Page 46 of Trust the Fall

“They want you to take your proper place on the reaper throne.” His head turns away from me.

“And,” I press, knowing there’s something he doesn’t want to say.

“You know, Victoria. Don’t make me say it.”

River.

They want me beside River.

“Exactly,” he says through clenched teeth.

“What else did you promise them, Luke?”

He shrugs. “That I’d make sure you went to the reaper kingdom to discover your destiny.”

I huff. “I won’t go without you.”

“You don’t have a choice, love. I can’t go with you.”

“We have to go, Satan,” Michael says, coming up behind us.

“Where?” I ask, looking from Michael to Luke.

“Back to Hell. They’re going to help me remove Nolda.”

“I’m coming too.”

His expression changes to a mask of stone. “You aren’t.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I steel my voice to remain even and hard. “Don’t tell me what to do, Luke.”

He stands to his feet, brushing off his pants, not meeting my eyes. “River is coming here to get you. I have to keep my promise.”

I leap to my feet, getting in front of Luke and forcing him to look at me. “It wasn’t your promise to make. This is my life. My decision.”

“Don’t you want to know your mother? Where you come from?” He searches my face.

“I’ve managed this long without her.” I walk back toward the building, needing to put some space between us.

What I said is nothing more than a giant lie. A very big part of me is desperate to know her. She didn’t abandon me. I was hidden away by Heaven. She was kept from me.

“I know what you’re thinking, Victoria. Go. Meet her. Make your decision.”

I spin around and take two giant strides until I’m close enough to shove at Luke’s chest.

“Get out of my head!”

I’m so damn sick of having to say this.

His face falls, dropping the harsh expression he’s been wearing. “I’m sorry. It’s not always on purpose. I’m so tuned in to you that sometimes, I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

“Just stop. And for the record, I’m not going anywhere but to Hell. You’re taking me back. Nolda did me wrong too. I want my own vengeance.”

“It’s not what’s important,” Michael cuts in, planting himself into a conversation that has nothing to do with him.

“You don’t get to make any more decisions for me, Michael. Like I already said, you might not have known, but that doesn’t change how you treated me when I fell. You were horrible to me.”

“And for that I’ll always be sorry.”