Page 163 of In Between Death and the Devil

“No trying to play with the human torch. Got it.” His irreverence made me chuckle. All worry about him not coming back as himself disappeared.

“Don’t leave Fen out,” I said when I finally let him go.

Titus turned to Fen for a back-slapping embrace and everything was finally right.

Maybe that was why exhaustion finally hit me. I swayed on my feet, feeling drained and dizzy.

Fen caught me before I fell. He said something, but I couldn’t make sense of it. I barely registered anything beyond him scooping me into his arms before I gave in to the beckoning darkness.

* * *

I woke in our bed to find Fen sitting beside me, his back against the headboard, a book in his lap. His eyes flew to mine as soon as I opened them. Tossing the book aside, he slid down so his face was level with mine.

“How do you feel?” he asked, cupping my jaw.

I stretched and took stock. I’d been stripped and put in one of his shirts. The sheets felt like silk against my legs, but there was an ache in my limbs and chest that ran deeper than anything I’d felt before. “Like I’ve been run over by a herd of cows.”

“Given what you did, I’m surprised you don’t feel worse.” He reached over to grab a glass of water off the bedside table and handed it to me. “You healed the In Between.”

“We did that. Our bond was the key.” I drank deeply. The water tasted divine.

“But it was you who cemented it, and your power that restored the grove. The bridge. Everything.” He took the empty glass and put it back on the table.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He opened his mouth to protest but I didn’t feel like arguing, so I gave him something else to do by pulling him in for a kiss.

A low growl sounded in his throat when my tongue stroked his, and the kiss quickly grew heated. I pressed myself against him, craving the feel of his skin on mine, but there were too many clothes and covers in the way. My hands scrabbled at his laces, but he gently captured them in his and pulled back.

“Take the praise, Maeve. Don’t avoid it. You faced Death and defeated her. Take the win.”

I bit my lip as his words sank in. They were uncomfortable, making me want to squirm, but I tried to do as he said. Part of me feared this was an illusion, that I’d actually lost the challenge and was trapped in my shattered mind. Except I couldn’t imagine that being a happy place. And even if it was, did it matter as long as I was happy with those I loved?

No. I decided it didn’t.

“You really offered Death a choice and sent her to the After,” he said. It was a statement, but a probing one.

“Yes.” I stroked the triangle of skin above his collar, unable to keep my hands off him. “I thought I was going to have to shred her soul to end things, but when our bond solidified, the In Between wasn’t the only thing that was healed. She was, too. I felt her understanding and regret of what she’d done. She expected me to punish her and was willing to endure it. If I’d done that, I’d be no better than she was all those years.”

After everything she’d done to him, I expected Fen to be angry at my decision, but he gave me a thoughtful smile. It made him look younger. Less burdened. “I like the idea of mercy for all souls.” Something about the way he said it made me think he was thinking of himself.

“How do you feel?” I asked gently.

He sighed, picking up my meaning from our bond. “The cravings are still there. Less intense than they’ve been, but still there.” His disappointment was clear.

“How does it feel to share power with me?” Now that I had my own, the bond was no longer one-sided. I could feel a connection between our wells, the balance between them constantly shifting.

“Better than I expected.” His puzzlement was clear. Since he was addicted to power, having less of it should have been triggering.

“Maybe the fact that you also have access to mine makes you feel more secure.”

“Maybe.” He frowned.

I laid my hand on his chest. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”

He eyed me as if probing my assurance, unsure if it was real.

It was. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I wouldn’t shrink from facing it with him.