Page 53 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

“Together, then, wife?” He clears his throat of emotion and stands, extending his hand down to me.

A wide smile spreads across my face, and I take his hand and he pulls me up.

“Together, husband.”

It doesn’t take long for us to reach the village. At least, I don’t think so, time here is much different than it is anywhere else. Almost like a sluggish dreamlike state.

The village is quaint and has a familiarity to it that sends chills up my spine. It looks just like Thornhall except there’s not just demons here; there are demigods and humans as well, all mingling and coexisting together.

The village is made up of small cottage-type homes, worn three-foot fences, and a Main Street that has a chapel and shops lining the road. If I didn’t already know that I was in Mortem, I’m not sure I would know where I was.

Everything seems so normal here. As if we have stumbled upon a mapless place.

A small creek runs through the entrance of the village where a group of children play. Kalel stops when we get close enough to them and gives me a strange look. I return it. The children who are playing are all mixed species. It’s unheard of in Faultore.

For the humans fear the demons and demigods. And the demigods fear the demons and likewise.

“Hello, little ones,” Kalel says as he squats down to their level to appear more harmless. “My love and I are lost. Do you think you could tell us where we are?” he asks softly. There are five of them, and they all turn around at once, smiles and no fear in their eyes. It doesn’t seem uncommon for strangers to come through town.

“Hi,” one of the small human girls says. She has big brown eyes and dark hair that runs halfway down her back. She’s dressed in a beautiful dark-blue dress that contrasts with the frosted setting. She looks at both of us thoughtfully and then giggles.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, smiling because I’ve never spoken with a human before. They seem easily entertained.

“It’s funny because you’re not lost. Everyone passes through here,” she says it so simply that it’s hard to take it any other way than just as a fact. This is just how it is here.

Kalel looks back at me, and I give him the same concerned expression. If everyone passes through here, how do we know whether we are actually able to return above?

“Ah, I see. Are any of your parents around that we may speak with?” Kalel looks at all of them, welcoming any response.

They all shake their heads.

A little boy answers next. He has two small blue horns on each side of his forehead and scales that wrap around his hairline just like Tessa’s. “I don’t think they’ve come through yet. We’ve been waiting for a while.”

That makes my heart sink. That means they died before their parents, and they’re just stuck here waiting. Do they even know they are dead?

I squat beside Kalel and offer them a warm smile. “Thank you for your help. I’m sure your parents come before you know it so that you can go on together.”

They all light up with excitement before returning their attention to the water and trying to catch minnows again.

Kalel casts one last curious look their way before we walk through the village once more. The longer we walk, the more we realize that there are no adults here; it’s only children.

“Are they here all alone?” I whisper, trying not to look too sad, since none of them seems to be upset and I don’t want them to think something’s wrong.

“There must be an elder somewhere around here… Alira, does this place look familiar to you?” Kalel asks, his voice trailing off with thought as he looks from building to building.

I swallow thickly. “I thought it sort of looked like Thornhall…but that doesn’t really make much sense, does it? Why would an entire village be here?”

The thought is quite absurd, as if ghost towns and villages, abandoned kingdoms, and castles could end up in Mortem as well. Do the creatures that fly, walk, and swim also end up here? The minnows that those children were trying to catch too? This place is so odd.

“That’s what I thought too.” He pauses and stops walking as we reach one house in particular. Come to think of it, it looks just like the one we stopped at when we passed Thornhall three months ago on the way to Devicit.

My brows knit together, and I set my hand gently on Kalel’s forearm. “Was this your mother’s house?”

He nods slowly as if he didn’t really hear me.

“Do you want to…” I’m not quite sure how to say it without sounding any sort of way. Instead, I just take a step forward and look back at him.

Kalel’s eyes look so weary; dark circles have formed beneath them, carrying a sadness I’m all too familiar with. “There’s no point. The children said there were no parents here.”