it, even though I could no longer feel its effects. My whole life I’d looked to the sky and smelled the air to determine what the days would be like. Now it didn’t matter anymore, yet I was still wondering. Listening. Sniffing.
“Do we know what’s going to happen to me?” I asked after a while, slowly leaning into him. “Death did mention keeping me around for a while longer, but… do we know why?”
Seeley shook his head. “No. I won’t reap you anytime soon, that’s for sure. The others know to leave you be, as well. Unfortunately, Death keeps serving up limited amounts of information. I ask the questions, but she often tells me to focus on the Darklings, on awakening the Unending, on pretty much anything that doesn’t involve you. I’m frustrated but thankful you’re still here.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I replied, giving him a warm smile. The way I felt about Seeley was pretty much the only thing that kept me going these days. There were moments when all I wanted to do was curl up in a dark corner and do nothing. Feel nothing. But whenever I saw his handsome face, with his debonair smile and his galaxy eyes, I’d come back to life, so to speak. “Has she at least told you why I’m able to perform death magic?”
He shook his head again. “No. But the most obvious explanation is that you’ve got Reaper potential. I reached out to one of my superiors who has access to future records. Reapers are usually selected randomly upon death, but given your condition and the fact that you’re already manifesting some abilities, I’m thinking your name might have popped up somewhere. He has yet to get back to me, but I’m patient.”
“You really think I’ll be a Reaper?”
“What other explanation is there?” he asked, shrugging and looking perplexed. “Look at Taeral. He’s already predestined to become one. Why wouldn’t you be like him, too? I’ve turned this over in my head countless times. There’s nothing else that makes sense. But if you are a Reaper, you’ll never cross over. Not until Death releases you from duty, and that could literally take forever.”
I felt a smile coming on as I gazed into his starry eyes. “Would you like me to become a Reaper?”
Seeley put his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. Our spirits met, energy flowing and tingling through me as it released a flurry of delightful sensations everywhere. It was as if I’d been dropped in a tub of sparkling water, the bubbles tickling my skin as they popped. His expression softened as he leaned down to kiss me.
His lips were cool and soft. His breath was absent, but I could swear I felt his heart beating, drumming against mine. Lights flashed between us, the air crackling at every touch. He deepened the kiss, and I surrendered, trying to understand the taste of him. Being undead changed everything, including my sensory perception. Touching felt different. The taste wasn’t really there, just the ghost of it. The idea of an aroma, of a fragrance. It haunted and thrilled me at the same time.
I focused on what I could perceive, on what I truly felt, in a bid to anchor myself into some form of reality, and I came to the simplest conclusion. There was more than this spiritual attraction between us. There was love. I could sense it glowing inside me like an infant star. Heat rippled outward as his hand settled on the small of my back, our tongues playfully meeting.
When he pulled back, I sucked in a phantom breath. “I would love nothing more than for you to become a Reaper, Nethissis. Because it would mean you’d stick around, and I wouldn’t be left on my own again.”
“I would hate to leave you,” I murmured against his lips, closing my eyes for a moment.
“This thing between us, it’s complicated,” Seeley replied. “But I know it’s real. Palpable, even. I love you, Nethissis. I’ve loved you for a long time, and being able to feel you like this, it’s… it’s incredible.”
My eyes popped open at his words. My undead heart thundered as our eyes met, and I knew, I knew in the depths of my being that Seeley was being truthful, baring his soul for me.
“I love you. It’s not that I really like you, or that I’ve fallen in love with you, because both terms feel… superficial and ephemeral. No, Nethissis. I love you. It’s an irreversible