Page 12 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

S am looked up at the sky from the Swamps of Sanctuary and exhaled deeply.

His old fishing rod was in his hand and his father sat beside him on the bank.

His eyes didn’t sting from the harsh rays of sunlight, and his neck didn’t ache from looking down at those smaller than him.

The smell of wood moss and sulfur enveloped them.

I am home.

After so many years of pining for the Underworld, it still felt unreal to be there. So much of it was darker and grittier than he remembered, but there were still pockets of beauty.

The fishing rod King Asmodeus held jerked. He quickly reeled in the line. A glistening fish with two sets of razor-sharp teeth emerged from the water. The creature snarled and squirmed until the king grabbed it between his massive hands and exclaimed, “Aha! Our lunch!”

“Well done,” Sam said.

“Safe travels to the Afterworld, little fish,” the king said before removing the hook and dropping it into a bucket. He let out a contented sigh then slapped Sam on the back. “I’ve missed this, my son.”

“So have I.”

“I wish your uncle Lucifer was here to join us.”

“Where is he?”

“In Gaia. Getting into all types of mischief, I imagine. I’ll send word that you’re here.”

They sat in companionable silence for several moments, listening only to the croaking of spiny frogs clustered nearby. Finally, King Asmodeus tentatively asked, “Did you ever go fishing in Aurelia?”

Sam glanced at his father. They had been at the swamp for hours, and this was the first time their conversation had gone beyond pleasantries. “Sometimes.”

“Did Queen Thema teach you as a boy? I know her kind are partial to fish.”

“No. I actually didn’t meet Queen Thema until later in life—when I was an adult.”

King Asmodeus looked surprised. “I didn’t realize.”

Sam added, “A Goblyn and Harpy acted as parental figures to me, and we fished together occasionally.”

The king nodded, dropping his gaze to the ground. Then, gruffly, he said, “Good. That’s good that you… had ones like that. I’m glad. Grateful to them.” With a flick of his wrist, he cast the line back into the water, the bait making a soft splash as it disappeared beneath the surface.

Several moments passed before Asmodeus cleared his throat, the sound was abrupt in the stillness. “Samael, I… I want you to know that your mother and I spent years searching for you. We never stopped.” His voice cracked slightly, though he didn’t seem to notice. “You must believe that.”

Sam’s grip tightened on his own fishing rod. He swallowed, nervous about how deep their conversation was about to go. He watched a line of bubbles break through the water’s surface. “I always hoped you did. ”

His father turned to face him fully, his expression drawn and raw.

“You see, we didn’t know where you’d gone.

One day, we tucked you into bed, and the next morning you were gone.

Just gone! Not even a ransom note left.” He let out an anguished growl of grief and regret.

“Do you have any idea how devastating that was for us?”

Sam opened his mouth to respond, but Asmodeus pushed forward.

“Your mother suspected the vampire, Zaybris. I was convinced it was one of my enemies—someone trying to hurt me by taking you. I thought they’d taken you into Gaia or perhaps hidden you away in some obscure dimension like Atlantis.

” He paused, scratching at one of his gnarled horns, his gaze faraway.

“Aurelia never even crossed our minds. It seemed… impossible. A closed dimension, sealed off and tucked away. I deeply regret not considering it.”

Sam nodded slowly. “It makes sense you wouldn’t think to look there.”

“No,” Asmodeus said firmly. “We should have tried harder. We should have found you. You must’ve wondered… why we never came. Why we didn’t rescue you.” He looked away, jaw clenched. “I’m sorry.”

A death-raven launched from a branch overhead, soaring into the trees. The leaves rustled, then stilled, and silence settled between them again. Sam closed his eyes, words knotting in his throat.

Everything his father had said was true.

He had spent countless nights as a child wondering why no one came.

Fearing that he wasn’t even missed. As a boy, Sam hadn’t understood the rules of interdimensional travel.

He hadn’t known that even beings as powerful as his parents were bound by constraints beyond their control. It had carved deep scars.

“It was… difficult,” Sam admitted.

“Of course it was. You were so young and must have been so scared.” The king’s voice wavered. He roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, then pulled Sam into a bone-jarring hug.

Sam leaned into his father’s embrace. It felt strange seeing the king display such intense emotion. He had always seen his father as impenetrable when it came to feelings. Controlled, measured, and even brutal in his rule of the Underworld.

During festivals or grand feasts, he could play the part of boisterous king, but he never lost his temper. Never made a misstep he’d have to walk back. His stoicism was the standard Sam had always compared himself to.

When a fish spoiled the moment by splashing loudly against the water, Sam pulled back. “The past cannot be changed, Father. I’m just glad I can return here without dying.”

Asmodeus gave a dry, mirthless chuckle. “Fate had a plan all along, it seems.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Asmodeus regarded him carefully. “Son, I… I need to tell you something. Your return is more fortuitous than you know.”

“What do you mean?”

Asmodeus opened his mouth, then hesitated.

His jaw flexed as if weighing his next words, but he shook his head.

“No. Another time.” He bounced his fishing rod a few times then said, “We can speak of royal matters later. Right now, I just want you to know how sorry we are for everything. And how much agony we’ve been in without you. Your mother cried every night for you.”

“I missed you both, too. But eventually, I found comfort and happiness in Aurelia.”

Asmodeus let out a ragged sigh. “Will you tell me more of your life there? I want to hear it all—the good and the bad.”

“Yes, but… ” A cold sweat broke out across Sam’s forehead as he considered how much to share.

This was the moment he had dreaded—the time to get everything out in the open and reveal his greatest source of shame.

For a second, he considered lying but thought better of it.

Nothing could diminish the gravity of his actions.

Whatever punishment awaited him, he would bear it honorably .

“There is something I need to confess to you. Something that has plagued me for many years.”

“What is it?”

“In Aurelia… I know it is forbidden for our kind to kill mortals, but?—”

“You killed some mortals,” the king finished for him.

Sam paused, surprised that Asmodeus had so easily guessed his turmoil. “I took many lives. Some innocent, some not. In most cases, I felt as though I had no choice. In others, I merely lost control.”

Sam winced, half expecting his father to drop his characteristic control and rage at him, but the king’s expression remained neutral.

“What were the circumstances?”

Sam started from the very beginning, describing how Zaybris had left him in Aurelia with his vampire brother, who sought to drink only tormented blood. He explained how he had to fight in the blood wagons and how sometimes he lost control and killed his opponents.

He shared how he grew close to Brunie and Eldridge, and the regret he felt over the burns Brunie suffered when he set fire to the blood wagons.

He described how he became a guard for Queen Thema, how he felt when he saw Selene across the crowded ballroom, and their journey to find the traveler’s stone.

He told him of the terrible day when he thought he had lost Selene forever—and the joy he felt when she returned.

Through it all, his father listened patiently, though Sam was too ashamed to meet his eye. But when Sam finally reached the end of his story, King Asmodeus didn’t even give him a moment to exhale. He simply said, “Son, look at me.”

Sam raised his eyes, bracing himself for whatever might come next.

“I absolve you of these deaths.”

Sam froze, bewildered. “But I thought?—”

Asmodeus raised a hand, cutting him off. “You did what you had to do to survive. And you were in a realm that didn’t understand your nature, with rules different from our own.”

“Yes, but… ”

“I said I absolve you.”

“Thank you, I-I’m grateful. Yet I still feel great regret,” Sam said, his tone barely above a whisper.

“It will pass,” Asmodeus said simply.

Sam picked at a moss-covered rock that jutted from the riverbank. He should be flooded with relief, but instead he felt unsettled. Confused. He had braced himself for more—shock in his father’s face, a swift condemnation, followed by the punishment he deserved.

Not the quick pardon of a favored son. It couldn’t be that easy.

Asmodeus reeled in his fishing line and rose to his feet. “Come, let us leave the swamps. I have other plans for you today.”

“What are they?”

“I want to take you to the Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude. You can train with the other Vengeance demons to see how they pass judgment on souls and punish them accordingly. Would you like that?”

“Yes. Very much.”

“Good. I think you’ll find great satisfaction in fully using your powers.” Then, in a lighter tone he added, “Perhaps you can also shed some of this contrition you’ve picked up in Aurelia, eh?

“What do you mean?”

Asmodeus picked up the bucket of fish and said, “Too much mercy can be baneful to our kind. Remember that.”