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Kicking the goblets and plates out of the way, I reached the door. I waited for a moment, listening for any sounds beyond the wind’s rage. There was no keyhole, only a round handle. And nothing else seemed to wait beyond it.

For now.

“What if the wind sucks us out when I open it?” I wondered, hesitant.

“That would, erm, suck.”

I chuckled, glowering at the door at the same time.

What should I do?

The door unlatched of its own accord, the hinges creaking until it was fully open.

No wind rushed in, but a smaller room greeted us, lit by hundreds of lanterns hanging from the ceiling, flickering behind dusty glass.

“Whoa,” Paris breathed into my ear.

The décor was fully gold from top to bottom. Mirrors and empty picture frames hung from the walls, more goblets and plates scattered everywhere. Even the books on the two golden bookcases had golden spines.

The wind rattled the shutters in here, too.

“My poor eyes,” Paris complained. “Is this Aidan’s house or something?”

“His bedroom.”

I turned at the sound of Caer’s voice behind me.

“Dammit,” Paris grumbled.

Her lavender gaze shone in the gray room behind us. She kept her distance, her arms folded.

“Where are we?” Paris demanded for both of us.

“Safely tucked away, precious one,” she replied. “So I can work on getting your essence without you running all over the world.”

“What a piece of shit you are,” he retorted.

“This is Aidan’s room,” she said again, ignoring him. “Through the door on the left there is his bed. The door on the right takes you to the corridor connecting to the other parts of this palace.”

“Palace?” I questioned.

A triumphant grin spread Lia’s lips. “You’re in Heaven.”

The floor seemed to move, my insides churning, my mind unable to comprehend her words.

Paris tensed around me. “What did you say?”

“Heaven, precious one. This is the palace of deities. There are nicer rooms than his. Aidan was in the process of expanding his room into this gray section, but he got distracted.”

Paris slid off me, limping forward a few steps. “What do you mean by Heaven?”

“As in Heaven. The home of the deities. You’re not dead. Didn’t Gavriel tell you about it?”

Paris had told me Heaven was not part of the afterlife as mortals once believed.

“It has seen better days,” she continued. “Such a mess now, left to rot.”

“You can’t keep us here,” I asserted rather meekly.