Page 59 of Till Death

His hand flexed at his side, as if standing close to me required so much from him. I pushed away, breaking the trance the moment had over me.

“I see a coward. And a liar. That’s all.”

“Look harder, Nightmare.”

But there was nothing beyond the mask. A shadow maybe, but nothing more.

“You never answered my question. Why did you marry me?”

He blinked several times, his gaze shifting between mine. “Because I had to.”

My eyes fell to the blue band on his arm, resting just above the golden one.

“Drexel forced you to marry me and now he’s punishing you for it?” I asked.

“The Maestro does whatever he wants on the whims of his own desires. I am bound to those whims.”

“And now me.”

He held a hand out. “Come inside, Maiden.”

“Tell me where my dagger is. Tell me, and I’ll come inside, and I’ll stay, like the good girl you wish me to be.”

The tic in his jaw was his only response.

“That dagger is not the weapon. I am. I just broke into the king’s castle, killed two of his guards, and put down a lot more in order to rescue a little girl you claim as family. I got your best friend out, and they captured no one. Without the dagger. But it’s the only thing I have in this world.”

“Fine.”

An infinitesimal gasp from me lit his dark eyes as he spun on a heel and walked back to the Syndicate house.

Moments later, he left me standing in the hall while he escaped into his bedroom. I’d have to be more thorough with my search next time. When he emerged with Chaos wrapped in a cloth, my heart skipped. As if all the broken pieces of me were slightly mended by the presence of an old friend.

“I’m trusting you to keep your word, Deyanira. Stay in this house.”

That was only one on a long list of his mistakes.

I’d napped, waiting for the rest of the house to fall asleep. Paesha didn’t smell of death, and the magic within me hadn’t stirred. She wouldn’t die. Despite that, the floors creaked, and movement sounded throughout the house for far too long as her friends checked on her.

Eventually, really only minutes before sunrise, I slipped past the tree line and stepped into Silbath, hustling through the sleeping city to cross the Hallowed River and stand in my father’s lost kingdom, with Chaos strapped to my thigh.

Though the morning crept her way into the world, she wept, filling the sky with the dark hues of blue that promised a storm. As if she’d known what I’d planned for this day and delivered darkness as a favor.

Problems ruled the world. Icharius Fern, from his stronghold, but also the Maestro from Misery’s End. And every day that passed was a race against time. The people needed something to hope for, a beacon that wasn’t a Maiden who promised an early grave.

So, I would hunt and sacrifice and fail over and over until I found my missing counterpart. The balance the world needed. And standing at the base of a cracked stairway, staring up at a temple that screamed for me to turn away, was truly step number one, thanks to the ancient map on Drexel’s office wall.

The lightning mirrored the turmoil within me. The concept of life and healing was both intriguing and unsettling, and as I found myself at the threshold of the Goddess of Life’s temple, a place that had been abandoned for centuries, the thought of what lay within sent shivers down my spine.

The rain pounded against the ancient walls, nature’s way of warning of the dangers that might await me. But duty and curiosity gnawed at my heart, compelling me to keep going despite my apprehensions. The temple might’ve held remnants of the goddess’s once-vibrant power, a power that I, as a harbinger of Death, feared could consume me whole.

Drawing a deep breath, I closed my eyes to steady my racing thoughts. Part of me wanted to turn away, to retreat to the familiarity of the shadows and the rooftops that’d raised me, where Death’s embrace was certain and understood.

I peered through the narrow gap between the door and its frame. Darkness cloaked the interior, and my mind conjured images of forgotten guardians and ancient curses, ready to pounce on any intruder who dared disturb their sanctuary. The sound of distant thunder rumbled like the growl of an ancient, snarling beast, as if warning me that the temple’s secrets were not mine to discover.

I carried my own power, one that resonated with the ebb and flow of life and death. But this temple held a different energy, a kind I’d never encountered, an energy of creation and growth that had long since been dormant.

Steeling myself, I pushed against the heavy door, the stone grating against the ground with a groan as it slowly gave way. With each creaking inch, the anticipation built, the fear and excitement intertwining like fragile threads of fate.