Can't Fight Time

Grim paused, his hand on the ornate handle carved with the Bloodspurn coat-of-arms. He stared at the markings a second before he took a deep breath and entered the throne room. Questions and thoughts buzzed in his head about good and bad choices, what was right and what was wrong. But he always came back to the center of it, the reason he had come here, the reason he was willing to throw away all he had worked for, all his family had achieved... Nina.

Looking down at the silver-veined black marble and then up to the dark red drapes covering the dozens of floor-to-ceiling windows, Grim forced his feet to move forward. This was one of the rooms he truly detested. It was the rooms display of wealth coated with death, betrayal, and anguish that got under Grim’s skin. The room was supposed to embody their name, their legacy—the Bloodspurn Kingdom, with the strongest warriors and the most fearless kings in the land. That wasn’t what it did.

The room served as both a warning and an invitation. Paintings depicting gruesome death scenes lined the walls as Grim walked the length of the room to his father. Captions told how and by which king the people in the paintings had been killed, but there were no actual pictures of the kings themselves. But even deeper into the throne room was something truly grotesque and frighteningly beautiful.

The teardrop-shaped vials hanging from the ceiling all around the seat that were the true focal point, and Pièce de résistance. A slight scent wafted out from inside the crystals, and the softest sound of grain rubbing against grain could be heard.

When Grim was a child, he’d been playing in the throne room and had accidentally broken one of the vials. It was at that moment that he discovered what was inside the crystals and what the they all meant. Thousands of reaper’s remains stuffed into vials no bigger than his middle finger, murdered by Bloodspurn Kings and placed on display for all to see. It was the equivalent of cutting someone’s head off and hanging them on spikes behind the throne.

Grim had told Nina that reapers never killed, and he hadn’t lied. Reapers never killed humans, but he couldn’t say the same about their own people. Just like humans, reapers murdered, tortured, and massacred each other. Perhaps it was the humanity in their veins from when they used to mate with humans, though Grim doubted that.

Then again, it could just be what drove every person to maim and kill: power.

“Grim?” His father’s voice was quizzical, as if he wasn’t sure if Grim was truly there or not, a figment or reality.

Gritting his teeth, Grim watched as a maid beside his father leaned over and refilled his father's wine, trying to tempt the king with her curves. That might have worked years before when the king had sunk himself between the thighs of every woman he found in an effort to reclaim the feelings that Ivona had stolen from him with her death, but it would not work now. Grim remembered what it was like during those times, when all you could hear through the halls was a woman's cries of ecstasy and seconds later the angry footsteps of the king leaving because he’d felt nothing. That was when his father had truly begun his slow descent into madness, and when Grim’s mother had begun grooming him to take over the crown.

Smiling wide and sitting up straighter on his throne, his father looked like he’d just been given a giant present; “What are you doing here, my son?”

Grim paused at the base of the steps leading up to the stone throne. “I’m here to see you, Father.”

“Hmm?” The king's eyes caught on the maid’s bosom as she leaned over, but the look he gave the tempting flesh was hollow, as if he was looking right through her.

“I am here to talk with you about Nina,” Grim ground out as he watched the maid frown, perplexed, and move away from the king.

To the side of the room a door burst open and a surge of energy he recognized shot out into the room. Grim drew deeper into the folds of his cloak, grateful that’s he’d changed into his reaper form after he’d left Nina.

“Mictlantecuhtli!” His mother swept into the room with all the power of a typhoon. “I’m glad you have brought up that unsightly creature.”

Grim watched with a slight amount of satisfaction as the maid visibly paled, then lowered her head and rushed out of the room, past Grim. “Excuse me, Your Highness,” the girl muttered as she fled.

“Morrigan! What a pleasant, pleasant surprise,” the king said as the corner of his mouth rose. He gave Grim an exaggerated wink, his eyes dancing with a type of happiness that bordered on lunacy.“What brings you here?”

Grim would never understand why his father had married Morrigan. Yes, she was Grim’s mother now, and the woman who had raised him, but never had she been kind or caring, choosing instead to be distant and disappointed with her sons.

“I assume you’ve heard about the human your son brought home, Tuoni? A disrespectful little thing with all the manners of a street rat,” Morrigan hissed scathingly as she ascended the steps to the dais. She took her place next to his father on an equally impressive throne surrounded by vials.

Grim flinched at the insult to Nina, but mentally forgave his mother. Very soon Nina would be his wife and the next Bloodspurn queen, it was just a matter of time.

Tuoni looked quizzically at his son. “Yes, I heard. She broke you. Split you in two. Took you again. And made you anew.”

Tuoni reached for the glass the maid left him, but just as his fingers closed around the goblet it fractured and broke into a million pieces. Grim watched his father frown as he looked at his wine-soaked hand, shards of glass embedded in it. Then, very slowly, he leaned down and licked his bloodied hand.

Immediately his mother snatched the hand away from the king’s mouth and tore off a piece of her cloak to tie around it. No one spoke as maids appeared out of the woodwork and cleaned off the king before disappearing as quickly and quietly as they’d come. Grim had seen the scene many times over, yet another reminder why it was time to take the throne. His father’s grip on reality, on his power, was slipping fast.

It pained Grim to see his father this way, though he supposed it was better in comparison to his earlier whoremongering. At times, Grim would find his father completely coherent and sane; they could have whole conversations, and Tuoni would give Grim advice. The next day, his father wouldn’t remember any of it; he would be lost once again.

It scared him sometimes when he looked into his father’s eyes and wondered if his and Uri’s fate would be the same. It wouldn’t be if Nina was with me. Grim clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, knowing it was time. She’d keep me sane.

“It’s been nearly a month, Tuoni! We still have a human living in the castle, and the Castoff King’s daughter will be coming any day.” Morrigan shifted in her throne, sitting straighter, her power held firmly in check. “And from what I’ve heard, she loathes humans.”

More than you, Mother? Grim mentally retorted as he looked up at his parents, desperate to get this over with and then return to Nina. Return to her soft body, warm arms, and comforting words.

“Mother, Father, I wanted to tell you that I won’t be marrying the Castoff girl. I want—" he paused, shook his head, and looked directly at his parent. "I will marry Nina.”

For a moment the entire room was still; the vials stopped swinging, and their powers paused. Then, like a rolling wave, he felt his father’s power leak out and encompass everything. Even his mother shifted away from her husband.

Grim didn’t match his father’s power or pin it back against him as he could have. No, he let his father have control. With all the grace of phoenix uncurling its wings, Tuoni rose from his chair and took the steps down to his son. His smile was a bit lopsided, eyes clouded like he might be drunk. “Emotions, emotions, such fickle things. They come and go like butterfly wings."

Suddenly his face dropped, transforming into the mask of urbane indifference that Grim had seen almost all his life. "You don't love her, Grim. It is simply the first time you have felt human emotions, and you're not sure how to deal with them. You're letting your emotions control you. And that my son, will be your downfall."

Grim felt his defenses rise and his power flare up. When his father was lucid, he was extremely brilliant, tapping into a wealth of knowledge. But that was his father's downfall: despite all his brilliance, he had failed to save the one woman he loved.

“I will not repeat the mistakes of the past, Father.” Grim’s eyes skirted over the vials. The past was in the past and had no place in his future. Nina had taught him that, taught him to leave what could never be fixed for the ages and to relish the present. But he didn’t just want the present, he wanted the future—their future, where Nina was alive and safe and his.

Grim’s resolve hardened until it became unbreakable. “I will deal with the Castoffs. I will care for my land and my people. I will be the king you want, and I will protect Nina.” He looked into his father’s eyes, mirrors of his own eyes, the exact same shade of blue. “I am not you, and I will not make your mistakes.”

Grim turned and acknowledged Morrigan, bending his head and feeling his hair slide against his cheek. “Mother.”

Grim turned his gaze to Tuoni and saw the widest grin splitting his face. He knew his father was off in another place. “Father.”

“I’ve lost myself. I’m out of time. I’ve lost myself. I’m out of my mind.” The king repeated the chant, eyes burning feverishly. “You were never me, Grim. I died long ago, and you never met me.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Grim turned sharply away from his father. He didn’t want to listen to the words of a crazy king. He wanted warm sheets that smelled like milk and honey, and a supple and needy body that tasted like pure woman.

He picked up his speed, flying with a power few creatures in the universe possessed to the side of the woman he loved; the one he would make queen.

***

“Well, that was another fun adventure,” Uri chuckled as he helped her out of the carriage. “You got to meet Iris again, and spend my money on new threads.”

Nina rolled her eyes and looked over at the dozen or so bags hanging off Uri’s arms. “Don’t you mean, you got to spend all your money?” Nina held up the single bag she carried. “I only bought a dress. Not a new wardrobe.”

Uri shrugged and gave her another killer smile. He could get away with treason on that smile alone.

Nina thanked the driver and waved goodbye to him. The man was always courteous to her, and that was far more than she could say about the castle staff. Despite being in the castle for well over three weeks, they still treated her like a nuisance. Still, Nina forced a smile as she walked by one of the guards, only to get a murderous look in return.

For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out how she’d been rude to the guards. But almost every single one of them seemed to despise her, with the exception of one. But Tylend, the vampire guard as Nina had taken to calling him because of the super paleness of his skin, was nice to pretty much anyone who wasn’t an outright jackass. But nice was relative, the reaper still never smiled at her. Goodness forbid any castle staff actually smile at Nina, or even acknowledge her beyond a glare. That would just be audacious!

Nina mentally chuckled as her internal Southern belle came to the forefront. Way too many late nights loaded up on energy drinks had caused her to turn to any and every movie on the Internet. Sad life of a college student.

“But you did have fun, right?” Uri handed off their bags to a pair of waiting maids, and she caught what sounded almost like a soft, quick, buzzing noise from the pair. “Oh, and turn right, we’re going to the throne room first. Someone’s here.”

Nina frowned and switched direction. “How do you know that?”

It wasn’t like there had been another carriage when they rolled in, or a bunch of scurrying maids. Everything looked exactly the same, and if Uri hadn’t told her someone was there, Nina would have never guessed.

“The maid just told me, and I can feel a different power in the castle.” Uri tucked his hands into his back pockets as he strolled. “See, a reaper’s power is their signature. The more powerful the reaper, the easier they are to identify.”

Nodding absently, Nina thought back to Iris, who had about as much power as a human. In a twisted way, it made sense that power would define a reaper. It defined most of their world, why not themselves?

“So, did you have fun?” Uri fished, casting Nina a sidelong glance.

“More fun than the last time, that’s for sure.” The last outing Nina had taken with Uri and Iris had been fraught with tension, most of it she caused my her own insecurities.This one had been much smoother, and Nina had been able to enjoy herself and get a better feel for the Underworld and its inhabitants.

The town of Elysium was a clash of different cultures and time periods ranging from England's Elizabethan Era to a somewhat modern day love child of a hipster, Middle-Eastern bazaar. The buildings all looked like something Sheiks and Arab princes should live in, complete with pavilions in the center of the houses and water fountains everywhere, but the stain glass windows looked like something out of a centuries old church.

The streets were made of cobblestone, while the buildings were laid with brick and mortar, cool sheets and painted scarves dancing in the breeze. The people had been dressed completely different from the castle staff. Some women wore colorful head scarves and long flowing dresses, while others wore pants and jeans.

One thing Nina had noticed, or rather what Uri and Iris had explained to her, was that fashion was dictated by wealth, power, and convenience. The more powerful a reaper the more likely their clothes were at least closer to the current century, and the same applied if they were Collectors. Collectors traded goods they took from the human world after reaping a soul with merchants for material possession.

The same applied for the language. Uri had been able to converse in at least ten different languages effortlessly, switching between them without any difficulty, because he had wealth, power, and could go and collect souls wherever he wanted.

Nina had understood why Messengers were on the low end of the totem pole. They never left the UNderworld, relied solely on Collectors to provide them with souls, and were unable to move up unless their Collector counterparts allowed them to, which would never happen because, like most people, the rich liked to stay rich, and the powerful liked to stay powerful.

To say Nina had felt out of place in the century clashing town, would be an understatement. But the people had been fairly nice, catering to the three of them as if they were royalty, which was true of at least one of them.

The only thing that had been weird was the utter lack of restaurants or food. There wasn't a coffee shop in sight, and forget about fast food. Uri had said it was because reapers didn't eat human food, but feasted on the lingering emotions and power of souls. That was why instead of grocery stores and the like they had power exchanges, aptly named Power Houses.

Uri also explained why certain reapers looked so different from others. Some were Messengers, and didn't have to leave the underworld at all. They could be told apart by the gold and red sashes they wore around their hips with different emblems sewn onto them sort of like Girl Scout patches. The patches were demarcation marker to show whether that Messenger took the souls of Sunflowers, tigers, or whatever. Others reapers had red crystals on their hood or forehead and books in their hands; they were called Watches. Uri explained the different markings and reapers, but eventually Nina became overwhelmed by everything and tuned him out.

The experience of seeing the town, and semi-interacting with the people had made Nina appreciate Grim more. Since coming to the Underworld, Nina hadn't gone without anything she wanted or needed. Things she took for granted like a bathroom or a meal had been provided at the castle, but weren’t exactly readily available in the town of Elysium.

Elysium was truly a town to behold. Uri told Nina that the town was part of the Ferri province of the Underworld and was one of the largest cities in the Bloodspurn Kingdom, and also the closests to the castle. Though close was relative; the carriage ride had taken at least an hour, and with the tension in the carriage it had felt close to three.

Still, finding out the Underworld, well, the Bloodspurn Kingdom at least was broken into sixteen provinces ruled by the Council of Guardians was interesting to say the least. Nina still didn’t fully understand all the titles and jobs, but with Uri’s explanation it seemed that the Guardians were sort of like governors of the different provinces, and aside from governing their respective areas they also advised the king.

It was not simply the city or the people or the system, it was the entire world. It was one thing to hear about it in Greek mythology, but quite another to experience it first hand. The Underworld, or at least what Nina had seen of it, wasn’t dark and dreary. There wasn’t a creepy river of souls, and pitch black night wasn’t a constant. Aside from the occasional cloak and scythe totting reapers and the language and cultural clashes in the town, it was almost exactly like her world. In fact, being in the city had been the warmest reception she’d gotten as a human in the Underworld, and Nina had felt almost… at home.

“And Iris did a 180.” Nina cracked a smile and a hint of proudness infiltrated her words. “I remember the first time I met her she was so meek and timid, but this time? Wow.”

It was like the docile governess she’d met had flown out the window the minute she’d seen something she wanted. Then the devil haggler had come through, and practically robbed the owners blind with how little she was willing to pay. But she’d still gotten her way, and in the end she’d come out looking strong.

Uri’s voice was soft, his face a mix of sympathy and pity. “Did it take your mind off of it?”

Nina nodded her head and mimicked his killer smile. “Nothing can really take my mind off my death, Uri. But it helped." Nina pushed back a strand of her hair. “So, how was—”

All of a sudden Uri stopped and held still. Nina stopped a second later and looked at Uri over her shoulder. His lips were set in a grim line and his green eyes looked like a stormy sea. Whatever he’d sensed had set him off, and if it spooked Uri, that it was probably going to terrify her.

“What is it?” she asked quietly, barely above a whisper.

“The beginning.” The words seemed to slip out before Uri could help himself. Nina watched his eyes harden and his lips pull into a thin straight line, before his expression shuttered and went back to its usual facade of urbane indifference.

The mood shifted suddenly and left a feeling of dread in the pit of Nina’s stomach.. Surprises had become normal, a consequence of living in the Underworld. Still, Uri’s look didn’t exactly leave her with the usual amount of curiosity mixed with shaky anticipation. He didn't look happy, relaxed, or anything like his usual carefree self. And, if that hadn't warned her that something was definitely amiss and that the proverbial the shit was about to hit the fan, Tylend stepping out from the shadows to cut off their path sure did.

The guard bowed formally in that weird way of his. “Your Highness, Ms. Nina.”

Nina felt Uri’s power flick over her consciousness before he reigned it in. “Tylend.”

Tension pulled the air around them taunt, but Nina snapped it immediately with a soft, breezy laugh. “Come on, Len. I told you to just call me Nina. And you don’t need to be so formal.”

Tylend turned his pale green eyes on her and Nina had to bite back the comment on her lips. The guard really did look like a vampire. Extraordinarily pale skin, shaved head, and eyes that just screamed: “I vant your blood.” A chuckle tried to escape her lips but she stuffed it back. Tylend was more or less her shadow, a guard assigned to her by Grim that was their when either Uri or Grim were unavailable. It had become a pastime of Nina’s to try and make the ridge reaper smile.

“Of course, ma’am,” he responded easily. “You can explain why I should address you so informally in his majesty’s sitting room.”

Want me gone, huh?As if him blocking her path with his large body wasn’t answer enough to that question.

“Nah, I think I’ll just head wherever Uri’s going.” Nina put the brightness of the sun behind her smile. “But thanks, Tylend. I’ll take you up on that offer another time.”

Uri covered a laugh with a cough beside her, but the guard in front of them never even twitched a muscle. “I must insist… Nina.”

Wow, but be really bad if he dropped the miss.

“It’ll be fine, Tylend,” Uri interjected smoothly, resting a hand on the guard's shoulder. “This day was bound to come.”

Tylend eyed the hand like he wanted to cut it off. Uri must have seen that look too, because he removed his appendage immediately. Than Uri turned to Nina and smiled slowly, reassuringly. "Everything's fine, Nina. Isn’t that right, Tylend?"

‘Fine’ in Nina's life was relative to time and place: anywhere her father wasn't trying to kill her was a fine place. Uri's words of reassurance did the exact opposite, and for once in her life, Nina wished she had a weapon, or power. She was a pacifist by nature, by nature wasn't helping save her butt, Grim Reapers were. And those reapers had wicked looking scythes and the power to choke a person with a simple thought.

Tylend hesitated but then stepped aside. “Yes, Highness. Everything is fine.”

That, more than anything, freaked Nina out bad. Right then, she would have traded her first born child for a suit of armor and a sword. But, with a brief nod to Tylend, Nina and Uri continued their walk until they came to stand in front of two thick doors with the Bloodspurn insignia carved on the handles.

Her palms were sweaty, and Nina was pretty sure her middle name had just been changed to ‘fraidy cat. The only thing that made her feel marginally better was the power coming from behind the doors. She could recognize at least one of the power signatures sliding against her like gentle but firm currents. Grim.

Ever since their first time together, Nina had been able to feel his power. It was like Grim had placed a lojack in her body that went off whenever he was near. She could feel him: under her skin, in her body, he was always there. It was both a comforting and terrifying thought, but one she didn’t usually dwell on too long.

Time was still not on her side, and as much as Nina enjoyed her day out with Uri, she’d still rather be with Grim. As much as Nina hated to admit it, she craved Grim; craved him as a mouse craved cheese or a lion craved meat. And that thought alone was enough to convince her to face whatever was on the other side of that door head on.

Nina forced a cocky grin as she summoned up her courage and reached for the handle. “You alright over there, Uri?”

“I’m doing just fine, Nina.” Uri’s voice didn’t hold the usual sauciness that he seemed to have in spades. In fact, he sounded a bit guarded, maybe angry.

She twisted the knob and gave him a weary smile. “Sure you are.” Taking a deep breath, Nina opened the door. “Don't worry, Uri, I’ll protect you.”

Uri’s strained chuckle helped ease some of the tension gripping Nina, but not by much. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Throwing the door wide, Nina entered first, and took a quick glance around. Luxury didn’t begin to describe the place. Everything seemed to be custom made, from the drapes to the marble floor to the gruesome paintings lining the walls. The entire room was straight out of a warlord’s castle, with hints of a sophisticated monarchy just hidden underneath. It was barbarism for the 21st Century.

“Uriel!” A voice that sounded like that weird bone whistle snapped loudly, and forced Nina’s attention to the four people on the other side of the room. Two were sitting on what looked like stone thrones, surrounded by twinkling glass. Nina didn’t really have a chance to look at them, before all four were suddenly in her face, and she was partly behind Uri.

Crap, they move fast! Again, Nina wished humans had some sort of supernatural power. It would have helped her blend in with the reapers crowding her space.

Two looked human, and two didn't. It was still strange for Nina to see a reaper that looked like a human one minute shift into skull and bones in the very next. Grim spared her the gruesome transformation, but she'd seen it in the town a couple times. It was like the skin, well, melted from their bones, sort of like wax figurines that had been put in a microwave. The transformation to a human wasn’t much better, their muscle, tissue, and skin seeming to knit over their bones. Both processes took less than a few seconds, but for Nina some seconds felt longer than others.

Turning to the reapers around her, she at least recognized two. The hissing black cloak Nina assumed was the Queen, Grim’s mother, and the slightly chilled finger-bones that rubbing against her arm was probably Grim. The other two were a man who looked to be in his late thirties with the lithe body of a swimmer, and a child who looked like a gothic version of Shirley Temple complete with jet-black ringlets, a too-short dark purple dress, and one obnoxiously bright smile.

“Hello, Father, Mother.” Uri had been in front of her in an almost protective stance, but moved to Nina’s side. For some reason the air in the room was filled to the brim with tension, and Nina was pretty sure her presence had only made it worse.

The thirty-something year old man clapped his hands excitedly, and Nina turned to him, both put off and intrigued by his strange behavior. The situation was laden with tension, the emotions so thick in the room a person could probably swim in them. Yet the man looked unaffected, almost carefree.

Nina turned to Grim, about to ask who the wacko was, when the man suddenly spoke, his words almost lyrical. "See you soon, my son, but now I must run. Because this time is no fun. It's the future. It's the past. Spinning, spinning, crash."

Nina cocked her hand and watched the man's head rotate around, his eyes lit up. He looked like he was on some kind of demented rollercoaster ride, and it creeped her out.

But just as quickly as the craziness started, it stopped, and the man looked right at Nina. It was like he saw inside of her, found all her darkest secrets, ones she knew and ones that she didn't. Never had someone looked at her like that—even Uri and Grim, with their weirdly intense gazes, didn't look at her the way this man was looking. It didn't exactly creep Nina out, but it didn't make her want to strike up a friendship with the guy either.

Flourishing a bow, which looked oddly like it was directed at Nina, the man turned and practically skipped out the door. For a moment, the entire group stared after him, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Who was that?" Nina whispered, blowing out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

The tension in the room seemed to skyrocket until Nina could almost feel the pressure pushing at her chest. It was suffocating, and all she'd done was ask a simple question.

"My husband." The words were angry, clipped.

Nina turned to the black cloak and shining bones that she knew to be Grim's mother. Her cloak shook as the queen seemed to bristle with indignation, then she raised her hand and a wicked looking scythe shot across the room into her waiting grasp. Nina flinched back at the easy display of power, the elemental grace Grim's mother used when dealing with a weapon that was taller—and in her current form—probably heavier than she was. Nina could only imagine how easy it would be for the queen to let the blade slip from the her hand and cut Nina’s throat.

Reflexively, Nina swallowed and touched her neck, making sure her head was still on her body. If skeletons could smile, the queen definitely would have. But the woman just swept her cloak in a wide circle and exited the room without a backwards glance.

Man, Grim's family is weird, Nina thought a second later before she realized how ironic the statement was. Grim was a reaper prince, about to be king, with a reaper princess as his fiancée and a human as his mistress. She mentally snorted. Given everything, I still think I take the weird and crazy trophy.

Uri spoke first, relieving the awkward tension that had descended after Grim's parent’s abrupt departures. "Our father suffers from, uh, old age. Living too long has caused him to lose his mind. And mother... She's always been like that." The gothic Shirley Temple lookalike murmured in understanding.

Nina sort of understood what Uri meant. His mother was, well, his mother. And Grim had lived through the Roman and Hittite empires, so she could only imagine how old his father was.

"Well!" The girl standing next to Uri clapped her hands excitedly, her crimson lips turning up in the fakest smile Nina had ever seen.

Apprehension raced down Nina's back and infused her blood. Instinctively, she took a step closer to Grim, simultaneously relying on his strength and staking her claim. In that moment, she totally understood territorial animals.

It was irrational that Nina would have such mistrust, anger, and ever loathing for a girl that she'd never met before. It was even stranger that she felt so protective of Grim; no doubt her reaper beau could protect the both of them a million times over before Nina even saved him once.

Still, there was just something about the girl in front of her that rubbed Nina the wrong way. Thinking on it, she decided it might be that mysterious sixth sense people had, the one that told them something was wrong before their brain could process it.

Whatever it was, it was ringing warning bells in Nina’s brain that she'd be an idiot to ignore.

“Felicia Anvi'ras Castoff, Princess to the Castoff Kingdom, and fiancée to the Heir Apparent of the Bloodspurn Kingdom. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, human,” the gothic girl introduced herself with a curtsey that looked cute and deadly all at once.

Nina’s lips twitched as she mimicked the motion, her tone was just as uppity and obnoxious as the girl's across from her. “Nina Marie Strathmore, full time college student, coffee-holic, and driver of the struggle bus. And the pleasure is all mine, reaper.”

So this is Grim's fiancée? She raked the child in front of her with an assessing look. Her waist was maybe as wide as Nina's hand, and the girl was only a few inches shorter than her. Most of her height was just smooth legs encased in shimmery black nylons. Felicia's make-up was also done to a tee; while not overly dramatic, it made her cerulean eyes sparkle, her snow-white skin shimmer, her cheeks flush a delicate peach, and her lips glossy and kissable.

Biting her bottom lip, Nina tried not to look down at herself and critically examine her body and choice of wardrobe. She'd never been upset that she was a few pounds heavier, or that her skin was dark with slight imperfections. That was what being human meant, anyway. Not Felicia's airbrushed perfection, but hair that wasn't always manageable and an occasional zit or two.

Felicia's smile dimmed a bit, but did nothing to diminish her beauty. "It is strange how you clutch onto my fiancee; are you not Prince Uriel’s pet?"

"I am no one’s pet."

The princess laughed softly, the sound more delicate than falling snow. "Yes, you are. ” Her eyes widened in naive curiosity. “That is, at least, what everyone calls you."

"Oh?” Nina's voice was saccharine sweet as she tapped her chin and smiled wide. “ Then you must be a pedophile’s wet dream. From your outfit, I can only assume that’s what everyone calls you."

If steam could have shot out of the princess’s ears, it would have. But then reapers didn't have steam—they had power. Felicia's power exploded from every pore in her body and began to fill the room. Nina felt it aimed at her, as if the power was going to take her and drown her. But Felicia's power was different from anything else she'd felt, because while it felt dense and very nearly tangible, it held the taint of something else, something dark. Though that could've just been Nina's overactive imagination coupled with paranoia telling her that.

A part of Nina, that she'd thought she'd buried, slowly began to leak to the surface of her consciousness. One that, at ten years old, she'd shoved deep and banished. It was the part that had taken over and beaten a girl within an inch of her life; the other girl had had to recuperate in a hospital for nearly three months with internal bleeding, several broken bones, and a serious concussion. It had been a bad time in her childhood, when she'd been extremely violent, uncontrollable, and had nearly been sent to a juvenile detention. Fun times. Fun times.

"Beautiful and lovely princess, are you really going to fight with a human?" Uri interjected, smoothly stepping in front of Nina as Grim pulled her back and into his arms.

Felicia's power slowly dissipated from the room, and the red haze of violence once again buried itself deep inside of Nina. Never had she felt such bloodlust and rage against another person. It had felt so encompassing, like she could do anything and be anyone. Her rage had felt right and good, and Nina realized that that was its purpose. It felt good to be angry, to feel the endorphins and testosterone flooding her system. Otherwise, why would there be so much violence in the world? It was fun, it was dangerous, and most importantly, it was power.

Laughter greeted Uri's words, as the princess sighed softly. "Of course you are right, Your Highness." Felicia plucked at a curl and delicately scratched at her collar. "I cannot believe I was almost sucked into its irrational behavior."

Anger arched through Nina with the "it" comment. It was only Grim's cool hand at her waist that kept her from launching herself at Felicia and ripping the girl in half.

In the back of her mind, Nina realized that Felicia was trying to antagonize her, goad her into doing or saying something she'd regret. A part of her realized that, and Nina thanked her lucky stars that that part of her had enough common sense to keep her silent and still.

Calmly drawing in a breath, Nina turned and looked at Grim, momentarily forgetting that he was in the cloak and bones get up. She was so used to Grim that no matter what form he took, she still felt safe with him. He was her rock, her anchor.

"I want to leave, Grim."

Starting something with the princess of a neighboring kingdom whom Grim was going to marry would be many things, not appropriate being one of them. And even if Grim might consider her his ex-fiancée, it was quite obvious that the princess didn't consider their business finished until a ring was on her finger with a marriage certificate in her hand.

"Give me a second, Amica," Grim's voice was once again that whistling bone sound, but it didn't bother Nina nearly as much as it had before. "Felicia."

Felicia turned to him and clasped her hands to her breasts, giving him a wide smile. "Yes, my future king."

"You seem to have forgotten the conversation from a few moments ago." Grim's voice was deadly calm. "I will not marry you. I am no longer your fiancée."

The girl's smile turned into a moue. "I thought you were joking, Grim. You cannot break off our engagement only weeks before the date. I have plans."

"I will compensate your kingdom, but my decision is final.” Ice would have taken notes from Grim's tone. “Uriel will escort you to your room. Stay as long as you like, but understand that you are a guest—nothing more."

Felicia seemed oddly unfazed by the statement. She just smiled and flipped her hair back, fingers scratching against the high collar of her dress. "I will stay for as long as I must, Grim."

Nina didn't get to hear any more as Grim wrapped her in his cloak and pulled her into the shelter of his body, er, bones. She felt the smoothness of his ribs under her fingertips seconds before they were flying from the room.

The feeling of resting against Grim’s bones should have frightened Nina and freaked her out worse than any horror film, but it didn’t. Nothing about Grim scared her anymore, but she hadn’t exactly been frightened at the beginning either. Nina felt was an overwhelming feeling of trust, security, and maybe something else, something almost... peaceful.

Closing her eyes as the world rushed by around them, Nina tried to think of something else. Affection was good and well, but anything deeper could destroy her. Humanity was the crutch that reapers saw, but that she appreciated. From what Nina had seen of the Underworld, eternity was plenty of time to either turn completely nuts, or into a complete jackass.

Nina could only count five reapers who didn’t fit that category, and she’d had interactions with over a hundred reapers to date. Even though human lives were short, and perhaps wasted on a few, they were still crammed full of, well, life. It was because humans knew that, at any given point, they could die. Reapers didn’t have that same sense of urgency, because they were... infinite.

“What are you thinking about, Amica?” Grim whispered low into her ear, and strangely enough it sounded erotic.

How could ivory bones and a black cloak look hot as hell? Nina wondered as she mentally shook her head and chastised herself. Somehow Grim pulled everything off, while Nina was just rocking the flesh suit. Not that he’d complained, but still, it made more sense for him to be with Felicia.

Even as Nina wanted to stab her brain for even thinking about that gothic Lolita bitch, she knew it had to be done. Time was running out, and in a few weeks she’d be facing Grim’s wedding, her death, and an eternity of whatever was on the other side.

As much as she hated to admit it, letting Grim marry Felicia would be for the best. She didn’t doubt for a second that it was an arranged marriage for some kind of political power. She might have been brainwashed with princes and happily-ever-afters when she was a kid, but as a jaded college student Nina knew better. People didn’t really marry for love, they married for security and companionship. She didn’t think reapers were much different.

“Nina?” Grim said softly again, before she heard a door open and slam shut. A second later she was backed into the wall, cold stones cutting into her flesh.

There wasn’t much she could say to him. They’d had this discussion time and time again. And even now, it wouldn’t change. “You should marry her. It would be the…” Nina searched for the word that wouldn’t destroy her to say, but decided against it. It had to be said, no matter what the cost to her emotions were; “... right choice.”

She felt something slithering around her ankles and looked down to see a thick fog climbing up Grim’s form. Nina blinked in surprise and the fog was suddenly gone, along with the cloak and bones, leaving a hard man in jeans and a tight, black t-shirt. Grim had never looked hotter.

“You want me to marry another woman, and let you die?”

Nina reached up a hand and traced a finger down his cheek. His skin was so like Felicia’s, that brilliant and flawless diamond like quality; except his held a hint of something spicy and Mediterranean, just like his birthmother.

“Marrying her would be good for the kingdom, right? Political alliances and all that. If you marry me, Grim, you get more headaches. I’m not worth that.” Her voice said that she knew her worth, and she wasn’t worth a kingdom.

Nina wouldn’t flatter herself in thinking she had some magical powers that made her the hottest thing since smartphones. She was a human, which almost all reapers ironically—given their professions and entire purpose for being—disliked. Whether or not Grim accepted that, it was the truth.

Grim’s blue-diamond eyes sparked with too many emotions for Nina to count, and some she really didn’t want to. “I am king, ruler. The Castoffs will not start a war over this, Amica. Things may be a bit strained at first, but it will settle.”

Nina wasn’t sure if he really believed that, or if he was just trying to convince her. “Grim—”

A slow kiss sizzled through her body, cutting off whatever else she was going to say. Nina didn’t have a chance to escape the addiction that was Grim before he had her completely pinned against the wall, his hands under her thighs, slowly lifting her up.

The floor was an illusion; Grim, his mouth, and his hands were all that existed for her. “Marry me, Nina.”

She heard the fabric of her skirt rip, and then a second later her panties sailed to the ground. Nina desperately wanted to say yes, wanted to pretend that this was a fairytale and she could live forever with her prince charming and overcome any obstacles thrown in their path.

Fantasy was the ultimate escape, but an escape that could sometimes do more harm than good. They were living in a fantasy if Grim thought everything would work out, and Nina was just enabling him.

“No,” she panted as she slid down his zipper and reached past the fabric of his boxers. “Stop asking.”

“You will marry me, Amica.” He knocked away her hand and gripped her hips hard. “Of that, you can be sure.”

She was ready for him, all slick and needy, but still, the moment he entered her always surprised her. Nina had never felt the overwhelming need to let herself go and give herself to another person like she did with Grim. And that scared the crap out of her.

Ever since her dad had decided to join the crazy, murderous train, she’d had a fear of trusting people. If she gave herself completely over to Grim, what would happen then? Would he hurt her? He had that power. Or would he do something—

Who cares? her consciousness laughed softly.

Nina reached forward and grabbed onto Grim as he seated himself fully in her body and she felt every ridge, every dip, every muscle, and every drop of sweat that was her reaper prince; overwhelming, consuming, controlling her.

Let go, it whispered as Grim pulled out and thrust back in. The sensation made her cry out, made Nina rake her nails across his back.

The thought was so tempting, so very, very tempting, that she couldn't help but give in.

Because who did care? No one was with them; no one was in their bed. The only thing that resulted from her continually thinking during sex was loss of pleasure. And she didn’t want to lose an ounce of the pleasure Grim was giving her, especially with the limited time they had.

So Nina gave herself over to it, let the passion and the feeling of heat just before freezing to death consume her.

“Marry me.” Grim jack knifed into her, pushing further than any man had ever gone.

Pleasure consumed her, and nearly made her laugh. Nina might have lost herself and her mind in their lovemaking, but she still had a shred of common sense. Throwing her head back she thrust down on him, and screamed into the darkness of their bedroom, a long sound that wasn’t a yes… or a no.