Page 46 of A Bond in Flames

His arm wrapped around me, and he fisted the beast’s knotted mane. “Sleep if you need to. We’re not stopping until we’re back at the ship.”

Then the beast lowered its head, and we took off, galloping back toward the Night Sea.

* * *

The closer we got to the ship, the more Death’s mood deteriorated. He wasn’t speaking, and the shadows swirled around him constantly now. A profound sadness and that anger, so much anger, burned from his chest behind me and went right through me, settling in my gut. I found myself wrapping my hands around his forearm, my thumbs sliding back and forth in an attempt to soothe whatever was going on with him.

When we reached the ship, Death ushered me down to the cabin, then headed back up, and I heard one demon scream followed by Death roaring threats. I waited for him to come down after that, but he didn’t.

A demon knocked on the door an hour later carrying buckets of water. He filled the tub, then left. I quickly washed and changed into a pair of tights and a T-shirt, but despite Death telling me to sleep, I couldn’t; it was impossible when all those volatile emotions inside him were so raw and real to me.

I lay in bed, stared at the dark and moody sky through the small round window in the opposite wall, and pressed both hands to my chest to try and ease the ache. Goddess, I had this hollow feeling inside me. I didn’t know what was causing it, but I needed it to stop.

It wasn’t because of Death; it was something else. Though, I kind of felt like he was avoiding me. I shouldn’t care, but I did. So many things had happened during this trip that could have him feeling the way he did, but it felt as if he was directing the force of his emotions at me when we’d ridden—that he was angry at me. But why? Yes, I went up to the deck without telling him and got myself kidnapped, but that didn’t warrant that kind of fury. It had to be something else.

I was still mulling all this over hours later, when the door opened and closed. Death walked to the tub, stripped off, and climbed in, barely looking my way, but when he did, his nostrils flared and he ground his teeth.

Any doubt I had about my hypothesis vanished. He was most definitely pissed at me.

Words flew around my head as I tried to think of what to say. Despite how long I’d been coming to Limbo and how things had changed between us this last week, I didn’t know him, not really. How could I? He was as old as time, a complex god, and he told me nothing.

He also didn’t owe me his trust, and I hadn’t earned the right to hear his deepest and darkest secrets, like he hadn’t earned that from me. Which meant there was only one thing I could do. Shoving back the covers, I got out of bed and walked over, stopping at the foot of the bath.

“Go back to bed,” he said, his gaze locked on the edge of the tub.

“Look at me.”

His lips peeled back, but he did as I asked. His eyes were still black as night, like his mother’s eyes, not a bit of white showing. “It’s my turn,” I said.

“Not tonight, witch.”

Not consort or wife, not little witch, just witch, as if he was trying to put distance between us.

“Yes, tonight. We made a deal. This is what you demanded, so we’ll do it.”

His eyes flashed. “No, we will not. Now go back to bed.”

He stood abruptly and snatched the towel, roughly drying himself off, then slung it around his waist.

“You’re angry with me, why?”

He growled.

“Mors—”

His growl exploded in volume. “Do not… call me that. We are not in bed, witch, so you do not call me by my name.”

For some reason, that hurt a lot. It was almost as if… as if he hated me in that moment. “Why are you angry at me?” I asked again. He turned away, and I grabbed his arm.

He swung back, pulling from my hold. “I told you to go back to bed.”

“Since when have I done anything you’ve told me?” I fired back.

“Never, not one fucking time.” He ground his teeth again. “You did this, you caused this…” He stopped himself.

“Tell me what I did.” He was breathing hard. “Death, tell me what the hell is up your ass, because I’ve got to tell you, this tantrum of yours is starting to piss me off.”

“Is that right?”

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