Page 14 of Definitely Dead

Orrin might be his prince, and he trusted the male with his life, but until he got a better handle on his emotions, it would be better for him to keep his distance.

“Cian is bringing coffee.” He settled into his seat and pulled the ends of the blanket more securely around Sunne’s shoulders. “Are you hungry?” The food didn’t taste the best, but it was filling. “Maybe some soup?”

Grinning, Sunne took his hand, cradling it between both of his own. “Coffee is fine for now. Thank you.”

Orrin arrived then, his gaze going from their clasped hands to the chair Tyr had placed a few feet away. When he looked back, there was a gleam in his gray eyes, but he simply offered Sunne a slight bow of his head and took his seat.

“Oh, hi.” He shifted around to face the prince, but he didn’t release Tyr’s hand. “I’m Sunne.”

“Sunne, this is Pr—uh, Orrin.” He shrugged when the elf arched an eyebrow at him. “He’s kind of in charge around here.”

Orrin snorted delicately. “That’s a generous description. I just help souls cross the river.”

Inching closer to Tyr’s side, Sunne shook his head. “I don’t want to cross the river. I want to stay here.”

Orrin’s smile was kind, if a little sad. “I understand why you feel that way, but—”

“No.” Sunne shook his head again, his fingers biting into Tyr’s hand. “I won’t cross.”

Tyr felt torn. On one hand, he had just found his mate, and he would fight the mortal world, the Underworld, and every realm in between to keep him. On the flip side of that, however, he knew what Orrin had been trying to say.

Sunne didn’t belong there.

And the only reason he stayed…was for him.

“Very well,” Orrin said after a long silence.

He held his hand out, producing what looked like an old-fashioned skeleton key with a leather tag. The numbers 7714 glowed across the back of the tanned hide, the ghostly blue light glinting off the bronze metal.

Sunne didn’t reach for it. “What is that?”

“If you’re staying—” Orrin glanced at Tyr, his expression unreadable. “—you’ll need a place to live.”

“Really? I can stay?” He wasn’t looking at the prince, though. He stared up at Tyr, his face shining with hope.

Though it made him a selfish bastard, he couldn’t say no. Oh, he should. If he had any honor at all, he absolutely would. Sunne deserved so much better than a bleak half-existence in the village, but he couldn’t send him away. Not now. Not when his mate smiled at him like that.

“Yes,lelien.” He brushed a strand of hair away from Sunne’s brow and caressed his cheek, his heart aching at how absolutely perfect he was. “You can stay.”

Chapter four

Curledupinthereading nook of his new apartment, Sunne flipped the next page in his book and smiled.

When Tyr had told him the Underworld provided what the residents needed, he had been picturing basic accommodations and maybe a hot meal twice a day. What he had actually received went beyond anything he could have imagined.

In life, he had rented an overpriced studio apartment with a kitchenette and an air conditioner that frequently stopped working in the middle of the summer.

In death, he had upgraded to a fully furnished, one-bedroom unit that boasted a real kitchen and a shower that didn’t make him want to launch himself out of a window. Decorated in his favorite colors of teal and black with bright pops of silver and gold, it wasn’t just an apartment.

It was his sanctuary.

He didn’t know how any of it worked. The lamps that shined without bulbs. The stove that cooked without gas or electricity. The hot water that streamed from the showerhead despite a lack of adequate plumbing. None of it made sense.

The moment he had stepped into the warmth of Unit 7714 and spotted the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf lined with all his favorite titles, he had decided not to question it. If the Underworld wanted him to have pizzas in his freezer and a king-sized bed that cradled him like an old lover, who was he to refuse?

Although finding an obscenely large bottle of lube among the other toiletries in the en suite had been a bit of a shock. Grateful, but also ridiculously embarrassed, he had stashed it in the cabinet beneath the sink before Tyr could see it.

While it would probably sound unhinged to most people, being blasted out of the library and into the afterlife had been one of the best things to ever happen to him. Sure, never seeing the sun again kind of sucked, and he absolutely detested the cold, but if he hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have met his mate.

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