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"I only said that to make our visit plausible for Hades. He has strict rules, and reconciling after death would break them in his eyes for no good reason."
"How is it that the underworld consists of two parts, that of Hades and that of Tanael?" I now gushed and could only hope Hecate's mood was to solve a few riddles that had been forming in my head.
"The underworld, like the human and magical worlds, is divided into several lands. In addition to the realms of Hades and Luze, there are others." Without looking at me, she continued to follow the path.
"So, that's how the various myths and legends came about?" I concluded from her answer.
"That's right," the Goddess of Magic grumbled, but I wouldn't let her off the hook that quickly.
"So, Tanael's realm is that of the fallen angels?" I probed further.
"Angels, demons, goddesses." She grinned. "Many beings have taken up residence in his realm."
"It can't be because of his friendly nature," I snorted.
She looked at me from the side and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, exactly?"
"I've seen Aza's room. It's some kind of dungeon he threw her in," I rumbled through clenched teeth. The memory still hurt my heart.
"Aza chose her room herself, Myrina. Don't be too quick to judge things you have no idea about," she hissed at me indignantly.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, puzzled. Aza had chosen this room?
Hecate's face softened surprisingly, and her gaze seemed to hang in the mists of the past.
"We all have our bundles to carry here in this world. We have seen, experienced, or had to do terrible things—even your Tanael. The memories make us suffer, but each of us deals with them differently. Aza wants to punish herself for things she thinks are her fault."
Something like self-mortification. Would my girlfriend ever tell me what was bothering her so much?
Tanael. I had seen him standing by the fireplace. With open wings, a hanging head, and an exhaustion that bore witness to millennia of fighting. Your Tanael. As Hecate had said. But I couldn't think about that. It would only distract me from my goal.
"Rina!" I raised my eyes in surprise. Alex?
"Alex?" I shouted back, my voice breaking with joy. My best friend suddenly appeared around the next bend. My heart leapt, tears welled up in my eyes, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of him, sobbing. I threw my arms around his neck, and he lovingly pulled me close and gently kissed my hair.
"Rina, everything is fine the way it is. Please don't cry," he comforted me. "I'm fine."
"I'm so sorry, Alex. My fault ... All because of me..." I stammered as my heart threatened to break again. So much had happened in the last few hours that had made it easy not to think about his death. But in his arms, that powerful wave of sadness rolled over me again.
"No. Listen to me, Rina." He gently lifted my chin so I had to look at him.
Like the rest of his body, his brown irises shone with an unnatural glow. Hades had been right. It was precisely the Alex I remembered. His eyes sparkled cheekily, his chin-length chestnut brown hair was tousled as if he had just climbed out of my bed, and his gaze contained an infinite amount of love—a love I could no longer return in the same way.
I lowered my eyelids in shame.
"Rina, it's not your fault. Do you understand that?" His voice was soft but firm.
"Yes, it is," I whimpered. "I got you involved, and Jack wanted to kill me, not you."
"Yes, Jack wanted to kill you, and I decided to save you. Do you hear me? It was my decision. Only mine. It's the same with my participation in the rescue mission for the kidnapped women."
"You shouldn't have stood before me," I whispered. "My life is no more valuable than yours."
"For me, it is, I guess." He sighed. "I know we had our argument, and it hurts my heart that it came to this. We would have saved ourselves a lot of pain if we hadn't been so stubborn. Both of us."
I looked sheepishly at his face. There was an amused twinkle on his face, which brought a grin to my lips, too.
"You're right. We were both pretty stubborn."
