Page 50 of A Bond in Flames

He blinked over at me several times. “I am immortal. I have been alive since almost the dawn of time and will continue to live when we reach the end. I have many lifetimes ahead of me. My time with Marigold in the Dream Realm is but a blip in my lifetime. Best you consider the situation you find yourself in closely, or you will end up—”

“Somnus,” Death growled.

He froze, then blew out a breath and slumped back in his seat. “Apologies, both of you. I’m not… I’m not myself. I’m anxious to get back to Marigold.”

“It must be hard being away from her,” I said.

“It is. Thankfully, I have a… a friend, Pascal, who can check in on her from time to time.” His gaze went to Death. “I trust him with my life,” he added, reassuring his brother.

“Are you sure, Som?” Death asked, looking tense.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Death held his brother’s stare, then nodded.

I took a sip of my wine. “So, how do you know so much about me and my sister?” I asked Somnus.

He looked up from loading his plate with more mashed potatoes. “I have access to every living being in every realm in existence. Dreams, nightmares—they come to everyone. I was searching for you, and then one night, there you were.”

I turned to Death. “How does it work? How did you reach me in my dream that first time?”

Hemy pushed closer to me when he sensed my emotions shift, my little familiar trying to comfort me. That time of my life was not something I liked to look back on. Death was studying me in that way of his, like he could sense it as well and was trying to reach inside me and learn my secrets.

He had his elbows on the table, his hands linked together in front of him. Darkness swirled in his eyes. “If I sleep beside Som, as long as we’re touching, I can tap into his powers, and he can point me in the right direction.”

I looked away, down at my food, when Somnus asked him a question, changing the subject. But I couldn’t shake the memories of that time, of what happened next. The night the God of Death came to me—a terrified kid, only fifteen years old—in my dreams and told me I belonged to him.

How I’d struggled to stay awake afterward so he couldn’t reach me again. I’d taken potions to keep myself awake until I was delirious and desperate. Until I’d finally learned of a demon who could help me. Then I’d made a choice in fear and delirium that ended in me losing something precious, something that I could never get back and could never be undone.

I stumbled to the demon’s door and knocked.

His name was Fluke, and it had taken me three days to find him. Three days of drinking coffee, of using forbidden potions and elixirs to fight off sleep. If my family knew I’d come here, they’d be furious, but this demon was my only chance. “You said on the phone you can help me?”

The demon’s muddy yellow eyes looked me up and down. “You are Death’s consort?”

“That’s what he says.” The demon was old, powerful. He’d been around so long, his skin looked thin and almost translucent. His eyes were cloudy, and the fangs that curved around his chin had blackened. If I weren’t so exhausted and scared, I would’ve probably peed myself. But what waited for me in my dreams, my future, if the demon couldn’t help me was far worse.

“What’s your fee?” I asked, my words sounding slurred from exhaustion and the potions still in my system.

He opened his door wider. “Come in and we can make a deal.”

I needed to get this done quickly. Mom was gone again, and Jaz had been staying with a friend. I hated being away from her for more than a couple of days. I followed him in, and he led me to a tall bench, motioning to it. I sat, and he walked to a shelf and pulled down a small bottle. The liquid inside was black or maybe deep red, it was hard to tell in the shadowed room.

“This is the blood of the goddess Nox. She is the night and Death’s mother. This cost me deeply to acquire, and if you want my help, you must be prepared to pay a great price.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

“Then lie on the bench and lift up your shirt,” he said as he closed the space between us, excitement dancing in his eyes.

“What are you going to do?”

“Take something you do not need. Now do it, or leave and await your fate.”

I would never leave Jazzy. She needed me. And I would never belong to Death, and I sure as hell would never love that monster. I had no choice but to do as the demon asked. I lay on the bench and lifted my shirt. He stalked over and kneeled on the floor beside me.

“Once I take payment, I will mark you with the blood of Nox. Only her blood has the power to conceal you, and the only way for Death to find you will be if you cut the markings from your skin, do you understand?”

I nodded, my heart racing wildly in my chest.

---