Page 19 of Definitely Dead

The apartment had tried to help. They had returned from the river to find a package of cinnamon rolls waiting in the pantry. Not the warm, soft, gooey kind from a bakery, but certainly passable. Sunne had disagreed.

And the apartment had…reacted.

The bright jewel and metallic tones that filled the unit had dulled to a pale, depressing gray. The water pressure in the shower had reduced to a trickle. The titles and covers had been erased from all of his beloved books, and various things started going missing around the place.

Probably the biggestfuck you, however, was when the ambient temperature had dropped to match the numbing cold outside.

The petty assault had gone on for three whole days before Sunne had finally given in and eaten one of the prepackaged pastries. After that, things had returned to normal, and his mate had been careful not to offend his temperamental home again.

Tyr had told Sunne that most units in the building didn’t behave like his, and he’d meant that. They provided the basics like food and running water, but very few changed to reflect their owner’s personality. They damn sure didn’t provide curated desserts, then throw a tantrum when those offerings were snubbed.

He took it as proof of what he already knew. Sunne was special. Maybe not on a cosmic scale. He probably wouldn’t change the course of history or rewrite the future. But he had a spark, something about him that made him different.

And clearly, Tyr wasn’t the only one who had noticed.

“You know, if you don’t think about it too hard, it’s kind of pretty.” Stretched out on his stomach in the sand, his chin resting in his palms, Sunne stared out over the River Acheron. “How many souls do you think are in there?”

“Millions.”

Just below the dark surface, orbs of blue light drifted lazily with the current, a collection of disembodied souls awaiting reincarnation. He didn’t know what the selection process entailed, or what made them worthy of being reborn. That information was apparently above his paygrade.

He would occasionally, however, see a Reaper approach the river with a small gold locket and pluck one of the flickering lights from the water. Then they would disappear as silently and mysteriously as they had arrived.

“What happens if someone falls out of the ferry?”

Snorting, he rolled onto his side and levered up on his elbow so he could see his mate. “You worry too much,lelien.”

“Maybe,” Sunne allowed. “But what happens?”

“They won’t fall out of the ferry.”

“But what if they did?”

“Then they would be erased.” He shrugged one shoulder. “No coming back. They would just cease to exist forever.” They’d already had this conversation, so he had to assume there was more to the question. “What are you getting at?”

“I don’t know. It seems kind of unfair.” Rolling over, he pushed into a sitting position and pulled his knees to his chest. “You die, which already sucks. Then you’re just trying to step onto the ferry, but your foot slips, and…poof. You’re gone forever.”

He wouldn’t lie. It did happen. Not that exact scenario, but plenty of souls had ended up in the river either by accident or because they hadn’t known better. Those incidents had been greatly reduced since he and the other Guardians had started patrolling the shore, though.

Hence why he found himself at the river in the middle of the night while the rest of the village slept. No matter how much he hated being away from Sunne, having a mate didn’t excuse him from his duties. Still, he hadn’t asked the guy to accompany him. In fact, he’d been pretty adamant that Sunne remain in the warmth and safety of their apartment.

Sunne always insisted on coming with him, though, and Tyr was just selfish enough to let him.

Sitting up, he held his hand out in invitation. “Come here,lelien.”

Without a flicker of hesitation, Sunne reached out, taking his hand as he scrambled across the sand to him. Once he was close enough, Tyr caught him around the waist and pulled him into his lap so that he straddled his thighs.

Their eyes met, and they both stilled, the implication of such an intimate position hanging over them.

Although Tyr had nothing to compare their relationship with, he liked to think things had been progressing well. Maybe a little slower than he would have liked, especially the physical parts, but definitely headed in the right direction.

He still slept on the sofa at night, and apart from that almost-kiss in the corridor, they hadn’t done anything more than hold hands or cuddle. While he loved any excuse to be close to his mate, and he would wait until the end of time for Sunne to be ready, he couldn’t deny that he wanted the male.

As the mating bond strengthened, instincts clawed at him, reawakening desires he had buried beneath duty and loyalty long ago. Not only a carnal appetite, but a deep, innate need to protect, provide, and to claim what belonged to him. Not in ownership, but as a warning to anyone who would try to take what was his.

“Lelien, I need you to hear this.” With one hand on Sunne’s waist, he cupped the side of his face with the other. “You can’t save them all. That doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean you stop caring. Bad shit happens, but it’s not your fault.”

“I know,” Sunne whispered back. “I just—”

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