Page 45 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

“I love you,” I murmur, tears falling beside my gilded blood. It spills between the cobblestones and reaches for Kalel’s blood.

“I love you, little godling,” he whispers, face forlorn and filled with agony. He pulls me closer until our chests are touching, our blood mixing. “Will you forgive me?”

I want to answer him.

But anything I felt or thought ceases.

Chapter 18

Kalel

Alira’s eyes see through me. The light stolen from her.

It is divine punishment that I have to watch her go first.

It is divine justice that I follow with the few breaths I’m allowed after.

It’s so…cold. I’ve not felt this stiff and frozen since I was a young demon. Since before Pluto brought me back to life. My eyes are closed, and my body feels rigid. The ground is wet, and in the distance drops of water trickle into larger pools.

I manage to open my eyes and take in the gray, uneven ground I’m lying on. Deep-blue basins of water lie several feet away that are created with large dips in the stone.

Where am I? My head is killing me, spinning as if a thousand winds are gusting through my mind. A throb moves through my chest, making me wince and press my hand to it. I pull my hand back and find no blood.

Was I hurt? I can’t remember…

I force myself up enough to sit and realize someone is lying beside me. It takes me but a moment to realize that it’s Alira. Her floral scent dances in my senses and makes me feel a bit more at ease. Her hair is draped over her shoulder like a blanket. The dress she wears is simple and white. I don’t remember seeing it before, but she looks so ethereal asleep like this.

I let the back of my hand smooth down her cheek.

Why do I feel so forlorn looking at her?

Where are we? Did I get drunk last night?

I press my palm against my forehead, the headache pounding continuously. I was having the worst dream. But what was it? Water rolls off my chin, and I realize my cheeks are wet. At first, I think it’s from the ceiling of this cave dripping down on me, but it’s not that. I’m crying.

Strange… I wipe the tears from my eyes, wondering if Alira will remember more than I do.

What do I know? I organize my thoughts and focus.

We are in a cave of some sort. The rocks are dark grays and blues, and water drips from the ceiling. This place is old and not unmaintained; the stone we are on is free of debris. Did someone bring us here?

I look down at Alira again. I stare at her for a moment to ensure that she is still breathing and let out a breath of relief when I see that she is.

This is the most confused I’ve ever felt. My heart twists, and tears continue to bead in my eyes no matter how much I wipe them away.

“You are in Mortem, Kalel Lornhelm. Where else?” A male’s voice echoes through the cave. I know this voice. He has come to me many times before. I sort through my memories until one clear figure appears.

“Pluto? But…why have you brought us here?” I ask, wincing as my forehead stings with another sharp pain.

Pluto walks slowly around me. His robe is black and wisps at the ends like smoke as he moves toward a throne that blends in so well with the surrounding stone that I didn’t see it earlier. “It is you who have come here, not I who have brought you,” he says casually as he sits down and lounges back. The god stares at me with steady dark eyes. “Your memories will return. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for everything to…catch up.”

My forehead flashes with pain once more, and I clench my teeth. “I am in no mood for your games. If we are dead, then tell me,” I demand sharply. Part of me knows this isn’t how souls enter Mortem. They normally enter through the gates and then must find their way through the levels. So why have we come straight to Pluto? Is it for judgment? Did we die? My attention returns to Alira. That throb in my heart returns. Why would she be here too? Who would do this?

The god lets out a slight laugh and leans forward in his throne, setting his elbow on the armrest and propping his chin against his palm. “How curious,” he mutters, staring down at me as if he’s happy to see me.

He looks up, and I follow his line of sight, meeting a goddess draped in white robes. I’m shocked to see her. At first glance, she is almost the spitting image of Alira, a bit older and more forlorn looking, but nearly identical. Her long silver hair reaches her ankles, creating an almost halo-like glow around her.

Pluto grins at me and tilts his head slightly. “Or perhaps it was Venus’s love that brought both of you here.”