Page 36 of All Hallows Masque

“That’s Exile messing with you, but if you’d listen to me—”

“All I’ve done for days is listen to you,” I interrupted, massaging a knot in my chest. I needed to get back to the domain, to get to Cat and Miz and Tor. And stop Madness before he did something truly insane in my absence. Although if I believed Ender, the domain was overrun with this white fog, too.

“Not damn near enough,” Ender muttered, giving me side-eye as his grey stallion kept pace with Mort. “Exile is bleeding into the domain, and from there it will bleed out to the mortal realm. Unless you know how to staunch that blood, you’re going to rip a wider chasm.”

“Chasm?”

He made a throaty sound. “I’ve already told you this, if you’dpay attention—”

“Excuse me for worrying about my family,” I said tersely, massaging that pain in my chest.

“You upset the fall of life and death. There has to be balance, and you blundered in like a bull in a tea shop.”

“China shop,” I corrected, ignoring his glare. We weren’t friends, barely allies. He’d done nothing but nag at me, drop cryptic hints about Exile, and dodge my direct questions since we met.

“China’s a country, you fool,” he muttered. “I’ve been dead for millennia and even I know that.”

“Explain the chasm,” I prompted, scanning the fog for any identifying features and finding nothing, as always. I couldn’t even say how long I’d been here, and that sent a cold spill of apprehension through me. What if it was years?

“It opened once before, when I broke the same rule.” His smile was mirthless. “Death gods aren’t supposed to fall in love. It upsets the balance. It’s not too bad if you fall in love with another god, and that’s been known to happen, but with a mortal? The whole place falls apart if a bond is formed.” He laughed loudly, covering up my question, which irritated me more. “Let alonefivebonds. I’ll be surprised if there’s anything left of the mortal realm.”

I guided Mort to an abrupt stop and pinned Ender with my hardest stare. “No more bullshit. Explain what’s happening and how to fix it. Now.”

He stopped his grey horse and matched my hostility with a glare of his own. “I’m trying to help you, you oblivious, stubborn arsehole.Listen.The rift opened when the bonds formed. I felt it even here. I guarantee you felt it in your domain, like a ripple through all realms.”

“The night of the Halloween party,” I breathed, going still. “The nightshecast the curse that made Cat our bride.”

“Sure,” he drawled. “That. It would have happened slowly, the spill of Exile into the domain but certain things can hasten the process. Bonds becoming damaged, for example.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Like Nightmare targeting us. Her telling Cat to reject Tor and Miz. Cat becoming a subject. Shit.”

“What a thrilling life you lead,” he said drolly. “Now that you know what caused it, you know how to fix it.”

My brows slammed down over my eyes. “That told me nothing except how this began. I understand Cat being our bride opened this chasm, but I know nothing about why it’s forbidden, what falling in love has to do with life and death, or how to undo what’s been done. Or how to get out of this place,” I added, my stomach knotting at the thought of being separated from my loves for all eternity.

“The bonds are formed, there’s no undoing that now,” Ender said, giving me a serious look that made my skin prickle. “But now the domain is tied to your relationship, so if you have arguments, end them. If you have obstacles, overcome them. Heal your bonds, or everything falls apart. All of existence now depends on one woman.”

There was something in the tightening of his dark eyes, in the way his throat flexed with a swallow. “Again,” I said, recalling his words from a few minutes ago. “You fell in love too, and were exiled for it. That must mean life and death depended on your partner. What happened to them?”

Ender’s expression hardened. “That’s not your business.”

“If it can help me get back—”

“Itcan’t,”he bit out, canines bared.

“But if you just told me—”

“She’s out there somewhere,” he snapped, flinging out his arm at the emptiness. “In the place all spirits ended up when the chasm widened. Shewasin your domain, dead and utterly oblivious to her past, to her history with me. But now? Fuck knows where she ended up.”

I forced myself to take a breath, to cool the furnace of my anger. I’d been around Tor for long enough to recognise Ender was lashing out because of a deep emotional wound. “How did the domain repair itself the first time, after you opened the chasm?”

He shrugged. “We were separated, the bond severed when she died. Balance restored.”

My whole body recoiled at the thought of Cat’s death, and Mort let out an alarmed sound. Not a damn chance. My wife wasn’t dying. She would live a long, fulfilling life full of colour and laughter and happiness, and I would be there to watch all of it.

Or I’d be trapped here and miss every moment of her life.

But she wouldnotdie. I wouldn’t allow it.

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