Page 51 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

We collide, arms wrapped around one another desperately. Kalel holds me against his chest and cups the back of my head with his hand, leaning his head against mine.

“I thought I lost you,” he whispers.

I curl my fingers into his shirt and cling to him for dear life. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to hurt anymore, Kalel. I want to be free. Why can’t we be free from of all of this?” My shoulders tremble with my sobs.

A light flickers in the distance and catches my attention.

The shadows seem lighter now. I blink harder, thinking I must be seeing things, but the void is disappearing around us.

“Kalel, look,” I murmur, pulling away slightly and looking at Mortem for the first time.

I’ve read plenty of tales about Mortem. How the underworld is nothing more than cavernous ruins, filled with monsters and fire. I expected to see thousands of demons tormenting mortals. Hearing the screams go on and on for eternity. I expected rivers of red, and skeletons of the dead, and for Pluto’s creatures that guard the gates to be bigger than life.

But that’s not at all what Mortem is.

Kalel holds me close, an arm hooked around my waist as we stare out into what seems like an entirely new world.

A valley stretches out as far as the eye can see. On either side of the vast valley is a mountain made of sky-blue crystals. They are smooth but jagged at the same time, like enormous fractures of ice. Glaciers that exist with no snow or cold. It’s warm. There is no sun down here, but it’s so bright and warm. Light shines from beneath the crystals—the luminance amplified by all the angles and corners of the rocks.

It’s a gentle ambiance that soothes one’s soul. Welcoming and full of hope. It’s beautiful.

At first, it looks like the fields are made of frozen blades of grass, but when we step off the plateau of stone we’re perched on, we realize that none of it is icy. The grass is tinted a pale-blue hue. A few shades darker than the mountains, making the strands look like waves with the tender breeze that shifts around us.

The fields roll on and on and on straight ahead of us. My eyes lift above us toward the sky, and I find a wall of water. It’s as if we are beneath the surface of the sea, but this water is a darker blue, with specks that look like stars freckled across the waves.

I take a shallow breath, stunned by what I’m seeing. I subconsciously let my fingers glide through the knee-high blades of grass. “Kalel, are you seeing a dark and frightening Mortem, or are you seeing this magical world beneath the sea like I am?” I ask, flicking my eyes to his and seeing the same whimsy and awe that I feel reflected in them.

His eyes shift over the land and the sky as mine do, greedy to take it all in. It’s even more breathtaking than Devicit and the veil that protected it.

“I’m seeing a world in which I thought only the gods dwelled. Not the dead,” he says slowly, then lets his eyes move back to me. A nervous smile pulls at the corners of his lips. “How have all the books been wrong? Why do so many fear Mortem when it’s a paradise for all to rest?” Relief fills his expression.

I study the far dips in the fields ahead; it looks like a small village is nestled at the center, a path that cuts through it and leads to the other side of the mountains.

“Didn’t you say that no one has ever returned from Mortem? No one knows exactly what to expect. Maybe they just assume that Pluto is a cruel god for his past. One that wants many to suffer. Maybe Pluto started the rumors himself, for those entering to find relief as we are now.”

Kalel nods hopefully at my words.

If there were tiers in Mortem based on sins, then Kalel and I would be on the worst one. We’ve taken countless lives and have done things far worse than many others.

“True. It’s easy to believe, what with how frightening the island above is to get here,” he jests, and it makes me smile.

There’s a sweet scent in the air that reminds me of honeysuckles. My shoulders don’t feel as heavy as they did a few minutes ago.

“I guess we keep moving forward. We should check out the village down there.”

Kalel follows my gaze and nods. “Any idea how much time has passed?” he asks as we set off, walking through the valley.

“No. It’s weird, like a dream almost. Ten hours may have passed, or maybe days. Maybe a matter of minutes. I feel…timeless almost.” I stare down at my hands and notice that they aren’t stained in gold and black blood.

I’m wearing a plain white dress that almost glows in this blue-hued world. For the first time in a long time, I just feel like me. No fancy dresses, no armor, nothing to uphold for the sake of my kingdom. It’s as if this place steals your anger and sorrow. Your past and future. It feeds on it like a meal and leaves the host numb. Content.

“Yeah, that’s how I feel too. I don’t know how much time we spent in the void. But each moment down here is precious. We need to get back to Devicit to…” Kalel trails off and stops walking, looking down at me with a strange expression.

“To kill all the demigods?” I finish his sentence for him. Anger doesn’t spill into my bones. It’s an honest question.

His brows knit and he shakes his head. “No. But I can’t let them destroy Devicit either, Alira.” His voice is gentle and ebbs at my heart.

“Maybe we will find the answer down here? We must be here for a reason.” I ponder the thought, and then it hits me. “Everyone except the gods end up in Mortem. So we should be able to find the elders of each of our kingdoms. Maybe they can give us guidance.”