Page 23

CHAPTER 23

AURORA

“N o, that’s too heavenly. Don’t you have something less pink?” Aurora handed the pale pink fabric sample back to the short seamstress. “ What about that one?” Aurora pulled a sample of a dark blue silk from the pile. The color almost seemed to change when the light hit it. At first it seemed indigo, then black, and then a deep sapphire. It reminded her of the sea before a storm.

“It’s a fine color, miss. It goes well with your eyes. May I suggest some black mercury beading?” The older woman dug through her many trays for the beads.

Aurora walked over to the large mirror that stood in the corner of Thane’s room. She , like most gods, was vain—and the male species was even more so. She held up the sample to her neck. It was darker than she normally wore, but that was the point. She wanted to fit in better at Manere to look less like the daughter of Life and more like the mate of Darkness .

In the heavens she wore pale gowns of pink, yellow, and lavender. Gold and crystal beading embellished the arms and bodices. There the soft colors blended in with the golden hues her father loved. But against the dark blues and purples of Manere , she looked like a silly bird that should be in a cage.

Aurora turned from the mirror to look at the beads the woman held in her gnarled hands. “ Yes , those and anything darker. And I’ll take another gown in this.” Aurora pulled a black silk from the pile. “ And use silver thread.”

“Silver, ack.” The woman shook her head, ambling back to the baskets, trays, and trunks that had taken over Thane’s room. “ Gold will look better with your coloring.”

Aurora looked at her gold-tipped fingers. Gold was the color of the heavens and made for wishing. “ I don’t like gold.”

“It’s the color of the gods. All gods. Those of the underworld are always hungry for more.” The seamstress started packing up the samples. “ Anything else, miss?”

Aurora looked at the pile of fabric and the sketches. She had ordered four lightweight day dresses, two formal gowns, and a riding habit. Most of it would go unworn if she didn’t break the curse. “ No , that will be it for now. How long?”

“Not long. If there is nothing else, I shall be on my way.”

“No, nothing else. And silver thread.” Aurora dismissed the woman.

The old woman clicked her tongue as she snapped her fingers, and the room emptied of all her things. “ As you wish.” She bowed before another snap of her fingers, and then she vanished.

Aurora finished dressing in her least heavenly-looking gown. A black gossamer over a dark gray silk. It was still soft and feminine-looking, but at least it wasn’t pink. She left her hair down after the woman Thane had sent to help her get ready had complained she was not a lady’s maid. The woman sulked in the corner after Aurora threatened to wish her into a frog. A large cat would have done a better job at combing Aurora’s hair than the dead woman. “ You are dismissed,” Aurora said to the reflection.

The dead woman huffed as she strutted out of the room. Other shadows scurried around the doorway, whispering and hissing. Manere would be a beautiful place if it weren’t for all the dead that sulked around.

Manere was where souls who made a deal with Death served out their time. There was a price for the gifts Death bestowed on the mortals. Their soul. Unlike the underworld, where the dead could live an entire life, here they lived a life of servitude. It was Thane’s duty to collect those debts when the time came. No wonder he pouted so much. She took one last look at herself before heading off to her morning meal. Hopefully that had improved since the last time she was here.

She walked down the halls that were missing walls and were open to the vast field of lavender that surrounded most of the palace. She paused at the largest of the openings, watching the sky turn from lilac to a dark indigo as the moon rose. The sky never got brighter than a washed-out lavender.

In the dining room, a table had been set up. This one room was for more intimate dinners, if one considered seventy-five people intimate. Not that Thane ever entertained. This room, one of few, had a nearly finished roof and beautiful stained-glass windows. But like everything else, the ceiling was a half-painted body of water. When the moon hit it just right, it seemed to shimmer. The floor was a patchwork of stone and an unfinished mosaic. Black and silver tiles were supposed to make up the night sky, but only a few constellations had been finished. The rest was uneven stone.

She sat down, looking at the unappealing, sickly-looking meal that had been laid out for her. Even the tea was a pale gray. The other setting was not for Thane . He had left their bed just as the sun set in the mortal world. They hadn’t spoken any more about the curse or about asking his father to make a deal with her. She’d have to do it herself.

Thane would leave Cadel to watch over her and make sure she didn’t do something as stupid as to try to summon Death herself. Which she couldn’t do, because she had tried. Death , like her father, could not just be summoned on a whim. And since she couldn’t die, she’d have to give him a reason to come to her.

“Well, I know why our Royal Highness was in such a foul mood this evening.” Cadel walked into the dining room.

“How nice it is to see you too, Cadel .” The dead man had been with Thane for as long as Aurora could remember. He had been the first soul Thane had reaped. She wondered what Cadel had traded his soul for that equaled an eternity in Thane’s servitude. Most souls did their time, then passed on to the underworld. That was the only place the dead went. Not to her father’s realm, like mortals believed.

“Is it?” The dead man sat down at the table, frowning at the food.

“Does he really make you call him that?” Aurora pushed the jar of pale spread towards him. It had the consistency of jelly but tasted almost like butter. “ I would’ve thought Thane would have reaped the soul of a better cook by now.”

“If you don’t like the food, I hear it’s much better in the heavens.” Cadel sniffed the jar. “ And only when he’s pissy.”

“The food is better.” She shrugged. She and Cadel had formed a careful friendship. He didn’t trust her, and she didn’t like mortals. “ Would you like me to bring you some?”

Cadel smiled. “ Yes , please. It is good to see you, Your Highness .”

“I’m not as vain as Thane . You can call me Princess ,” she teased. Mortals loved titles. “ And why was Thane in such a foul mood? I would have thought him too tired to be pissy about anything.”

“That’s why.” Cadel sat back in his chair. “ Not that I’m not happy to see you, Princess . But we both know how this will end.”

Aurora pushed her plate away. Cadel also had to deal with the consequences of the curse. “ I know. That’s why I have come to ask a favor.”

“A god asking a mere mortal for a favor. Has the world come to an end?” Cadel reached for the pot of tea in the center of the table.

“Not yet.” Aurora held her cup for him to pour her more. “ I think I found a way to break the curse.”

Cadel poured himself a cup of tea before sitting back down. “ Really ? Is Thane’s father involved?”

“Why would you ask that?” Aurora played with the flatware on the table. Manere was so different than her father’s kingdom. Thane’s staff was made up of the souls of dead mortals. Their sad faces watched from the shadows. There were no dead mortals in her father’s staff. There were lesser gods, some whose names had been forgotten. And stars. They glimmered and sparkled in the bright warm light. The stars were there because they wanted to be. They were the lovers of her father or one of the other gods that made the heavens their homes. Thane’s servants were there because they made a deal with Death .

“Thane warned me,” Cadel said, sipping his tea. “ And even if I wanted to, I cannot summon Death .”

“Yes, I know.” Aurora lifted her cup. “ But you know where he is, correct?”

Cadel nodded. “ There is a war waging somewhere in the mortal lands.”

“Dammit.” Aurora set her cup down, tapping her fingers on the table. “ Is Sorrow with him?”

Cadel lowered his cup slowly, not looking at Aurora . “ No .”

Sorrow could bring Death about whenever she wanted. So could Thane , but he’d be hard to manipulate. “ Is she in the underworld?”

Cadel ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek. “ Aurora , where are you going with this? Thane will be furious if he finds out you went behind his back. He will never forgive you.”

“And he’ll break my heart again if I don’t do something.” She flopped back in her chair. “ And I don’t think either of us will survive another one of those.”

“You and I or you and he?”

“Both,” Aurora said.

“Hel’s teeth, he was insufferable last time. I don’t think the mortals make enough whiskey for another heartbreak like that. But I don’t think you should involve his mother.”

If she had another option, she would take it. Sorrow had blamed Aurora for the curse. If Aurora had just stayed in the heavens, then her son would have never seen her. He would’ve never fallen in love with her. He would’ve married Pain , and all would have been well in the underworld. The problem with that argument was that Thane had been in her father’s realm, something neither Sorrow nor Death knew. “ Death is the only one who can break the curse.”

“And you think Sorrow is just going to agree to this? She hates you as much as Death does.”

“Yes. But she loves Thane more.” Sorrow was a wretched god whose tears turned into little white flowers. After each of Thane’s heartbreaks, Sorrow would come to the heavens and demand her father ban Aurora from Manere . When he wouldn’t, Sorrow would sob at Life’s feet until his throne room was buried in little white flowers.

“Sorrow may seem weak, but when it comes to her son, she is not a god to be messed with,” Cadel reminded her.

“Then she and I have that in common.” Aurora shot up from her chair. Gods often underestimated her. If she were a god like Pain or Lust , they would fear her wrath. “ What other choice do I have? And don’t tell me to marry Sky .”

“I can’t tell you to do anything. You are a god, and I am a dead mortal. But I can advise you to not piss off Death . He’s been looking for a reason to punish Thane .”

Death hated Thane . Maybe not hate; maybe strongly disliked what he had become. Thane was the only child born to Death and Sorrow . Sorrow had other children with other gods, and Death had many children with many gods and mortals. But Thane was the only one who could rightfully take the underworld from Death . Sorrow had made sure of that.

Cadel cocked his head. “ And you want to give him another reason?”

“No. I just need you to tell me when Sorrow is alone.” Aurora sat back down in the chair. If Sorrow wouldn’t agree to help her, then Aurora would have to go and find Death in the mortal realm. And that could take forever.

“Thane is going to kill me.” Cadel hung his head.

“I don’t think that’s possible. You’re already dead,” Aurora teased.