I was doing better this time around. I was making things right, but not for Paige. I could never make up for how I failed her in the past.
“I’m ending it all,” she said.
That was all the confession I needed. All this time, I’d had Hel pegged as my prime suspect in Fenrir’s escape. It hadn’t been her, though. The day I’d overheard Fenrir speaking to someone, it’d been Paige.
“How could you sacrifice an entire universe because of your bitterness?” I asked.
Paige glared darkly at me. She flung her hand out. “I’m not the only one suffering. The Reapers want freedom. We want to make sure that no one else has to end up working for their eternal afterlife!”
“Then ask for a choice,” I snarled. “You can ask to change things. You don’t have to sacrifice the entire world.”
Paige straightened. Her scowl of betrayal left my heart aching. Had she expected me to sympathize? Did she want me to help? My job was to prevent others from dying. I kept killers off the streets and served justice.
“People are dead because of you,” I said, flatly.
She turned away from me. Before I could lunge and grab ahold of her, she vanished. I was left alone in the shadowed maze of Hel’s domain. There was only one way to go. I could feel Addie no matter how far apart we were.
I found the tether that tied me to her soul and followed it.