Page 26

Della

I glanced up at the oversized home in the middle of the woods.

Was this the right place? The uneasiness in my stomach told me I was exactly where I should be.

The mansion looked as if it had been abandoned and left to rot away in the forest, but it still had an eerie beauty to it.

Taking a deep breath, I went to the door and lifted my hand to knock, but before I could, the door opened.

A tall man answered, his eyes cloudy and his skin too pale.

“Come in,” his deep voice startled me. I watched the man, realizing there was no life pulsing from him.

He was dead. He left me standing in the darkened foyer.

I thought of turning and leaving, but this was the last witch coven.

So, I stayed in the foyer and waited. The home was just as spooky inside as it had been on the outside.

Everything was dark and dusty. I didn’t dare touch anything.

A moment later, a woman appeared in front of me.

“Ardella,” she purred. Her honey-colored eyes were void of any warmth as she ushered me to follow.

I took a seat in a plush black chair, and she sat across from me.

“It’s not every day that a goddess visits witches.

” Her black lips pulled into a sly smile.

I turned away from her gaze to the fire roaring inside the oversized fireplace.

“I need help.”

“I’m listening.” She smiled at the dead butler when he handed her a cup of tea. “Would you like some?”

“No, thank you.” She had probably poisoned it. The woman smiled. “I want to know if you are the coven that has the Book of the Dead .”

The witch took a long sip of her tea. Her eyes flickered over me curiously.

“Why would you think a witch coven has a book that is that powerful?” Her eyes gleamed at me.

“I know you have it.” I glared, not wanting to drag this out any longer. “I need it to bring a soul back.”

“Whose soul?”

“Someone who was not meant to die,” I sighed. My stomach churned with uneasiness.

“You made a mistake.” The witch chuckled softly.

It wasn’t a mistake. Haden was alive because of it, and I would always stand by my decision to save him, but I had to make this right.

Her pretty eyes flickered over me. I looked like a fucking mess.

All I could think of was Haden calling for me over and over since he woke up.

I was tortured, and I wanted to get this over with so my mate was not suffering.

“You look like shit,” she finally spoke.

“Yes, I know.” I glared. “Are you going to admit to me that you have it, or should I force you to give it to me?”

Her eyes sparkled at my attitude.

“How many covens have you asked?”

“Seventeen,” I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

I would give anything to make Mikel happy again, even though he hated me.

This damn mating bond wouldn’t let me forget that I had hurt Haden too.

“The last witch coven said you would be the one who had it. Which makes sense since you are literally named the Deathweaver Coven,” I sighed.

“You deal with fate and death. Honestly, I should have come here first.”

Her lips pulled into a smirk. “Well, it depends how much you are willing to sacrifice to get the soul back.”

“I will give anything.” I blew out a long breath. Gods, my eyes strained with exhaustion, and my body ached from restless nights. “Actually, I’ll have some tea.”

Her dead butler walked in a moment later and handed me a cup like he knew I would change my mind. I sipped on the warm tea and sighed. I was fucking exhausted. Sleep had evaded me in the past three weeks. Malamay had failed to mention how fucking long this process was going to take.

“Who is this soul?”

“Remiah Vale,” I whispered. “She was not supposed to die, and I took her soul anyway to save someone else.”

The witch watched me curiously. If she didn’t help me, then I didn’t know what I’d do.

I knew this coven had caused such havoc in the past that I almost decided to skip asking altogether.

But, of course, the last witch coven told me this was the place to ask.

Abram would be pissed if I were here. He hated this coven with the passion of a million stars.

They were always interfering in his work.

“Who?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Who did you save?”

“Haden Vale, her brother.”

Even saying his name caused physical pain. Something like warmth flickered in her eyes when she saw my sadness. Crazy bitch.

“Does the goddess have a crush?” she purred.

“He’s my mate,” I snapped at her. “My husband. Are you going to help me, or not?” I raised my voice so loudly that another witch appeared in the room with us. The witch in front of me waved her hand at the other one, making her disappear. She seemed intrigued by my outburst.

“Elowyn,” she muttered. Before I could ask her what she was talking about, she continued. “That’s my name. I will help you because I don’t think there is a bad side to a goddess owing me a favor.”

I sat up straight, my tired eyes focusing on her.

“So, there is a way to get her back with the book?”

She nodded as she stood and smoothed the purple lace of her dress down.

The black dress underneath it was formfitting and showed off her colorful tattoos.

My gaze fell to her knuckles so I could read the tattoo across them—‘death’ was across her right knuckles and ‘fates’ was on the left. Interesting choice, but I didn’t ask.

“It has never been done, but it’s possible. Follow me.” She didn’t wait for me as she walked out of the room.

“Has anyone tried before?” I asked.

“No, you need someone with a lot of power to pull off something like this.” She paused and looked at me over her shoulder. “A goddess should have the power needed.”

My heart raced as I followed her up the stairs into a lightless room.

She clapped her hands, and light flickered throughout the room, illuminating thousands of books piled everywhere.

The inch of dust coating everything told me no one had been in here recently.

Elowyn started rummaging through the stacks.

I wandered around the room looking at all the trinkets and skulls she had lying around.

“Here we are,” she grunted. She held up a dark red book that reminded me of blood. Before she handed the book to me, I could feel dark magic pulsing from it. I hesitated—the Book of the Dead .

“You said you’d do anything to get her soul back.”

I glared at her as I took the book from her. She gave me a sly smile before rummaging around again.

“You’ll read the passage from page 444.”

I flipped through the book as she started digging around for something else. My gaze flickered over the passage, and my chest ached at the last line. I slammed the book shut and watched Elowyn lift and inspect several candles before smiling at the short, stubby black candle in her hand.

“Here, you will also need this. You will carve the name of the soul into this candle. It is their beacon to find you through the After.”

“But…”

“I’m not done.” She shut me up. “You will need to go see Ezra, God of…”

“I know who he is.” Dread filled me.

“You must convince him to let her soul come back. Knowing him, he will want a trade.”

I nodded.

Elowyn frowned at me and didn't say anything for a long moment.

“Are you sure you’re ready to give up anything for this one soul?”

“Yes. My brother deserves to be happy, and Abram told me it was my fate,” I said.

“Abram, the God of Fate?” Her eyes flickered with something that I hadn’t expected—longing.

My gaze flickered over her. Curiosity about how she knew Abram took over.

“Yes, do you know him?” I asked. I knew he hated this coven, but he never said he actually came here to talk to them.

She swallowed hard as she nodded. “Yes, he is not a fan of mine. He has not come around for a long time.” Oh, she wanted to know where he was. Gods, was I mistaken that she looked like she missed him?

“He is in hiding. He will be back soon. Actually, you helping me with this will get him out of hiding quicker.” I smiled softly. “How well do you know him?”

Her face flushed red, and now I knew I wasn’t imagining it.

Abram was handsome, even by god standards.

“Not well. He has threatened to kill me and my entire coven if we didn’t stop messing with fate.

He hates me. I thought maybe something happened to him since it’s been centuries since I’ve seen him. ”

“That is partially my fault.” I sighed heavily. “He’s helping me with something now. I’m sure he’ll come threaten you and your coven again after.” I gave her a knowing smile.

She nodded and smirked slightly.

“Alright, let me tell you what you have to do when her soul comes to you.” And for the first time since arriving here, I saw sadness in her eyes.

?★★★?★★★?

It had been three weeks and four days since I left Haden, and I could still feel his panic and hear him calling to me at all hours of the day and night.

All I could think of as I traveled to the Islands of Death was how these three weeks had felt like an eternity.

But soon it wouldn’t matter, not if I could get Remiah’s soul back. It would be worth it.

I hadn’t been to the Islands of Death for hundreds of years, and I desperately wanted to escape them now, but I needed to talk with Ezra and decide on an exchange for Remiah’s soul. His big black castle sat on the highest mountain peak here. It couldn’t be missed.

It was a stunning structure, and if it had been under different circumstances, I would have loved to stop and admire the beauty of this place, but I had a feeling soon it would be my home.

I knocked on the door, and within seconds it swung open.

Ezra’s large body filled the space, and his dark red brows shot into his hairline when he saw it was me.