“The decay that I crave … the destruction …” I stammer. “It’s all from you. All this time I thought it was from the sea beast, but you were the one haunting me.”
“I was preparing you. Selene thought it best to keep secrets, but your power hadn’t manifested in that cursed realm and I’m an impatient god. Arcasia owed me a favor so I had her …spuryou along.”
“I almost died!” I counter.
“The mortal realm has made you so dramatic.” Death rolls his eyes. “You’ll have to unlearn that if you wish to exist amongst us.”
“I don’t,” I reply without hesitation. “I want to go home.”
“Home? The Under Realm is your home, and you are its princess,” the Dark God says flatly.
“I have other powers—magic not from you that does not wish to live in a realm without life.”
A realm without him, I think but don’t voice aloud.
“Ah yes, your mother’s gift to you. Earth-wielder in the realm you call home. The only one, if my spies are correct.”
“I can do more than that.” Hungry power washes through me again. The dark call of the magic I’ve only sipped from intoxicates me more with each passing moment in the Under Realm.
Death’s low chuckle rumbles through the bone-walled chamber. His green eyes sparkle with delight in the dim firelight. “Clearly. But what will you do with it? Will you use it to aid your love-sworn prince? You already killed one brother, after all. What’s another, future Queen of Shadows?”
“You are Death. If you want Nobus dead, kill him yourself.” I try to stand but my feet won’t move. Black bands of glimmering magic anchor me to the floor.
“It doesn’t work like that, child. Nobus cannot be killed, only contained. Only one god has the power to do that and it’s neither of us.”
He doesn’t have to say his name; I already know who that god is.
“But what will the boy prince decide?” Death tsks as he stands and rounds the desk. “Does power sing to him the same way it calls to you?” He leans down, his striking face only inches from mine as his eyes pierce new holes in my soul. “Is he able to resist it better than you?” he whispers.
A flare of rage sparks in my gut at his insinuation. The dark magic demands penance from the offender that it has no right to require. Death senses it, his nostrils widening in recognition as a predatory smile exposes each of his perfect canines. Beautiful and deadly, pointed and elongated to tear into the flesh of a man with a single bite.
“Embrace it and step into the depths of your true power. You have always been destined to rule, but which realm will you choose? You don’t want this one, but your precious mortal realm also seeks a ruler. Will you claim that throne? After all, your beloved won’t hesitate to claim the one that’s rightfully his.”
“Don’t speak of him as if you know him. He’s nothing like Nobus!” I try again to stand but the bands of magic only tighten their hold.
“How do you know?” Death taunts. “All he needs is your blood to open the portal. The God King will welcome home the stolen heir and grant him his heart’s desire in exchange for his agreement to stay. What can you offer him? Shadows? Flowers? A broken, beaten heart that even you don’t love?”
“Enough!” I scream.
The glimmering chains that hold me shatter, fracturing into a million shards that evaporate into black smoke. Shadows swirlaround my exposed skin, wrapping themselves delicately around my limbs and throat like armor.
“Let me leave.”
“I do not hold you here,” the Dark God says. “Our magic is not like any other. You can traverse this realm with ease, coming and going any time you please. The shadows will always guide you home.”
Home.My every thought turns to Cal.
Onyx hair. Crimson blood. A burning throne. Shadowy death.The images from my nightmares that were sent to prepare me—for Marks, for this moment, for him.
“He’s not here.” Death reads the question in my mind before the thought is even fully formed. “Mikais didn’t use the god blades on him. His wounds will heal.”
Cal is alive, and I must get back to him.
I focus all of my energy, all of my magic on him. On the memory of how his arms feel around me, how his lips feel on mine, how my heart skips a beat when my hand is in his. He is the north star to which I train my compass. He is home and I will return to him.
Amale was always meant to lead me to Death, but it’s not the end of my story. It is simply the beginning.
I am Ivy, Governor of the Emerald Region, Goddess of the Umbra, Daughter of Light and Death, and the Bane of Gods. Nothing and no one can stop me.
