Page 25 of When Death Called Life Home (When Deities Awaken #1)

Chapter 25

Pinky Promise

ASCIAN

W ake the deities.

That sentence would haunt Ascian for the rest of his life. Like he hadn’t already tried to do so, and failed. Alora’s question was warranted. How exactly did one wake a deity? You’d have to find them first, and where did deities sleep? Or hibernate? Nobody knew. It’s why they called it a disappearance.

Ascian shook the thoughts from his mind and grabbed Tallulah’s arm as she moved to pass him. “I have questions.”

“You always have questions,” Tallulah almost grumbled.

“My memories have been warped.”

At this, the scholar tensed. Her clouded eyes lifted to meet his. “How do you know that for certain?”

Ascian growled lowly, fire burning in his gaze. “You taught me how to recognise the signs. Why’d you do it?”

“You’re so sure it’s me?”

“I would bet on my life that it was you.”

Tallulah clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You Reapers, always putting your lives at risk. Yes, I may have warped your memories, but only on the Elders' command.” Her face softened, lips turning down. “You know me, Ascian. I would never do such a thing unless I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice, Tallulah. You simply chose the easy route.”

Tallulah drew back as though Ascian had slapped her. “Easy route? The last time I refused them they took my sight. This time? This time it would’ve been my life. Why keep a gifted Third when you can’t even use her?”

“I highly doubt they would have killed you. Tortured, maybe, but killed?” Ascian shook his head. “Not unless they knew of another skilled Third.”

“You don’t remember the knife they held to my throat,” Tallulah hissed back.

Ascian narrowed his eyes at her. “I wonder fucking why.”

“Guys,” Alora snapped, cutting off Ascian’s tunnel vision and allowing the rest of the library to seep back in. Alora placed her other hand around Ascian’s bicep and brushed her thumb over his skin. The gesture calmed his raging heart.

“We’ll try and figure out how to wake them,” Alora said to Tallulah. “But I have a feeling we may need access to the books behind those gates.”

Alora directed their attention upwards, to the towering bookshelves in the walls of the spires, and more specifically the locked gates with warning signs on them.

Tallulah pursed her lips but nodded. “I will get you the key. Riven has it most days, anyway.”

Alora glanced at Ascian at the name mentioned.

Right, I need to warn her about that.

Ascian released Tallulah's arm and she strode off towards another corner of the library. He turned to Alora, silently raising an eyebrow at the decision she’d publicly made for the both of them. She only shrugged and popped up an eyebrow back. Ascian rolled his eyes.

“Why do you look like you need to say something?” Alora asked as he tried to put the words together.

Ascian scowled at her playfully. “Because I do, but I was just trying to figure out how to say it.”

“You’ve never played with your words before, Ascian, just say it.”

“Fine. Riven is Osiris’ twin.”

Alora paused, her mind visibly processing the new information. “Okay…”

“His identical twin.”

“Oh.” Alora’s thumb stopped brushing over Ascian’s skin. “With the eye and everything, too?”

“No,” Ascian chuckled. “He has few battle scars.”

Alora lifted her chin. “And his personality?”

Ascian slipped his hand from hers and gently gripped her chin, his thumb pressing to the base of her bottom lip. She parted them, eyes glazing slightly before she focused them again. He stared down at her, lips itching to spread into a smile. “Absolutely nothing like his brother’s.”

“Good,” Alora murmured. “I’d hate to lose my temper and kill him.”

Ascian couldn’t stop the surprised laugh from escaping him. It drew attention from others sitting at the tables on the base floor of the library, surprise lighting their eyes when they located where it’d come from.

“You? Lose your temper?” Ascian teased, scoffing. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Dick,” Alora muttered, swiping his hand away as she rolled her eyes.

Ascian chuckled, leading her towards the base of the first staircase that led to the spires. “I’ll show you how big, tonight.”

Alora’s skin pebbled beneath his breath, a shiver shaking her body. It only grew Ascian’s smirk further, fighting the genuine smile that threatened to break it. When he looked back at Alora next, he realised she’d noticed. Her own smirk appeared. Oh dear.

Alora turned, leaning against the railing of the staircase and folding her arms beneath her chest. Ascian gaze dipped involuntarily and he licked his lips.

“Only if you restrain from touching me for the rest of the day.”

Ascian snapped his gaze back to hers, his lips parting. “No touching, at all?”

Alora shook her head. “Nope.”

He could do it. He’d done it for three and a bit years. Though, she’d hadn’t been in his presence for that whole time, and he’d gone into a depressive state according to his sister, but he could definitely do it for a single day.

“Until when?” He asked, clearing his throat.

Alora glanced behind him for a split second. “Sunset.”

Ascian nodded slowly, mulling over the deadline in his mind. Sunset. That wasn’t that far away. He hated touching people, anyway. Who needed bodily contact? Gross.

“What’s at sunset?” The deep voice was far more soothing than Osiris’ had become. Like smooth liquor that didn’t burn your throat, but instead warmed your entire digestive system as it made its way through. Even Ascian could understand why girls wanted in Riven’s bed. Too bad for them, the scholar was happily taken.

Ascian cleared his throat, again, and spun to greet the man. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Riven crossed his massive arms and raised a thick brow. He truly was identical to Osiris, or would be if every scar was removed. “Does it have to do with the key to the restricted section? ”

“Absolutely not.” Behind him, Ascian swore he heard a giggle. “We’ll be gone before sunset.”

“Mhm,” Riven hummed, eyeing them both. “If I catch you two doing anything inappropriate up there, I’ll kick you out of the Academy myself.”

Ascian scoffed. “As if you and Tallulah haven’t made out up there.”

Alora brushed past him, Ascian recoiling away to avoid their skin touching, and grabbed the key from Riven. “I can assure you, nothing will be happening.”

Both of Riven’s brows rose high as he looked at Alora, then back to Ascian. Riven’s gaze followed Alora up the stairs until she was too far up to hear them talking. “Tallulah said she doesn’t fully remember her life here?”

“Tallulah can shut her mouth until she fixes things,” Ascian growled, searching the room for her.

Riven stepped closer, tilting his head with predatory intent. “Speak about her like that again and I’ll ensure you forget every memory you have with Alora.”

Ascian met his stare with one of his own. “She warped my memories.”

“I don’t fucking care.” Riven didn’t budge, his shoulders squared as though he’d fight Ascian right there in the library.

Do it. The thought flowed from him and into Riven, nudging what was already there.

Flames licked at Riven’s fingers. They flickered in and out of view a few times as Ascian watched him fight the thought. Going through with it would end in him being banned from the library for at least a week, and that was Riven’s worst nightmare. Ascian pushed the thought again, do it , until Riven snarled beneath his breath and fire lit up his pupils.

Ascian instantly pulled it back, baring his teeth. “It’s not a nice feeling, is it?”

He didn’t wait for the scholar to reply as he turned to the staircase and took them two at a time up until the library below made nausea rise in his throat. Gods, he hated heights. Ascian kept his focus forwards, on the steps ahead of him until he reached the now unlocked gate. The lock was empty of the key, smart thinking on Alora’s part. Beyond the gate, rows upon rows of old books sat in darkness. Small lamps on the partitions between rows let out warm light, but it would be barely enough to read whatever the pages contained without getting a headache.

“Alora? ”

“Up here!”

Ascian trudged on, finding relief in the fact the darkness prevented a clear view of the distance to the ground. “How can you see anything in this light?” As he rounded the corner, he found a brighter light floating above a small table, Alora sitting in one of the chairs with a book before her. “You’re getting the hang of using your energy quickly.”

He closed the distance between them, hands resting on the back of her chair as he leaned down to press a kiss to her head. Ascian caught himself a second before making contact. He cursed beneath his breath and pulled away, creating more distance with the second chair before he sat down in it.

Alora glanced at him sidelong, her lips quirked. “I had a great teacher.”

Ascian shook his head as he chuckled, then nodded to the book in front of her. “Find anything?”

Alora sighed and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “Yes and no.” At his encouraging look, she explained, “The deities were like you-, us. They were normal Elysians, but they were more … connected, I guess? They weren’t one singular person, but a bloodline with deep roots to Elysia.”

“And we have to figure out which bloodlines?”

Alora smiled slightly, her eyes drifting over the words of the book. “We already know. At least for two of the deities. Tallulah told us.”

Ascian paused. Tallulah had told them? “When she’d said about Death and Life?”

Alora nodded. “I was confused when she first said it, until I got up here and was reading the book's spines and came across this giant, ancient record of Elysian bloodlines. Someone’s written little notes in the free space on some of the pages. Or maybe multiple someones. They all look the same to me, but some are more faded than others.”

At this, Ascian scoots his chair forward and peers around Alora at the pages. Beside ‘ Vaine Bloodlines ,’ written in neat, faded cursive, was ‘ Life .’ Alora flicked to another page she had bookmarked. ‘ Kuolema Bloodlines, ’ written in only slightly less faded cursive, was ‘ Death.’

“You believe she meant someone in our families has the power to awaken Life and Death?” Ascian asked slowly, making sure he understood.

“I’m saying,” Alora murmured, leaning back in her chair. “I think Tallulah meant we have the deities' power slumbering away in us.”

Ascian stared at her. Had she smoked something before he’d arrived? He would know if Death’s power lay in waiting. Wouldn’t he? There’d be signs.

Like almost dying multiple times but never quite making it over the edge?

No. He shook his head and ran his hands over his face.

If Alora was right, if Tallulah and whoever wrote the notes in the book were right, Ascian had been worshipping his own damn self for the entirety of his life. He caused sorrow and pain to so many people, just through existing. Even if the power still lay dormant.

“Ascian,” Alora murmured softly, turning to face him. “What does that mean for us?”

His brows furrowed until he realised why she asked. Death and Life were opposites. It’d been shoved down their throat their entire lives, whether Alora remembered it or not. There was always a lingering threat of Death where Life existed, but that was just it. They couldn’t live without each other, and Ascian couldn’t think of anything more fitting for the pair of them.

“It means I will find you in every lifetime, and you will never need to fear Death.”

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise.”