“Thank you for having me, queen Gaia. Your realm is beautiful, and you are absolutely stunning.” Glancing at Kairos, the tightness in his muscles and the sudden paleness of his face, I loop my hand through his. “Kairos has taken good care of me. I’m only lucky enough to be here tonight because of him. I don’t know where I would be without him.” I smile up at him, but he doesn’t smile back the way he normally does.
I’d be dead without him. I’d be immortal and no longer human because Nyx would have forced me to end my life already. I’d be in the Underworld with her, which I suppose is exactly where I need to be to end her centuries long cat and mouse game.
“We all know what happens when you die, and would it be so bad, really?” She croons, taking my free hand in hers and brushing her palm across the top. “Death is not the end, Nora. It is only the beginning,” she whispers, closing her eyes and wrapping me up in her warm, tingly light. I gasp as her magic enters my mind.
A vision appears of a woman with long, flowing red hair and freckles just like me, though her blue eyes glow brilliantly with magic the way Hekate’s do. White wings behind her back sparkle with flecks of blue and purple light that look exactly like the stars do here. As she opens her palms, flames made of divine light spark to life, flames that match the light twinkling around her wings. It’s Hemera, but somewhere deep within I recognize her as so much more. My soul recognizes her as me.
Tears fall from my eyes, but the warmth of Kairos’ arm suddenly around my waist and holding me against his side snaps me back to the present.
I smile at him before looking back into Gaia’s dark eyes that no longer swim with power or excitement but dim slightly. “Thank you for showing me who I once was. Who I will be again one day if only I can remember how to.”
The glowing light across her brow disappears as she takes a deep breath. “I sent celestials to search for your amulet and they could not find it. We assume it is with Nyx in the Underworld.” She brings her chalice to her lips. The echoing clink as she sets it on the table announces that she emptied it entirely. “You must remember, Nora, that sometimes we must face great darkness in order to end it. You, my dear, will face more darkness than you know. Nyx is only the beginning. Hold onto your light with everything you have.” Her eyes drift to Kairos. “As for you, maybe it is time you speak to Nora more of your future here together. The throne awaits you. She deserves to know the truth.” Uncrossing her legs, she stands, giving me one last lingering glance and a nod as she unfurls her wings and leaps into the air, the thundering roar of them as she flies away drawing everyone’s attention.
I turn and make my way down the steps and into the party, the laughter and clinking of glasses growing louder now that the queen is gone. I walk over to the drink table where the glasses are piled up in a neat stack with glowing pink wine flowing freely into the cups from a fountain made of gold. Kairos steps up beside me and simply watches and waits patiently as I down one glass and then another.
He clears his throat. “Can I please have this dance, princess?” He bows his head and offers me his hand, peering at me between the wavy locks of blonde hair that fall over his eyes.
I freeze midway through finishing my third glass, slowly lowering it to the table and wiping my lips. Kairos is perfect. He is everything good in this world. The celestial queen said that I will face great darkness. Not us. Not her or Kairos or this realm, but me. I don’t want to involve him. Kairos deserves to be protected at all costs. All the celestials do.
I place my hand in his and we head to the dance floor, the other celestials quickly rushing away to leave it for just the two of us. He spins me once and then pulls me against his chest. My heart flutters as he smiles at me. His hand pressed against my back, the other wrapped around my own, send electrical currents of peace and light into my soul.
I don’t speak for a moment, just memorizing every speck of blue within his bright green eyes like it’ll be the last time I see them so close. It might be.
After meeting his mother, I have questions I’d like him to answer, but I’m running out of time. I need to ask them now.
Because after this first and last dance I share with Kairos, I need to leave.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Slow Dancing
KAIROS
Her hand is in mine, and my soul feels whole at last. The questions in her eyes as she looks at me send my heart slamming roughly into my ribcage, over and over, a painful reminder that she isn’t quite mine yet. I haven’t felt this scared in a long time. What if she never falls in love with me again and I’m left to suffer through another century or my entire immortal life without her? No. She will love me again one day.
She will.
“Your realm is beautiful, Kairos. Your people are amazing.” She breaks eye contact and lets her gaze wander around the meadow, smiling as she watches the other celestials dance and drink and laugh in a way they haven’t in over a century.
We’re all thankful she’s home. She might not realize now how much she meant to all of us, but one day she will. Their future queen has returned. I have never seen them happier.
“I haven’t noticed much else tonight except for how stunning you look in that dress,” smiling, I wrap my arm tighter around her waist, pulling her body up against mine.
Her eyes snap back to me, her cheeks turning a soft shade of luscious pink as her lips curve up at the edges in a surprised smile. “I wore it just for you,” she whispers, her eyes focusing on only my lips, and gods does it kill me to not be able to kiss her right now. “Why are red roses your favorite? You said they have a special meaning to you.”
I wish she could remember that we’re fated mates and remember our claiming ceremony on her own along with every other beautiful memory we made together. Gods, do I need her to remember.
Brushing her wavy red hair behind her shoulders, my grip on her waist loosens as I consider my words carefully. “Red roses are important for what’s called a claiming ceremony.”
She smiles and shakes her head slightly. “What is…a claiming ceremony, exactly? Queen Gaia mentioned it, too.” Tilting her head, she lets go of my hand, wrapping her arms around my neck as we continue swaying side to side.
I let my hands slide to her hips, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes to prepare for the pain that barrels into me every time I remember. “The claiming ceremony is for fated mates. All celestials have another they’re fated to be with, but not all do the ceremony because if the gods deny your bond, then you can no longer be together. It’s by choice if you do it or not.” Sliding my hand up her arm, I take her hand in mine, her back arching as I dip her and then lean with her as she grips my neck tighter and giggles. Her eyes go wild as I snap her upright against me, no space selfishly separating our bodies any longer. “The ceremony is a blood bond that links two souls together for eternity. Anything you feel they will feel. Anything they think will become your own thoughts, in a way. It’s a bond that cannot be broken. Even death cannot severe it.”
Tilting her chin up, her eyebrows crinkle in an adorable way that makes my heart lurch and my stomach drop, because I’d love to kiss all her worries away. I want to bring her lips to mine and let her taste everything she’d be missing if her soul can’t remember mine one day.
“So, it’s sort of like a mortal wedding, then? And why would the gods deny two fated mates the chance at making their bond even stronger?” As she watches me and waits, I reposition my wings nervously, trying to focus on dancing but wanting nothing more than to escape, to run away from her and everyone else right now, the pain of my broken past finally catching up with me.
I caress her back with my thumb, the feel of her warm skin a reminder that though she doesn’t remember it all, that she can’t soothe the hurt of losing her, I’m lucky she’s here now. “It’s much better than a wedding. It’s sacred. A literal union of two souls. But it can be slightly… painful.” I flash her a crooked smile and her eyebrows do the cute scrunchy thing again. “During the ritual, both parties walk barefoot across a bed of thorns and vines attached to red roses, and the blood they lose is taken into the earth as an offering to the gods.” I swallow thickly, memories of the momentary sting and burn of those thorns from the past nothing compared to the constant ache in my heart it causes today.
