Page 15 of In Between Death and the Devil

“Yes, fine. Where did you go?” She hurried towards me.

Titus seemed to realize she was done with him. He gave me a brief nod, pushed off the wall, slipped his hands in his pockets, and walked back to the party.

“Up to the balcony,” I said. “I needed some air. I’m fine now. Were you⁠—”

“Nothing happened.” Bea’s words were rushed. “We were just talking. He didn’t try anything.” She looked down, her cheeks turning bright red. “I mean⁠—”

“It’s fine, Bea. You don’t have to tell me. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” I squeezed her hand, and she gave me a grateful smile. “Do you want to go back to the party?”

“Not really. Do you?”

“No. Let’s go back to our room.” I’d gotten what I came for.

Linking my arm with hers, we walked to the door.

CHAPTER 5

My interaction with Fen haunted me. I couldn’t decide if he was a Tempter or a Judge. The way he’d listened and tried to comfort me made no sense for a Tempter, who wouldn’t be interested in a Judge for anything except sex for a night. And I still had no idea why I’d seen him in my vision.

“Maeve?” Bea’s voice startled me out of my stupor. “You’re holding up the line. It’s okay, just pick something.”

I snatched up a bowl of porridge and walked quickly to an empty table. I had to stop thinking about him. This was ridiculous. There were far more important things to worry about.

Bea set a small bowl of fruit next to me. “It’s weird, I know, but we’ll get used to it. Ease yourself in.”

“Thanks.” I scooped a few pieces into my porridge and dug in, but I couldn’t meet her eye. She thought I was overwhelmed by the amount of food choices on offer compared to the convent. I didn’t have the courage to tell her I couldn’t stop obsessing over a man.

I thought about him as we ate, on our way to the Amphitheater, and as we took our seats. I searched the crowd for him, but he wasn’t there. My heart sank. This morning’s assembly was required for all Judges. His absence could only mean he was a Tempter. I’d kissed a Tempter last night. I should be horrified. Instead, I was just confused.

“Who is that?” Bea asked the woman sitting next to us, nodding at the woman in the cream sash with the hawk-like expression at the front of the room. I recognized her from the day before.

“Talia, Death’s Steward. She oversees the castle and assigns soul cases to Judges.” The woman leaned in and lowered her voice. “They say she also tends to Death.” I suppressed an eye roll at her giggle. After last night’s orgy, it didn’t surprise me that even our goddess was having regular sex.

The room went quiet as a ball of light appeared on the stage. It pulsed once in a blinding flash and then Death was there. We dropped to our knees, heads bowed.

“You may rise.” The white gown she wore had a fuller skirt than the ones I’d seen her in previously. It swished around her feet as she moved, while gold chains draped from collar to shoulder tinkled. She looked divinely feminine and ready for battle.

With a flick of her hand, she summoned a small round platform on the floor in front of her, along with a staff of gnarled branches and a small table. A tan leather case trimmed in gold and a beautiful set of scales sat atop it, gleaming softly. Then she sat on her throne, her expression blank, her posture reminding me of the statues in the convent.

“Is that for our assessment?” Bea whispered, her eyes wide.

“No, that comes later today,” our neighbor said. “This is for the third years. They’re judging their first cases in front of Death. We get to watch them weigh souls.”

My pulse quickened. This was the reason we were all here and what we would have to do for our assessment. I looked across the aisle to where a row of people sat pouring over piles of papers in their laps. Thirteen of them had made it this far. I sat up straight, not wanting to miss anything.

Talia called one of the third years forward, a man who looked like he was in his late twenties.

He took his place next to the platform, within reach of the staff. Footsteps sounded behind me and a moment later Daphne came into view, descending the central steps to the floor.

My brow furrowed, wondering where she’d come from. I hadn’t seen any Tempters when we sat down. “What’s a Tempter doing at a soul judging?” I asked, my voice low.

“One of the Judges told me last night that every case is assigned a Judge and a Tempter,” Bea said. “They both review the soul’s life. The Tempter provides insight, but the sentence recommendation is up to the Judge. Our trainees are paired with a Tempter when they start judging cases. They have trainees on the Devil’s side too, but they’re paired with Judges when they start working on cases. That way there’s always one expert.”

I looked over my shoulder towards the back of the room, and choked on nothing.

A group of Tempters stood at the top of the stairs, in front of them a familiar man with a silver crown of twisted horns on his head. His arms were crossed, a look of utter contempt on his face.

Fen wasn’t just a Tempter. He was the Devil.