Chapter Eighteen

Alexei whirled around to face the intruder, being sure to keep Cassie behind him. She loved him. In spite of what he was and what he’d done, she loved him.

No one would keep her away from him.

The intruder was tall, well over seven feet. He was dressed all in black—jeans, boots, T-shirt, and a long urban leather duster. He had a half smile on his face, but his eyes were anything but amused. Jet black, they seemed to hold all the secrets of the universe.

He also smelled like… Alexei sniffed the air. Flowers. He smelled like flowers. Totally at odds with his badass appearance. It was similar to the perfume that always seemed to linger around Cassie.

Whoever this guy was, he was far more dangerous than anyone who’d come after them so far. A sinking sensation gripped his stomach. He had a bad feeling he knew who this was.

“Hello, Death.” Cassie stepped forward, shoulders back, head unbowed.

Death was standing in his living room. He could honestly say it wasn’t something he’d ever imagined. Didn’t even hit his top million list of things he might encounter in his immortal existence.

The sickle was within reach, but could it even hurt him? Killing him would upset the balance of the universe. And that’s assuming Death could even be destroyed. But he couldn’t allow the mystical being to harm his woman.

She’s my heart.

He threw his arm around her and hauled her up against his side, not willing to let her move away from him. He was sending a clear message that she was no longer alone.

When Death raised an eyebrow, he knew his message had been received.

“You’ve been busy.” He flashed into the sitting area and threw himself down into Alexei’s favorite chair. Making himself at home, he stretched his long legs out in front of him, rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, and steepled his fingers in front of him. “Have a seat.” An order, not an invitation.

The arrogant bastard was acting like he owned the place. He wasn’t worried at all about the weapon, either. He could have easily nabbed the sickle before taking a seat.

Scrap that idea.

Cassie went forward with him plastered to her side. He wasn’t leaving her for one second. Nor was he staying unarmed. Maybe it was a bluff, maybe not. He lunged and snatched up the blade, but he didn’t keep it. He placed it in Cassie’s hand, closing her fingers around the handle.

“Protective of you, isn’t he?”

“Name is Alexei.”

“Yes, I know.” Great, now he seemed amused. Knocking that smirk off his face was Alexei’s new goal in life.

The only other person he’d met in his lifetime who’d emitted the same dangerous vibe had been Maccus. But this guy was in a league of his own. He could literally kill whoever he wanted.

Best to keep him talking.

“Do you want to put some clothes on?” he asked, his tone conversational.

“Not really.” Getting dressed would mean leaving Cassie alone with him. “I’m fine the way I am.” Nudity didn’t really bother him.

Death rolled his eyes. “Cassie, go and get the man a pair of jeans.” When she hesitated, he softly added, “If I desired him to be eliminated, he would no longer be here.”

That was certainly blunt enough. She shot Alexei a worried look before hurrying from the room. The two men spent the short time she was gone staring at each other. She quickly returned with a pair of jeans, which he yanked on. So maybe he did feel better not having all his business hanging out in the wind.

“Now that we’ve dealt with that small issue,” Death began when they were seated.

“It’s not Alexei’s fault,” she blurted.

“What isn’t?” He crossed his ankles, looking completely relaxed and at home.

“Anything.” She scooted to one side, putting a few inches between them. Alexei followed, ignoring her when she frowned at him.

“He didn’t ash the creature? That was an unscheduled reaping.”

When Cassie remained silent, Alexei spoke up. “It’s on the one who involved me in this. He was the one who drew me, and Damian, to her.”

“Hmm… I was just made aware of that.” He wasn’t pleased either if his frown was any indication. Alexei almost pitied Egan and Felicia. Almost. As far as he was concerned, they deserved whatever they got.

“That’s on me,” she told her boss. “I had no idea Egan was jealous. I didn’t see it. Didn’t even know such a thing was possible.”

“Ambition is a cold emotion,” Death pointed out. “And reapers are nothing if not cold.”

“So it would seem.” She set the weapon on the coffee table and twined her fingers together before continuing. “What now?”

“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” He sighed, and for the first time, Alexei detected a chink in his emotional armor. He seemed…tired. No, that wasn’t quite right. Maybe conflicted.

“If you go unpunished, I run the risk of having reapers walk off the job right and left. That would lead to wholesale chaos, souls left untended, spirits wandering lost in the in-between, and that’s if they even continued to die on schedule.”

He pinned them both with his dark gaze. “That cannot happen. Even I may not be able to deal with the fallout from such an event.”

Her face was chalky, her lips almost bloodless. How much of that was due to fear and how much was because of the blood he’d taken from her?

“How did you find me?” she asked.

Shaking his head, he made a tsking sound. “Cassandra, there wasn’t a moment in time when I didn’t know exactly where you were. I am Death.”

Alexei sat up straighter, his thoughts scrambling. He should have come to that conclusion himself. Death was powerful and she’d been created by him. In the same way a vampire would always be able to find any “children” they made, so Death would have been able to track her.

“Why the subterfuge?” he demanded. Which in hindsight wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done, but he was pissed on her behalf. “Why allow the others to track her, possibly harm her?”

Death stirred, and the rock walls seemed to quiver. “That should never have occurred.” The light was almost sucked out of the room. “She was never in any true danger.”

Now he was lost. “But haven’t you come to end her? That’s what I was hired to do.”

“And if you’d attempted it, you’d be dead.”

She slowly came to her feet. “You’ve known where I’ve been the whole time? Of course you have,” she muttered. “I’m so stupid.” She dragged her fingers through her short cap of black hair. “All this time, I thought I was free, but I’ve never been free. Never will be.”

“Cassandra—” he began, but she cut him off.

“I can’t do it anymore.” Alexei hated that she seemed defeated. This was not the woman he’d come to know with her enthusiasm for life, her raw courage. “I can’t.” She turned to him. “Thank you for giving me the happiest moments of my life.”

That sounded too much like goodbye to him. He slowly stood beside her and stroked his hand down her face. “You’re mine.” He’d repeat it as many times as necessary until she finally believed him. “Wherever you go, I go. Whatever happens to you happens to me.” The last was said to Death.

He wouldn’t be parted from Cassie. Not now. Not ever. He would be by her side all the way.

“Alexei, you can’t.” When she tried to move away, he grasped the back of her neck and pulled her forward.

“Just try and get rid of me, baby.” He leaned down to seal the pact. Their lips were almost touching when their uninvited guest spoke.

“This is all very moving, but irrelevant. If I want to separate you, I can just take her with me.”

“Just try it,” he repeated. Probably not smart to issue such a challenge, but he would allow nothing to tear her away from him. No way was he backing down.

She put herself in front of him, her back to Death. “Don’t,” she cautioned. “I love you,” she told him. His chest expanded and ached with love for her in return. “I need you to be safe.”

Pride and fear warred inside him.

I can’t fucking lose her.

…

Cassandra spun around and faced Death. Her hands were clammy. She wished she was fully dressed and not clad only in a flannel shirt. It put her at a huge disadvantage. Still, it was one of Alexei’s shirts, so it was almost as good as being enfolded in his arms. She drew courage from that. “Whatever you want to do to me, I accept. I left my job. But I honestly couldn’t do it any longer.” How could she explain so he’d understand?

“One more soul and something inside me would have broken.” She placed her hand over her heart. “I know we aren’t supposed to have feelings toward those we guide. I know it’s all for the greater good, but I’d honestly rather for it all to be over than to have to take one more. How many have I reaped? Billions?”

Alexei rested his hands on her rigid shoulders, silently offering his support. Her assassin, one of the so-called Forgotten, considered a monster by most, was her rock.

“I’ll let you live if you reap his soul.” There was no pity in Death, no give. She swallowed hard. What had she expected? Sympathy? Understanding?

Death was cold and unfeeling. Impartial. Had to be in order to do the job. And he’d created reapers in his image.

Then why was she in such pain?

“You can’t do this,” Alexei protested.

“Silence. I can do whatever I please. It’s her life or yours. Choose.” The final word landed with the finality of a hammer on an anvil.

Cassie faced the man she’d walked alongside since the dawn of time. Then she looked at the man she loved. He was expecting her to do it. She could see it in his eyes. After all, his family had turned their backs on him, betrayed him. Why wouldn’t she?

She hated Death. Even though it made no sense to do so. He was simply being true to his own nature. A price had to be paid for her defection.

That he was giving her a choice was unprecedented.

“It’s okay.” Alexei ran his huge hand over the crown of her head and then down to her cheek. “It’s okay, baby. I want you to live. I’ve already survived past my time.”

Oh, God. What was he doing? Tears rolled unashamedly down her cheeks. He was offering his life to save her. It was the most selfless thing she’d ever witnessed.

“Embrace who you are,” Death commanded.

Alexei rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Do it, Cassie. I want to feel you at full power. You pack a punch as you are, but I want all of you.”

Nodding, she reached inside herself. It wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be to pull down the wall that kept her powers at bay. Pain ripped through her. She cried out and stumbled forward.

Only his strong arms around her kept her upright.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

There was no way to stem the flood of tears. The emotional and physical pain was crushing, ripping her apart. Blood trickled from her nose. The pressure made her head feel as though it was about to explode.

A primal yell escaped as she gave one final shove. The mental wall crumbled. Pure energy flooded her.

Her body bowed, and light shot from every pore of her skin. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

“Help her,” Alexei demanded. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing anyone could do.

She rode out the excruciating shards of agony that seemed to want to tear her apart before she was finally flung back together. Throughout the ordeal, Alexei was right there beside her, holding her, making sure she didn’t fall.

Sweat plastered the flannel shirt to her body. Power coursed through her veins. It was shocking to fully comprehend just how weak she’d become.

A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead and mingled with a tear coasting down her cheek. Would Alexei accept her now? Could he?

He shook his head and her stomach dropped. Something inside her shriveled. Then he smiled. “I thought you couldn’t get more beautiful.” Using the pads of his thumbs, he wiped away the sweat and tears from her face. “I was wrong.”

I can’t trade his life for mine.

“You’re spectacular.” He gently touched his lips to hers. Death was unusually silent but watchful. Now that she was back at full strength, she was completely attuned to his presence.

Then not even he could distract her. Not when Alexei was kissing her, for the final time.

It wasn’t fair that they’d had such a short time together. But life was seldom fair. It was about appreciating what you had when you had it.

And they’d packed a lifetime into a matter of days.

Their tongues tangled and breath mingled. If there was any kind of afterlife for her, she would never forget him. His image, scent, taste, touch, and the sound of his voice were imprinted on her very being.

Alexei Medvedev was the love of her life.

She clung to him, desperation taking over, trying to hold on as long as she could. He slanted his mouth over hers, taking and giving.

Finally, Death said, “It’s time.”

Alexei released her and gave her a nod. He expected her to do it. Death was expecting her to follow orders to save herself.

She picked up the blade she’d used only once before. To take a life was not her job, but once before she had been commanded to do so.

She’d been younger then and had obeyed.

Now she was much older, had seen more of the world than most could ever imagine. She’d watched mankind crawl out of caves and create villages and towns, lived through the rise and fall of empires both great and small.

The wooden handle fit into her hand. It had been made for her and she’d spent hours upon hours practicing in private, always aware she might have to use it again someday.

That day had finally come.

The blade was sharp and deadly in its own right. But the magical symbols stamped on it gave it something extra. Made by Death himself, it was capable of taking the lives of any species and ending the existence of reapers.

Only Death could destroy a god, because doing so upset the wheel of fate, changing billions of destinies in the blink of an eye.

Everything had a place in the fabric of existence, and she’d disrupted that.

Alexei gripped her wrist and brought it toward his chest, stopping when the very tip of the curved blade rested against his heart. “I love you,” he told her.

Reaper she might be, but her heart was no longer cold. No, it was filled with the heat of love for this man. “I love you, too.”

Lightning fast, she flicked her wrist around and drove it into her chest. It sank deep, piercing her heart.

Alexei roared her name. Then she was in his arms. “Why? Why?” he chanted. “What have you done?”

Then he was shouting at Death. “Save her. My life for hers.”

“You’d do that?” He appeared almost uninterested. It was stupid to be hurt that he didn’t seem even remotely upset she was dying. She’d been with him longer than any other.

The first reaper.

When she coughed, blood trickled from her lips. The pain was enormous, but she wasn’t dead.

Why aren’t I dead?

Her blade could kill anyone, short of a god. It had been designed that way.

“Yes,” Alexei said the same time she whispered, “No.”

Death held out his hand, and the blade flew from her chest. She cried out at the sudden pain of having the sharp implement ripped from her body. Alexei cursed and slapped his hands over the wound.

“Don’t you want to feed from her, vampire?”

“Fuck you,” Alexei yelled. “Baby, drink from me. Maybe my blood can heal you.”

She raised her hand and pressed it against his beard. “I’m a reaper. It’s not just what I do, it’s who I am.” The balance had to be kept. If she drank his blood and survived, his life would be taken. Unable to hold her hand up any longer, she let it fall back to her lap.

He pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth, his tongue lapping up the little trail of blood. He laid her on the sofa and turned to Death.

“My life for hers.”

“So be it.” He struck hard and fast, driving the blade forward.

Alexei didn’t cry out, didn’t protest or try to save himself. He dropped to his knees, blood seeping from the wound and pouring down his bare chest. Crawling to her side, he laid his head down beside her, and stopped breathing.