Page 20 of Death

“I can’t read your mind,” he says. “But I can see your face and you have something to say. So, say it.”

“Fine.” I shift on my seat to face him. “I think this whole thing — whatever the hell it is — is stupid and gross and just pure bullshit.”

“You would have preferred to die in childbirth?” he asks.

I open my mouth but my breath catches. “That’s not a fair question.”

“Sure, it is.” He stares at me. “Do you believe a life of mere seconds would have been preferable to the twenty years you’ve lived so far?”

“No, obviously, but you at least have to see how unfair this is to me.”

“I do.”

“You’ve known about this for twenty years. My parents have—” I stop, disgusted at the thought. They knew about this and they never said a word to me about it. “And you all somehow expect me to just go along with this like it’s normal when it’s anything but.”

“You’re right,” he says. “It’s not normal, it is unfair, and I would be quite foolish to assume a modern woman like you wouldn’t expect a courtship of some kind, so I’m willing to offer you one.”

My nose screws up. “A courtship?”

“Dating,” he explains.

“Yes, I know what a courtship is, Jane Austen,” I slur. “You want to date me?”

“Of course.”

I blink. “Me?”

He chuckles. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“You expect me to kidnap you?” he asks. “Spirit you away to the underworld against your will like Hades and Persephone?”

I squint. “Well, since you brought it up, aren’t you doing that?”

“No,” he says with a laugh. “Tannis, this isn’t like that. Your parents prayed for your life and I answered. In exchange, your soul is mine.”

My mouth sags. “And what part of that isn’t against my will?”

“The part where you agree to three dates.”

“Three dates?”

“From today until your birthday. Give me three dates over three days to convince you.”

“Convince me of what?”

His eyes wander my face as if it’s obvious. “That I’m worthy of you.”

My chest flutters out of nowhere. “And if you don’t?” I ask.

“I will.”

“But if you don’t?”

He bites his cheek, amused.

“You bargained with my parents, didn’t you?” I ask. “So, bargain with me. If you can’t convince me after three dates to go along with this, then you leave and you never come back.”