Page 147 of Till Death

I bowed my head, the only movement that was my own as my arm crossed my body. A single slice. One strike and he’d be gone from me for the rest of this lifetime. I fought to summon the dormant Life Maiden magic, praying it would not be a repeat of that poor peony. My desperate need to save Orin circumvented any doubt that might have settled in my mind. But the darkness clawed back, relentless.

The agony of my mental battle was overwhelming, and I could hear Orin’s voice, a distant, smoky sound that resonated through my entire body. Seeking the power was not enough. I let it grow, let it rip that pinprick source open until it became a wildfire within me, sending Death’s power to the furthest recesses of my consciousness. Darkness could only thrive where light failed to cast its radiant touch, but in my soul, I forged a blazing sun, banishing the shadows into oblivion with every breath of my unwavering spirit.

The sharp edge of madness faded away until the inside of that temple held no trace of torment. Chaos slipped from my hand. With a wail, I reached for him, throwing my arms around his neck, kissing him until my lips had gone numb. Living in a place of freedom I didn’t know could exist.

“How?” he asked as we stood from the ground.

“I found the Life Maiden, Orin.”

His gaze shifted between my eyes, waiting for me to say the words I wasn’t sure how to voice. Without a doubt, the feeling that resonated within me, thrumming just below my skin in the most radiant, rejuvenating wave of euphoria was not only the relief of my escape from Death’s thrall, but power that started right here within this godless temple.

He brushed the tip of his thumb over the outside corners of my lashes. “I think I found her, too. Only you could harbor life and death and somehow still be undeniably your own person. More than a vessel, more than a conduit. So human, yet so much more than any person walking this realm.”

“Isn’t she spectacular?”

Death’s voice ricocheted through the chasm of every fear I’d ever harbored. His footsteps were silent as he paused to pluck a familiar flower from the magical willow tree that turned to ash at his touch. “The backdrop of your betrayal is uncanny, my beauty.”

He practically floated toward us, and though I’d wanted to step between him and Orin, my husband took my hand and shifted in front of me instead.

Orin’s low growl was nearly feral in his chest as he managed to stare down at Death, though they stood eye to eye. Something in that moment stole my breath. Fear of the one I’d believed to be the true villain of the world, or fear for the man that was my world, I wasn’t sure. But it was more than that. A realization before the words were spoken. An absolute truth that stole the very breath from my lungs.

Death stared at Orin, his eyes widening for a fraction before a stunning smile crept along his full lips. Lips that now brought about a shock jolting through me. I'd seen his devastating beauty before and knew that none could match him ... except, the man facing him. Orin, whose lips were so similar to Death's, though marred in a frown.

“I should have known,” Death said, placing a hand on Orin’s shoulder. “Only my blood would be powerful enough to defy the gods. Let’s go home, son.”

Son.

The world turned to icy dread and confusion.

Orin’s grip slackened. I grasped for him, yanking on his hand for him to spin. To face me. But there was only darkness in his eyes. Death. His father.

“Orin?”

He didn’t answer. All of his features, each one I’d cherished, hardened. He was lost in an instant as hatred filled the eyes that stared down at me. Before I could reach for that Life Maiden power, before I could save him, they both vanished into a pool of shadows, leaving me feeling like the ground had crumbled beneath my feet, my heart heavy with the weight of a truth I had never expected and an absolute severance of my soul.

“I will come for you,” I whispered into the abyss, hoping he’d heard me before the shadows dissipated.

What lies had Elowen told? And what truths had Ro kept, having known how to appease his power?

Chapter 55

Idon’t remember falling to the floor or crying. Only Paesha’s blurry figure grabbing my shoulder, tears dried to my cheeks, as she stared at me with so much fear and yet so much love.

“He’s gone?” she asked so quietly, the echo of her words was louder than the ones she’d spoken aloud.

I nodded, my nose stinging until the tears threatened to return.

“Come on.” She shoved a hand under my arm and hauled me to my feet. “You can mourn in your bed. Not on the cold floor of a shitty temple built for a piece of shit god that never did a damn thing for this world.”

“No.” I planted my feet. “He’s not dead.”

“What do you mean?” She drew back, loosening her grip.

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all, burying my sadness for something far more vengeful. “What do you know about Orin’s father?”

“Nothing. I assumed he was killed by Hollis’s sister, to be honest, or maybe Elowen just had a one-night stand and that was all there was to it. He’s never brought it up, and I’ve never asked.”

“Well, I think it’s time we start asking Elowen questions because Death called him his son and then they vanished. Together. And Orin didn’t even fight it. The second Death touched him, he was… lost.” If a heart was made of a thousand pieces of emotion, all of mine shattered with those words. “I was supposed to save him. And I did. And it didn’t matter.”