An Isle of Mirrors (A Shade of Vampire #88) - Bella Forrest Page 0,51
matters not. And if the Reapers should ever try to rise up against Death, she expects the soul fae to protect her.”
Unending scoffed. “She was right…”
“Who?” Joy asked.
“Death,” my wife was quick and smart to lie. “She anticipated a day when she might be too weak and become vulnerable to internal attacks. The Spirit Bender wasn’t extreme or dangerous enough, at least in her mind; otherwise, she would’ve used these people against him. I think she expects something much worse to happen someday.”
I understood the gravity of these words. Yes, Anunit had been right to suspect this purpose for the soul fae. I wondered how a rebellion of Reapers big enough to push Death into this worst-case scenario would unfold. If the horrors that Spirit had perpetrated on us and thousands of innocent Reapers weren’t enough to warrant summoning these creatures… what did qualify?
Joy didn’t seem to have an answer. The soul fae were just as clueless. The only one who had a better idea of what to expect would be Death herself. But maybe she wasn’t the only one, after all. Something had pushed Anunit to such a theory, and we needed to find out what, exactly. Because if Death was still vulnerable in any way, we had to know. We had to prepare for the worst—the balance of the universe had to be maintained at any cost.
Tristan
“What is the extent of a soul fae’s abilities?” I asked. “I know they have the Spirit Bender’s powers, but—”
“Oh, no—they’re more than that,” Joy said. “The soul that was used as a matrix for him was one of the weakest. Frankly, I think Death also watered his formula down considerably. Remember, Spirit had to cut you with his scythe for his influence to work.”
She was right. We’d already noticed that particular aspect. Unending and I exchanged nervous glances while Loren and Sissa watched us with genuine curiosity. Everything we’d been discussing with Joy up to this point probably sounded like gibberish to them, since they’d lived in complete isolation, having met no other Reaper besides their guardian. And Joy kept her cards close to her chest.
“Sissa, tell them what you can do. Actually, no. Show them,” Joy told the young princess, who straightened her back and shifted so she could sit cross-legged. “Spare no boundary whatsoever.”
I held my breath for a moment as Sissa set her sights on me. “No holds barred?”
“None,” Joy insisted.
“Is it an overreaction on my part to admit I’m a little uneasy about this?” I asked, chuckling nervously. I had plenty to hide, and I didn’t want Sissa to dig around in my head. Unending wasn’t sure how much her mentally protective magic could push back without arousing suspicion from these creatures, since obviously we knew less about them than we’d originally thought.
“Deep breath, my love,” Unending said through our telepathic connection. “Don’t give them reason to poke around where they’re not supposed to.”
“I mean, not that I have anything to hide, but… I managed to elude the Spirit Bender’s manipulation. Losing control over myself honestly terrifies me,” I added aloud, making Loren laugh lightly.
“Worry not, young man,” he said. “Sissa would never be intrusive or disrespectful. It’s not our ethos.”
All I could do was hope for the best. Sissa’s eyes glimmered gold while looking at me, and I felt something tickling my skin. It covered my entire body, seeping through the flesh and deep into the bone. I couldn’t fight it. The force was too strong and dominant, unwilling to yield or soften its hold on me. My soul was in the palm of Sissa’s hand, and she started to squeeze—slowly, at first. Just enough to make me gasp as I realized I was no longer in charge of myself.
“Tell me your biggest fear,” she demanded, and I was unable to ignore this request. The compulsion was like a tidal wave crashing into me, dismantling each of my defenses. I noticed that giving in was much easier than resisting as far as the soul fae’s power was concerned. It hurt less.
“My biggest fear…” I managed. “Is that I’ll wake up one day, and Unending will be gone.” I was honest. Losing my beloved was what scared me the most. We’d become so close, so deeply bonded over the course of twenty years, that an existence without her seemed impossible. Unthinkable. A true hell on earth.
“That’s so sweet.” Sissa sighed, her smile radiant with warmth.
Joy scoffed, leaning on her elbow. “You can do better.”