“We should all devote ourselves to reaching the Sanctum.”
“Why? Out of every death, a new life grows. Bodies decay in the soil, giving nutrients to the plants, which feed the animals. What’s so bad about that?”
“There should be more. We should have a purpose.”
“Maybe nourishing the earth is our purpose? Or perhaps the universe is absurd, and that is our eternal torment, the desire for meaning in a meaningless world.”
“Well, I choose to believe my life has meaning. I choose to have faith.”
None of it made sense, not with all she’d learned from the priestesses at the temple, from the moon mother’s lessons.
Bellinor ran his fingers through her hair, bringing her head to his body. They embraced for a long while, chests heaving in tandem, his heartbeat thumping in her ear. His wings curled around her like a feathery blanket, a warm cocoon of relief.
It was comforting to be in his arms despite the way he tried to challenge her. It was his melancholy, his despair at being stuck in a place like this for Goddess knows how long. He claimed this was not a place of eternal damnation, but how could it be anything but?
“I’m sorry about your father,” he said, breaking her from her thoughts, the tears burning at her eyes once more.
“We used to play chess together,” she rasped, her hands around his waist again, clasping him tight.
“I saw the board in your cottage. We can play sometime if you’d like.”
A small smile curled her lips, the offer warming some of the cold dread in her heart, taking her mind away from the confusion of le Voile.
“I’d like that.”
“Good,” he said, squeezing her. “You should get some rest. You’re safe here. We’ll keep you safe.”
Emotion welled in her chest, a bright burning light like the fire in the hearth, reminding her she was alive and that she had faith. She was still here. Life had a purpose.
But perhaps she could allow herself to take some small comfort in others, even if she didn’t believe their words.
CHAPTER 15
“BELLINOR CLAIMS THIS PLACE is not an underworld,” Isabelle said, dipping her feet into the cool water, as clear as a pane of glass.
They were exploring le Jardin, taking a break in a room that Rul affectionately called the Submerged Hall, a massive space with a pool of water that looked like it was drowning the marble statues within. She enjoyed this room, an unnatural light shining down from the high ceiling, almost like it was the sun. They sat on the oversized shoulder of a figure who looked suspiciously like the moon mother, letting the cool water caress their feet.
“Of course it’s not the underworld,” Rul said. “It is le Voile.”
“But… you’re an incubus.”
He shrugged.
“Incubus is just a name. I am my own thing, unlike any other.”
“What does that mean? You’re the only incubus here?”
“As far as I know.”
Isabelle sat with that information, trying to understand what he was saying. The Veil was supposed to be filled with demons, creatures of nightmares to torment those who had failed the moon mother, those who had lived in sin. But according to Rul, he was the only one, and other than the servants–who were clearly some sort of automatons rather than sentient beings–she had seen no one else.
“Well, where did you come from?”
He gave her a gleaming smile, with too much teeth.
“Bellinor created me.”
“Hecreatedyou?”
