Page 21

CHAPTER 21

AURORA

A urora stepped from the Between onto the solid mortal ground. The Between was an odd place that she didn’t like to visit, the place between her world and the mortal world. It was void of anything and everything. There was no sound, nothing to see, no wants or desire, just a barren waste. The only beasts that survived there were long-forgotten creatures from faiths long past.

It took her a moment to shake off the nothingness of the space. Traveling to the mortal world always made her a little nauseous. Mortals ’ emotions burned bright and quickly. Which made their feelings intense and weighed Aurora down.

But more than that, there was the noise and the chaos that mortals brought. These things existed to discourage gods from spending too much time with them. But gods like Thane and Death had become immune to it. Aurora had not.

She brushed the sharp shards of the Between that clung to her skirts. Her maid had helped her pick out something that looked less godlike and more mortal. The stockings, even made of fine wool, were rough against her skin, and the heavy skirts tangled around Aurora’s legs as she stepped onto the worn path that led to the witch’s cottage.

It had been some time since she had been amongst the mortals. She had forgotten how bright the forest could be. How harsh the colors of the tree were. And the noise. Even the softest flap of butterfly wings was too loud. She had almost decided against the foolish errand. What could a mortal witch know about the lives of gods?

“More than you do.”

Aurora looked up to see an old woman standing at a gate made of sticks and what looked like bones. “ Are you also a seer?” Aurora snapped, trying to brush off the uncertainty that pricked at the back of her neck. Mortals couldn’t hurt gods, but they could trap them and demand favors of them. Many a mortal man had been made king because they trapped a god.

“I’m just an old woman who sells herbs to young girls who get themselves in trouble.” The old woman eyed Aurora . “ But that’s not what you are seeking, is it? You want to break a curse.”

Aurora stepped closer to the old woman. Her once youthful skin was speckled with age spots and crinkled with time. The only thing that gave away the deal she had made with Death was the brilliance of her blue eyes. They still held their youthfulness. “ You should’ve been clearer with Death when you made your bargain.”

The witch waved off Aurora’s comment. “ I have lived with this face long enough to accept it protects me from those who don’t understand me. Now come, and I will answer your question.” The old woman turned and headed back to the cottage.

“For a price, of course. I’m not a god who will bless you with great riches or power.” No celebrations were held in Aurora’s honor. No temples built to appease her. Those were built for her father or mother. Very few mortals knew she held the secrets of the sea and commanded the stars. Mortals just expected her to be there each day to chase away the darkness. And no one feared the dawn.

“You have nothing I want, daughter of light and life. Now hurry up. I don’t have all night. You are not the only god I am expecting,” the old woman called over her shoulder.

Aurora looked around for anything that could be a threat, not that she knew what a threat would look like. She was a young god compared to her mother and father. They had lived hundreds of lifetimes. Aurora had only lived twenty-seven of them. “ She’s mortal; I’m a god. There’s nothing she can do to me,” Aurora mumbled to the grass and leaves that turned to her. Plus I need to know how to break the curse, Aurora reminded herself, stepping through the macabre gate. She paused, looking at the symbols written in blood around the door.

“Those are not for you. Now stop dallying. You have already wasted too much time.”

Aurora stepped into the small cottage. It was too warm and smelled of too many dried herbs. Aurora pressed the back of her hand to her nose.

“Ack. I forget how sensitive you gods are,” the witch complained before opening the small window above a wooden workbench.

A cool breeze brought with it the sounds of the day settling in and preparing for night. For Thane . “ Thank you,” Aurora said, careful not to touch anything. Her prints left stardust on everything. Even the smallest amount in mortal hands could be dangerous. “ I am told you can break curses.”

“I assume you speak of the curse Fate put on your beloved. That boy was warned to be more careful. You young gods are such a pain in the arse. You think because you are immortal that you can do whatever you wish. But even gods have consequences to their actions. Even one as handsome as Darkness .” The old woman moved around the cottage with ease. Age had not found its way into her joints.

“I did not come here for a lecture. Especially not from a mortal.” Aurora had heard it all before. Her mother ranted about how careless Thane had been. Her father hoped the curse would force her to move on. Neither of them seemed to care how much it hurt her to not be with him. That each time he broke her heart, she felt like a piece of her was dying. “ If you don’t know how to break the?—”

“Oh, I know how, child,” the old woman cut in as she put a soot-covered pot on the hook above the fire. “ But are you willing to do it?”

Aurora’s heart raced with what would need to be done. “ I will not kill him.”

The old woman snorted. “ You think that is what was meant by death do his part?”

“What else would it mean?” Aurora didn’t hide her annoyance. How did Thane deal with these insolent creatures on a daily basis?

“Not his death. His father, Death .” The witch rolled her eyes. “ Young gods.”

Aurora cocked her head. “ Death ? Death did not make the curse.”

“No, but Death is one of the keys to breaking it.”

Aurora searched the words of the full curse. “‘ A heart you have broken, now the consequences you shall reap. A broken heart you shall have till death do his part.’ But I thought that meant…”

“What? That Darkness has to die? You are immortal. Gods cannot die, you twit.” The witch clicked her tongue and shook her head. “ Beauty , you have. Brains , you do not. How would a god die?”

If Aurora were a spiteful god, she would smite this woman with warts or whatever spiteful gods do. “ I don’t know, hence the curse. It’s not supposed to be easy to break.” Aurora hated that this woman had been able to outsmart her. “ And gods can die,” she snapped. “ Mortals can wish us into nonexistence.”

“Nonexistence is not the same as death, pet. It’s far more painful. And you and Darkness are two gods that will outlive all others. You , a promise of a new day. And your beloved, a quiet end to a restless one. But as Darkness learned, there are consequences for breaking a heart. And to break the curse, you will have to break another’s heart. Will you do it?”

What was one more heartbreak in a life as long as hers and Thane’s ? “ Yes .” She said it before she could change her mind. Before she could think of all the reasons to say no.

“Then let us see what Fate has in store for you.” The witch whispered a few words before she threw a handful of herbs into the fire. They sparked and smoked, filling the air with the scent of rose and dried moss.

Aurora turned away from the smoke, stepping closer to the door. Why the woman had asked Death to give her the power of foresight only after she burnt things was beyond Aurora . When the smoke cleared, the old woman stared into the nothingness between her and Aurora . “ Tell me what you see, witch.”

“It’s a mortal you seek. One whose heart you must break.” The woman’s voice had changed, and her blue eyes were dark with the power Death had given her. “ But this cannot be just any broken heart. It must be one that only death can cause.”

“Done.” Aurora gripped the back of the chair, not caring. “ Tell me who, and I will.”

The old woman laughed. “ So eager to end the life of one of your father’s creations. It’s a mortal who has dreamt of love. Dreams that are not his to have. Dreams of a girl with hair like sunlight and eyes the color of a sea before a storm.”

Aurora pulled back. That was very specific. How in gods’ names could she find that? “ And where will I find this mortal?”

“Death will know.”

Death was not an easy god to deal with. He would not just give up the name. Gods never did anything without a price. “ And Death will want something from me.” It was not a question, more a statement. “ Why can’t you tell me where he is? What good are your visions?”

The witch cocked her head, seeing things Aurora could not. A sharp smile crossed the old woman’s thin mouth. “ Oh , dear child, you are in for much pain. A choice will need to be made and the price paid. But to untie the threads that Fate has woven, one heart will be filled with hate. And another will lose her mate.”

“Tell me where he is. Tell me whose heart I must break!” Aurora shouted. Her head pounded from the smells and noises that were amplified in the small space. With gods nothing was ever as it seemed, and yet it was. A paradigm of truths and contradictions.

“By a river swollen with wishes from a god who shouldn’t have spoken them.” The witch rocked back and forth, her words tumbling out of her cracked lips.

“What? A river swollen with wishes. Dammit , witch, enough with the riddles and rhymes.”

The witch exhaled, and her eyes dulled. The vision had passed. “ I am just the messenger. I do not make the rules. There must be balance. An eye for an eye. Or in this case, a broken heart for a broken heart.”

Aurora closed her eyes, willing the tears not to fall. All of this had been for nothing. She was no closer to knowing how to break the curse than she was to turning water into moonbeam wine. “ You have been no help, old woman. I hope your last days are peaceful.”

“How fickle is your love? I give you the answer, and you do nothing with it. It is me who hopes your days are peaceful without the god you love.”

“You have given me nothing but more riddles and problems. Death will not give what I seek freely.” There was a price in dealing with Death . For a mortal, it meant their soul. Gods had no soul. Death would want something in return, and Aurora feared what that would be.

“How much are you willing to sacrifice for the dark god you wished for? There is always a price for love, even for a god,” the old woman whispered before she slumped in the chair next to the smoldering fire. Her shoulders rose, then fell once more before the room went silent. Aurora cocked her head, trying to feel the woman’s lifelines. The glittering strings that Fate had woven to the souls of each mortal.

“Witch,” Aurora hissed in the dimming light. The air had suddenly grown cooler. A familiar scent filled the air around her. One that smelled like the forest just after a rain.

Thane. The collector of souls. The old woman had made a deal with Death , and now Thane had come to collect payment.

His shadows scudded across the floor and crawled through the open window. Their shapes twisted from animal to human form. They sniffed the old woman, who still had not moved.

“Aurora?”

Dammit. She had hoped to be gone before Thane appeared to collect the witch’s soul. She turned to see Thane standing in the doorway, looking all the god he was. It was easy to understand why some mortals went willingly to their deaths. Death might be beautiful to look upon. But his son was exquisite. Shards of the Between glittered in his dark hair. His silver eyes reminded her of a star just about to burn out. “ Thane .”

Thane stepped into the room. “ Why are you here?”

I wish to lie this once, Aurora wished. “ The old woman made a wish.”

“For what?”

“It matters not.” Aurora danced around the question. “ Why are you here?”

“She made a deal with my father.” Thane stepped closer, twisting a piece of her hair around his finger. “ You hate the mortal realm. You hate the noise and the smells.”

Aurora leaned closer to him. “ But I love the moments between day and night.”

Thane smiled. “ Your lie tastes bitter on my tongue.” Thane gripped her chin, lowering his mouth closer to hers. “ Now tell me, dove, what have you done?”

His closeness made her bones ache and her breath too heavy to breathe. “ Promise not to hate me.” Was his heart the one that would be filled with hate? Or was it hers?

“I promise.”

“I know how to break the curse.” Her words came out in a whisper.

“How?”

“Your father.”