Page 19 of Death

“No,” he answers with a laugh. “No, I am not the devil. Nor am I a demon or anything of the sort. Quite the contrary, young Tannis.” He looks at me with those black eyes. “I am a god,” he says.

I breathe through the lump in my throat. God? My parents made a deal with God? How is that possible?

“You’re… God?” I ask aloud.

“Agod,” he repeats. “There are… quite a few of us, actually.”

“Okay, then.” I pause, letting that sink in. “What are you the god of?”

“I am the king of the dead,” he answers.

My heart pounds harder. Is this what Cassandra meant?

Isolation. Deception.

Death.

My parents got twenty years with me. To raise me and love me. And he…

Time’s up.

“What did you get in return?” I ask, my voice shaking.

Ari softens his gaze. I let out a gasp as he reaches for my hand across the seat. He takes it easily, sending a sharp chill through my arm.

“You,” he whispers.

I shudder in fear as his ice-cold fingers curl around mine.

“You are destined to live an eternity with me… as my queen.”

I yank my hand away, shaking my head back and forth. “Let me out.”

He leaves his hand on the seat between us. “Tannis.”

“No, I want out.”

“It’s too late for that.”

I stare at him in horror. Is it too late? Did I seal my fate when I agreed to get in this car?

Ari breaks into a wide smile, showing off the dimples in his chin. “I’m only kidding, Tannis. You can leave whenever you please but I would prefer it if you stayed here and talked to me.”

“Why?”

“Well, personally, I’ve been very much looking forward to getting to know you better,” he says.

“Sounds to me like you know me plenty already.”

He presses his lips together. “Okay, that’s fair.”

I snort at the word, practically rolling my eyes, too. Fair? Fair?!

None of this is fair.

“Go ahead, Tannis,” he says. “Say what’s on your mind. That’s what we’re here for.”

“You tell me what’s on my mind,” I say. “You obviously already know.”

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