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Lilah’s brows raise and beside me Alouette snorts, “‘Bout time, Hal.” Belatedly, I realize I said it out loud. I mumble an apology at the same time Alouette speaks up, “We may be dead, but we aren’tdead,” and winks at Lilah.
I see the corner of Lilah’s mouth twitch again, causing something warm to rush through me. An uncomfortable feeling for one who no longer has a pulse, and if I did I am certain my chest would explode with what she makes me feel.
“Well, I’m out,” Alouette proclaims. “Hallis, try to rein in those heart eyes, yeah?” She slides back out of the booth, resting a hand briefly on Lilah’s shoulder while placing a quick kiss to her cheek. She then walks out, flipping Boss off as she goes.
Lilah
As I watchAlouette walk out the door, thewrongdoor, a small sigh escapes me. I may not understand it, but I have a strong suspicion of why he keeps her here, even though she desperately wants to go. Shaking my head slightly, I turn back towards Hallis, whose faded brown eyes are still on me. I can only imagine how warm they would have been when he was alive.
He’s not the first to look at me this way, but he’s the first that has made me look back with something more than a passinginterest to scratch an itch. I catch myself briefly imagining him under me, over me, behind me and I shake my head again, shoo-ing those thoughts away.
Hallis will cross that threshold at some point, though, and I’ll still be bound here, haunting these walls. And that is why I have never pursued an attachment to anyone passing through The Ferryman—excluding one very bad decision—because they all do, pass through, eventually.
An expression passes over Hallis’s face and I worry my thoughts were too loud. Hisvery fuckablemouth opens, “Li-” he begins when the entrance slams open, causing the noise to slowly recede throughout The Ferryman.
“LILAH!” Ah, and there’s thebad decision.
Glancing towards the main bar, Boss is feigning intense interest in drying glasses that are absolutely not wet, which means he is not going to intervene… yet.
In a moment of weakness, and a bit of boredom with my living partners, I found myself ass up in front of Death himself. When Boss found out, all he said was that letting Than fuck me once was punishment enough. I quickly learned what he meant by that when the few living partners I toyed with after, wound up at The Ferryman…no longer living.
I toss an apologetic smile at Hallis and turn to address the territorial idiot that has determined I’m his favorite toy. “Hello Thanatos. Here for business or pleasure?”
He glares at me, “Since you continue to deny me pleasure, business.” His reply causes a heavier silence to descend on The Ferryman.
“Well, we’ll leave you to it then,” I say as casually as possible so as not to rile him up further. Turning back to Hallis once more, I repeated my earlier question.
“Anything I can get you?” Hallis looks at me with a question in his eyes, which then darts behind me at the same moment I feel Than grip my hips and pull me so my back is flush against his chest.
“Stop ignoring me.” He growls while nuzzling into my neck.
The rest happens so fast; I struggle to make sense of it. Than is propelled backward and I am staring at Hallis’s broad chest. His arm reaches around to hold me to him with surprisingly possessive strength.
I hear Boss release an exaggerated sigh. “Stop harassing my employee, Thanatos.”
I place my hands on Hallis's chest and look up into his face. The rigid anger—directed brazenly at Thanatos—that fills his normally easy-going expressions stirs something in me. If it was just the possessiveness that stoked the desire that continues to build, Than has it in never-ending supply. But there is more to Hallis, there is protectiveness in his hold too.
Glancing back at Than, panic momentarily ripples through my body when I see him begin to unfurl. Boss’s shadow appears then behind Than. I see his large hand land on Than’s shoulder, slowing his shift while throwing me a discreet nod in the direction of the exit.
Hallis must pick up on it because he takes my hand in his, linking our fingers, and pulls me after him. Focused on keeping up with his long strides, I realize too late what will happen once we exit The Ferryman.
“Wait!” I grab his arm with my free hand, but he doesn’t stop. He walks us through the door into the starless night, and immediately dematerializes in front of me.
Thanatos
My wings shudderto life with a boiling fury, shaking off the shadows that typically hide them. Instinct takes over and demands I chase, but the unrelenting grip on my shoulder stops all momentum.
“How dare thatcorpsetouch me? Touch what’smine!” I roar.
“Lilah is not yours,” my brother retorts, in an annoyingly patronizing tone. He then addresses the silence, “Pay no mind to the tantrums of immortals,” and waves his hand in a way as ifto saycarry on. Conversations pick back up and if I could send every one of these corpses to the underworld, I would, just to be rid of them. My expression must say just that because my brother opens his infuriating mouth again with a simple, “Do not.”
As if to remind me he can subdue me at any time, he squeezes my shoulder with a punishing force, then releases me to make his way back behind his bar. I watch while he reaches under the bar, pulls out a large glass, pours something into it, then slides it in front of me. I don’t ask what it is, but take it all the same and finish it in one go. It feels like the fires of Tartarus scorch down my throat and ignite my insides. Refilling the glass and setting an unmarked bottle next to it, he moves from behind the bar wordlessly and roams around the room, checking on the full tables and wiping down the ones that were deserted when I walked in.
I turn back to stare at the drink in front of me, my thoughts swirling.She enrages me. How dare she make me feel these things? One time was never going to be enough and yet she continues to deny me.
Amortal! One that also has a blanket of death wrapped around her. Not dead, but not fully alive. She simply shouldn’t be.
