Ashen ran his hands through his long, blond hair and swallowed hard. “I guess we could use a few of those now.”
They followed Levi and the two spoke in hushed tones, and she was glad for that. It was all a little bit too much, considering that it had been almost a full day since she had met this reaper, this man who had been sent to kill her but had protected her instead. What would it mean for his soul that he had killed a fellow reaper and had gone against the rules of his new life?
He had protected her, just like she had tried to protect him. And now she was afraid that he was going to lose everything because of it.
There was a reason they were fated mates, and yet the idea that they were still so new at this was ever-present in her mind.
“Here we are,” Levi said after a near-silent journey. She looked up at the two-story house in the woods and could feel the wards pulsating off of it. Protection. Home. Sanctuary.
She didn’t have magic of her own, that’s not what kind of paranormal she was. However, she could usually sense it. Ashen’s shoulders tensed.
“Will this magic harm my mate?” Ashen asked, and she froze, blinking up at him.
Okay, so they were just going to declare it like that, were they? Good to know.
Levi shook his head. “No, it won’t.” A pause. “Your mate?”
“Yes,” she said, hoping that Levi understood. She knew he wouldn’t be able to sense the bond, but there was no going back now. Not with that declaration and the fact that they had killed to protect one another.
Her life was tied up in fate, why should she run from it?
They made their way inside Levi’s home, but she didn’t relax. The other reapers could show up at any moment, and she had a feeling that once Ashen figured out exactly who he was before, everything would change once again.
It didn’t matter that had been, what, only twenty hours of her knowing him. She didn’t want him to be hurt any more than he already had been.
He had died before and was already risking everything for a life of his own—and for her.
She protected her family, her nieces and nephews and her sister and brother-in-law. She did her best to keep them safe, even if all she could do was be the watcher amongst the others of her realm. She wasn’t a warrior, and she couldn’t even flash from one side of the realm to the other.
But she had always been there for her family. And now, she would be here for Ashen. Even if she didn’t know what to do next.
“You are Levi?” Ashen asked, his voice hoarse.
“I am.” Levi looked at his face, trying to see someone there that wasn’t.
“Do you know of reapers?” Eva asked, and Ashen stiffened.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No, he will need to know who the reapers are, especially since one died in his realm.”
“Reapers. They’re real? They aren’t just the bogeymen?” Levi asked.
“They’re real,” Ashen growled. “So real that I’m one of them. Apparently, when someone dies, another can decide, or rather fate can make the decision for that soul to be reborn into a reaper. I don’t remember who I was before. I don’t remember anything other than the fact that I was a bear and I died in flames.”
Levi let out a rough laugh, one that was strange and full of pain. Eva wanted to reach out and hold him, the same with Ashen, but she didn’t. She stood still, knowing that this was important.
“So you take souls?” Levi asked, ignoring the giant elephant in the room. Namely, how Levi knew Ashen. She was grateful that they were taking this slow. She didn’t know if Ashen could take too much all at once.
“I’m supposed to. I didn’t. The man we killed wanted me to take Eva’s, and I wouldn’t.”
“So he came after you. And you killed him?”
“I didn’t know a reaper could die again, but he threatened my soul and Eva’s. So I used my scythe, and I took his instead.” Ashen growled a bit, and she wanted to move his hair from his face just to make sure he was okay. It was such an odd reaction, but she felt as if she had done it countless times before.
“Are you going to get in trouble for that reaper?” Levi asked.
“He already wanted our souls, so I’m going to go with yes,” Ashen answered dryly, and she smiled, surprised he could laugh at a time like this. Or at least joke.
Her stomach hurt. She knew she was pale, her body shiny with sweat. They had been going through so much recently already, and her body just hurt. She wasn’t going into shock, but she was close.
“If you are the reincarnation of someone who died, and you look just like him, are you supposed to know who you were once?” Levi asked, his voice soft.
Eva reached out and put her hands on the small of Ashen’s back. He leaned towards her, and she was grateful.
“I don’t know if I should know too much. Because if I do, when I start to remember things, it hurts. I feel like there’re hot pokers in my mind. I passed out the first time I looked at this one,” Ashen said, gesturing to her, and she blushed.
“Oh,” Levi said softly.
“My name is Ashen. That’s the name that they gave me anyway.” He paused. “Do you know what my name was before this?”
Levi looked as if he were considering holding back, but he blurted it out anyway. “Torrent. You were Torrent. A bear shifter, and a friend.”
Eva reached out as Ashen leaned sharply to the side, sucking in a deep breath.
“I don’t think I’m supposed to have these memories. But they’re slowly coming. Damn it.”
“What do we do?” Eva asked.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to do anything. I don’t think I’m normal.”
Levi moved closer. “I won’t say anything else. There’s going to be some people who want to see you, though, Torrent.”
Ashen let out a groan. She didn’t think of him as Torrent. He was Ashen to her. And he would be until he decided otherwise.
Levi seemed to understand that because he winced as soon as he said it.
“I’m sorry. Take your time. I’ll just…I guess I should handle that dead body back there.”
“No need,” a voice said from behind them. They all turned, the ward’s pulsating all at once.
Ten shrouded figures stood behind them in the small house. She shrank back, looking for a weapon.
Ashen’s claws were out again, something that had startled her at first, but now she liked it. It was handy to have a bear shifter when she didn’t have a weapon.
Levi was on her other side, his palms outstretched as burning flames spun. He was a wizard and would use his magic to protect his home. She was just grateful that his mate and children weren’t here to get caught in the crossfire. If anyone came to attack them, he would burn the place to the ground.
“How did you get past my wards?” Levi asked.
“We are reapers.” An answer in itself, apparently. “I have no quarrel with you, wizard. Thank you for protecting our secret from the others. I’m sure you’ll ensure that none of the others in this realm speak of this.”
“I’m not sure of anything,” Levi growled out.
“I see.”
“I am Reaper,” the main man spoke.