Page 49 of Reaper's Ruin
Her face twisted with emotions as she stared at me. “You... but... why don’t you get your door? I don’t understand. How does it work?”
I shrugged. “None of us really knows. It seems if you’re not bad enough for the bad place or good enough for the good place, you get sent to the Shadowveil as sort of purgatory. You’re there until one day a door appears and you move on. Well, unless you displease the Veil Lords and get reaped.”
“And what makes you get your door? Like a certain number of souls collected? A certain number of years?”
I shrugged again. “No one knows. Reapers have been trying to figure out the formula for as long as we’ve been reaping. Some are there for a short time, others for decades. Most are out within a hundred years.”
She scrunched her forehead. “But didn’t he just say you’ve been there foreight hundred years?Longer than any other Reaper? If otherReapers get a door after doing their service, then why don’t you?”
This was a conversation I wasn’t having, so I sat back, crossing my arms and said, “It’s not important. Let’s just stay focused on you gettingyourdoor.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but then the server returned with our hot pies. Soraya’s eyes lit up as they slid the warm, steaming meat pies in front of us.
“Oh my God! This looks amazing!” She closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath.
Glad she was occupied with the food she seemed to love so much, I quickly turned the conversation away from my afterlife.
“Do you have hot pies where you’re from?”
She stuck a fork in, more steam rising from the opened crust. “We have what we call pot pies, and I think this is similar. Meat, vegetables in like a gravy.” She paused, stopping to take a bite. Then with her mouth full, she mumbled out, “This is so good,” she moaned, closing her eyes as she savored a bite. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
I watched her eat, finding a strange satisfaction in her enjoyment. Everything about her was so vibrant, so alive, despite her technical state of being. In any lifetime, I’d never met anyone who experienced the world with such open wonder.
“Eat! You must be starving too,” she said, pointing her fork at my pie.
I had almost forgotten that I needed to eat too, and I looked down at it, wondering what flavors awaited me and if they would be as good as that sweet roll. I took a bite, closing my mouth around the food that exploded with flavors in my mouth.
“Good, right?” She grinned then shoved another bite in her mouth.
I nodded, my stomach rumbling with excitement as I shoveled in bite after bite, ignoring the fact it was too hot, the simple flavors of food so overwhelming it almost hurt.
“Oh, we need something to drink. I’ll get us something at the bar.” She leaned in. “We need a beer or something. What do they call that here? You know, it’s like golden colored, foamy top, makes you feel happy and relaxed?”
I furrowed my brow while I finished my bite. “Ale?”
“Oh! We call it ale in the Mortal Realm too! But also beer. I’ll go get us two.”
When she stood to get us ale, I found my eyes following her across the room. She was beautiful in that dress, the green fabric clinging to curves I had no business noticing. But it wasn’t just me noticing. Every male gaze in the tavern turned to follow her, some subtle, others openly leering.
My hand tightened around the hilt of my dagger, a surge of possessive rage rising in me with an intensity that was both foreign and familiar.
“Whoa, there,” Taelon’s voice cut through my dark thoughts as he slipped back into place beside our table. “You look like you’re about to go on a Reaper spree. Can you even reap in that form?”
I didn’t answer, my jaw clenched too tight for words.
“I’ve got to say,” Taelon continued, his eyes following mine to where Soraya stood at the bar, “for a human she’s quite something. Those curves would make even a Flame Court noble lose his composure.” He whistled low. “If I were in physical form—”
“Finish that sentence,” I growled, “and I’ll find a way to reap you myself.”
Taelon laughed, the sound rich and genuine. “Gods, you’ve got it bad! Eight centuries of nothing but cold indifference, and a cute ghost has you ready to commit murder over a little appreciation.”
I glared at him, but his smile only widened.
“Relax, Death—sorry,Rhyker. I’m just teasing. But seriously, I’ve never seen you like this over anything. It’s... refreshing.”
I forced myself to unclench my jaw. “Did you learn anything useful at the Storm Court, or did you just come back to irritate me?”
“Both,” he said cheerfully. “I found the perfect entrance point. There’s a back gate that leads to the servant quarters. During the coronation, they’ll be bringing in extra staff from all over. If you can dress the part, no one will look twice. Once you’re inside, you’ll be free to move around just about anywhere. There will be days of festivals, parties, celebrations. In two day’s time, there is the masquerade ball in the main keep. If you can get inside and have clothes to help you blend in, it’s the perfect time to go look around. Everyone will be concealed. Then you can look for... whatever it is you’re looking for.”
