Page 12 of A Bond in Flames

“We could die?” I said, filling in the blanks.

“You could. I can’t die—I’m a God—but I could be seriously injured and out of commission for a very long time.”

Fuck.“I’d rather not die, if it’s all the same.”

“If you do as I say, you’ll be fine. Now hold on tight,” Death said, then patted Raze. “Run, my friend.”

The beast took off, and Zuri bounded forward. I jerked back, almost coming off, and yanked on the reins to right myself, then hung on like hell. They were massive and ungainly, but they could move.

Death kept that pace for the rest of the day, and by the time we stopped for the night, I was exhausted. My thigh muscles ached and cramped, my back hurt, and my fingers were stiff from gripping the leather reins so tight.

Death jumped down as if we’d been riding for minutes, not hours, and removed Raze’s girth strap and bridle. I groaned, dragging my leg over Zuri’s back, and kind of slid to the ground. My legs buckled under me, but before I could hit the dirt, Death was there, his arm hooked around my waist, stopping me from falling.

“You need to work on your stamina,” he said roughly.

The coarseness to his voice lifted goose bumps all over me. I quickly pulled away, clinging to Zuri’s girth strap while the blood pumped back through my muscles. “I’m not used to riding all day, that’s all. I’m not weak.”

He stepped away from me. “If you say so.”

I gritted my teeth and barely resisted picking up a rock and tossing it at his head. I removed Zuri’s girth strap and bridle and hung them over a branch, watching as she and Raze trotted off into the forest to eat and rest.

Wordlessly, Death led me to the mouth of a cave that cut into stone at the base of a tall cliff. It was getting dark, but there was still enough light that when I looked up, I could tell it was hundreds of yards high.

“What is this place?” I asked as we walked in. I stopped in my tracks. “Whoa.” There were candles already going, and an ornate fireplace was carved into one of the rock walls. A small kitchen was on the opposite side, a wooden table and four chairs beside it, and a large bed on a four-poster iron frame sat back, recessed in the stone. Dark fabric hung down the sides, tied back by leather cords, and the bed was draped in black velvet. Everything smelled clean and fresh, as if someone still lived here and had just done a spring clean.

“This was my home when I first created this realm,” Death said, surprising me.

I spun to him. “You lived here? How long for?”

He shrugged a broad shoulder. “I can’t recall. A long time.” He opened his jacket hurriedly, sliding it off, and instantly rolled his shoulders as if he had been desperate to remove it. He turned to the entrance as he tugged off the shirt he wore underneath, visibly relaxing. The entrance vanished, just from a look, and now stone covered it—trapping us in. His gaze slid to the fire next, and flames immediately ignited in the hearth. “Sit. We’ll eat.”

I looked around again, for a door, for an escape, if I needed one, but there wasn’t one. I was trapped in a cave with Death.

“Consort,” he said, jolting me. I tried not to look panicked as I turned back to him. “Sit. Eat.”

When I turned back, the table was set, plates piled with food at either end. “Neat trick,” I said and managed to walk to the table without collapsing again. Sitting at the table, I took Hemy from his bag and set him on the table beside me. He blinked up at me, still drowsy. He’d slept all day. “You hungry?” I looked down at my plate. All my favorites were there. Slow-roasted beef, gravy, crispy potatoes, green beans, and glazed carrots. I put a couple carrots and a potato in front of Hemy and poured some water into a saucer.

Death’s boots thumped against the stone floor, echoing through the room, and somehow, I managed not to jump, but my nerves zipped across my belly as he drew closer, then pulled out the chair opposite. I glanced up as he sat. His plate looked the same as mine, but he had twice the amount of beef. There was a pitcher with water and a mug, and a glass of wine as well. I took a fortifying sip. It hadn’t escaped me that there was only one bed, and the idea of lying on it next to Death was more than I could even contemplate.

“Stop staring at your food and eat it,” he said, voice low. “You’ll need to keep up your strength.”

I picked up my cutlery and sliced off a succulent piece of beef. “For all the fighting I’ll be doing?”

His gaze dipped to my mouth, watching as I slid the fork past my lips. “I don’t know what awaits us. We need to be prepared for anything.” He shoved food in his mouth, his biceps flexing, then took a gulp of wine. “Where we’re going, demons are rampant, but you’re a warrior. I’ve seen you fight. It’s nothing you can’t handle.”

I lowered my knife and fork. “You think I’m a warrior?”

“I know you are. My consort wouldn’t be anything else,” he said as if it were obvious, a fact, then lowered his gaze back to his food.

I sat there, kind of frozen, surprised he saw me that way and, yeah, pleased that he recognized my abilities and didn’t see me as some weak female. “So all your consorts were warriors?”

“Not all warriors wield a sword.”

This was true.

“Eat, Zinnia,” he rumbled, not looking up, and the oxygen was punched from my lungs.

I quickly shoved a piece of carrot in my mouth so he didn’t feel the need to look up again, but my heart was pounding wildly in my chest. He never called me by my name. Ever. It was alwaysconsortor occasionallywife. I took another sip of my wine and tried to get it the hell together while he ate across from me.

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