Page 69 of A Vow of Shadows
Every step closer revealed more about her. The finery of her clothes, the lack of lines upon her skin, the haughty tilt of her chin. It wasn’t until I neared that I realized how much shorter she stood. The top of her head sat just below my chin, but she stared down her nose at me nonetheless.
“May I ask whose acquaintance I have the pleasure of making?” I asked, inclining my head.
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Evander.”
I tensed at her use of my name.
“Nor does Samedi need to remain hidden.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Sam hid, now reappearing to join us on the path.
He passed me a look that conveyed all the confusion I felt.
Facing the stranger, Sam turned on his full charm, transforming into the gentleman he’d once been. “You have us at a disadvantage, my lady, for you clearly know our names, but we do not know yours.”
The woman looked him up and down, unimpressed. “I am Moira, though it will do you little good. I’ve come to let you know that Miss Fil’Owen is safe for now.”
A weight lifted from my shoulders as Sam flashed me a dazzling smile. I had so many questions. Sensing the need to tread carefully where this woman was concerned, I asked the most pressing. “Where is she?”
“She is beyond.” Moira gestured to the road behind her, suggesting Katrin had made it to the world of the living. “I left her at an inn. When you cross, my footman will be waiting to take you to her. He is blessed with the Sight and knows for whom he waits.”
The sun had nearly set. A small band of light illuminated the horizon. “Thank you, Lady Moira,” I said, placing my palm over my heart.
“Do not thank me yet, reaper.”
My blood iced. Instinctively, the shadows gathered closer to me. “What do you mean?”
Moira looked from me to Sam and back again. “Her mark is a mark of Fate. It cannot be undone. Her stars cannot be unwritten. Fetch her if you will, but it is the Afterworld that calls and to the Afterworld she will go. Her days are numbered.”
“How long?” I growled, unwilling to accept the word of some stranger in the woods. “If you know so much, how long does she have left?”
Moira considered me. She opened her mouth and closed it as though debating her answer. “Do you really wish to know?”
Yes.
No.
I didn’t want to know, but would Kat? Was it worth it to put a timestamp on our time together?
My silence was answer enough. Moira pressed her lips together and nodded once.
“Why her?” I asked.
She shrugged, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from shaking her.
“Why anyone? That is what they all want to know, isn’t it? Why was he poor and she rich? Why did she die young? Why did victory favor one kingdom over another? Why were you both made reapers and denied entrance to the Afterworld?” She shrugged again. “I cannot say.”
“Cannot or will not?” Sam asked.
“Knowledge is not the gift you think it is. There is beauty in ignorance. Happiness in naiveté. Enjoy what you have today, Evander, for tomorrow is never guaranteed.”
Without another word, she strode away, a specter floating through the forest. Sam and I watched until she faded from view, the last of the sunlight fading with her.
Sam turned to me, brows raised in silent question. Shaking off the strange encounter, I nodded once and slipped through the door to the mortal world.
Chapter 44
Katrin
I’d never patronized an establishment such as this. Either I’d been too young or too firmly distanced from society to ever find myself in this sort of place.