Page 27 of Bride of Death

And as I told Sera, I very much enjoy living.

Thus, I have to ignore the temptation and do my job instead.

Which includes seeing to Sera’s needs—like her hunger. “I can still hear your stomach rumbling, little mystery,” I tell her. “Please eat.” Because if I have to feed her, I’ll have to touch her. And I’m not sure I can do that without also enjoying it.

Naturally, she continues to ignore me and stare.

“All right.” I push my plate to the side and fold my arms on the table. “Yes, I’m an assassin. But I only kill those who have done something to deserve their fates. And you rejecting the God of Death is certainly not worthy of my lethal skills.”

Although, what her soul supposedly did about two thousand years ago might qualify for my brand of punishment.

But I opt not to voice that knowledge out loud.

As far as I’m concerned, Sera is an innocent. Her soul, however, still requires judgment. That obviously complicates the situation, especially since Sera and her soul should join during her first Omega heat.

If that ever happens, I think, recalling what Hades said about the timing of her estrous cycle. It should have already occurred. However, nothing about Sera seems to be going according to plan.

Including right now.

Because she still isn’t fucking eating.

“Sera,” I say in the softest tone I can muster. “Do you know how precious Omegas are to their Alphas?”

Her brow furrows a little, telling me the words have broken through some sort of barrier. “I’ve seen how Orcus treats Alina.”

I nod. “Then you understand why I won’t hurt you.”

“Because you’re an Alpha?” she asks in a whisper.

A chuckle taunts my chest, one that escapes in a low rumble as I reply, “No.Styx, no. I’m a combination of a lot of fae, making me an abomination by many standards. But I don’t have any Mythos Fae inside me.”

Her brow crinkles. “Oh.”

“What I’m trying to say is, Hades is an Alpha. And he’s not just any Alpha. He’s one who claims to be fated to your Omega soul. And I work for him. So, I can’t touch you. I’m also duty-bound to protect you.”

She swallows, seemingly unconvinced.

“Consider it from another perspective, mystery,” I suggest. “I’m an assassin, and I happen to be very good at my job. Which means you’ve never been safer than you are right now. Because I will kill anyone who even looks at you the wrong way.”

Her pretty blue eyes widen. “What? Why?”

I just stare at her. “I’ve already explained that.” Leaning back in my chair, I add, “I’ve been guarding you for nearly a year as well. When you first arrived, I was stuck in a hellish interrogation—I pissed off the Hell Fae King by opening an illegal portal, one that led to your old world, actually. Alas, that’s a story for another day.”

And one I don’t feel like elaborating on right now, so I don’t.

“But shortly after my release, Hades assigned me to your protective detail, and I’ve been guarding you ever since.” I leave the table to start some coffee. The caffeine doesn’t do anything for me; I just enjoy the taste.

When I turn around, I find Sera still watching me. However, the fork is in her hand again.Good.

Rather than comment on it—I don’t want to scare her off of eating—I continue sharing some history.

“I mostly just hung out in the palace and ensured no one entered that shouldn’t be there. I didn’t want to intrude on your space. But when you chose to move to the village, I was forced to get closer to you. So I spoke to Tank about renting his place.”

It took about a week to work out the details, which left me a little uneasy, as I had to complete perimeter sweeps around the village while she slept each night. Once I moved in, though,things were easier because I was close enough to hear her scream then.

Not that she ever did.

Until this morning, anyway.