Page 84 of A Kingdom of Sand and Ice (Kingdom of Gods #2)

She leaned closer, curiosity prickling along her spine. There, beneath the water, something moved. Something wrong.

She crawled nearer, her face hovering inches above the surface, breath catching in her throat.

It looked like…

Hands.

Cold, unyielding hands burst forth, latching onto her and dragging her down. There was no time to scream.

Mal vanished beneath the water’s surface.

…

Mal fell through endless dark until cold swallowed her whole, seeping into her bones and soaking every thread of fabric clinging to her skin.

She landed with a jolt against something solid, unforgiving stone beneath her back.

Her breath caught as she shot upright, heart pounding, half-convinced she had returned to the Underworld.

But as her eyes swept across her surroundings, she frowned.

‘It’s not the Underworld,’ came a smooth, familiar voice laced with cruel delight. It sank into her chest like a stone in water.

Mal looked up and hissed.

‘You could at least pretend to be pleased to see me,’ Thanatos drawled, leaning languidly against the crumbling wall of a nearby building, his smirk as insufferable as ever.

‘I’d be lying.’ Mal wrung out the wetness from her dress like a disgruntled cat, droplets flinging around her as she cast another uncertain glance at the town that surrounded her.

‘Elmwych,’ he said, answering the question forming in her mind.

‘Stop reading my thoughts. Why am I here?’

‘Felt like taking a stroll with you,’ Thanatos replied, his wicked grin deepening, the amusement in his dark eyes shimmering like oil on water. ‘Tabitha Wysteria once called this place home. They rebuilt it, tried to make it look just as it did before it burnt to ash a century ago.’

‘How did you—’

‘This land is ancient, laced with old magic. And I, Melinoe, am a god.’ He gestured lazily for her to come closer. ‘It wasn’t difficult, shifting you from one corner of the wastelands to another.’ When she didn’t move, his smile faltered slightly. He sighed. ‘Hades is not exactly thrilled.’

‘Does it look as though I give a damn about Hades’ feelings?’

Thanatos moved, closing the distance between them with fluid grace. Mal held her ground, refusing to retreat, refusing to let him glimpse even a flicker of fear. She lifted her chin defiantly, her purple eyes locking with his, unyielding.

‘I missed you, Melinoe,’ he said, the words a ghost of breath against her cheek, so soft it sent a shiver coursing through her spine.

‘Don’t start,’ she snapped, stepping back with a grimace. The motion drew a low chuckle from him, and she loathed him for noticing the effect he still had. ‘Ash is waiting for me. I need to return.’

‘I thought you wandered off to clear your thoughts,’ he said, his tone teasing, almost sing-song.

‘And what made you think you barging in would help with that?’

‘Do I confuse you?’ His grin widened, dark and knowing, as he leaned in with that maddening closeness. ‘I know you wonder what it would feel like to have me fuck you instead of him.’

Mal’s hand cracked across his face before the sentence had fully landed. The sting of the slap vibrated through her palm, sharp and satisfying.

Thanatos seized her wrist and yanked her against him, his grip iron-tight, fury blazing in his eyes. He inhaled deeply, the scent of her grounding him, and after a few taut seconds with his eyes closed, the storm within him seemed to ease.

‘Why are you so violent, woman?’ he muttered.

‘You make me violent,’ she shot back, her voice cold as steel.

He released her with a scoff, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets as he turned away, striding towards the shadowed remnants of the town. ‘Come along, then.’

Mal hesitated, caught in the space between caution and curiosity.

She ought to turn back, try to retrace her steps through the marshes, find her way to Ash.

What if he was worried? She didn’t want to be the cause of his panic, not when she knew how heavily the weight of responsibility already sat on his shoulders.

‘Doesn’t he see everything?’ Thanatos called over his shoulder, voice laced with mockery. ‘Surely he knows where you are.’

Mal clenched her jaw, the truth stinging more than his tone. She cast one last glance behind her, then sighed and followed. Into the town where her mother had once walked, where spells had been whispered and secrets stitched into stone .

The word mother felt strange in her mind, a weight she couldn’t quite place. But she wouldn’t dishonour either of them—the woman who had given her life, and the one who had raised her with quiet, enduring care. Two different kinds of love, both valid. Both real.

The town of Elmwych was, in its own way, achingly beautiful.

Quaint stone cottages nestled close together, their walls weathered by time and softened by ivy.

Lanterns hung from iron hooks outside each doorway, waiting to be lit by the touch of witchlight.

Fresh flowers adorned the windowsills, wild blooms arranged with quiet care, while small wooden boats bobbed gently at the water’s edge, ready to slip down the marshes like forgotten dreams.

‘Where are they?’ Mal asked, her voice low as she noticed the town’s eerie stillness, each home vacant and silent.

‘They left,’ Thanatos replied. ‘To fight.’

She followed him down a narrow, winding path, until he came to a halt before a great willow tree, its drooping branches like a veil of sorrow. Mal stared up at it, struck by its sheer size. It must have been ancient, a living witness to generations of whispered spells and hidden grief.

‘They hung Hadrian Blackburn from that tree,’ Thanatos said softly, ‘and then set it ablaze. Tabitha found him here, right where you’re standing. She cursed the gods on this very soil.’

‘What do you want, Thanatos?’ Mal asked, her tone cool, emotions carefully buried beneath her skin. Her brow arched, sharp and knowing.

‘Why must I want something?’

‘Because you’re a god.’

‘So are you.’

She exhaled sharply, already tired of the game he was playing. He must have sensed her irritation, for he stepped closer, fingers brushing against hers. She recoiled instantly, unwilling to let his touch linger.

‘I came to warn you.’

Mal snorted. ‘Warn me? Of what?’

‘Of him. Your husband.’

That made her laugh, a dry sound edged with disbelief.

She shook her head, almost in admiration of his persistence.

‘Truly? Is that your angle now, Thanatos? Are you hoping to twist this into something it’s not?

Hoping I’ll hate Ash, abandon him, and fall conveniently into your arms?

I’m not some foolish girl. I see through you, and through my father. ’

‘It isn’t a trick, Melinoe.’

‘Then what is it?’ she snarled, her voice sharpening. ‘Speak plainly, Thanatos. I’m tired of riddles. I’m tired of being led in circles.’

Something shone in his eyes, something that looked far too much like worry, like fear, and it made Mal step back.

She had never seen such emotion on his face before.

For the first time since she had met him, she didn’t recoil when his fingers brushed against her cheek. This time, she let him touch her.

‘He’s not trying to protect you ,’ Thanatos murmured.

Mal shook her head, her features contorting with anguish as his words pierced through her.

‘Ash would never hurt me.’

‘No, he wouldn’t. He loves you, Melinoe. We all know he does. The curse will always make him love you, no matter what. But…’ Thanatos’ gaze dropped down, down towards her stomach.

Mal followed his eyes.

Her breath caught. Her heart stopped.

‘No,’ she whispered.

‘He loves her more. ’

Mal’s head jerked from side to side, pushing him away with trembling hands.

‘No.’

‘And when she’s here,’ he said, voice low and grim, ‘he will choose her over you. Always.’

Without thinking, Mal pressed her hands to her stomach, though there was nothing to feel. Nothing but stillness and the sudden, unbearable weight of possibility. No. Thanatos had to be lying. It couldn’t be…

‘It’s impossible,’ she breathed.

Thanatos’ jaw clenched with the weight of unspoken truth.

‘Ash is walking a path built only to keep her safe,’ he said. ‘No one else matters. Not even you, Melinoe.’

‘Shut up!’ she screamed.

She tried to shove him away, tried to claw back space the moment he pulled her into his arms. But she was already breaking. Already sobbing into his chest. The cries tore from her, not only for the betrayal, not only for the fear, but for the truth she hadn’t been ready to face.

‘You are with child, Melinoe.’

But it wasn’t the words that undid her. It was the knowing. The bone-deep realisation that Ash had known. And now their daughter would carry the same curse. She would bear the same weight Mal had been forced to shoulder.

‘Melinoe, listen to me.’ He caught her chin between his fingers, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. ‘No one can know. Not a soul. They will use her. Not even Ash, not even he can know that you…’ He exhaled, frustration and urgency warring in his voice. ‘You must keep it secret.’

‘How do you know?’ she whispered.

Thanatos looked away, his jaw clenched, expression tight with something unspoken .

‘Tell me,’ Mal demanded, her voice low and tense.

‘Because I’ve always kept an eye on you.’

Mal recoiled, her stomach twisting at the thought of him spying on her so intimately. It was a violation, and it made her feel suddenly, deeply ill.

‘That doesn’t explain how you know about…’ Her hands drifted protectively to her stomach.

Thanatos nodded, running a hand through his pale curls, the motion weary and reluctant. ‘I am the God of Death, Melinoe. I know when there is life.’

Her eyes widened in silent horror.

Thanatos lifted his head, frowning at the space now between them. He reached out and pulled her close, as though the distance was too much to bear. Then, to her surprise, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. A tender, almost reverent gesture that felt wholly out of place coming from him.

‘Keep her a secret,’ he whispered. ‘You must return now. I’ll be watching over you.’

‘Why?’ she asked, the question escaping like breath.

He gave a soft, crooked smile. ‘Silly question, woman.’

Before she could speak again, the world tilted violently beneath her.

Cold swallowed her whole and the void spat her out onto the hard ground where she had first been, her hand still submerged in the murky water.

Groaning, Mal sat up and rubbed the stiffness from her neck and back, her mouth twisting in irritation.

Thanatos really had to stop doing that.

A faint chuckle echoed somewhere in the distance, and she sighed, unsurprised. Always watching. Always lingering. Some twisted, protective shadow.

Dusting the mud from her dress, Mal made her way back to the tent. Inside, Ash lay sleeping on the makeshift bed, his features softened by slumber. She stripped off her boots, changed into a dry dress, and quietly slipped beneath the covers.

She lay beside him, her back turned, heart aching with uncertainty. She didn’t dare look at the man she loved. Could she trust Thanatos over Ash? Time alone would answer that. For now, it would remain her secret, hers alone.

She loved Ash. Of that, she was sure. But the man who had emerged from the lava, after being stabbed and remade… she wasn’t entirely certain it was still him.

And yet, she would love him. No matter what he had become. Because she had been cursed to love him.

Ash stirred in his sleep and shifted closer, his arm curling around her like a cloak of warmth, his hand coming to rest unknowingly, instinctively, over her stomach.

And in the hush of the tent, cloaked in silence and shadow, Mal did not see Ash’s golden eyes watching her from just beyond the dark.