Page 120 of A Trial By Blood

“You’ve been searching for me for a long time, but I made sure you couldn’t find me. I hid, using this.” She held up her arm, showing him her forearm with a tattoo I’d seen many times over the years. “I’m the one you want, the one you’ve been waiting for.” Zinnia released my hand and stepped forward. “You came to me in my dreams when I was fifteen years old. You told me who I was, what you wanted from me, and I ran. Do you remember?”

He said nothing, his massive form utterly still. I looked between Death and Zinnia. What the hell was going on?

“I woke up after that first visit from you, and I refused to go back to sleep until I found a way to keep you out of my head. It cost me, but I did it.”

Death moved forward, not leaving his realm but so close to the edge that his robe brushed against the blades of grass on our side. “Who are you?”

Zinnia picked up the blade by her clothes, held it to her forearm, and with a cry, cut, slicing the small tattoo from her arm. “Your birthright. I was born to be your consort, Mors,” she said, using Death’s true name.

Death rocked back, then jerked forward, his arm reaching for her, but she was still out of reach.

His consort.

No. What the hell was going on? My cousin was going to sacrifice herself for me. “Zinnia, no.”

She turned to me, love and strength in her eyes as they met mine. “I’ve been running from this for a long time. He was drawn to your soul because of me. I need to make this right, to protect our family and our coven.”

This couldn’t be happening. “Don’t do this.”

“You were willing to sacrifice yourself for your coven, Roe. And so am I. It’s the only way.”

“Come to me, consort,” Death said in that deep, bone-chilling voice.

Zinnia squared her shoulders. “Your consort must enter Limbo willingly, and I will go with you, but I have a condition.”

“Name it,” he said, his voice vibrating in a way that sent more shivers down my spine.

His focus was only on Zinnia now. It was like I had ceased to exist. He wanted my cousin, and he would do anything to have her.

“Zinnia, don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

She ignored me and kept her focus on the terrifying male watching her. “I have a sister who needs me, and I won’t abandon her. I’ll come with you, but only if I’m free to move between realms.”

“No.”

She squared her shoulders. “That’s my condition.”

He was silent for several long moments. “Each time you visit, you must remain with me for at least one lunar month before returning to your realm.”

Zinnia’s fingers curled into fists. “Then I want a lunar month here as well.”

Death made a sound that punched you through the chest and grabbed on, violent and animalistic. “I will agree, but only until your sister’s eighteenth birthday. After that, you will remain here with me.”

“Her twenty-first birthday,” Zinnia countered.

He shook his head, about to argue.

“If you agree, I’ll leave with you now.”

He was quiet again, then finally, he inclined his head. “But know this, consort, if you fail to return to me, the bargain is void. I will come for you, and when I have you back, I’ll never let you leave.”

“Understood,” she said. “And if you refuse to let me leave, same deal, the bargain is void. And I promise you, I’ll find a way to escape, and you’ll never see me again.”

“Don’t do this,” I sobbed.

She closed the space between us and pulled me into a tight hug. “I knew this day would come, Roe. I can’t hide anymore. It’s done.” She lifted her head. “Take care of Jazzy for me, and Hemlock. It’s only four weeks, then I’ll be back.”

I wanted to cling to her and drag her from this place, but that would only make this harder on her. “Thank you,” I choked out.