“Let me in.” His chin lowered, and his flesh started to thin. “Let me in. Let me in,so’lis.” His voice rose, and the whispers returned, joining him as the ghostly dancers clutched at the bars and howled. “Let me in.”
“You can trust me,” he said, his voice echoing around me. “Always.”
I’m not asking you to trust me.
My heart stuttered at the sound of his voice. One I knew mirrored his emotions, deepening with passion, turning raspywhen worried or uncertain, smooth as the finest wine or silk when he teased. And when his voice softened, it was always a warning that blood would be spilled.
I wouldalwaysknowhisvoice.
And he would never ask me to trust him.
A faint tingle drew my gaze to my left hand. Through the undulating mist, I saw the shimmery gold swirl of an…imprint.
My gaze lifted to the being before me. He smiled. It was painfully beautiful and…a lie. Just as everything he promised was. Because I knew who he was.
Whathe was.
He had been the end of every beginning.
True Death.
But now, he was the great deceiver. The thief of life and joy. The Conspirator, a manipulator who preyed upon weakness and fear. The very first and very last murderer. A monster not by design but by choice.
“Let me take away your pain,” Death whispered. “I know you’re ready,so’lis.”
The mist around my throat loosened.
Anticipation swelled in Death.
I dragged in the thinnest breath. “Never.”
Death stared, and I saw something flicker in those crimson-flecked eyes. Something akin to confusion. And something deeper. Starker and colder. The mockery of a smile faded before it returned like a poorly concealed stain. He gripped the bars, which shattered around his hands, exploding into shimmering dust. He walked into the cage, the tendrils of Primal mist loosening and retracting, unfurling from around my neck, slipping down my arms, and sliding across my hips. I fell forward onto my hands, dragging in deep breaths as the essence slithered across the floor, returning to…
Their source.
My head lifted, and through strands of hair, my eyes locked with crimson orbs as the Primal mist coiled around his legs.
He knelt before me, his fingers brushing the hair back from my face in a gentle sweep that ended sharply. He fisted the strands, jerking my head back and forcing my spine to arch.
The cold darkness took the remaining golden bars, erasing the cage. The bed collapsed, taking the chains with it.
He leaned in, his breath cool against my ear. “I didn’t need your permission.”
Cold realization slammed into me, and that revelation echoed back through time. Death never did. I should’ve known.
“And you,so’lis,”—his other hand flattened against my breastbone, sending a wave of revulsion through me—“you still haven’t learned that.”
Searing agony erupted from the center of my chest, igniting icy flames that engulfed my entire body. The pain was ungodly in its intensity, robbing me of the ability to even scream as the darkness rushed forward, reached for me.
For us.
CASTEEL
Walking out of the bathing chamber, I saw Kieran sitting at Poppy’s hip, one of his hands hanging limply between his knees while the other rested on her arm.
I dragged a smaller towel over my chest and headed to the wardrobe, watching him from the corner of my eye. His headwas drooped forward, chin nearly touching his chest. Weariness clung to him like a second skin.
“You need to sleep,” I said, roughly running the towel through my wet hair as I glanced at the window. “There’s a couple of hours until dawn.”
