Page 61 of Reaper’s Ruin (Reaper’s Ruin Trilogy #1)

I would find a way, or I would die trying.

I was so lost in my desperate thoughts that I nearly collided with a figure stepping out from an alcove. I snarled, my scythe forming in an instant and materializing in my hand. But then instead of a look of terror staring back at me, I just saw a flashy white grin.

Taelon.

“Whoa there,” he said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Just me. Not looking for a scythe to the face today. ”

“What do you want?” I growled, my scythe dissipating back beneath my skin.

He glanced around to ensure we were alone, then stepped closer. “I heard they brought you in. You and the girl.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “What the hell are you going to do, Rhyker?”

I studied him for a moment, weighing my options. Taelon had helped us once before, had bought us time when he could have reaped Elira. But this was different. This was direct defiance of the Veil Lords themselves.

Something in my expression must have given me away, because his eyes widened slightly. “You’re going to try to save her.”

It wasn’t a question.

I grabbed him by the throat, shoving him against the wall with enough force to crack the stone. “If you breathe a word of this to anyone,” I hissed, “I will end you.”

To my surprise, he didn’t struggle. Didn’t fight back. He just looked at me with an understanding that was somehow worse than fear.

“You love her,” he said softly when I loosened my grip enough for him to speak. “Don’t you?”

I released him, stepping back. There was no point in denying it. “Yes.”

“Shit,” he breathed, rubbing his throat. “Death himself, in love with a soul he was sent to reap. That’s... that’s something.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said bitterly. “We’re trapped here. She can’t Realm Walk out, and I can’t slice through from within the Keep. The Veil Lords are expecting me to reap her immediately. I’m out of options.”

Taelon was quiet for a moment, his expression unusually serious. “Maybe not,” he said finally. “Maybe there’s a way.”

Hope, dangerous and fragile, stirred within me. “What do you mean? ”

“The barrier’s magic only extends to the walls of the Keep,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “If you can get her past the gates, you’re free. You can use your wings to slice away from there, take her anywhere in Faelora.”

“The gates are heavily guarded,” I pointed out. “And the moment I try to leave with her instead of reaping her, every Reaper in the Umbral Keep will be on us.”

“That’s why you need a distraction,” Taelon said. “Something big enough to draw attention away from the gates long enough for you to slip through.”

I searched his face, wary of a trap but desperate for hope. “What kind of distraction could possibly be big enough for that?”

A slow grin spread across Taelon’s face. “I know a couple guys who might be willing to help.”

“No,” I said immediately, understanding who he meant. “We can’t involve more people in this. It’s too dangerous. The Veil Lords—”

“Skorn and Lorien can be trusted,” Taelon insisted. “Even if they don’t want to help, they’ll keep the secret. But I think they’ll want to help. They’re as bored as me, and I’m sure they’d love to get a little excitement.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Are you seriously suggesting a rebellion? Against the Veil Lords? That’s suicide.”

“Not a full-scale rebellion. Just enough chaos to get you and your girl out. They won’t even know we had anything to do with it.

We’ll make a distraction, you’ll take advantage of it.

A happy coincidence.” His eyes gleamed with reckless excitement.

“Besides, what’s the alternative? You try to sneak out alone, get caught, and both get erased?

At least this way, you have a fighting chance. ”

I ran a hand through my hair, the weight of the decision crushing down on me. To involve others was to risk their existence as well. But to go alone was to almost certainly fail .

“How do you know they’ll help?” I asked finally. “Why would they risk everything for me? For her?”

“Even though the word is foreign to you, they’re my friends. They will help us,” Taelon said simply. “Not to mention this will intrigue them thoroughly. When Death himself rebels... well, that’s a cause worth joining.”

I was silent for a moment, considering our options—which were few and desperate.

“Let’s say I agree,” I said slowly. “What’s the plan?”

Taelon’s face lit up, and he pulled me deeper into the shadowed alcove.

“The cells are in the eastern wing. You go for her. Then the guys and I create a distraction—big, loud, impossible to ignore. While the Enforcers and Reapers are dealing with that, you make for the gates. If all goes well, you’ll be outside the barrier before anyone knows it. ”

“And if it doesn’t go as planned?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

Taelon grinned, shrugging. “We’ve got Death himself on our side.

I’m a Flame Warrior, Lorien is a Tide Warrior and Skorn was a Frost Warrior.

Our powers still work down here. I’m not saying we can take on the Sentries, Enforcers, and Veil Beasts, plus a few hundred other Reapers and at least a few dozen who also have court warrior powers, but I bet we can hold them off long enough we can all get out of here. ”

“And if we can’t?” I arched an eyebrow.

He clapped a hand on my shoulder, his infectious grin widening. “Then we’ll probably all get obliterated.”

Despite everything, I felt a grim smile tug at my lips. “You’re insane, you know that?”

“So they tell me.” He shrugged. “But I’ve been here eighty years, and I’ve never seen anything worth fighting for until now.

Until I saw the way you look at her.” His expression softened.

“ Some things are worth dying for, Rhyker. Even for us, who are already dead. This purgatory is supposed to be about forgiving ourselves for our crimes in life, right? Well how the fuck would I ever be able to forgive myself for standing by while you were forced to reap the woman you loved. I’d be cursed here for eternity.

No. I’ll take my chances, and hey, maybe I’ll get an instant door the second I help right this wrong for you.

Maybe this will be my final atonement for a life filled with regrets. ”

I was silent for a long moment, studying this Reaper who’d spent eight decades trying to befriend me, who I’d rebuffed at every turn. This fae who, despite everything I believed, was willing to risk oblivion to help me save the woman I loved.

“If this goes wrong,” I warned him, “we’re all getting sent to oblivion. The Veil Lords don’t forgive betrayal.”

Taelon just grinned, that familiar cocky smile that had always irritated me before but now felt strangely reassuring.

“Eh, I was getting sick of this place anyway. Better oblivion than getting stuck here for eight hundred years like you.” He clapped me on the shoulder again.

“If I’m going out, what better way than helping Death fight for love? ”

Despite everything, despite the desperate situation, despite the near certainty of failure, I felt something I hadn’t experienced in centuries: a genuine connection to another being besides Soraya.

Friendship.

“Alright,” I said finally. “Get your friends. Tell them what’s happening. But make it clear—if any of them have second thoughts, they walk away now. No hard feelings. This is my fight, not theirs.”

“Our fight now,” Taelon corrected. “And don’t worry about them. They’ll be thrilled for a chance like this.”

I nodded, then hesitated. “Taelon... thank you. ”

He looked genuinely surprised for a moment, then recovered with a grin and pushed away from the wall. “Don’t thank me yet. Save it for when we pull this off.”

“And if we don’t?”

His grin widened. “Then I’d say I’ll see you in oblivion, Death, but...” His voice trailed off as he shrugged.

I allowed myself a small smile in return. “You... you can call me Rhyker.”

Surprise flickered across his face, followed by a genuine warmth. “Rhyker,” he repeated, as if testing the name. “I’ve got your back. Now come on. Come talk to the crew with me. They’ll be pretty excited you’re finally going to give them the time of day.”

A small smile tipped the corner of my lip, then with one final nod, we fell into step together, moving to fulfill our part of the plan.

As I strode with him through the dark corridors of the Umbral Keep, I felt a strange calm settle over me. The fear was still there, the desperate need to reach her, to save her. But alongside it was a certainty I couldn’t explain.

We would escape.

We would find a way.

Because I refused to accept any other outcome.

Because I refused to lose her now that I’d finally found something—someone—worth existing for.