Page 20 of In Death’s Hands (The Threads of Fate #1)

Cold wraps itself around me. What did Nathan do ?

“Thalnus,” says Nathan, his voice almost as cold as the dread inside me. “What have I told you about jumping to conclusions?”

“To do it more because it gets me what I want?” The Black man, Thalnus, tries to sound playful, but the effect is ruined by the lack of warmth in his tone.

“That it’ll get you killed.”

“Oh, if I had a penny… as they say here. Now get to the point, I am needed elsewhere.”

“Really? Decided to get off your ass and be useful for once?” asks Nathan, animosity dripping from each word.

“You forget yourself, boy!”

“No, you forget just who you’re speaking to.”

Their anger is palpable, the cold seeping from the shadows almost unbearable. There clearly is no love lost between these two, but I wonder what the point of all this posturing is. Is it me? Am I a bargaining chip in the gods’ search for their memories?

I was wondering why Nathan seems to care so much about my well-being. Maybe it’s as simple as him needing me in some way. But do I truly believe him capable of using me like this?

I don’t. And I still don’t know why.

What I’m sure of, however, is that I can’t stay hidden behind Nathan’s large frame. I will face this as I’ve faced everything else in my life: head on.

As I come into view, Thalnus and the smaller guy look at me with expressions I don’t understand.

“You did tell me there was a girl I’d be interested in,” says Thalnus, “and I’d say you were right.” A shiver runs down my spine as I feel his blue eyes—darker than my own—take me in fully. “Liv,” he adds, as if tasting my name.

Despite the fear strangling me, I let my eyes travel all over the two men.

Thalnus looks as dangerous as he is gorgeous.

Close-cropped dark hair, high cheekbones, lips pressed together in a sharp line.

He’s oozing strength and confidence. When his eyes settle on my feet, I stop fidgeting.

I cannot show weakness. It’s like a long-forgotten instinct blooming once again in my heart.

I don’t know where it’s coming from, but for once I trust it enough to listen closely.

The smaller man seems perfectly at ease standing between Nathan and Thalnus, slightly to the side as if monitoring everyone in this windy cave. I haven’t had much time to take in my surroundings, but there isn’t much to see anyway except dark, stony walls.

I exhale slowly, evenly, thanking myself for all the breathing exercises I’ve done over the years.

“Thalnus,” I say, matching his tone. His answering smile has my heart tightening in my chest.

Nathan, damn him, steps closer to me, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

The knowing gleam in Thalnus’ eyes tells me that my friend just revealed a little too much, to someone who looks inclined to use it against us.

Although it does allow me to breathe more easily, it’s a rookie mistake.

Again, I’m not sure where that knowledge comes from, but it’s so deeply ingrained that I’m forced to heed the warning.

I don’t know what we’re doing here, what Nathan has planned or what he wants from this man, but we’ll have to be extra careful from now on not to reveal anything that will come back to bite us both in the ass down the road.

“Here we all are, boy,” Thalnus says. “Now talk.”

I don’t know why he insists on calling Nathan “boy”, but the disrespect is clear. Despite that, Nathan doesn’t blink or show anything of what he’s currently feeling. Instead, he dips his head my way and answers the man. “What do you think?”

Excuse me? My outrage must be clear because Nathan locks eyes with me for a second, and I somehow know exactly what he’s willing me to understand with that one look: Trust me.

And for a fraction of a second his eyes soften enough for me to catch his Please .

It’s all too easy to trust the man who’s been saving me nonstop lately, but I must be smarter than that.

There has to be a reason for him to have done that.

He works for Death, for fuck’s sake—saving people doesn’t seem like it belongs in his job description.

What’s his motive? No matter how much I long for someone to just care , no matter how my heart is all too happy putting my life in his hands, I need to listen to my head.

And my head reminds me loudly that Nathan clearly lied to me and promised something to this man.

Thalnus turns to me and takes a greedy step forward.

One look from Nathan is enough to stop him, however, which is a point in the Nathan-may-have-lied-but-I-can-still-trust-him column.

The big man lets his eyes roam all over me, and though I feel inclined to shudder and hide, his expression stops me from doing either.

His expression, which was all asshole confidence a moment ago, quickly turns to doubt and then shock.

But it’s his step backwards that sends my heart in a hurtful race. When I look questioningly at Nathan, his face shutters, and my gaze ping-pongs between the two men. “What’s going on?”

“Who is she?” Thalnus asks, suspicion and… fear tightening his handsome features. That fear is enough to pause my outrage at being ignored again.

“No one to you,” declares Nathan, his jaw tightening.

“Can you two ass-twats stop talking like I’m a bloody plant and answer me ?”

Suspicion wins over fear, it seems, as Thalnus suddenly gets brighter and drops of water rise from the ground to gather around his body.

Uhm… What?! I’m so busy gawking that it takes me a second to feel the now familiar cooling sensation of Nathan’s temper.

Sure enough, when I look his way, shadows have already grown teeth and claws.

Some are even wrapped like a second skin around Nathan’s fists.

His swirling, dark eyes are sending an obvious message to Thalnus, who in the space of a few heartbeats has managed to gather a real-life wave at his back.

I’m dreaming. I must be.

“Who. Is. She?” repeats Thalnus, doing some fancy hand movement that seems to be mirrored by the water behind him.

Goose bumps erupt all over my body as Nathan’s energy ramps up and a dark aura lights his own body, reflecting on my too-light skin. “I’ve already answered that.”

The man doesn’t seem to appreciate Nathan’s answer, and his right arm goes up, bringing the wave even higher over his head.

I’m no expert, but I don’t think amassing so much water in a cave where I see no exits is a good idea for the mortal that I am.

Before the two idiots can kill me with their pissing contest, I step between them with my hands raised.

I ignore Nathan’s choke to tell the water god, “I am no one! So, could you two just relax the fuck off and talk like normal people? Er…” I wince.

I’m so not good at this. “Normal, divine, fairy-twats, whatever you may be.” The smaller man next to Thalnus is clearly amused by my ridiculous attempt at deescalating the situation.

He crosses his arms and smirks at me, the idiot.

If he could get popcorn, I’m sure he would.

When neither twat moves, I start yelling. “Put. The wave. Down!”

There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say…

Thalnus cocks his head at me, confusion stark on his gorgeous, gorgeous face. He looks back at Nathan with questions bursting from his deep blue eyes, but my friend doesn’t notice as he’s currently frozen stupid, looking at me like I’ve plucked a bunny out of a hat.

No one moves for a few seconds, and I have no idea what to do. At least they’re not killing each other. Or me, as I don’t know if they can actually die. Wait. Can they? Are they immortal? Nathan said they woke up here, not that they were born here. And how long ago was it, exactly?

So many questions. It’s exhausting. The desire to remove my brain and put it on a shelf for a few days is strong. Imagine the quiet, the calm, the peace !

A loud clap tears me away from my brainless daydream. When I turn towards the noise, I see the smaller man is still amused, slow-clapping his way to my side. “That was mighty impressive, girl. And mighty stupid,” he says with a wink.

His eyes are a sea-foam green that spells trouble. His face is thin, all angles and sleek. He’s slightly taller than me but not by much, and his body, though he’s smaller than the other two men in a stand-off on either side of me, is still impressive in its definition.

He sees me looking and his lips stretch into a shit-eating grin.

I can’t help but roll my eyes at him, which makes him laugh.

When I look at Thalnus and Nathan, they are both gawking at us.

I can’t help but feel ridiculous, standing between all these men with ridiculous bodies and powers and their heaping pile of alpha bullshit.

“Atys,” says Thalnus sternly.

The man at my side turns to him and nods once. “All right, now that we’re done with the introductions—and payback,” he adds with a wink at Nathan, “let’s get down to business.”

“And what business is that?” I ask, my gaze turning accusingly to Nathan, who has the decency to wince.

“I asked Thalnus here to take a look at you and see if he could feel anything out of the ordinary,” he tells me. Then, turning to the tall man in question, he adds pointedly, “Look only .”

I’ll kick him in the shin for that later. Right now, I’m more interested in what this big surfer dude has to say about me. I raise my eyebrows at Thalnus expectantly. “So?”

Shaking his head, the man finally puts his hands down, and the water immediately crashes to the floor to quickly disappear in rivulets through the cracks in the rock. Huh. He steps closer, but Nathan’s growl stops him quickly.

Goodness gracious… The man growled . I ignore him, refusing to acknowledge his possessive behaviour and what it does to me, and keep my gaze on Thalnus’ face. The puzzled expression from earlier is back.

“What do you sense?” asks Nathan.

“Nothing good.”

Dread spreads in my stomach, and I feel myself shaking slightly when a pointy elbow jabs me in my ribs. When I look up, Atys has a wild smile that I somehow know is for my benefit. “Don’t you worry, girl. It only means you’re interesting.”

Both Thalnus and Nathan seem to find his remark inappropriate, but it forces a laugh out of me that releases some of the tension quickly building inside me. I throw a grateful look his way, but the man is focused on his friend, his disapproval clear.

“Explain,” says Nathan, and I almost wish he hadn’t. I’d like to ignore the next punch life decides to throw at me. Or at least delay it for a little while, just long enough for me to catch my breath. But once again, my wishes don’t seem to matter.

“Her flow is wrong.”

My eyebrows shoot up. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t some sort of surfer talk telling me my “vibe” is off.

But it seems to mean something to Nathan, whose eyes close for a beat and whose shoulders drop.

For a split-second, his face shatters and something resembling guilt transforms his lovely features.

It pains me so much I walk to him and take his hand in my own, ignoring the shadows still clinging to his skin.

His face jerks up so fast it startles me, but I stay rooted to the floor when I notice the unreadable storm in his eyes.

We stare at each other for too long, him looking shocked and conflicted, and me just trying to understand the draw I feel to this man.

We break apart like two teenagers caught in a forbidden embrace when Atys clears his throat.

Damn it, I was supposed to listen to my head.

Ignoring my heating cheeks and Atys’ amused look, I focus on Thalnus. “What does that mean exactly? Could you all start making sense, please?”

Frowning, the big man answers me. “It means the Order is out of place. It means you are not where you’re supposed to be, and something has happened that has derailed you from the path the Fates wove for you.”

“Oookay.” Yep, that’s the only answer I can come up with right now.

“You don’t seem surprised,” says Atys, cocking his head at me like a dog would at a strange noise.

I look back at Nathan, who’s eerily quiet, but the man is staring at the hand that was in mine seconds ago and seems entirely lost in his own thoughts.

“No, I can’t say that I am.” I pause, not knowing how much to reveal to them.

Nathan seems to come to his senses and makes the decision for me. “Liv has had some unnatural experiences. I needed your confirmation, but we already suspected an issue.”

“What experiences?” asks Thalnus sternly.

“With the Novensiles.”

Both Thalnus and Atys curse at once, and it would almost be funny if we weren’t talking about a group of mysterious men out to get me.

“Why are we really here, boy?”

Okay, his refusal to say Nathan’s name is really starting to piss me off.

“Because if the Novensiles are after her, she could be our way to find out what happened to us. And before I can go hunt them down like the dogs they are, I need her approval.”

Atys curses again, shaking his head and looking at me with what seems to be pity. I don’t like it. But when Thalnus looks at me with renewed interest, I like it even less.

I know Nathan wants to protect me as well as find answers for himself and his own, but the way he talks about it now only makes me seem like a tool to be used for their benefit.

And Thalnus doesn’t look like he would mind tearing me apart to get to the truth.

“You called us here for a favour, then.” Not a question.

Thalnus looks fucking smug as he crosses his arms, muscles bulging in pleasure. “You’ve got some nerve, boy.”

Nathan only grinds his teeth.

Shaking his head, Atys says, “Even if she agrees, what makes you think we’d manage to learn anything new? We’ve been looking for answers for centuries.”

Wait, for centuries ? They can’t have been alive for that long.

Right? No.

But then, Nathan is Death’s assistant. If anyone can bargain a suspension of death, it would be him. And the others, well, they are gods.

Unaware of my mental breakdown, Nathan answers with the world’s confidence, “Because I’m helping this time.”

I cock my head at him. I wish I could feel like that at least once in my life. Like I know where I belong, what my purpose is, and own my power to get it done.

Thalnus’ laugh is nothing short of predatory, the glint in his eyes vicious.

“You finally get your head out of your ass, and we’re supposed to follow you blindly?

We’ve been searching for answers and coming up with nothing.

I don’t see why you , no matter who you are, could get further than we did. ”

“I will get further than you did because I know what, or rather who, the Novensiles are after, and I’m not above using it against them.”

His words register as three pairs of eyes settle on me. I’m sorry, he will use who to do what now?