Page 6 of Definitely Dead (Happily Ever Afterlife #1)

Chapter six

S eated at a table near the fireplace in the diner, Sunne looked up and smiled when Aster placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Thanks.”

“I thought you could use a little caffeine infusion,” Aster answered, sliding into the chair across from him. “No offense, but you look a little pale.”

“Do I?” Considering that the sun never shined there, it made sense. “I feel fine. Just a little tired.”

Lifting his own mug to his lips, Aster smirked around the rim. “Tyr been keeping you up late?”

He chuckled nervously, uncomfortable discussing the intimate details of his and Tyr’s relationship. Even if there wasn’t anything to discuss.

“I’ve just been having trouble sleeping.”

Falling asleep wasn’t the problem. Every night, he tumbled into bed and passed out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Then the dreams started. Vivid, disturbing, the kind that blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.

They didn’t shock him awake, but at the same time, it was as if he had never dozed off in the first place. As a result, no matter how many hours he spent in bed, he never felt rested. Some mornings, he felt more exhausted than he had before turning in for the night.

“Man, same. I swear ever since I got here, I can’t shut my brain off.” Leaning back in his chair, Aster reached into his pocket, coming back with a small vial of shimmering yellow powder. “I got this from Paris over at the apothecary.”

Sunne eyed it suspiciously. “What is it?”

“Valerian root. Nothing cagey.” He stared at the vial for a moment longer before thrusting it across the table. “Here, you take it. I can get another one.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that.” He might make a trip to the apothecary later, though, and pick up his own sleep remedy.

“You sure? This stuff works, and it’s really not a big deal.” Aster placed the small bottle down on the table in front of Sunne’s cup. “I mean, it didn’t cost me anything.”

That last part was true enough. A strange perk of being dead.

Curious against his better judgment, he took the vial and held it up to the firelight to inspect it. “How does it work?”

“Just put a pinch in some tea or something before bed.” Aster rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I swear, you’ll sleep like a fucking baby.”

His fingers flexed around the smooth glass at the promise of a peaceful night’s sleep. Then he shook his head and placed it back on the table. In life, he had rarely taken aspirin, and he saw no reason to break that habit now with magic sparkle dust.

“Oh, hey, I heard you’re trying to start a welcome committee for new souls.”

“I’m trying, but it’s not going that great.”

He honestly hadn’t expected so much resistance to the idea. Surely the residents remembered what it had been like when they had first landed in the Underworld. As such, he had assumed they would jump at the chance to help newcomers so that they didn’t have to experience that same confusion and fear.

As he had come to find out, however, most souls had no desire to involve themselves in the matters of others. They had carved out some semblance of a life in the village, and they just wanted to be left alone to enjoy it.

“Well, sign me up. I’ll help.”

Sunne sat up a little straighter. “Really?”

“Sure.” Aster shrugged and took a long pull of his coffee. “It’s not like I have anything else to do. How can I help?”

“Honestly? I need more people.” Ideally, he would like to have at least two volunteers per shift to help ease the burden.

“I can do that. I’m pretty good at talking to people.”

Sunne turned his head to hide his smirk. The kid was good at talking. That much they could agree on. The “people” part was where things got a little dicey. Still, he’d take whatever help he could get.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“No problem. And even if it just ends up being a sign posted on the dock, it’s still better than nothing.”

“I had the same idea.” Which only reinforced his conviction. If other people shared his sentiments, that had to mean he was on the right track. “Maybe we need both. Just in case.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Aster agreed. “We’d need the materials, though. When’s the next supply drop?”

Before he could answer, the front door swung open, and three enormous males—two of them dressed in solid black with daggers strapped to their hips—entered the diner.

“Looks like the fun police is here,” Aster muttered. Eyeing the group near the entrance, he slid away from the table and pushed to his feet.

A scowl pulled at Sunne’s lips. “You don’t have to leave.”

“I think I do.” Then he turned on that million-watt smile with a shrug. “I’ll talk to some people around town about the committee and let you know something in a few days.”

Sunne nodded, but it still didn’t sit right with him. Recently, he had begun to wonder if he had read the entire situation wrong. Rather than a crush, he had started to think that Aster just liked needling his grumpy mate to get a reaction out of him.

And it worked.

It also made for a lot of tense encounters that always left Sunne feeling like he was being pulled in two different directions. Of course, he understood Tyr’s irritation, at least to a point, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t find Aster’s antics kind of amusing.

“Oh, hey,” he called when the kid turned to walk away. He grabbed the vial from the table and held it up. “Don’t forget this.”

Aster glanced over his shoulder but waved him off. “You keep it.”

He walked away then, slowing only when he passed by Tyr. While Sunne couldn’t hear what he said, he definitely heard his mate’s answering growl. With a resigned sigh, he slipped the valerian root into his jacket pocket and sipped his coffee.

His monkeys. His circus. Still not his problem.

He looked up only when the group approached his table, grinning when he received a chaste kiss to his forehead from his mate. Grabbing chairs from a nearby table, all three men dropped into them, causing the ancient wood to squeak beneath their weight.

“ Lelien , you remember Rune.” Tyr jerked his head toward the male on his right.

Sunne smiled. “Nice to see you again. Did Lizzie make it across the river okay?”

Rune leaned back and stretched his long legs out beneath the table, his cerulean eyes dancing with humor. “Yeah, she made it across. Not before she gave me an earful about looking out for you, though. Kid’s got fire.”

“I don’t know what you’re smirking about,” Tyr interjected. “You’re doing a pretty shit job. We haven’t seen you all week.”

Both of Rune’s eyebrows winged upward. “And whose fault is that?”

Ignoring their bickering, Sunne looked across the table, dipping his head in greeting. “Hey, Finn. How are you settling in?”

“This place sure as hell ain’t Texas, but I’m figuring it out.”

Sunne nodded in a show of support. “What about the other thing?”

“Oh, you mean being a vampire?” Finn reclined, mirroring Rune’s laid-back posture. “Still working on that one.”

“Our best guess is that a vampire accidentally killed him while feeding,” Tyr explained, taking Sunne’s cup and draining the last dregs of coffee at the bottom. “Then they panicked and tried to change him.”

“The Ministry is a lot more lenient about converting humans than it is about killing them,” Rune added.

Well, that sounded terrible. Plausible, but absolutely brutal. It didn’t, however, explain how Finn had ended up a dead vampire instead of the regular kind.

“No idea,” Finn answered with an easy shrug when Sunne posed the question. “I remember the vamp gnawing on my neck, but not a whole lot after that.”

They spent another thirty minutes discussing theories about Finn’s demise and answering his questions about the Underworld and being an Otherling. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Cian brought three extra mugs and a carafe of coffee, placing them on the table before leaving without a word.

Eventually, he and Tyr said their goodbyes, and Sunne promised to check in on Finn later in the week. He didn’t know how much he would be able to help the cowboy, but he could offer friendship if nothing else.

Outside, he tucked his hands into the pockets of his wool coat and rounded his shoulders. He kept waiting, kept hoping he would magically become accustomed to the cold. He hadn’t. The iciness still clawed at him, still stung, and he still hated it as much as he had that first day.

“So, what did Aster want?”

He choked back a sigh at Tyr’s accusatory tone. “He didn’t want anything. We were just talking.”

“I don’t like him.”

“So, you’ve mentioned. Repeatedly.”

“I don’t think you should talk to him anymore.”

He appreciated his mate’s concern, even if he thought it was misplaced. He didn’t, however, enjoy being told what to do.

“I’m not a child, Tyr.”

“I didn’t say that, but I know you like to see the good in people. A lot of people don’t deserve it.”

Sunne huffed, his frustration bubbling over. “Give it a break already. He’s a mouthy teenager, not the fucking devil.”

A teenager who may or may not have a crush on his mate. He still hadn’t quite figured that part out yet. Either way, it didn’t make him evil.

“He’s not just any teenager,” Tyr argued. “He’s a mage.”

Okay, he hadn’t seen that one coming. He had assumed Aster was just a regular human like him, but it didn’t change anything.

“And you’re a magical shifter who turns into a bear the size of an SUV. What’s your point?”

Entering the lobby of the Tower, Tyr paused and turned to face him. “I just want you to be careful.”

“No, you want to keep me locked away in my room so that no one even looks at me, let alone speaks to me.”

Tyr’s upper lip pulled back from his teeth, and a low rumble vibrated in his chest. “That’s not true. Or fair.”

No, it really wasn’t, and he didn’t know why he’d said it. His mate could be possessive, but not in a controlling way. While Tyr didn’t necessarily like when people touched him, he had never tried to stop him from talking to the residents of the village.

With one exception.

He didn’t know what Tyr had against Aster, but sniping at him wouldn’t change anything. It would just end up making them both miserable.

“You’re right. That wasn’t fair.” He took Tyr’s hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired, and I guess it’s making me kind of cranky.”

Tyr’s expression softened as he pressed his other hand to Sunne’s cheek and swept his thumb over the shadows under his eye. “You’re still having trouble sleeping?”

“I sleep just fine. I just don’t ever feel rested.”

“Are you still having bad dreams?”

His eyelids fluttered, and he leaned into the comforting touch. “Not bad exactly. Just weird and really vivid.”

“What was it this time?”

“I fought an alligator with a beer bottle.”

Grasping the back of his neck, Tyr chuckled as he pulled him close, holding him tight against his chest. “Did you win?”

“I woke up before the fight was over, but it wasn’t looking good.”

The shifter laughed again. “Come on, lelien . Maybe you’ll feel better after a nap.”

Sunne allowed himself to be led away toward the lifts, but he didn’t say anything. While a nap did sound amazing, just the thought of sleep made him anxious. Would he finally find peace? Or would he descend into another nightmare filled with teeth, claws, and unsuitable weapons?

“Maybe we should talk to Paris,” Tyr suggested when the cab doors slid closed behind them.

Biting his lip, Sunne reluctantly pulled the vial from his pocket and held it out by the stopper. “Actually, Aster gave me this. He said he got it from the apothecary. Valerian root.”

He steeled himself for the suspicion. The accusations. Maybe even a threat. He hadn’t, however, anticipated that Tyr would drop the bottle to the floor and crush it beneath his boot.

“What the hell?” he demanded, staring down at the mess of yellow powder and shiny glass shards scattered across the tiles. “Was that really necessary?”

“You’re not taking that.”

“Well, not now. You killed it.” He pressed himself into the corner, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. “Not everything is dangerous just because you don’t like the person who gave it to me.”

“I don’t care if Hades gave it to you.”

“You don’t like him either,” Sunne mumbled under his breath. “Shocker.”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re already doing enough for both of us.”

“Sunne,” he growled, his tone making it clear that he was quickly reaching the end of his patience.

Too bad Sunne didn’t give a damn.

“I just want to sleep!” he yelled, his voice cracking with exhaustion and desperation. “I don’t want to be afraid of my own pillow. Or spend all night fighting alligators. Or getting emotionally wrecked about forgetting to feed a whole farm full of animals. I want to wake up rested, not feeling like I just fought a fucking war in my sleep.”

“I know, lelien ,” Tyr responded, his tone gentling. “I know. We’ll figure it out, I promise, but—” He glanced down at the powder on the floor. “—not like this. You don’t even know what he gave you.”

“It’s valerian root,” he said, but even he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.

“You’re smarter than that,” Tyr snapped back, his expression tinged with disappointment. “When’s the last time you saw neon-yellow valerian that sparkled like a disco ball?”

Dropping his head, he stared down at his shoes and shrugged in defeat. “Never.” In his defense, he’d also never seen a river filled with glowing souls. “I just figured it was magic or something.”

Tyr closed the distance between them, crowding him against the glass wall of the elevator. “Sunne, look at me.”

He really didn’t want to, but he couldn’t think of a good reason to refuse. So he took a deep breath and lifted his head, forcing himself to meet the shifter’s gaze.

“I screwed up. You don’t have to say it.”

Tyr shook his head. “I don’t like Aster. Hell, I don’t like most people. But I wouldn’t stop them from trying to help you.” He reached out, his hand resting on the side of Sunne’s neck, and pressed a thumb under his chin, preventing him from ducking his head again. “I’m not trying to control you, lelien . I’m trying to protect you because I honestly don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

“Probably something that involves murder,” Sunne quipped back, only half joking. “I have a feeling it wouldn’t be good for the village.”

“Exactly.” A cocky, crooked grin curved the Guardian’s lips. “And you care too much to let that happen, right?”

His breath hitched when Tyr leaned into him, his heart racing with nerves and desire. “I care about you .”

Tyr bent, hovering over him, bringing his face closer. “ Lelien , I’ve been well past caring since the first time you smiled at me.” As he spoke, he brushed the pad of his thumb across Sunne’s lips. “You know who I am. How I am.”

Unable to move, Sunne released a shaky breath and nodded.

“I haven’t given a damn about anyone but myself in a long time. Then you came along.”

He didn’t believe that at all. Tyr had given up everything to follow Orrin into the Underworld. No one did that out of duty alone.

“What are you trying to say?” He had a pretty good idea, but he selfishly wanted to hear the words, to know he wasn’t alone in what he felt.

“I’m saying that I can’t live without you. I wouldn’t want to, and yeah, I’d probably annihilate the whole town if anything ever happened to you.” Then he closed the last couple of inches, bringing their lips together in an achingly tender kiss. “I’m saying I love you, lelien .”

Sunne thought he’d been prepared. He was wrong. Those words, spoken in that rough, needy voice, completely undid him. His head spun, his heart crashed against his ribs, and everything around him dimmed until only Tyr remained.

While he had never been in love before, he didn’t need a map and a decoder ring to understand his own heart. The fact that he had never felt this way about anyone before—like losing them would destroy him—only added more credence to what he already knew. What he’d known for a while now.

“I love you, too, Tyr.” He grinned when the doors of the cab finally slid open, as if the Tower had been waiting for just the right moment. “Make me yours.”