Grim continued a slow, soothing pattern along my spine. He shifted, adjusting me against him until my cheek rested over the steady drum in his chest. Warmth blossomed beneath my skin, and I clung to it.
“Some find it difficult to move on,” he said quietly. “Past this life.”
“And you help them?” I regret the words as they left my mouth. They were too sharp, too accusing, though I hadn’t meant them that way.
Grim leaned back, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he looked down his nose at me. “You think me incapable of compassion?”
“No," I murmured quickly. "Not incapable. I just… I’ve never thought of Death as compassionate. At least, notpurposefully.”
His gaze searched mine, and after a moment, he asked, “What do you think flashes through a mind when they meet their end?”
I hesitated.
“If you were to die today, Astoria…” His voice was barely a breath against my skin. “What would you think of, before I stole your breath away?”
That answer came without hesitation.
My children. The golden shards of childhood, when my mother was still soft, and my grandmother was still vibrant. Ishani, Piper, Sanjay, Day… even Grim.
Mostly you, I wanted to say.Always you. “I’d think of my children. And you... and that first trip to London, when you accompanied me.”
Grim nodded, pressing soft kisses against my head.
“I’d think of the way this feels. The brush of our skin. I’d think of Arthur’s blue eyes, Leo’s quick wit. I’d want to hear Bea’s laughter one more time, to wrap Ishani in another hug.”
“Those moments have one thing in common, Star...” he whispered. “Love.”
I hadn’t understood it then—when he haunted me from the shadows, hunting me to the ends of the earth, determined to make his point about cosmic forces beyond my control. The rules I had broken. The price I would pay.
“Some spirits are not so lucky,” Grim said, battling a lump in his throat. “The process is not always easy. There was an accident—” He paused, breathing carefully. “I was overrun. They met their fate in a horrific way. I couldn’t... it just wasn’t enough.”
The faded scars lacing his arms were proof enough of his sacrifice.
“Does it hurt?” I traced a path along his arm.
“Yes, but not always. It’s the price I pay.”
I couldn’t understand it. Why should he endure torment for the fate of others? But then again…
Hadn’t I learned the same? My curse had not come from anything I had done. And yet I bore it.
“Now what?” I asked, though he already knew my thoughts. The curse still loomed over me. My choice remained unchanged. But my soul?That,he could keep.
“We enjoy this,” Death said, voice low and steady. “A moment longer.”
His words were neither comforting nor hopeful. Yet he pulled me closer, our bare forms tangled beneath silky sheets and heavy quilts, the weight of him anchoring me to the earth.
The sunrise crept between the velvet curtains, bathing the room in a soft, bruised purple. And for the first time in my long, cursed existence, I let myself stay.
Grim grumbled when Reaper wriggled out from under the table, flopping dramatically across his boots. “You spoil him,” he said without heat, flicking the dog a dry look.
“I spoileveryone,” I replied primly, reaching down to ruffle Reaper’s ears. “You’re just jealous.”
“I do not require pampering.”
I snorted and leaned over the table, stealing his abandoned toast and taking a shameless bite. “Clearly,” I said around a mouthful. “You’re a paragon of stoicism.” I flicked my hand dramatically toward his chest. “Nothing but iron and shadows.”
“Give me that,” he growled, snatching the toast back and taking a retaliatory bite where I had bitten.
