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Heard when the flapping stopped.
The brilliant light flashed once more with such power, such intensity, that even with my gaze blocked behind my hands, it was like a star was being born.
The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up, not because I was afraid—because there was an overwhelming feeling growing in my wildly beating heart.
Tears began to race down my cheeks, and then warm, soft hands gently touched my wrists, gently pulled them to the side.
“Sage,” said a soft, familiar voice—a voice I’d never expected to hear again.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Bright blue eyes met mine, as bright as the summer sky.
I whimpered. “Kaleb?”
“In the flesh!” He beamed.
I took one good, hard look at him before throwing myself into him, tossing my arms around his neck and nearly knocking him back onto the floor. His sturdy arms folded around me. Our bodies trembled like two little leaves—the last ones standing just before the kiss of winter knocked us free.
How long we stayed like that, just hugging each other, I didn’t know. Time simply slowed. And when we were ready, slowly, we pulled back at the same time. Our hands remained locked on each other’s shoulders, both of us unwilling to let go.
He reached up, drying my tears. “Quit your crying, silly.” His hand not so sneakily dabbed away his own.
“I can’t,” I said, staring at him. I didn’t dare to blink, worried that a single blink might cause him to disappear. I shook my head. “How are you here?”
Kaleb swallowed. “Are you sure you want to have this conversation right now?”
“I do,” I answered without hesitation, smiling and shaking my head in disbelief.
He nodded and took a deep breath. “After I died, I awoke in the Spirit Realm. A woman was there, at my bedside. She cared for me as I transitioned. It was . . .” He paused, shaking his blonde head. “. . . not a fun process. I felt sick all the time. I couldn’t keep anything down. She said it was because I had left loved ones in the Living Realm, that I was tethered to them and felt like I still needed to be around for them. She wasn’t wrong. From the day the soldiers took me, all I could think about was getting back to you and Ezra.” He stopped, squeezing my hand.
I understood that need deeply. It was the primary driving factor in everything I had done over the past weeks. All I wanted was our family to be restored. Of course, Kaleb yearned for the same thing. Even in death, his love remained intact—that bond stuck.
“One day, a man strode into my room, a bottle of something he called bourbon in his hand.” His eyes flashed to mine. “He poured me a glass . . . said I was going to need it. And that’s when he told me everything. That he was the God of Death, my new employer. And that you were the Goddess of Life.” Kaleb smirked. “And you know, I wasn’t incredibly surprised when he told me who you really were. You’ve always had a knack for bringing strays home.” He chuckled.
Gods, how I had missedthatsound—gods, how I had missed him.
And yet, this moment was bittersweet because behind-the-scenes, Von had been meeting with Kaleb, offering him friendship and a connection to me. I knew why he did it—he did it for me, and the knowledge of that made it feel that much harder to breathe now that he was gone.
“Whenever you went to the Cleansings, you’d get this expression on your face. It’s one thing to watch someone die, but I could just tell, it hit you different. Where people would go home and forget the Cleansing in a few days, you carried them around with you—like a weight on your shoulders. Like each death was a burden you had to carry.” Kaleb paused, his voice soft. “I think that’s why I felt like I needed to look after you. Because, maybe, deep down, I sensed what you were.” He moved from his kneeling position and sat down on the bed beside me, his shoulder touching mine. “Regardless of who you are, one thing will never change—you will always be my little sister.”
His words were the finishing nail to my already bleeding heart.
I shoved him playfully to the side before I wiped away a few more tears. “Get out of here with that.”
He laughed, nudging his shoulder against mine.
I chuckled softly, although the smile did not meet my eyes. Even though I wanted to revel in this moment, to feel the joy of being reunited with Kaleb, I could not, at least, not completely. I was broken inside, and it was all because of Von. He’d done as he said—he’d staked his claim on my flesh and left his brand upon my soul, and without him . . . well, nothing would ever feel right again.
Kaleb cleared his throat. “I’m a reaper now.”
A what now?
“A reaper?” I repeated, tasting the word on my tongue. “As in carries a scythe, wears a black robe, and collects souls, reaper? Like the one from those books we used to read?”
Kaleb snorted. “Not quite. Those books said there was only one reaper, but in fact, there are hundreds of us. Also, I don’t carry a scythe. And I don’t wear a black robe. But I do collect souls.”
Putting two and two together, I asked, “Is that what the marbles are?”
