Thanatos continues, “I allowed myself to unleash my powers when I was inside you. That,” he nods to the dead vines, “is merely evidence of it.”
I face the vast front yard once more. I can’t see much—the vines have wound themselves into a makeshift wall in front of me, though it’s been cut away at. Death’s servants must’ve battered through it to gain access outside.
I step forward, my boots crunching over more dead vines and leaves that litter the ground.
It’s only once I get past the thick wall of vegetation that I notice bones scattered along the ground. They’re everywhere—some of them even have grotesque, fleshy bits still attached to them. They’re not moving—not like the other revenants that I can see even now in the driveway. Many of these bones don’t even look human. They do, however, smell God awful.
I put the back of my hand to my mouth.
Death steps up to my side. “As I said, I unleashed myself.”
He walks past me, whistling for his horse, as though that’s all that needs to be said on the subject. I stare after him. He literally brought the dead back to life when he fucked me. I’m … going to need some aftercare for that one.
Death’s steed trots over from the back of the house, and the horseman looks over his shoulder at me, waiting.
I take a deep breath and head over. I don’t look at Thanatos when I get to his side; instead, I pull myself into the saddle. Out here, beyond the vines that encircle the mansion, dozens of skeletons are loading up waiting wagons.
Thanatos hoists himself into the saddle behind me. He’s been eerily calm, considering his earlier anxiety, but now that he is pressed against me, I can feel his body trembling with the need to move.
Still, he pauses. “I want to stay here forever and forget everything else that gets in the way of this,” he admits.
But he cannot.
Yet, bones and vines aside— “I do, too,” I say quietly. Here, the world was not on fire. Here we were just lovers.
Death’s arm settles around me, holding me tight. He clicks his tongue and his horse takes off, galloping down the long driveway.
Despite our sentimental words, neither of us looks back.
We’ve only ridden about five miles or so down the road, when a realization hits me, robbing me of breath.
Death and I have been having sex.
Sex.
That comes with repercussions, repercussions I’ve ignored up until now because I’ve been too caught up in the horseman himself.
Feel like someone kicked me in the chest.
“Do you want children?” I ask carefully.
Death has been idly stroking my thigh up until now. At my words, his fingers pause.
“Why do you ask, kismet?” he says.
That’s not a no. There is, however, a note in his voice … one I can’t place.
“We’re having sex,” I’m trying to control the panic in my voice. It’s going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. “Sex leads to children.” I can barely hear my own words over the pound of my heartbeat. I can’t even say what I’m particularly petrified of.
“No,” he says softly, “it doesn’t. Not with me.”
It doesn’t?
I let out a shuddering breath. No children. I can rest easy.
Then I remember something else.
“But your brothers have families.”
“Ah,” Death says, understanding. “You think because they can get women pregnant that I can too?”
I mean … can’t he?
“Is it possible?” I say.
Thanatos is quiet for a long moment before answering. “Technically, yes. But I reign over death, kismet. That includes preventing the conception of life.”
I glance back at the horseman, open my mouth, then shut it again before facing forward once more. Alright. The man is shooting blanks. Got it.
I take a deep breath. “So I cannot get pregnant,” I say. I just need some affirmation.
“Not without my allowing it,” he says.
Allowing it?
So he can choose whether or not to be fertile? I make a face because that is way more information than I’m ready to process.
“And you won’t allow it,” I say. Just so we’re absolutely clear.
“I won’t,” he agrees.
I exhale, relaxing against the horseman once more.
Well, that’s one less thing to worry about at least.
After a long moment, Death asks, “Do you want children?”
“I already have a child,” I say.
“But would you want more? Would you want … my children?”