“You will hate me after this.”
My eyes pop open at his words and, for the first time, I take in the Under Realm.
CHAPTER 7
SELENE
My fingers trail across the bare, white walls. Bone, stripped of its flesh and bleached, is smoother than I thought it would be.
I try to steady my breathing as I take in the sights of Death’s study—the mahogany desk, the vase of deep purple flowers atop it, the leather chair that matches the black marble floors.
The fire roaring in the hearth does little to warm the room but it looks pretty, especially with the way the emerald eyes of the onyx serpents adorning the mantle sparkle in its flames. I move closer to it, willing it to be a distraction from the heady rush of magic washing through me.
To the naked eye, there is little light here, but I sense it in everything. The obsidian sky, visible through the domed glass ceiling overhead, screams for my attention. Thousands of tiny, invisible stars hide in its endless dark, each one beckoning me to uncover their light.
But these stars feelwrong. They are unlike any light I’ve encountered before. Every part of me screams to unleash the full force of my magic, to release them from their eternal cages andpermit them to ascend, but I resist. Acting on instinct is a surefire way to find myself back in Nobus’ realm before I’ve satisfied my curiosity. Before I’ve shown the Dark God of Death what truly lurks in his shadows.
“You’re trembling.” Drayven’s voice is as cold as the room. His back is to me as he pours two glasses of amber liquid from a crystal decanter. “This should calm your nerves.”
He turns to hand me a glass and I force my face to remain neutral at the sight of the changed deity before me. The hulking mass of the Dark God stalks toward me, his green eyes glowing eerily in the firelight. Black tattoos spider across his hands and neck, crawling and twisting in sharp contrast to the ethereal sheen of his porcelain skin.
Drayven sets the glasses on the desk and removes his jacket. He rolls the sleeves of his shirt, slowly revealing more of the dark magic that decorates every inch of skin.
“Welcome to my home.” The Dark God smiles sadly, exposing the points of his now enlongated canines. Teeth designed to shred flesh in a single bite. “Things are different here, Selene.”
The way he tenses on the worddifferenttells me all I need to know about how he interprets his appearance in his realm—how he expects me to interpret it.
I step toward him and trace the lines of ink on his forearm with my index finger. They retract from my touch at first before slithering inquisitively toward me.
“I like different.”
My eyes lock onto his and I feel the full weight of his piercing gaze—a gaze said to read the full measure of a soul in a single glance before passing judgement.
But the eyes staring back to me do not weigh if I should reside in the Fiery Lakes or the Eternal Meadows. These eyes are frozen, unreadable except for the tiniest spark of hope around the edges of his irises.
“Hold your judgment until you’ve seen my realm.” Drayven lifts the glass of amber liquid to his mouth, his rings tapping gently against the crystal as he moves.
I follow his lead, letting the whiskey warm me as it flows down my throat. “Show it to me, then. Show me your darkest night and I will show you the light.”
He shakes his head, scoffing softly as he takes the empty glass from my hand. “Confident, aren’t we, goddess?”
Drayven plants both hands on my shoulders as his shadows begin to swirl around us again. “You will find that there is only darkness here.”
I feel the wispy bands of his magic disappear. They fade into the tenebrous ether that surrounds us outside the confines of his study. Drayven’s hands slide down my arms, gripping my biceps to steady me in the void.
To him, this is infinite darkness. To me, this is merely an eclipse. Not everlasting, but a momentary umbra. My knees nearly buckle under the weight of possibility. This is not a directionless abyss. It is a blank canvas aching to be painted in ultraviolet light.
Drayven’s thumbs rub circles on my skin, mistaking my quivering restraint for fear. His breath is hot against my ear as he speaks. “Whatever you expected to find, it’s not here.”
“Yes it is.” My words fly out in a hushed, hurried whisper as raw magic floods my veins. It’s one thing to see the darkness through glass and another to stand in it, to feel it in every crevice of my being.
The sharp inhalation of breath shreds my lungs, my entire body quaking as the veiled stars reach a screaming crescendo. The sound of my scream rips through the pitch black as magic pours from my body with my exhale.
Dazzling rivulets of gold blaze across the obsidian sky, my power dancing through the fabric of the Under Realm. Spiraling gilded bands of light leapfrog across the night, illuminating the once-hidden stars. Blinding constellations now shine brilliantly against the inky backdrop.
“Selene.” My name sounds like a prayer as it falls from his lips.
Another wave of magic washes through me as more stars join in the symphony that begs for my light. I throw my head back as a sparkling column of magic erupts from my open mouth.
