Page 63 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

My chest tightens, and in the next moment I’m lifting my head from the water and gasping for breath.

Kalel wades over and holds me delicately. “Are you okay? What happened?” He lets his eyes trace over every part of me before he sees the dagger in my hands. “Why do you have that? I saw it on the table before we left.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and try to settle my breathing. “Venus just spoke to me… She said we need to leave. We have to fight…” I hesitantly look back at him, and his eyes are filled with horror.

We both knew this day would come. We knew our time was short.

“What will we do?” he murmurs, staring down at the dagger like it’s our undoing.

I press my hand against his cheek. “I’m not sure… but we have to try to end it peacefully on both sides. Maybe that’s why they need us.”

Kalel lowers himself and lets his forehead touch mine.

“They won’t listen,” he murmurs.

I shake my head. “I know. But what else can we do?”

He opens his eyes slowly and takes me in. “If you die, I will follow you to the ends of Mortem. I will never let you go.”

I press my hand to his chest and smile. “Me too.” We lock in a tight embrace, the water like a warm blanket around us.

Kalel’s eyes soften. “Let’s go, then, shall we?”

We swim back across the pond and stand at the edge. I use the dagger and slice through my hand. Wincing at the pain that jolts through me briefly. My gilded blood spills into the water below and spreads like fire. Lighting up the pond to make it practically glow.

Kalel stands beside me, our hands intertwined as the gold moves up our legs. “I’ll see you on the other side, little godling.”

For some reason, I’m worried that he won’t remember any of this on the other side. That it was all in my head, and we didn’t go on this journey together.

He kisses me, and I whisper back, “Don’t forget me.”

“Forget you? Never. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I open my eyes, and I’m met with the cold sting of water piercing my lungs. I jolt, realizing that I’m underwater, and start swimming for the surface.

What about Kalel?

I stop and look down, finding his body next to where mine was on the ocean floor. He’s painted blue with the hue seeping in from the moonlight above. His eyes flicker open, and he sees me, jerking with the same unpleasant welcome from the water that I was dealt. He kicks off the ground and swims beside me as we head to the surface.

Our heads burst from the waves, and the salt in the air and water on my lips tell me that we’re in the ocean or a sea outlet. The waves are sloshy, crashing against dark rocks.

“Did we fall from the bridge?” I shout, voice raspy and coughing a few times as the air stings my lungs.

How long has it been? Two weeks in Mortem time, so…six minutes here? My mind is sluggish, and my limbs can barely keep me afloat. I feel so weak and drained, as if I’ve just awoken from a long nap. How did we get into the ocean? I’m so disoriented that I can’t tell where in the ocean we are either.

“I’m not sure,” Kalel says back, swimming closer to me and regarding me carefully for a moment.

My fears reignite, and I stare at him. He looks roughed up from our fight, cuts and bruises that have yet to heal, and his eyes are darker than they were in Mortem.

Is it him? Does he remember our time together? The life we had in death?

His eyes soften, and he pulls me close. His armor is heavy, but he keeps us afloat as he lets me rest against his chest. “I’ll never let you go, Alira,” he whispers against my temple, and I let a few tears fall at his promise.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” I reply, kissing him before letting my eyes return to our surroundings. I’m not sure how we’re going to get out of this.

Kalel squints his eyes at the taller rocks ahead and then tightens his grip around me. “Please tell me you summoned them and they aren’t waiting to devour us.”