Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles #2)(88)

“What are you musing about behind those pretty eyes?” Death asked in a low tone.

Without thinking, I said, “That your home is becoming mine.”

Looking like I’d slapped him, he rose, striding toward the door.

While I wondered why he was reacting like this, he grated over his shoulder, “You make me think dangerous thoughts, creature.”

Dangerous thoughts. In transition, or in turmoil? Would he now go train in the storm, burning off aggression in a frenzy?

I didn’t know how much longer we could continue like this before something gave.





40

DAY 365 A.F.

EVE OF YEAR 2

“Why did you not dance today?” Death asked.

I’d just taken a seat on his study couch, curling my feet up under me. “I didn’t sleep very well.” Yes, I’d had dreams of him almost every night, but last night I’d been bombarded by scenes so lifelike, I’d awakened confused to find myself alone.

When he sat beside me, though not too close, I swallowed hard. I wondered what he’d do if I kissed him.

He was studying my expression. Could he see my cheeks heating?

“You looked flushed. Are you ill? The mortal here worked in medicine before the Flash.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Very well,” he said, looking unconvinced. “I wanted to tell you that I leave tonight for another trip.”

My spirits sank. “How long will you be gone?”

“Two or three days. Will you miss me, Empress?”

Not to talk with him into the night? “Yes,” I admitted. “And I’ll worry about you. I wish you wouldn’t go.”

My answer seemed to rattle him worse than my wet T-shirt had. He moved to sit behind his desk, clearing his throat before saying, “Fauna tells me you both fear Ogen when I’m away.”

“You’ve had to dock his horns again, haven’t you?”

Curt nod.

“I wouldn’t fear him as much if you removed my cuff.”

His expression darkened. “You know I can’t do that. Would it make you feel better if I locked him out of the compound?”

Best I was going to get. “Yes, thank you.”

As ever, he seemed uncomfortable with my gratitude, changing the subject. “Fauna also tells me tomorrow is your birthday.”

“I suppose it’s not a big deal for you, since you’ve had thousands of them.”

“If you ask me for a boon, perhaps I’ll provide it.”

I rose with excitement. “Like a birthday present?” I sauntered behind his desk, trespassing into his comfort zone. I hopped up on the desktop beside his chair, my thigh inches from his hand.

He clenched his fist. “I’ve warned you. I won’t be seduced.”

I said softly, “If we weren’t competitors, perhaps you could be? Why do you insist on playing this game?”

“Because it is what we were born to do.”

A non-answer. “You don’t strike me as the type who would blindly follow the dictates of some long-ago gods.”

“It is so much a part of me I wouldn’t know how to extricate myself.”

“You called me willfully na?ve, but you’re stubbornly stuck in the past. Won’t you even imagine a different future?” My temper was getting the better of me.

So was his. “I play—because there is no choice! You think I haven’t tried to upend the game?”

“You? You were one of the ones to make a truce?” My surprise appeared to infuriate him.

He shot to his feet, beginning to pace the study. “Talk of ending the game is a blasphemy—I was twice a blasphemer!”

“Don’t you, well, live for this?”

He raked a hand through his blond hair. “I wanted to change my existence so much, my bloody Tarot card is associated with change to this day.” Voice rising with each word, he said, “This game is a hell we’ve all been damned into. It’s designed to madden us. The most intelligent Arcana ever to play is called the Fool. The one who least wanted to kill was named Death. And you, Empress, rule over nothing!”

“You don’t need to kill?”

He turned to his vodka, drank. “Need. Want. Doesn’t matter. I do it.” When he refilled, the bottle clattered against the glass. “If any of these Arcana knew what awaited the winner, they would not be so keen to snatch a victory from me. They would thank me for reaping their lives.”

“I had no idea you felt this way.” Understatement. He wasn’t merely weary of killing, he despised it.

Another glass down. “You have no idea about me at all.”

“You’re right. And now that I’m thinking about it, I do want a boon. I want to ask you questions about your life and past, and have you answer them honestly.” Still atop his desk, I reached over and took the bottle from him to refill his glass.

“And so I am snared?” With an exhalation, he sank into his chair once more. “Then ask.”

“What do those runes on your skin mean?” The runes I’d dreamed of . . .

“As much as you watch me training, I’m surprised you haven’t deciphered them.”

I gave him a helpless shrug.