Page 153 of Till Death

“Siphoning the Keeper’s power from the human’s immortality, he was able to draw his Maiden into his realm while she slept, delivering names far more often. But one day, his greed grew too plentiful, his harbingers too lethal, and the fragile magic broke. Immortality was ripped away from the humans, and they were left with one hundred years of life.

“Death was all too happy to wait, believing all the world would fall at once; every soul, upon reaching one hundred years old, would cross their final threshold and enter his eternal court. But when the first to fall did not come, and the soul was reincarnated back into this eternal realm, Death became irrational and desperate. And so, a new plan was concocted. A new magic, born. A new price, paid.”

My jaw ached from the way it dropped, eyes wide as I listened to Ro tell Death’s tale. “Wait… wait. You’re saying… all of this is just because Death fell in love? Some asshole god got pissed off about it and decided to punish him by locking her into a realm and kicking Death out of it with magic? And since Death can’t kill her and take her to his court, the harbingers are just… hunters? Arrows he’s blindly shooting through a keyhole of a locked door? That’s all we’re doing… But he has been here. He comes to collect the souls.”

“Only to you, Deyanira. With Orin and Icharius, his shadows have collected; the rules don’t restrict his ability to reap a soul. Only to take a life. And since he’s never truly appeared to Orin’s kills, likely he had no reason to believe it was anyone but Icharius. I think he feels your kills differently. Acutely. Because your magic is not only dark; it’s also light. Now, you have a choice to make. Will you let Orin fall victim to the darkness, or will you save him?”

The way she looked at me with such challenge in her eyes made me question every bit of her story until one truth became glaring. Each piece of Ro’s carefully laid plan came together so nicely, had I blindly trusted her, I might not have seen the small part she’d left out.

I have my own reasons, she had said.

Rubbing my hands together, I let the tension build in my shoulders, laying my own trap. She’d meddled, pushed, and twisted, all in convenient times for this single moment, and it gave me the final advantage I needed to protect the ones I was leaving behind.

“I don’t think I can do it,” I said with so much finality, I hoped Paesha followed along. “There’s no true way to get to Death’s court, and if I somehow managed, how would I save him? What advantage could we possibly have over Death?”

Paesha studied the look on my face but said nothing, trusting me fully, just as I’d hoped she would.

“You’re the Life Maiden. You can use that magic to defeat him.”

“You must have confused me with someone else. If I can figure out how to get there, I’m getting Orin and getting the hell out of there.”

“No!” she shouted, jumping to her feet. “His power will continue to haunt you if you do not see this through to the end.”

“Why do you seem so desperate?” Paesha asked, rising at the same time I did.

“Because,” I answered, “we’re staring at Death’s missing lover.”

“I never loved him.” Ro seemed to shrink into herself. “He was so dark and obsessive, so dangerous. Maybe there was a part of me that was intrigued, but there was no love or love lost. He was delusional.”

I leaned in, narrowing my gaze as if it were a weapon. “For someone who holds the value of truth to the highest level, you’re such a talented liar.”

“I can imagine it’s very easy to stand there and point the finger at me, but I need you both to consider taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. Not at me or the fact that my future has been destroyed, my eternity stolen, but at everything. The root of evil here is Death. The man who forced the madness onto a child, Deyanira. He pulls the strings of this world so flawlessly. Who do you think gave the Maestro power? He wasn’t born to that; he bargained with Death for it. Every lashing your husband took was because Death made that deal. Every bit of suffering Elowen experienced was because of the lies Death spun. Who do you think elevated Icharius to king? Death. And who thought to put his Death Lord and Maiden on the throne of a world he’s damned? Death. Those flowers on your back and every hateful glance you’ve ever received are because of him. Not me. I tried to bring peace to you when you had none. I knew the Life Maiden magic hidden within you would never be strong enough if you didn’t have light in your world. Death manipulated your history to make himself a god, and you are only a pawn. Consider your evils and sit in the truth.”

“So that’s why you’ve been hiding in mirrors. You’ve been so involved in my life because you knew I was the only one with the power to enter his court and use my opposing magic against him. You’ve played every single piece perfectly. Including Orin’s and my chance meeting. Because you knew I needed a reason to go. A reason to want Death gone.”

“You’re fucking twisted,” Paesha said, grabbing my hand to keep me grounded. “Did you convince him to break the world, too, so his father would finally figure it out and come for him when it was most convenient?”

She popped her mouth open, then shut it again as she fought for words to argue.

“You did,” Paesha gasped. “You did this.”

I tugged on the Huntress’s arm, holding her to my side.

“If I can’t get him back, Goddess, I swear to every holy temple, on the grave of every fallen god, and the dais of the rest that I will find a way to make you pay, whether you choose to take responsibility or not. If I have to reach into the heavens and pull Reverius from his fucking throne to save Orin, I will.”

“Shh,” she hissed. “You mustn’t speak like that if you have a will to live.”

“Then I think it’s lucky for all of us that I don’t. But here’s what you’re going to do for me. Althea, Quill, Elowen, and Paesha are being left behind in a broken world with no rules and no ruler. Requiem is bound to fall into ruin. And you’re going to protect them by whatever means necessary. If that means you bring them into this world of yours, you’re going to do it.”

“Humans don’t make demands of gods, Deyanira.”

“Then I’ll take my ass home and do nothing to save you, and the next time Death comes to my dreams, I will tell him exactly where you’re hiding.”

“You wouldn’t,” she gasped.

I glared, staring at the woman who was always too beautiful for this world. “Fucking try me.”

She sat for several moments, picking at her fingernails before thrumming them along the arm of her chair, contemplating.