Page 14 of Mystique of the Fallen
“The decisions we make are not always easy,” Justice said, finally putting away her sword.
“You think his life should play out on its current course?” Life asked.
“Yes,” Courage answered for Justice.
“That will mean another wait for Roman,” Life replied.
Justice shook her head. “He has waited too long. Rebirth is not an option.”
“Fallen knight, reaper, or sentinel?” Death asked.
Eternity found a smile. “I believe our Order of the Fallen Knights could use another worthy soul. A fitting life for a former wizard who wished to educate and experiment. This way, he will help others for eternity and do it alongside Roman.”
“Ourfallen knights?” Death asked with a red eyebrow cocked. “They are mine.”
“Ugh, she is so territorial,” Fate complained.
“I’ll watch his soul carefully, and it will be ready to be resurrected the next time Chander adds more fallen knights,” Life said. “Death, I assume you believe his end will happen that quick.”
“I fear the drive of being close to his mate will hurry his plans to leave Reginald,” Death answered, pity stirring in her dark gaze. “As soon as his soul enters theebirlloba, I will care for him until he is ready to start life anew.”
“Can we meddle enough to keep Roman and Grant from uniting their souls?” Courage asked. “Grant needs no memory of being human.”
“I doubt we will have to intervene,” Fate replied. “Too much separates them.”
“We will do what we must, but let us hope it is unnecessary. A price will have to be paid for interfering with free will, and I am not fond of punishments. I do not care how desperate you grow, Fate. If you need to confide in someone about a matebond, go to theebirlloba,” Justice ordered. “Use Death as a confidante, or bring a sister with you to share your news with them both, but never speak of a couple in this palace.”
“Hello, I already decided that years ago,” Fate said. Then she glanced at Death. “Sometimes I’m so damn good I need a brag a bit. I might show up to tell you about stuff.”
Death rolled her eyes. “I guess I have no choice but to listen.”
“There are other fun things to do in theebirlloba,” Fate said, waggling her brows. Eternity knew Fate was speaking of their parallel universe project, but that was a secret, and none of them would discuss it in the palace. The realm was currently paused to allow them to attend to their duties and decide which couple would be next. Courage was also not part of their experiment, and none of them had agreed to bring on another goddess, so Eternity ignored her sister. But she made a mental note to settle her mind on who she thought would be best for the next pairing. She was eager to find out how their lives would twist.
However, Eternity knew no one would step away for a parallel world until Roman was happily mated.
Chapter 6
Phone calls in the middle of the night weren’t foreign to Roman. Crime didn’t rest because he went to bed, and there were only three Venerable Knights, so he was regularly on call. But as Roman rolled over and grabbed his phone, he was annoyed. It was one of his nights off. However, he accepted the call because it finally registered that it was the unique ringtone he’d assigned to his mate.
“Hello?” Roman said, flipping on the light and trying not to be frustrated that it’d been a week since their meeting and Grant had decided that three-thirty in the morning was an appropriate time to reconnect.
“What did you do to me?” Grant demanded, his words slurring slightly together.
“Excuse me?”
“Is this some sort of weird zombie curse?”
Irritated that Grant was still referring to him as a zombie, Roman sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I’m not a fucking zombie.”
“You’re an undead creature. Isn’t that the definition of a zombie?”
“I’m not mindless,” Roman replied calmly. “I’m a fallen knight. Yes, I was resurrected, but I’m not a creature.”
“Whatever, why am I like this?”
Roman’s brows furrowed. “Like what?”
“I keep throwing up on my boyfriend,” Grant exclaimed, and Roman’s heart sank. Even though Grant referred to him as a zombie and Roman had his own issues with his other half being human, it was devastating to know he was with someone else. “Do you have any idea how pissed he is at me? We can’t touch or I puke.”
