Page 62 of Reaper’s Ruin (Reaper’s Ruin Trilogy #1)

Darkness. Complete, absolute darkness.

That was all I’d known since the Reapers had thrown me into this cell—a small, box carved from stone that seemed to swallow light itself.

Even the small, barred window did little to let in any of the minimal purple light from the corridor.

I’d lost all sense of time. Had I been in here only minutes? An hour?

Without a body, I couldn’t feel the cold stone against my back, but my mind remembered what cold felt like, and I shivered anyway.

I listened to the distant sounds that occasionally drifted through the thick door—footsteps, muffled voices, the scrape of metal against stone.

Each noise made me tense, wondering if they were coming for me, if my time was finally up.

In the darkness, my thoughts were my only company. Thoughts of Rhyker, of the last look he’d given me before they’d dragged me away. I clung to that memory, to the promise I’d seen in his eyes. But as time stretched on in this terrifying void, doubt began to creep in.

What could he possibly do against the Veil Lords? Against shadow beasts and the army of Reapers that inhabited the Umbral Keep? He was powerful, yes—the most powerful Reaper in the Shadowveil—but even he had his limits. Even Death himself could die a second time .

The thought sent a wave of nausea through me. I couldn’t bear the idea of him sacrificing himself for me, of him facing oblivion for daring to love me.

Perhaps it would be better if he didn’t try to save me. If he just did what he was sent to do. At least then he would survive.

And maybe, if it was him who reaped me, it wouldn’t hurt. At least his face would be the last thing I’d ever see.

The sound of approaching footsteps broke through my dark reverie. Heavy, deliberate steps coming closer to my cell. Fear slithered up my spine as they stopped just outside the door. A key turned in the lock, and a crack of dim purple light spilled into the room as the door swung open.

I blinked against it, my eyes struggling to adjust. A tall, broad-shouldered figure stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the faint illumination from the corridor beyond. Not Rhyker—I would have recognized his outline anywhere.

“Enjoying your accommodations?” a cold voice asked, thick with disdain.

The figure stepped into the cell, and what little light there was from the glowing purple torches in the hall illuminated his features. Sevrin. The Enforcer who had found us in the Flame Court, who had stared at me with such disgust.

I didn’t answer, lifting my chin defiantly despite the fear coiling in my stomach.

Sevrin’s smile widened, turning cruel. “You called him Rhyker when you screamed for him. Is that what he told you to call him? His little whore of a soul?” He leaned against the wall, studying me like a fascinating but repellent specimen.

“You know, he’s caused quite the stir. Death himself, falling for a soul he was sent to reap.

The irony is almost poetic. Although he said he was making the whole thing up.

That this was just a ruse to get close and reap you.

I don’t buy it though. I think he genuinely cares for you. ”

So that’s what Rhyker was whispering about. Pretending his feelings for me were part of a plan. Smart.

For one split second, maybe even less than, I thought maybe it was true. Maybe he truly was tricking me just to get me close. But faster than I could conjure the thought, it was gone.

No.

Even though I still couldn’t imagine how someone like Rhyker could fall for someone like me, I knew in the deepest depths of my soul that his feelings for me—his love for me—was real.

I kept my face carefully neutral, unwilling to give Sevrin the satisfaction of seeing my pain. But something in his tone, in the eager glint in his eyes, made me pause. A realization hit me like a fist to the gut.

He’s fishing. He wants confirmation that Rhyker genuinely cared for me.

If Sevrin discovered the truth—that Rhyker had defied the Veil Lords for me, had loved me—it would destroy him. They would erase him from existence.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I looked away, crossing my arms across my chest and snorted. “I knew it. I knew he was faking it. God, how was I so stupid?”

He stepped in a little farther. “Was it though? Are you sure his feelings for you weren’t true? Surely there’s a chance this love you thought he had for you was real and he’s only now pretending it wasn’t?”

I wouldn’t take the bait. Instead, I would give the performance of my afterlife.

“He played me,” I said, injecting bitterness into my voice. “Used me.” I let out a harsh laugh. “I should have known. The signs were all there, weren’t they?”

Something flickered across Sevrin’s face—disappointment? Frustration? His eyes narrowed .

“Signs?” he probed.

“The way he kept pulling away, acting like it meant nothing. How he couldn’t look at me after...” I let my voice trail off, letting Sevrin’s imagination fill in the blanks. “I was just another job to him. A difficult soul that needed special handling.”

Sevrin studied me, suspicion evident in his silver eyes. “You don’t seem surprised.”

I shrugged, glad my heart was no longer beating again so he couldn’t hear it racing. “Deep down, I knew something wasn’t right. I mean, Death itself, falling for a half-breed fae abomination?” I forced my voice to sound hollow. “I was an idiot to believe it.”

I turned away, praying he couldn’t see through my act. “I guess that’s why I’m here, right? Because I was stupid enough to trust him.”

He watched me carefully for a few moments, his head tipping as if I was some interesting thing to be studied.

“What do you want? Just to come here and drive the dagger in deeper that I got tricked into thinking Death had feelings for me?” I snorted. “Trust me, no one could make me feel worse than I already do, so just save your breath.”

He studied me again for a while, then finally with an irritated grumble he said, “I was just here to give you a message. He’s coming to reap you. The Veil Lords gave him the order, and this time, he’s going to follow it. And the Umbral Keep is spelled, so you’re not jumping away this time.”

“Good,” I said, surprised by the steadiness of my own voice. “Then send him in soon and let’s get this over with.”

Sevrin’s eyebrows rose, genuine surprise flashing across his face before his mask of contempt returned. “How noble of you,” he sneered. “Accepting your oblivion with such grace. Though I doubt you’ll maintain that composure when his scythe slides through you.”

“I think I’ll enjoy it far more than I have talking to you,” I responded, not even bothering to turn to him.

“Enjoy your final moments,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Think about everything you’re about to lose. Everyone. The terror of non-existence, of being erased completely. No door. No afterlife. Just... gone.”

He studied me one last time, then turned to go—but something about the way his eyes lingered at the door chilled me. As if he wasn’t quite convinced. As if the game wasn’t over yet.

The door slammed shut behind him, the hollow sound echoing through my cell.

I sat motionless for several minutes, his words bouncing around in my mind. Despite my defiance, they had found their mark. No door. No afterlife. Just... gone.

If Rhyker couldn’t save me, and God knows he would try, then I’d never see my mother again. Never know what lay beyond that shimmering doorway my sister had gotten. The one that continued eluding me.

“Come on. Jump!” I squeezed my eyes shut trying with all my might again to activate my realm walking abilities. But nothing happened. I wasn’t sure if it was because Sevrin was right and this place was spelled to keep me from traveling or if my body just refused to go any farther away from Rhyker.

“Please. Jump. Give me a door. Anything to save him the horror in reaping me,” I whispered to myself, closing my eyes once more and trying with all my might to find peace or jump away from this dark and dangerous place.

But instead, I just remained there alone in the cell. Waiting for Rhyker to come and end me, his greatest fear. All the hope I’d carried since my death—the hope that I would find peace, find my door, find my way back to mom—extinguished in an instant.

But worse than that was the thought of what this would do to Rhyker. Having to reap me, having to be the one to end my existence completely. How would he live with that? How could he continue for centuries more, carrying that weight?

Part of me hoped he would find his peace afterward.

That somehow, reaping me would free him from whatever had kept him in the Shadowveil for eight hundred years.

That he would find his door and move on to whatever waited beyond.

But I knew this would break him. This was the very thing he’d fought so hard against in denying his feelings for me.

And now it was about to become his brutal reality.

I wiped away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. What a mess. What an impossible, heartbreaking mess. We’d found each other across death and realms, against all odds, against all reason—only to be torn apart just as we’d finally admitted our feelings.

Time passed, though how much, I couldn’t say. The darkness remained absolute, the silence broken only by my own breathing and the occasional distant sound. I tried to prepare myself for what was coming, to find the courage to face my end with dignity.

When I heard footsteps approaching again, I stiffened. These were different. Heavier, more deliberate. I knew those footsteps. I’d listened to them for days as we’d traveled together, as we’d fought together, as we’d loved together.

“Holy shit, Death’s coming,” I heard a guard whisper.

Rhyker .

“Open the door. I’m here to reap this soul,” he commanded, the power in his voice leaving no room for objection.

The key turned in the lock, and the door swung open. And there he was, filling the doorway with his tall frame, his swirling grey eyes gleaming in the darkness like stars in a midnight sky .

“Leave us,” he said to the guard. “Now.”

The men in the dark cloaks hurried away down the hall as if the beasts of the Shadowveil themselves were nipping at their heels.

My body warmed at the sight of him, and I rushed forward without thinking, collapsing into his arms, tears rushing down my face as he enveloped me with his powerful embrace.

“Rhyker,” I breathed, against his chest.

“Soraya,” he whispered against my hair, pressing a kiss to my head as he held me tight. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered, looking up into those storm-grey eyes swirling with dark shadows, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw.

“I understand. You have to do this. You can’t fight them all.

I don’t want you to risk yourself for me.

I don’t want you to face oblivion. Just kiss me one last time, then promise me when I’m gone that you’ll find your peace. Promise me, Rhyker.”

He remained silent, his eyes never leaving mine as he slid his hand down my face.

One last kiss.

One last moment to feel that passion between us strong enough to cross realms, cross life and death. Passion I knew wouldn’t follow me into oblivion, but passion I would cherish in these last moments of my existence.

Agony ripped me apart from the inside out. This was it. This was the end. One kiss. One last moment of exquisite pleasure. Then, in moments, his scythe would form, and I would be gone. Erased completely from existence.

I’m sorry, mom. I love you.

His hands framed my face, his touch achingly gentle. My eyes closed as he leaned down, capturing my lips in a kiss that stole my breath and ignited my soul. There was desperation in that kiss, and determination. It was fierce and unyielding .

I let it shatter me. Let it break me. Let it unravel every part of my soul knowing this would be the last thing I felt in this strange existence of mine.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against mine.

“I’m ready,” I breathed. “I don’t regret a minute I got to spend with you. You were the highlight of my life... and afterlife. I love you, Rhyker. Just promise me, you’ll find your peace. I need to hear you say it.”

He pressed his forehead to mine. “I can’t make that promise because I’m not going to reap you, my love. I could never end you, my beautiful Soraya,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. “And I’m going to get you out of here.”

I stared at him, shock and hope warring in my chest. “Wait... what? But how? Sevrin said—”

“Sevrin talks too much,” Rhyker growled. “And underestimates me greatly.”

He stepped back, reaching into his cloak and withdrawing another—smaller, but identical to the one the other Reapers wore. “Put this on,” he said, holding it out to me. “It won’t fool anyone looking closely, but it might help us get through the less attentive guards.”

I took the Reaper’s cloak with trembling hands, slipping it over my shoulders. It settled around me with surprising weight, the hood large enough to cast my face in darkness.

“Rhyker,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “The Veil Lords... they’ll know. They’ll come after us. You can’t fight them all. I won’t risk you getting obliterated for me.”

A grim smile curved his lips. “Well, if you get obliterated I’ll be begging them to do the same to me, so don’t you think we both deserve a fighting chance? ”

I bit my lip, peering up at him from beneath the hood of my cloak. “I really wish you’d just promise me you’ll find peace and move on. Just reap me and save yourself.”

“There’s no peace in any life that will come for me if I can’t save you. We are going to make a run for it, and if we can get past the gates of the Keep, I can slice us away into Faelora.”

“And then what? Won’t they be able to find us again?”

“Probably,” he said, shrugging. “But that’s a problem for later. For now, let’s just get you out of here. Taelon and some of his friends will create a distraction. The moment we hear it, we hurry for the gate.”

I glanced out into the hallway, fear and excitement crashing inside me. “Are you sure? You really want to risk the scythe for me?”

He smiled. A full smile. Such a rare and beautiful thing. It lit me up like the fires of eternity themselves burned inside me. “I would risk everything for you, Soraya. Don’t you understand that yet?”

A tear slipped down my cheek as I nodded. “I do. And I’ll risk everything for you.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips, soft and tender. “Then let’s risk it all together.”

“Together,” I said, slipping my hand into his.

Maybe, against all odds, Death and the soul he loved could find their way to freedom.