face as he drags my head up to look at him. I’ve never seen him this worked up, and it’s starting to scare me. He looks like he has seen a ghost. His brows plunge low, a crease forming between them as he fights to keep himself under control.

“Promise me,” he whimpers. “Promise me you will fight for your life today and come back to me.” His voice cracks, and a part of my heart crumbles along with it.

“I promise you, I will do everything in my power to fight to stay alive.” Leaning forward, I press my lips softly to his, sealing that promise. “I will not make a promise to you I cannot keep, so that is all I can promise you for now, Hade.”

A deep sigh leaves his lips before he leans forward, pressing one last desperate kiss to my lips. He holds my face close, showering me with his desperation to be close to me, and I melt into him. He tastes like heaven and a second chance at life.

Our lips part, but his hands remain on my face, his gentle thumbs stroking my cheeks. He nods, accepting my promise for what it is. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, he whispers, “I’ll always bet on you, Nyxi.”

“Welcome to the fourth round of the Reaper Crucible! ” The Empress’ voice is amplified by an Enhancer, ringing out to the citizens of Lunaria watching excitedly from the sidelines.

“Before the fun begins, I must have a private word with my competitors. Fear not, though, for today’s events will be full of enough excitement and gore to satisfy your needs for a lifetime.”

The Enhancer next to her cuts his magic, making her voice dull to its normal volume.

Tsking sternly, she slowly eyes Tank, Jade, Carwell, and me standing in front of her.

“I’m truly wounded by your lack of brains,” she says dramatically.

“And here I thought this would be the year one of my competitors would finally complete my riddle.”

She acts as if the damn thing is common knowledge, not some foreign language I’m sure she made up in one of her drunken stupors.

Her words strike home, though, as disappointment in myself seeps through my body.

No matter how many times I’ve searched the library, or how many journal entries I’ve flipped through, nothing seems even remotely close.

If I gave up every time life was tough, I would have died a long time ago, though, so I won’t stop my search, because I know the answer lies within that library.

I just have to find it. My gut tells me to seek out the journals .

“If any of you think you have the answer, then speak now, or else you will be left fighting for your life today.” She looks down the line of us with a face that could cut glass. Everyone remains silent. “Very well then.” She claps. “May today have mercy on you…or not. ”

She nods to the Enhancer next to her, who releases his magic again, amplifying her voice for the masses. “Now that’s out of the way, shall we check the rankings?”

The crowd erupts in cheers and chants for their favorite competitor. Surprisingly, I hear a couple people scream my name, and it throws me for a loop. Light shines in front of us, each of my competitors’ names typed through the air, ranking us one through four.

“Sitting at the top of the rankings, we have none other than Tank from Sweat Sector.” The Empress’ giant, wicked smile gleams while Tank’s name is chanted in the background. “Coming in second, it’s no surprise we have Jade the Vagrant from our winning team of Submerge.”

The crowd roars as Jade smiles and waves her hand like a princess, but I can still see the rotten heart beating in her chest. Apparently, I’m the only one who can, as the Empress has a hard time collecting the audience’s attention again, going crazy for Jade.

“In the third place ranking, we surprisingly have another Vagrant, Nyxi.” The crowd cheers, but nowhere near as loud as they did for Jade and Tank.

I could honestly give two shits about what random people think of me, so I pay them no mind…

for the most part. Instead, I focus on readying myself for today’s events as the Empress announces Cartwell in the fourth and final spot.

Movement catches my eye, Hade stomping into the Bubble with another Vanquisher I don’t recognize. He looks every bit the killer, with his black uniform, weapons strapped on every inch of him, and a fierce scowl slapped on his face.

My eyes can’t stop drinking him in, no matter how hard I try to pry my eyes away.

He ignores me, focusing on the job at hand, his hand casually on the hilt of his sword.

I know he can’t show me any attention, and honestly, he doesn’t even owe me that.

I’m not quite sure what this thing happening between us is, or what it means.

All I know is it feels right, and I don’t want it to stop anytime soon.

I want to permanently plant myself beneath his skin until he cannot tell where he ends and I begin.

I want to know all of him.

I sigh happily when I feel the familiar essence of his magic, his scent carried on the wind, wrapping around me. It settles itself in the crook of my ear like always. I used to think it tickled, but now, it kind of feels like home .

“You’re staring,” Hade whispers into my ear through his shadow magic. I nibble my lip, but my eyes stay planted on him. I wish so badly I could talk back to him, but I don’t need my competitors and the entirety of Lunaria thinking I’ve gone crazy by talking to myself, so I stay silent.

“Stop that,” he hisses, his tone hushed. “Those fucking lips of yours are distracting me—and don’t even get me started on your eyes.”

I gasp quietly, swallowing hard to force my emotions back down.

I know I should be paying attention to the Empress, and I know I promised Hade I would do everything in my power to stay alive, but I learned a long time ago there is no going against the pull my body has to Hade. It’s out of my hands now.

“Who’s ready to hear what today’s game entails?” The Empress’ voice finally pulls my eyes away from Hade, and they go reluctantly. I swallow, readying myself for the worst.

It’s time to fight for my life.

“ Promise ,” Hade desperately whispers one last time into my ear, and this time, I do answer with a small nod.

“No matter how poor or wealthy, there is always one childhood game that has been constant for all time, the one thing children excel at over adults.” The Empress gestures her hand out to us and the growing crowd outside. “Any guesses?”

Small murmurs chatter around us, but no answers are given. The Empress’ smile grows until it takes up the entirety of her face, making my skin crawl. “Imagination,” she shouts. “The ability to play pretend. I’m afraid, though, there will be no pretending with today’s game.”

My mind whirls with all the possibilities, but her vagueness leaves my mind empty. One thing I do know is my ability to play pretend. I’ve been pretending to be whatever I need to be to stay alive my entire life, and that won’t stop today. I will forge myself into anything needed to survive this.

“Little girls can be found playing pretend princesses or unicorns. Little boys, dragons and princes,” she drawls. “But what, my lovelies, is the greatest play pretend game of all?”

The crowd goes silent with anticipation.

I look left and right to my three competitors, taking in their expressions.

Tank looks disgustingly excited. Jade wears a small smirk, and Cartwell looks petrified but doing his best to mask his fear.

And me? I have no idea how I feel right now, but I guess I’m about to find out.

“Pretend fighting,” she says excitedly. “Little boys and girls dueling in the streets like knights with wooden swords is a game as old as time.” She shifts her gaze back to us, and I can physically see the malice swirling behind her eyes.

“Today there will be no pretending, though, and no wooden swords. You will each face one of your competitors in a fight to the death. The game will only finish when one of you drops dead, slain by the other,” she says dramatically.

Chants and screams sting my ears as citizens stomp their feet and chant. My face falls for a brief second, realizing I have no idea which of my competitors I will be paired with. I’m avoiding the part about me having to kill someone altogether. Now I understand why Hade was so frantic today.

“Per tradition, your ranking in the competition holds importance for the fourth and fifth rounds of the Crucible, and this year is no different.”