Each of Signa’s words was a blunt strike she knew she’d regret even before they were out of her mouth. “That is a disappointment. My night would be going so much better if you were.”
“Oh? Then why don’t you have him come and help you? He seems so useful, sulking in the corner.”
Signa bristled. She should have known better than to ask Fate for his help. “If he knew, then I’m sure he’d teach me. Assuming you hadn’t taken away our ability to speak, that is.”
Fate’s laughter was as cutting as Death’s scythe as he bobbed his head, nodding along to her scorn. “Oh yes, I’m the villain. Tell me, Miss Farrow, do you not think it odd that you can only see him when you’re nearly dead? Don’t you find something inhumane about that? Your body is smart enough to know the danger, considering you’re sick every time you touch him. Your hair is turning silver, for God’s sake.”
“Only because you decided to get involved in my love life!” She ignored the urge to tuck her silver strands out of sight. “How foolish I was to think you’d help me. Only someone truly horrible could create such a fate for Death and me. If you can control whether we can speak to each other, then surely you can also determine whether he and I see each other. If you truly cared about my happiness, then you would let me be with him. But you are a selfish man.” This last part Signa spoke not with rage, but with defeat as she plucked the rose stem from his hand and brought it to her lap. In the quiet that spanned between them, Fate kept seated, drawing long breaths until he settled enough to speak.
“I will not deny such claims,” he admitted, “nor do I have shame in them. I have waited far too long for the things I want; I will not pretend to be sorry when I take them.” He was cracking like the finest china, and Signa wasn’t sure whether to fear or pity the fire in his words.
“Do you know why I asked you here?” She looked at his hands as they folded and unfolded in his lap, seeking something to do. “I do not wish to learn these powers for me. I would be happy to live the rest of my life without ever using them, for the pain they cause is that severe. I brought you here because I am out of options. I wish to help Elijah, but I cannot be at Thorn Grove right now to find Lord Wakefield’s murderer. The best thing I can do is be there if Elijah is hanged and learn how to bring him back from the grave.”
Fate was not the only one to startle at this plan. Foxglove grew so cold that the hearth snuffed out entirely, and Gundry whined from his position curled near it. Fate glanced to the corner where Death stood, and for once it seemed it was not to fight him.
“Just as you cannot cheat Fate, you cannot steal from Death, Miss Farrow,” he said. “Especially not those he has already claimed.”
“But I will.” It was not a threat so much as it was a promise. “Should Elijah be taken from me, I don’t care what it takes. I’ve used Life’s powers before, and I’ll figure out how to do it again. If I cannot be at Thorn Grove—”
“What does it matter if you cannot be at Thorn Grove?” Fate waved a hand as he stood, and once again the flames of the hearth roared to life, if only to silence Gundry’s protests. “You were barred from a place, not from its people. If that is the single obstacle you must overcome to keep yourself from doing something so remarkably foolish, then bring those people to you! A horse is one thing, but there will be repercussions beyond your wildest imagination should you bring a human life back from the grave.”
“You’ve no idea how rampant my imagination can be.”
His laugh was not one of humor, but one that had him throwing his hands into the air and spinning again to where Death stood. Only this time as Signa followed his stare, she could see shadows writhing on the floor. Faintly at first, then darker, until she followed those shadows up to the frown that pulled Death’s lips and the severity that lingered in his stare.
“Talk to her,” Fate warned before he spun back to Signa. “I will not teach you to use your gifts if this is what you intend to use them for, you ridiculous girl. Unless you wish to bring Chaos upon us all, then learn the rules. They exist for a reason. I have no desire to see Elijah Hawthorne die, but if you plan to save him, you’ll need to find another way.”
“If you don’t wish for him to die, then prove it,” Signa challenged, and for a moment Fate stood still as if processing those words. “If you walk out of here now, I promise I will hate you forever. You said that you care for me, and if that’s true, then help me. I cannot lose Elijah.”