Page 3 of A War of Embers

I snort. “Highly unlikely.”

“You’re the only immortal servant who hasn’t traded with anyone,” Justin points out. “Every other person in your shoes has gladly chosen to trade themselves, live with their family–”

“My family is dead.” There is no one in line for my family name. No cousins or uncles or long lost grandparents. The Anderson family was annihilated the very first time I had a soul inside of me activated. There will be nothing to go back to if I was free of this life. Nothing to mourn. How can you grieve over people you killed in a haze of being someone else? You can’t.

Justin sucks in a breath, clearly growing agitated with me. “What makes you so sure Lady Gwenyth wouldn’t allow you to trade?”

The first ten years of service to her, I begged and pleaded for my life back. The next five years I begged for death. After those fifteen years, I learned she enjoys tormenting others by denying them what they truly want. It’s part of the reason I know I’ll never die. I know, though it’s never been confirmed, she snuffed out my mortal soul long ago. I’ll never reach that sacred number she imagined to be free. I don’t know what drew her to me, to take me captive and steal my soul, only that she will eventually be my death. But only under her ruling.

Justin folds his arms across his chest, impatiently waiting for me to answer.

“Don’t make me kill you just to prove a point that I will never marry you or trade debts,” I threaten.

“That’s not a real response.”

“It is, actually.” I gesture towards the living room to the side of us where the hazmat suits seem to be halfway done. “I kill for a living if that wasn’t obnoxiously clear to you.”

He shrugs indifferently. “Your job demands it.”

My job? Is that really what he thinks? I scoff at him. “I didn’t choose this job. Do you think I enjoy this?” I motion to my matted hair where the blood has clumped together, to my jeans and blue shirt soaked in spots with blood. Spatters of it mar my face, neck, arms, and hands. “This is despicable. Do you know what this family did to deserve this? They wanted to stay in their house. Lady Gwenyth ordered them killed for refusing to move because I’m sure one of her friends is visiting from another District and refuses to stay in a hotel, no matter how ritzy it is.”

Justin blinks several times at me. His monotone face only confirms he’s not listening to anything I’m saying since it doesn’t pertain to his end goal of becoming immortal.

Maybe I should just kill him. I doubt there’d be any real punishment for an unsanctioned death.

“You care?” Justin shakes his head at me like I’m a lost cause. “You shouldn’t care about anything in this world, Keres.”

I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say I care about most people. Caring equates to having a weakness. My life doesn’t allow for such luxuries. But I don’t have to care about the people in this house to know right from wrong. To still remember what morals I stood for after all this time. They’re the only thing from my past life I try to grab ahold of when so much of my present life is out of my control.

“I’m surprised you don’t just take the coward’s way out and bargain with the Blood Witch,” Justin exasperatedly bemoans.

My brow furrows at his incredulous statement. “The Blood Witch doesn’t take bargains.”

He makes a tsking sound while shaking his head. “Not according to Gerald in Amethyst Bend. He knew of an immortal servant who jumped into the Blood Sea to escape their duty.”

“That’s absurd.” A complete and utter lie. Immortals wouldn’t die if they jumped into the Blood Sea. It’s a ludicrous idea.

“It is not!” Justin’s affronted glare gives me pause. He truly believes in whatever tall tale he was told. “The immortal wanted to be with his wife that was recently killed so he jumped into the river to follow her into the Cliff of Embers. He never resurfaced. The Blood Witch accepted him and led him to the Cliff of Embers where he rests now with his love. The soul inside of him has never been placed into a new body.”

As far as he knows. “If it were truly that easy a lot more of us would be jumping,” I say dismissively.

“That’s why there’s a bargain.”

“What could the Blood Witch possibly want?”

“I don’t know.”

I roll my eyes. Of course he doesn’t. Because the entire tale is ridiculous. No one who’s immortal jumps into the Blood Sea. They would merely sink down into the caves of creatures who lurk beneath the rough waves of the river. The Blood Witch may even have a treaty with the districts here to give back the immortals who jump.

We aren’t the same as mortals fleeing this world. We’re savage, unpolished, indispensable to a degree.

“Pure bullshit if you ask me,” I mutter.

“So you don’t want to die,” Justin smarmily remarks. “If you did, you’d take what I said and race down to the docks to try it.” As if his little nugget of information is truly valuable in reasoning why I’ve not tried it before. “You want to stay immortal, that’s why you’re ignoring my advances. Sure you talk a big game about not wanting to do what you do, but some part of you, maybe deep, deep down, actually doesn’t mind it.” Justin shakes his head with a smirk. “Just be honest with yourself, Keres.”

“I honestly don’t want to have this conversation.”

He lifts a shoulder in a lazy shrug while continuing to grin at me. “You’re stuck between believing what you’re doing is wrong and truly not caring about anyone but yourself. I get it. Maybe when I find a way to be immortal, we can reconvene on the marriage topic.”

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