Eyes shut, she didn’t see him come closer, but the amber and bergamot scent of him hitched her breath as she pulled it in, her lungs shuddering against unreleased sobs. His fingers cradled both sides of her face, sliding into her hair. She opened her eyes to find a grief that mirrored her own.
“I’m so sorry, Thorn, I am so fucking sorry.”
Just like that, the dam broke, and she was sobbing, face buried in his chest, his scarred hands gripping her so tight it was like he thought she might disappear. Over and over, he smoothed one hand down her back as he murmured gentle nothings to her. When at last her tears had run dry, she panted against him, barely able to breathe. Without a word, he scooped her up, traveling straight into her bedroom.
Setting her on her feet, he methodically stripped her down, disappearing for only a split second to steal one of his own large undershirts to tug on over her head. Drowning in soft cotton and the scent of him, her body slowed as Aidan pulled back the bedding and patted the mattress for her to climb in.
With her safe in her own bed, he sat at the edge of it, fingers brushing back her hair. “Do you want any tea? A sleeping tonic?”
She shook her head, her swollen eyes glued to his face. The bed dipped as he made to stand, and before she could think better of it, her hand snaked out, taking hold of his wrist. “Stay.”
It was the first word she’d spoken to him since Beatriz had died, and in her heart, she knew it was more. Because she wasn’t simply asking him to stay tonight—she wanted him to stay for good. She’d envisioned every potential path. Tried to find the Elysia who had turned in innocent Kavians and put her own lifeabove all else. Again and again, she lay down in this bed, forcing herself to imagine plunging the fates’ scissors into the heart that had revived her own, but every time she failed. The scissors held high but never stealing down and snipping him away.
She had no desire to be the goddess of the dead on her own. She wanted him squirreled away in his office, fussing over details she never would have thought of, organizing the arrival schedule of all the new souls, and doing everything in his power to ease the transition for his people from mortal to embodied soul, and beyond. Aidan was an excellent ruler who had made a terrible mistake that the fates had fanned into uncontrollable flames. But he had worked himself to the bone trying to restore both his land and the mortal realm. In the face of a terrible future, a future that promised him nothing but misery and death, he got up every day and fought for a new ending while knowing the odds were against him.
Much like him, Elysia didn’t believe in accepting the fate handed to you. She’d escaped death and fallen through realms to find him—to find a different fate. Slipping her hand into his, she spoke quietly, drawing on the thin connection between her and the Deathlands. The same connection that had allowed her to open the prison gates and partner with the rivers to transmute raw magic.
“You made a deal with me, sending me to seek your talisman and free your power. You made an oath and wager, promising me freedom if I succeed. But this is my oath to you—I have never loved freely or easily. I’ve hidden and failed to find the words you deserve. But if you give me time, then I will learn. I will learn to love and protect with the same ferocity that I learned to survive. I will be your queen.”
Voice catching on gravel, he questioned her. “Do you know what you’re doing? Tell me before I accept your oath and damn the consequences.”
All she knew was that there was no future in which she ruled over the Deathlands without Aidan by her side, and even if itmeant the world catapulted past redemption, there hadn’t ever been a chance she could harm him to save them all. There would be more than enough time to sort the idea ofthemso long as they both managed to stay alive.
Her gaze never left his. “Stay,” she said again. “Stay for always and I will too. I can make no promises beyond that.”I evaded fate once and I will do it again. A burning anger entered her words, furious that the fates had tried to rob them of this, and at her rage there was pride in his face.
“Yes, Thorn, I accept your oath,” he murmured, a softness shining through the harsh hollows of his face. Dark hair trickled onto his forehead, and his lips pressed to her temple.
Golden strands dashed out into the air, glimmering against the barely there light of the oil lamp. The strands danced over their hands and forearms, and Aidan inhaled sharply at the sight, the cobalt flames in his eyes shooting high. The sparkling strands of gold wrapped and plunged into their skin, binding them irrevocably. Her fates-created death voyage would continue as her time dwindled to naught, but the connection between them and the death realm itself had already told the truth.
The god of the dead twisted, his gold-branded hand grasping her chin. His gaze burned brighter in the dark, his low voice sweeping through her. “Your trust won’t be wasted, Thorn. I promise we’ll find a way.”
Chapter 38
Elysia studied her audience.Maya lounged in her usual overstuffed chair, her legs flopped over the sides. Grim, unfamiliar with the idea of comfort, had carried in a stiff wooden chair from the dining room and sat at attention like he was ready for orders. One leg crossed over the other, Aidan relaxed on the couch, patiently waiting for her to begin as he pushed his dark blue sweater sleeves up.
Ever since her oath, he had been walking around with his sleeves at his elbows, silently showing off the golden strands that had sunk into his forearm, hand, and fingers. Without saying a word, he was loudly making sure everyone knew what she was to him now.
The light caught on the shimmering strands, and Elysia’s attention stumbled as a rush of both attraction and fear overwhelmed her. She’d made her decision and now everything she had to lose was smirking at her from across the room.
Unaware of her thoughts, Aidan grinned and stretched his arms in front of him, making both the floral torch and the golden strands from her oath obvious. Maya clomped her feet onto the rug, looking disgusted. “Funny how she still seems to be dancing around you like you have a disease.”
Elysia’s glare turned icy. “Deal with your shit, Maya. I’m moving at a pace that works for me, and I won’t apologize for it.”
A dimple appeared on Maya’s freckled face as if both surprised and pleased at Elysia’s backbone. “Well, good for you. I’ve been meaning to catch you—my offer still stands about teaching you necromancy. I know we’ve stalled with moving past ripping into transmutation, but I really am the best at all things necro. We could have your sister here in no time. Can’t say what state she’d be in, but there are always options.”
Aidan didn’t even look angry, just annoyed. “One, you almost got her killed, so your mentoring permissions are permanently revoked. Two, you know you’re not allowed to practice necromancy anymore. Andthree, Elysia is not your conduit just because you’re banned.”
Frowning, Elysia glanced at Maya. “Why can’t you practice necromancy anymore?”
Slumping into her chair, she pouted. “Because people are prejudiced againstunsavorytypes of magic!”
Aidan drilled his fingers against the back of the couch. “Maya.”
Sighing, she relented. “And because I reanimated a corpse and sent it to murder my father—that’s how I died as a mortal. Then after I died, I realized I could travel realms, so I tried again.” Her smile was bone-chilling. “That time I pulled a spirit all the way from the death realm and shoved it into a corpse. That was a mistake. Much easier to simply animate a corpse and steer it. The fates didn’t like my murder beyond the veil attempt, but they did realize mypotential, so I was let off with a light punishment. As king of the dead and master of necromancy, Aidan is my babysitter. One day I’ll get my full powers back from the fates, but until then I’m studying everything else.”
Elysia couldn’t manage to school her face as she blinked. “That explains a lot,” she said slowly before abruptly turning to face Grim and Aidan. “The fates are why I called a meeting. I needto know how much I can tell you. Do they see everything? Know everything?”
Grim sat up even straighter, if that was possible. He’d been on edge ever since she’d returned even though she’d assured him that he couldn’t have done anything. A fates kidnapping was a hard thing to stop. “Their magic works in broad strokes. For most people, the threads that are sewn never change. In a situation like this, they’ll be watching for changes in our individual tapestries, but it’s difficult for them to notice minor changes—just because you have a thought, the threads don’t change. Concrete action can be a problem.”
