Page 32

CHAPTER 32

AURORA

S he dressed in the warmest clothing she could find. A mismatch of Thane’s clothing. She had on three of his wool shirts and one pair of her own riding pants under a pair of his. She made a belt out of the curtain tie. Lastly , one of Thane’s heaviest jackets. Aurora had never had to travel anywhere cold. There was no reason to. She took one last look at Thane , who still lay on his side.

It felt strange, being in Manere while everyone slept; even the shadows slumbered in the corners. Nothing had been spared from her golden touch. She took one last look around, knowing this could be her last look.

She met Pain outside of the kingdom of Manere , on the edge of the underworld, where the heather of Thane’s kingdom turned gray in the low light of his father’s. Pain was dressed in her dark leather and blood-red wool. Her dark hair fell loose about her shoulders.

She and Thane would’ve made a striking couple. Pain would have complemented his darkness, while Aurora sometimes felt she outshone his beauty. Not with her own beauty. But with the golden light and muted colors that made up everything about her.

“I give you credit. Death is furious for what you have done to Manere . Your poor mother has been summoned. He thinks she can undo it.” Pain handed Aurora a pair of gloves. “ Nice clothing. Did you put on every piece you own?”

“You said dress warm.” She looked down at her mismatched clothing. “ Hopefully I still look like a maiden in distress.”

“You’re sure Thane is safe?”

“Not even Fate can undo a wish. Especially one made by me.” Fate was a little bitter that he had lost the stars. They would listen to him sometimes. Spy on other gods and report back. But he could not command a wish.

“How long will they all sleep?”

“Just until I reap the soul of the queen. So if I fail…”

“Thane never wakes. Sorrow will kill Death and my father. Probably yours too?”

Aurora shrugged, pulling on the gloves. “ I won’t be here to care.”

“Lucky you. It will take us almost a day to walk there. Once there you cannot tell the queen who you are. She’s old, and her sight isn’t the best. And since the sun has not shone in Casse for hundreds of years, she may have forgotten what you look like,” Pain said, pulling on her own gloves.

“We have to walk? We can’t just go?”

“It’s a fairy tale. Nothing is ever easy.”

“Of course not. Let’s go.”

* * *

The coldness hit Aurora first. Then the stark emptiness of the world around her. The trees were gray and bare of any leaves. The sun’s warm rays did not penetrate the heavy clouds that hung over them. No living thing could be found. There was no way to tell where the sky started and the earth began. It had a dizzying effect.

“Gods below, I hate fairy tales.” The air was so cold it held frost crystals that glimmered in the white light.

“This one is the worst. The one about the sleeping girl isn’t as bad. If you don’t mind dragons.” Pain’s words came out in frozen puffs. “ We need to keep moving or we’ll freeze. There is nothing worse than being a frozen immortal,” Pain joked.

“Oh, I don’t know, having the god you love cursed by a bitter former lover isn’t the best feeling.” Aurora fell into step with Pain . Their boots squeaked in the snow. There was nothing for miles. No castle. No village. Nothing but the gray sky that bled into the white ground. “ I can’t even wish to be warmer.”

“How does it feel to be a powerless god like the rest of us?” Pain asked.

“Powerless? Are you telling me you have no special power? You don’t own a golden scissors to cut the threads that your father weaves? Or a pen to rewrite the book of Love ?” Aurora teased. Thane was a reaper. She could grant wishes. Not all gods had a power. But as the daughter of Fate and Love , Aurora assumed Pain had something.

“No,” Pain said. “ I am what I am.”

Aurora blew warmth back into her hands. “ If I didn’t need my eyes, I’d give you the secrets of the sea.”

“What does that even mean?” The wind tore at Pain’s words.

“I don’t know. It’s a secret. But the cost is I cannot lie.” When Aurora was born, her mother told her she had hidden the secrets of the sea in her eyes. They would be safe there so long as Aurora didn’t lose an eye.

“No, thank you. I rather enjoy lying. I guess that is my power.” Pain pulled at the collar of her jacket.

“One I hope you are not using on me,” Aurora mumbled. The coldness seemed to worsen with each step they took. It hurt to breathe, to blink, to move. She’d be lucky to survive the coldness. This was the type of cold that cut through flesh and settled deep into her bones. Aurora pulled Thane’s coat tighter around her, letting his scent fill some of the emptiness.

They trudged on through the snow, neither saying a word. Aurora’s feet were freezing by the time they came to the outer wall of ice.

“This is where I have to leave you.” Pain looked at the wall. “ Behind that wall, you will find Queen Sove and her seven guards. You better pray the king will see through all your clothing and decide to rescue you. I’ll meet you right here once you have completed the task.”

Aurora looked at the wall of ice. “ I better pray? What if he doesn’t?”

Pain shrugged. “ Then I guess you’ll learn how bad it is to be a frozen immortal.”

“Are you serious right now?” Aurora tried to stomp the warmth back into her feet. “ Was this your plan all along? Leave me to die here?”

“Yes, Aurora , I wanted to traipse across some godforsaken frozen land so that I could watch you freeze to death. Why would I have warned you it was cold? I could have told you it was a fucking celebration here. I got you this far. Now you need to do the rest. It’s your curse and deal with Death .”

Fear climbed up Aurora’s chest and sat heavy on her shoulder. She could still turn around, go back to Manere , and wait for Death . “ I really hate you right now.”

“That’s one I’ve never heard before. Good luck.” Pain smiled before disappearing into a haze of snow.

Aurora trudged towards the wall. Her toes and fingers were numb. The coldness cut through her clothing, leaving her blood sluggish and her muscles aching. She kept her head down and walked. There was no sound other than her boots on the snow. No birds, and not even the trees that swayed in the wind made noise. Aurora’s back hurt from hunching against the wind. She paused. It felt like she had been walking for hours, and yet she was no closer to the wall. She looked back the way she’d come.

“What?” The footprints Pain had made were still there. She took a couple of steps, and she was right back to where she started. “ I hate this! All of this,” she yelled into the nothingness. Her cheeks were raw from the wind.

Aurora jogged a few steps, keeping her eye on the wall. As she got closer, she picked up her pace. Her lungs burned from the coldness. She ran until her side ached and she felt like she would vomit.

But when she turned back, she was right back to where she started. “ No !” Aurora screamed, kicking the snow and ice that surrounded her. “ No ! No !” she cried. This was not happening. She sorted through the fairy tales she had heard about. If she needed to be saved by the handsome king or prince, she would need to play the role. Aurora hated herself for this. “ Oh , I wish I had someone to save me,” she mocked, the back of her hand pressed against her forehead.

The wind picked up and swirled around her. Tiny little needles of ice and snow cut into her cheeks and exposed flesh. They tore at her jacket, ripping the hood from her head. The first hit came from behind, knocking her to her knees. The sound of footfalls surrounded her. They moved fast.

She fought to stay calm. This was all part of the fairy tale. Nothing bad could happen to her. A second hit smashed into her mouth. Aurora cried out, and her blood stained the snow. The third blow knocked her onto her back, taking her breath with it. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. This was no fairy tale. This was how she would die.

The darkness that crowded out her vision was not the one she loved.