Page 97 of Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames #2)

Chapter Seventy-four

Cayden

When I look around the ruins, I notice swirling marks along the walls and floor taking on a silvery glow.

The wind stops howling, and the world goes quiet aside from the growling dragons perched upon the crumbling structure.

I walk back to Elowen, taking a protective stance in front of her body and sheathing the knife in favor of a sword.

The dragons take to the skies as the stones rumble beneath us.

The fallen white pillars rise from the ground, as does the collapsed ceiling, as if pulled by some invisible force.

Eerie, chilling laughter floats through the newly formed structure as if it had never been in ruins.

The dragons perch around the perimeter, still able to see through the tall archways.

Cayden Veles, the voice goads. What has your anger done this time?

Silver wisps sparkle through the air until they band together, forming a portal that resembles a whirlpool of liquid metal.

A woman steps through, clad in a draping dress made of fabric that matches the conjured portal.

Her red lips mirror the blood I spilled to bring her here.

Pale hair is pulled away from her face and her skin is even paler; it’s like she wishes to blend into everything around us.

“You summoned me, king,” she says, stepping around the altar to look around her temple as if she’s seeing it for the first time.

“You are the Goddess of Souls?” I ask, still not willing to believe the gods are real despite the display of power.

Her pale blue eyes glow silver as she settles her gaze on me. “And you are a man reeking of desperation. My favorite kind of mortal to make deals with.”

“Bring my wife back,” I demand. “If you truly are a goddess then I’m the man who woke you, and you are in my debt. If you require further payment, take my life in her place.”

She tilts her sharp chin to the ground, clicking her tongue. “And you would force her to live with that? Don’t you think she has hurt enough?” Her icy eyes return and drift to Elowen. “Such a pretty soul, so bright, and yet so broken.”

“Her soul is mine,” I state in a low tone, summoning the shadows from the depth of my pain and curling them around my arms, letting them snake across the floor and coil in the corners like vipers ready to strike.

She laughs in a girlish way, light and aloof. I always thought the gods would be more threatening and formidable, but the Goddess of Souls looks like an ordinary woman aside from the silver eyes. “I can taste your suffering. There are those who still slumber who will wish to inspire your agony.”

I clench my jaw. “If you don’t bring her back, I will reduce this world to nothing.

I will kill every last bit of life and take away everything that makes you a goddess.

You will be as powerless as I am at this moment.

I will rip away everything you hold close and force you to watch it die.

You will rule over a wasteland because I’ll be here with my sword and shadows, ready to wage a final war on the gods. ”

She tilts her head, intrigued rather than perturbed. “Do you truly think you could win?”

“It’s not about winning.” A cruel sort of smile lifts my lips. “It’s about creating the most suffering before death claims me.”

She purses her lips. “I cannot take your soul because you have a destiny to fulfill.”

I dryly chuckle. “If you refuse to strike a bargain that ends with Elowen’s soul being returned to her body, you will have made an enemy today and believe me when I say I am the last person you want working against you.

You won’t have to worry about destinies because I will rip this fucking world to shreds.

The gods may be back, but they will not go to sleep next time; they will die at my hands. ”

“As I said, not all the gods have returned.” She smartly takes a step back as my shadows slither closer to her. She waves her fingers through the air, and something pulls in my chest. “How far are you willing to go for her?”

“Farther than you can fathom.”

“Fine,” she says. “I want you to kill someone for me, and once that’s done, I require your services to find some lost objects.”

“Give me a name.”

She laughs again. “Cayden Veles.”

Easy. “How will I know you’ll return her soul to her body, and how will I fulfill your quest?”

“So devoted to her,” she mutters. “As it always has been.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She smiles in response, filled with sharp teeth and a suspicious glint in her eyes.

“You will find her yourself,” she says, ignoring my previous question.

“If you can. I cannot interfere, and your success is entirely up to you. The underworld is vast. If you fail, you’ll be forced to wander the underworld for eternity in constant search of your lost love.

You will never be reunited with her, you will never rest, you will always hunger and thirst in a way that can never be quenched, no matter how much you try. ”

I searched the world for this woman since I was a boy. I won’t fail. I conquered a kingdom to have her, and I’ll conquer death as well. I’ll make hell my kingdom and crown her as my queen in this world, the next, and all to come.

“What object do you want me to find?”

“All in good time, my friend,” she giddily states.

“Before you do this, know that a soul can’t die.

You can be wounded in your pursuit and feel as if you’re on the brink of death, but it will never be granted.

Nothing suffers more than a soul. When the body is wounded, it can be bandaged, but when a soul is wounded, it rips you apart from the inside. ”

Nothing can compare to what I feel right now. At least when I’m in hell, I’ll be in the same realm as her. I’ll have something to fight toward. I’d rather crawl through hell to be with her than fly through life.

“I accept your bargain,” I say.

“Lovely.” She snaps her fingers, and a silver band forms around my wrist as a black cloak settles over my shoulders. “There are ten layers to the underworld. That band will grant you access to each as you pass through.”

“It will get me to her, but will she be able to leave if she doesn’t have one?”

“First you must worry about finding her. I will offer you no information or aid beyond the band.”

I grit my teeth and turn away from the goddess to return to Elowen’s side.

I slide her rings off her fingers and loop them onto the chain of her moonstone necklace before fastening it to my belt.

I settle her in my arms again as I did moments before she died, with her head balanced in the crook of my elbow.

“What will happen to her body? I will not have atrocities committed against her if I’m not here to stand guard. ”

“We struck a deal,” the goddess says. “Your bodies will remain under my protection. No harm will come to either of your mortal remains, but if you come back, well…I believe you’ll find yourselves changed.

” Her eyes show a hint of sadness when she glances at Elowen.

“For what it’s worth, I do not relish the prospect of your failure. ”

I ignore her, focusing my attention on Elowen, cupping her face in my hand and unsheathing one of her dragon daggers I sheathed on my thigh. “In every lifetime, Elowen Veles, and in every world.”

I wrap her hand around the hilt, covering it with mine and pointing it right over my heart as I scan her face again, committing it to memory, not knowing when my eyes will be blessed with the sight of her again.

“I once promised you that I would defy death itself to keep you with me, and I will claw my way through it to get you back.”

I press my lips to hers and stab myself through the chest.