Page 74 of Bride of Death

Instead, he returns his focus to the stove—which doesn’t look repaired so much as brand-new. I don’t know what his magic-wielding friend did, but I swear he upgraded my entire kitchen after the Pip incident.

I take a seat at my small kitchen table and watch Maliki work. He’s put on a long-sleeved shirt and changed into a dark pair of pants. There are little droplets of water clinging to his unruly hair, suggesting he may have just taken a shower, too.

Naturally, my mind conjures up an image of him bathing.

Naked.

All those tattoos on display.

Do they move when he’s wet?I wonder, then shiver as I think about what that looks like.

“Do you prefer sweet or savory for breakfast?” Maliki asks, interrupting my fantasy.

“Savory,” I say, admiring him again. His outfit is all black, the fabric clinging to him in a way that accentuates his muscular physique.

I snuggled that body all night, I think, shivering. I’ve never shared a bed with a male before. I’ve never desired to, either. But I rather liked the warmth Maliki provided.

And his scent.

I inhale now and nearly flutter my lashes at the fragrances blossoming to life in my kitchen. I smell his leathery cologne. I smell fruit. I smell something buttery.

So many alluring aromas.

So many alluring sights.

Fae, what is wrong with me?I took a long cold shower, yet I feel overly warm.

Maybe I should have worn a tank top with my shorts instead of long sleeves.

I tug at my low neckline, my chest feeling a little funny.

The last few days have been intense.

Thorns, the last severalyearshave been intense.

I just… I don’t know how to reconcile any of this.My soul is evil.

But there’s so much I don’t understand.

Morpheus said the Omegas disappeared and are believed to be dead. Yet he worded it in a way that suggested he didn’t believe that. Which makes sense—Alina is an Omega. And she’s very much alive.

“So were the Omegas reincarnated?” I wonder out loud, causing Maliki to glance back at me.

“That’s the theory,” he answers, making me frown. “Hades found traces of an Omega’s essence—his mother’s, actually—in your home world. That’s why he had me open a portal to the infamous Monsters Night; he wanted to give Orcus a proper cover story for exploring the alternate dimension.”

Maliki returns to his task while I consider what he just told me. “That means the Omegas might be… alive, right?” I’m not sure ifaliveis the right term.Maybe…“Like they survived after all?”

“Hades never thought they were dead, just hidden away somewhere. That’s why he’s been hunting for them all this time.” He flips something onto a plate and sets it to the side. “But Alina’s existence, as well as yours, suggests that the souls were hidden in new forms of life in alternate dimensions.”

He repeats the action with a second plate, then turns off the stove and rotates toward me.

“So, yes, it seems that at least some of them were reincarnated. Unfortunately, there are only two souls who know the truth. One is currently imprisoned in Pandora’s Box, where she’s refusing to speak. And the other…”

“Is Persephone,” I whisper, finishing the sentence for him.

He nods.

“But Alina doesn’t remember anything about a past life,” I tell him. “She has a deep understanding of what it means to be an Omega, but not exact experiences.” Or that’s how she’s explained it to me, anyway. “Is that because she didn’t have a specific spirit inside her?”