As my body trembled, I felt like my veins were opening up, leaking cold blood.
Use my power, pay my price.
Glaciers slid along my bones, carving ravines, opening my ribs with their slow descent. God of the deep, carving me open.
Shadows unfurled in me, and fear along with them. The god was claiming his due…
As terror started to climb up my throat, an image slammed into my mind, like a powerful fist against my skull.
It was that man I’d executed, smashed against the rocks. I could still see his blue eyes, wide and staring after the sea had battered all the life out of him. Mama had whispered in my ear—You killed him, Aenor. For Ys.
Some of us did what we had to, even if it meant getting our hands dirty. But…
What sort of a person liked killing?
Here by the seafloor, I could see that man as if he were lying right below. His shattered body spread out, limbs bent at odd angles. Pain shone in his eyes.
The image was as vivid as it had been all those years ago, his chest ripped open by a jagged rock. Ribs jutted through the tear in his skin. Blood ran across his chest and shoulders, down his arms in rivulets that formed a delicate pattern, spiraling around his wrists. The blood streamed; claret glistened in the sunrays. A grimace contorted his features, and he was reaching for me, eyes pleading.
I’d done this.
I am Death.
And was this man even guilty? I wasn’t so sure anymore. Mama said he was.
But… Mama didn’t always tell the truth, did she? And what if I’d gotten it wrong? Another sacrifice for power, like Shahar.
The blood shone brighter on his fractured body, a web, and his mouth was open in a rictus grin now. It was like he was saying, I see you. I know what you are. You are as rotten as my corpse.
My own thoughts warred with the music of the sea.
Sacrifice to me… the god chanted in my mind. Give me your life, your breath, your blood, and I’ll do what you want.
My blood roared like thunder over the horizon.
Beneath me, the broken man seemed to dissolve in the water, his skin and teeth pale particles washing away.
At any moment, I was sure my heart would burst right out of my chest.
A sharp pain pierced my wrists, like acid was moving through my veins. I looked down at them, shocked to find that dark magic undulated under the surface of my skin. A spiral pattern around my wrists. A toxin.
When trails of magic complete their path, death will find you. Use my magic, pay my price.
Give your life to me, Aenor…
The god’s voice sang. I couldn’t hear my own thoughts anymore, couldn’t make sense of anything. Just fragments of phrases, booming in my mind: executed… guilty… sacrifice… the sludge of life… rivers flowing from Ur-magic… life requires death…
I needed to channel this, but it was overwhelming.
I felt his warmth moving for me, that sense of safety.
Salem wrapped his arms around me, pulling my body against his. My spine straightened as he helped me channel the magic out of my body, and it flowed from my chest, down to my hips and legs, and out through my toes. Streaming from my fingertips, the god’s power rushed over the seafloor.
As the magic worked its way from my system, I looked down at the crevasse. Already, the red magma flowing beneath it looked duller, colder. Then, slowly, the crimson rupture in the rock began to seal over. The fires snuffed out, flames smothered by the cold sea.
With a great groan, the chasm in the ocean’s floor began to close, the world shaking and rumbling around us. Icy, dank life rushed across the bottom of the sea.
My chest unclenched, and tiredness started to seep into my muscles. Bone-deep exhaustion. Primitive thoughts oozed in my skull, images of mortality. Thoughts of bodies rotting, being buried under the soil.
But I was in Salem’s arms, and he was swimming with me, heading up to the sea’s surface.
I knew something was wrong—but also that I’d done it. I’d saved my mate, and I’d stopped the Fomorians for good. I’d completed the task Anat had set out for me. And that was what mattered, right?
When we reached the surface, the sun blinded me for a moment. I was vaguely aware that Salem had dragged me up from the bottom of the sea, and that the light beamed bright. It had been a bit better under the waves, in the darkness and quiet. It took me a moment to orient myself—to realize I was in Salem’s lap, and that he was cradling me.
When my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, I saw Lyr standing above me, looking like he wanted to murder Salem.
But Salem’s eyes were on me, staring at me with an intensity that made my pulse race. Seawater beaded on his golden skin, and his eyes burned with a ghostly fire. “You look like you’re dying.”
Was that fear in his velvety voice?
“I wouldn’t have let her take that risk for me,” said Lyr.
I could feel the heat pouring off Salem, and I needed it, and his eyes twinkled with malice. “I was unable to stop her, considering I was in the soul cage. You were here, though, weren’t you, Lyr?” He exuded a quiet threat, and his lips slowly curled in a menacing smile. “Do you know, I’m very much in the mood to light someone on fire, and I’m rather hoping you’ll give me an excuse.”
“I was in Acre when she made the bargain,” said Lyr. He pointed at Ossian. “But your servant, here, helped her.”
Ossian wrinkled his nose. “I wouldn’t say servant, and this was Aenor’s choice.”
“The sea god did this.” Salem’s silky murmur had that violent edge that reminded me of Anat. Darkness seemed to spill around him.
“I make my own decisions,” I said weakly. “Look, Salem, your mom—she was going to start winnowing us if we didn’t get you out. And it worked, didn’t it? Except for the fact that I might die in a couple of days.”
“What do you mean?” There it was again… that faint whisper of fear under his calm tone.
I lifted my wrists, showing off the rivulets of dark magic spiraling around them. They followed the same pattern as the streams of blood I’d seen on the executed man.
Death moved beneath my skin. This was the sea god forcing me to reckon with my past.
“It’s a pattern.” I leaned against Salem’s warm chest. “When I used the sea god’s power, he showed me a vision of the first man I killed. I’d executed him for treason, attempted regicide. The traitor’s blood ran from his chest, in rivulets down his arms, around his wrists. And the sea god said that when the paths are complete, I will die. It’s moving, slowly, in reverse. When it reaches my heart, I’m screwed.”
Salem’s hold on me was surprisingly gentle as he pulled me closer. “Well, we will just have to stop it, won’t we?”
He said it with such conviction that I believed him. With his arms around me, he lifted me off the ground. Then his dark, feathered wings erupted behind him.
“We’ll be needing a moment alone.”
Lyr was shouting something in protest, but Salem’s wings beat the air, drowning him out. My stomach lurched as we lifted into the skies, the wind rushing over us.
My mouth felt watery, like that excess of saliva before you puke. I really didn’t want to vomit on him. “Why are we flying right now?”
“I’ll bring you back down in a moment. I needed to take you away from the others.” He glanced at the sun. “How many days was I in there?”
“Just one.”
He let out a long breath. “Ah, then there’s still time.”
I swallowed hard, fighting nausea. “Time for what?”
We swooped lower, under the shadows of an oak tree. Salem laid me down on the mossy earth—so gently, like he thought he would break me. He cradled my head in his arm, but I turned away from him. I rolled over onto my hands and knees, onto the rocks.
I retched, then threw up. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten much that morning. It was mostly just the tea, but it left a bitter taste. I wiped my hand across my mouth and shifted away, bac
k onto the moss.
“I wish you hadn’t made that sacrifice for me, Aenor.” Salem’s hand was soft on my back, but there was a steely edge to his voice. “Your life for mine. And for what? You made a sacrifice for someone who can’t love you at all.”
Ouch.
And maybe he was right. Had I just given my life up for someone who could barely feel emotions?
Aenor
Someone who can’t love you at all. The words sank into my bones like poison, a corrosive substance. They twined with the dark magic in my body—two toxins. I turned and retched again, but this time nothing came up.
“Your mom,” I began, “is very effective at conjuring horrifying imagery. I did what she told me to do.”
“I suppose I’m not surprised.” His hand was soft on my back, a contrast to his words. “Besides slaughtering, horrifying imagery is probably her greatest skill.”
Fighting the nausea, I closed my eyes. A dark voice whispered in the hollows of my skull. Faint as the wind rushing through sea grass, a forlorn, low whistle: Not good enough… Can’t love you…
Still on all fours, I opened my eyes again. I sat back on the mossy earth, then looked up at Salem. “I did what I had to do.” My new mantra. It was quickly becoming clear to me that those words might be engraved on my tombstone in the near future.
Salem leaned in closer, and his delicious scent wrapped around me—smoke and pomegranates. “Lie down on the moss, Aenor. Let me see if I can heal you.”
I reclined on the soft earth, feeling a little better on my back.
As soon as his hand was on my chest, and his magic was trembling over my skin, I understood why he’d taken me to this private spot. This was the strange way that mates healed each other. He didn’t want the others to know. He had no clue that our secret was already out.
In fact, he didn’t know that I’d figured it out, and he didn’t seem keen on telling me.
Salem’s magic heated my chest, a tingling sensation that danced along my skin, making my heart race. Warmth beamed from his hand, and it felt soothing—but I could still feel something corrosive beneath my skin.
After a few moments, I lifted my wrists, frowning at the ink in my veins. “I’m not sure this is working.” I pushed up onto my elbows, apprehension clenching my stomach.
“No.” His voice was so quiet that I could hardly hear him. “I didn’t think it would, not against a divine hex. But we will find another way. A witch, perhaps. Someone immensely powerful.”
He wrapped his arms around me again, and his wings erupted behind his shoulders. In the honeyed rays of afternoon light, the dark feathers glowed with a golden sheen.
I curled my arms around his neck. Whether or not he was capable of love, it felt good to be close to him. His wings pounded the air, and the salty wind rushed over our bodies as he lifted me into the sky. Salem’s magic was sliding over my skin, warm and silky.
“I need to find Shahar,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. “Did Anat say she would let you live as long as you released me?”
“It was implied. She said she could feel your pain in the soul cage. That it was like you were burning. I did what she wanted.”
“She’s waiting for me.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Flames lit up his eyes. “My destiny is to return to the heavens as a celestial god—the god of dusk. Only then will I be complete again. My mother waits for me and Shahar. I have until Samhain to get there.”
A little thread of pain curled through my ribs. “A celestial god again. That’s quite the destiny, Salem.”
Salem dove lower in the air, heading for Ossian and Lyr. Carefully, he landed on the rocks.
“Care to explain to me what’s happening?” barked Lyr.
Salem arched an eyebrow. “I was trying to use my healing magic, and it didn’t work.”
“I’ll take her to Beira,” said Lyr decisively. “She can heal anything. Even a divine hex such as this.”
Salem’s muscles tensed against me, but he didn’t say anything.
I shook my head. “I think we can find another witch, right? Lyr—you remember that she wanted to take my power from me? With that binding collar? It was the whole reason I ran away from you.”
Lyr shrugged. “It doesn’t seem you have any power anyway.”
“That’s not the point,” I said. “I don’t trust her.”
Ossian stared at me on the ground. “What about Salem’s mum?”
All three of us gaped at him. Salem’s heat was warming the stones again, melting the frost on the corpses around us. The stench of death rose in the air.
“Anat wanted Salem out,” added Ossian. “Maybe she’ll be grateful. Grant a boon or something. She’s a celestial goddess. She’s bound to have a cure.”
“My mother is a goddess of slaughter. She doesn’t deal in life.” Smoky tendrils swept behind Salem as he spoke, taking on the shape of his dark wings. “Gods are not going to help us. They’ll only want more sacrifices, more debt, greater bondage. No… I think I have someone else in mind.”
Salem
My mind was on fire. I stroked my fingertips over Lightbringer’s hilt—my sword hewn from the stars. It was only a few days more…
If she survived this divine hex coursing through her veins, then my love would kill Aenor next. The more time we spent together, the greater the risk to her. And yet… I wasn’t going to leave her ailing like this.
I glanced at the sun, still marveling at the fact that I’d only been under the sea for one day. It had felt like I’d been in there for centuries. At least a month. A single day was unfathomable.
This news was both wonderful and terrible. On the one hand, I still had a chance to ascend to the heavens. On the other hand, I had a nearly impossible task to achieve in this time. Cure Aenor, without letting anyone realize that I actually cared for her.
A droplet of water slid off my body and sizzled over the hot rocks. Still cradling Aenor, I turned toward the sea. Tendrils of steam curled off the stone beneath my feet.
Shahar… What if she was the answer? She had been a healer once. I turned back to the others and gently lowered Aenor to the rocks. I kept my arm around her waist, steadying her against me. “I’m going to call my twin. She knows about healing.”
Aenor cleared her throat. “Will she be annoyed about the whole… you know… that time I drowned her for a hundred fifty years?”
“Perhaps, but she won’t hurt you.” Aenor might not know she was my mate, but Shahar knew. And for my sake, Shahar would never kill my mate. It would ruin my life.
I closed my eyes and whispered in the timeless speech of the gods—the angelic language that was my native tongue. Through our ancient bond as twins, I felt the ruddy hues of my magic mingling with her cool morning light.
I breathed in deeply, the scent of smoke curling around me. After just one day in the soul cage, I felt I was losing control of myself again, my ancient curse growing hotter. I took another deep breath, this time catching Aenor’s scent. A pulse of heat rippled out from my body. I was like a moth to the flame of the mating bond, burning itself alive…
With Aenor around, I risked distraction. All thoughts of the heavens evaporated from my mind like water on coals.
Because right now, I was thinking of healing her, then dragging her into a cave to pull her clothes off her. I was thinking of my hands and mouth all over her body.
And the thought that Lyr was standing nearby filled me with a different sort of fire. I shot a quick look back at him, imagining how his skin would look cracking with the heat of a star. The thought brought a faint smile to my lips.
But when I left this world, I’d be free of these tormented thoughts. The celestial gods had no carnal desires, untethered by the cravings of corporeal forms.
At that moment, I felt the soft, golden heat of Shahar’s magic—like rays of morning light warming my skin. It had been so long since I’d felt her magic.
I stared up at the s
kies, and my heart leapt when I saw her arcing through the clouds, wings beating the air. She’d been so weak when I first found her, but already, she’d recovered. As she swooped down to us, her silver hair streamed behind her. Light beamed from her head like a halo, and silver wings cascaded down her back, gilded slightly by the sun.
As she flew closer, my heart tightened again. Although her magic glowed around her, she was still far too emaciated. She looked like she needed to eat pies for a decade.
It wouldn’t matter, though—not when she was leaving this body behind so soon.
Her smile was radiant as she landed in the water by the shore, her feet splashing a little in the waves. She’d found fresh clothing somewhere: a plain black dress that hung off her skeletal form.
She cocked her head, staying where she was. “Salem! I was wondering what happened to you.”
Fallen gods didn’t have the sort of familial warmth that would be normal to humans. I’d incinerate a city for her, but we would never do something so dreadful as hug each other. And I’d sooner cut my wings off than make small talk.
I glanced at Aenor. “I was trapped in the soul cage for a day. My…” Smoldering hells, what did I call Aenor? Never before had someone thrown me off so much. But just in case Shahar was going to fly into a murderous rage, I wanted to present Aenor in the best light possible. “My traveling companion, Aenor, made a great sacrifice to save me from that prison.”
“Traveling companion,” Lyr repeated, his words dripping with disdain. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
I gestured at Lyr. “Let me introduce you to Lyr, the half-divine, morose sea-fuck. And Ossian, a friend.”
Shahar had gone still as the rocks beneath my feet, her eyes locked on Aenor. When she sniffed the air, a pale blue light flashed in her eyes.
She remembered. A chill danced up my nape.
Shahar pointed a bony finger at Aenor. “I remember your scent, creature.”
Aenor shot me a sharp look, and her meaning was clear: This is a bad idea. “Oh?”
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