Page 161 of In Between Death and the Devil

“You had me worried there for a while,” he said.

“Me, too.” I smiled into his shoulder. It felt so good to be able to joke about it.

A tap on my shoulder made me pull away only to be engulfed in a hug by Daphne while Marcus tackled Fen.

Bea hovered nearby, as if not sure she was welcome. When Daphne freed me, Bea gave me a tentative smile until I opened my arms and she dove into them.

“I knew you would do it,” she whispered. My eyes burned at her words.

“Thank you.”

Marcus hugged me next, and then Fen wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side.

Standing in the middle of my friends, it hit me—this was our future. I was now Death. There would be as many moments like this as we wanted. It should have felt perfect, except there was a Titus-sized hole in it.

I stiffened, wondering if he was still breathing. “I have to go.”

From the shift in Fen’s expression, he knew exactly what I was talking about.

“What about her?” Marcus asked as I prepared to light-step. He pointed at Talia, still kneeling in the dirt on the other side of the grove.

The center of it was still clear, the altar restored to its former position, so I could clearly see the defeated slump of her shoulders. I waited for Fen to say something, only to realize he was looking at me. “It’s your call.”

He shook his head. “She’s a resident of your castle. The decision is yours.”

I blinked. Right. Because I was Death. Gods, would I ever get used to that? I pressed my lips together, not wanting to deal with anything but trying to heal Titus, but leaving her there was a bad idea.

The others followed me as I strode over to her.

“Come to gloat?” Her tone was fierce, but her voice trembled as she stared at her hands.

“No.”

She looked up, her expression defiant. “Right to punishment then. Do your worst.” Her hands fisted at her sides, anticipating a blow.

Except all I felt when I looked at her was pity. I’d seen the way she looked at Death. There had been real love between them, even if her need to hurt Fen for the way he treated her was what had driven her into Death’s arms. It was yet another example of the punitive justice Death had espoused in order to stay where she was, and I was done with it. “What punishment do you think you deserve?”

“Shred my soul, just like you did hers.” Her voice broke and she shuddered, trying to repress a sob.

I knelt so my face was level with hers. “I didn’t shred her soul. I gave her a choice, and she chose to go to the After. So I sent her there.”

“You lie.” Talia frowned.

“You saw her fade away. Is that what happens when a soul is shredded?”

Emotions chased each other across her face—relief, anger, and heartbreak. She started to cry in earnest, and I left her to it.

I had other, more important things to do. “Take her to your castle,” I told Fen. “Find her a comfortable room to rest. Guarded. We’ll give her time to decide what she wants before I make a decision.”

“After she sided with Death and worked against you? Against us?” Daphne asked. She and Marcus eyed Talia with disgust, but it was tinged with pain. They still remembered the woman who had been their friend.

“If we believe souls deserve mercy, that has to apply to all of them. No exceptions. I will not be like my predecessor. It doesn’t mean I’ll welcome Talia back as a Judge if she wants to stay, but she gets a say in what happens to her.”

Daphne glared at Talia, but there was respect in her eyes when she looked back at me.

Bea helped Talia to her feet and took her arm to lead her to the shadow portal to Fen’s castle.

I didn’t wait for the others, light-stepping straight to Titus’s room.