Page 76 of A Vow of Shadows
“No!” I lurched forward, halted by shadows that rose to block my path. Their translucent bodies hardened to resist where I pushed. Evander trembled where he knelt but made no move to rise. “What did you do to him?”
“I merely reminded him of his place.”
“If you take her,” Evander bit out, “it will be your undoing.”
“Silence.” Death flicked his wrist, and Evander fell quiet.
With growing horror, I watched as those same shadows that kept me from Evander yielded to an ever-approaching Behryn.
My surprise must have shown on my face. The king of the Afterworld chuckled, flicking a stray shadow from his shoulder like a piece of lint. “These shadows are a gift from me to my servant. It would be foolish to grant him anything that would give him power over me. They do not impede me, not even my sight.”
His eyes danced with mirth, and I knew he’d seen me the first time he’d visited Evander. I’d thought his comment was mere coincidence, but he had known I was there. Known and done nothing.
“You’re a monster,” I spat.
I stepped back, needing space from the stalking beast. Two shadows diverted from the pool, lazily creeping in my direction. Inky and Storm. They eased closer, a step ahead of Death.
“I am nothing more than what I was born to be.”
“You are cruel.” My shadow guardians wrapped around my legs.
“Some would call me tough but fair.” Though his steps were unhurried, Behryn was nearly upon me.
“You enslave people. You take their souls.” A familiar tug urged me to step into the shadow and disappear. I shook my head. I would not leave Evander.
“I do not take what is not willingly given.”
“You wish me dead.”
Death paused a step away, head tilted as he regarded me.
“You needn’t die to join me in the Afterworld. In fact, I find your vitality quite alluring.” Behryn’s gaze traveled the length of my body, reminding me that I wore only a dressing gown. “I could show you such wonders—”
I held up my hand, silencing whatever pretty promises he was about to make me. “I have no interest in coming with you. I want only to live out my life as I had before I was marked.”
His eyes left mine, regarding that mark with open curiosity. “Was it so interesting, this life of yours? Was it so satisfying that you yearn to return to it even now? The Between is a mere glimpse of what awaits in the next world.” He leaned in close until his words were a soft caress against my cheek. “I would give you everything.”
He lifted a hand toward my face but did not touch me.
“Why?” I asked, squirming to create distance between us. “To convince me to be your bride? I have no interest in ruling the Afterworld with you.” My eyes flicked to Evander, a small movement that Behryn noticed immediately.
His answering smile was all teeth. “What if I make you a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” I’d made one bargain already, was I so ready to enter into another?
“I’ll free Evander of his indenture, return him to the world of the living.” Behryn’s hand dropped from my face, extending between us as an offering.
I eyed his hand dubiously, taking in the thick black lines that wove over it like veins. “What do you ask in return?”
“Come with me to the Afterworld and remain there for the remainder of your bargain to the Ferrier.”
I didn’t ask how he knew of our bargain, nor did I confirm how much time remained of our deal. “And after that time is up?”
He shrugged. “The choice is yours. You may return to the world of the living and live out the life you dreamed of as a child, or you will remain in the Afterworld as my queen.”
Moira had said being queen was my destiny, that I was only prolonging the inevitable.
My focus shifted over Death’s shoulder to the reaper still held in a position of submission. It should have been an easy choice. Here was Death, offering me everything I thought I wanted. The only cost was spending the rest of my twenty-first year in the Afterworld rather than The Between, with Death instead of Evander.