Page 27 of Endless

"You're mine," I confirm before shifting and disappearing to collect my first soul of the day.

It's an older man who is sitting in his car. His death was sudden, a heart attack. I walk up to him, wondering if he has any loved ones that he's leaving behind. He catches sight of me, and a sense of understanding washes over him. I reach out, and he grabs my hand. In a flash, we vanish. I bring him to my realm and urge him off to continue his purpose.

I'm about to move on to collect the next soul when two familiar figures appear in front of me. The angel and demon. This can't be good. I grow anxious over the possible consequences they are here to advise me of. The Others sending them means they know I didn't heed their warning.

"You broke the rules, Death," the demon says with a smile on his face, getting right to the point.

"I didn't break the rules. I didn't intentionally show her my true shadow form outside of her dream world. We all know that dreams are a gray area." I walk forward to standcloser to the angel because, quite frankly, the demon is pissing me off. "Don’t get me wrong, I planned to tell her. She just beat me to it. She accidentally saw my shadow form when I appeared in her bathroom. She recognized my eyes."

"Yes, we are aware of the details of the encounter," The angel says. They give me a pitying smile.

"A technicality. You still placed yourself in her path. You are still the reason the incident occurred, and you changed her purpose. There are punishments for that," the demon huffs.

My breathing quickens, and I feel butterflies in the pit of my stomach. I changed her purpose. Could this mean she will be allowed to stay with me? I wait to see what the two of them have to say next. The Others must have a message for me.

"These are strange circumstances, Death. This has never happened throughout the expanse of time. God and the Devil have settled upon a fair solution, but you must agree to abide by it. If you do not agree, your access to her will be taken."

"They will do no such thing! Lena is mine!" I growl, smoke billowing all around me.

"If you wish for a chance at keeping her, you will agree to follow a few new rules for the time being," the angel sings out.

Time freezes and I have no other choice but to agree. I have a chance to keep her. My only hope is that these rules are achievable because there is no way I am letting anyone take her from me, not God or the Devil.

"What are your rules? I will follow them."

The two of them glance at one another to see who will tell me the news. Finally, the angel makes eye contact with me. "You are not to see her again until this plays out."

"You can’t keep me away from her," I try, but the angel only shakes their head.

"These are the rules that have been selected. You will stay away from her for a short period of time in order for her to fulfill a new purpose and she will need to choose you. She will need to choose her life with you over the convenience of death. You are only being offered this because you have not confessed everything to her entirely. If she can withstand time without your presence and choose to live, then she will be given the choice to stay with you forever."

I mull over their words for a moment. Lena doesn't know what I know. I didn't get a chance to tell her everything. Now she is supposed to choose strength and life. She needs to choose life to be shackled to Death for all of eternity. She wants me. I know she does. Our connection, the pull the two of us feel for one another, is strong. I know it.

"This is the only way?"

"Yes, her existence has become incongruous. This is the only way to rectify that," the angel says with a sigh as if this is hard for them to talk about.

"Reaper, if you attempt to interfere again, we will take her from you," the demon says with his sadistic grin. "You should know, if she takes her life, her soul will belong to my master."

"The fuck it will! How do you expect me to sit back and watch her struggle, to watch her hurt? How long exactly am I supposed to stay on the sidelines?"

"For however long it takes. It could be a day; it could be a month. The timeline is up to her. Interfere or don't, it doesn't matter to me." The demon laughs.

"Kellan," the angel says firmly, pulling my attention back over to them. I used to crave being called by my true name rather than what I represent but it doesn't sound right coming from anyone besides my pet. She is the only one with the right to call me that.

"I wasn't aware we were on a true name basis." I glare at them.

"Give her a chance and have faith that all of this will work out the way you hope for."

"Fine. I'll stay away—for now." And I will because I believe them when they say this is her only chance. She needs to choose me. I have to trust our connection with one another.

"The plus side to not worrying about her is that you can get back to work uninterrupted," the demon remarks.

"Fuck off. Don't you two have somewhere else to be? I get it. I'll stay away. You can tell The Others I will stay in line. Now, leave," I hiss.

With that, they disappear, and I find myself wishing I had stayed with her longer than I did this morning. I should have confessed everything to her and told her that I love her. Who knows if I will be able to the next time I see her.

I'm forced into the shadows again. Compelled to watch her potentially suffer and do nothing to intervene. As much asthe idea rips apart every fiber of my being, I have to do it. It's the only chance we have to be together. They gave us a chance, and I have to hold onto that.

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