Wrapping the robe around my body, I pulled the belt tight. “Nothing, but I dislike unannounced guests.”
“Why didn’t you play bridge?”
“Is that truly any of your business?”
“It is now.”
“It is no such thing, what are you doing here?”
“I warned you,” he said, his voice thick and gravelly. “About Beatrice…”
“You did,” I agreed, glaring at him. This was hardly the place or time for such a reminder, although I had wondered when he would finally decide to appear and claim the right to boast. Beatrice had passed away almost six months ago and not once did he appear.
“Death is absolute.”
“And?”
He sat up abruptly, his coat wrinkling as he tugged at the collar. “Perhaps you’ve learned your lesson.”
I wasn’t sure I had. When Death revealed himself to me, he cautioned me against using the curse to bring back the dead.Life carries a balance,he said. If the universe wanted Beatrice, it would take her, one way or another, and I onlydelayed the inevitable.
I wrinkled my nose.
I wouldn’t admit he was right. “If you are here to gloat, trust me when I say that nothing you say or do will ever change the way I feel about you stealing her from me.”
“I am not here to gloat, Astoria.”
“Then why are you here?”
He shrugged, then snapped his fingers. A dress, crimson red, appeared on the bed beside him. “Get dressed,” he said, holding it out to me. “I’m hungry.”
I didn’t miss the sparkle in his eyes as they roamed my features, or the way his jaw clenched as I took the dress and our fingers brushed for the briefest moment. Similar to everything else about him, it was gone in a moment, replaced with a cold and calculating mask.
Hunger kept me compliant as I dressed in the bathroom. The dress fit perfectly, its material clinging to my body in a way that made me feel like a starlet. It was too much. His unannounced visit.This dress.I wanted to believe him to be mendacious, but then there were small moments like this…
Where he proved me wrong.
With my arm looped through his, he guided us toward the dining room at the rear of the ship, a gilded sanctuary where gold-trimmed walls and polished mahogany gleamed beneath the soft glow of chandelier light. Waiters moved with practiced grace, dressed in crisp white waistcoats and gloves perfectly pressed. They glided between tables, balancing silver platters.
Seating was typically assigned upon boarding and I had expected to dine elbow-to-elbow with a handful of other couples. But to my surprise, Death leaned in close to a passing waiter, murmured something low, and changed our course.
Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the picture as we moved past the murmuring crowd to a secluded table at the very back. The sky was ink-dark, the moon hanging low and luminous over the Atlantic.
We sat in silence through each course, but his eyes never left mine. Behind us, the soft strains of piano mingled with the low murmur of polite conversation, grounding the moment in something almost ordinary. Too ordinary.Too real.We shared a tacit look, as if he was thinking the same thing as I.
If you could have dinner with Death, what would you say?
I hesitated, chewing on my lip as I studied him. He was handsome. With a strong jaw and straight nose. It wasn't as if I pictured Death in a flesh form, but I thought he'd be prouder, perhaps more stern. While his stoic features held a certain severity, it startled me to realize he wasn't boastful. It wasn't pride high on his brow. In fact, it appeared more akin to remorse. For some reason, that bothered me.
As if he read my mind he spoke first, “Ask, Astoria. I don’t bite.”
I almost asked him what his favorite part of the meal was, but then my guilt rose once more and I began to sweat as I lowered my gaze to the dessert on my plate. “Did you make it peaceful? For Bea?”
Grim set his fork down, chewing slowly as he finished his bite and prepared to speak. “Beatrice's soul was vibrant throughout the journey. She is at peace.”
I scowled. Death, peaceful? I attended to her as the fever took over. I sat in the bed beside her as she drew her last ragged breath. It wasme,I was the one who bore witness…and it was not peaceful.
“Is that why you worry? Do you believe they suffer? Is that why you dare cheat me?”
