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“No goodbyes,” he promised, taking my hand. “Would you like to meet my wife?”
I pulled him close to my side. “I’d be absolutely offended if you refused me.”
He chuckled. “That sounds like you. Shall we?”
Orin took my other side, but Paesha and Ezra opted to stay behind. The moment we passed the threshold of the blue light cast onto the grove, Hollis transformed, no longer the corporeal form of a man, but rather a spectral, save his old, withered hands. The euphoria I remembered from the last time I’d come kissed my skin, settling into my bones and leaving me with a kernel of longing, not unlike Quill’s power. I kept an eye on Orin, though, worried his own nightmares would come back to haunt him, and if he lost control in a place like this, where Death had come to torture the poor Whispers, I wasn’t sure he’d be able to fight the darkness. Or what that might do to those of us inside the grove.
The Whispers stayed away, leaving a wide berth. Climbing the small hill in the center of the grove, a beautiful spectral appeared beside us. Her long hair waving in a phantom wind, doe-eyed and smiling as she swirled around Hollis. She was young, only slightly older than me, and that truth became the very likely reason the old man had chosen this. He could have stayed here with her, living happily in this grove for eternity. But she hadn’t gotten to live, not really, and there were likely miles of hard lessons learned between them.
“So, you see?” she asked, circling me.
“I think I do,” I breathed, closing my eyes as she spun around me.
“Deyanira Sariah Faber, Princess of Perth, Death’s Maiden, bonded wife of Death, and Queen of this court, it is my honor to introduce you to Yvette Louise Bennet, daughter of your great uncle, Atticus Hark.”
I gasped, spinning to stare at Hollis. “My great uncle?”
He nodded. “We’ve truly always been family, Deyanira.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wanted you to know I cared and accepted you without a familial bond. I loved you because of your moral compass and not your ties to my wife. But I did see her in your eyes sometimes.”
“I got them from my father,” I whispered, staring back at the woman once more, my… cousin. “If you so choose it, I have come to release your soul, Yvette. You will reincarnate back to Requiem, and your new life will be yours alone.”
She swirled around Hollis, and they said together, “We choose it.”
The curiosity of our conversation or the network of whispering gossip drew the others near, despite Orin’s proximity. Still, he boomed, “Stay back if you wish to remain a Whisper in the grove. If you wish to reincarnate, come near.”
We’d discussed the best approach since I couldn’t make contact with their translucent forms. Landing on the wave of power I’d used in the pit, I let it ripple across the space like a drop in a bucket and waited, feeling the tiny slice in my heart as Hollis turned to ash, his soul circling Orin and me for the blink of a second before he and the others vanished.
Our steps were heavy. It was easier knowing he’d had the final choice, but still, the ache of missing him again was raw. Lost in our sadness once more, we were not prepared to walk out of the grove and be assaulted by Paesha’s blood-curdling scream as she stared up at Ezra, hanging limp in the air, a massive glowing entity holding him suspended by his neck.
“Who the fuck is that?” I whispered.
Icy fingers walked down my spine as Ro stepped out from behind the blinding figure, her chin high, the cast of warm light warming her beautiful brown skin as she gripped the edges of her golden gown, bowed all the way to the ground in a graceful dip and said calmly, “Kneel before your highest god, the Supreme Sovereign, the Unerring Arbiter of Beginnings and Endings, and the Keeper of All Realms.”
Chapter 69
Orin’s control over his shadows was commendable. The ground nearly rattled, and the darkness within him showed on his face, but still, he took my hand in his, even as Ezra remained hanging in the air, and dropped to a knee, bowing his head.
Paesha and I were different. With balled fists and heavy glares, we reluctantly followed suit, but only for a second, before I exploded. “If you don’t?—”
Orin’s shadows wrapped around my mouth, the bond at my wrist humming with fear. Fear. My head snapped to his as I saw it mirrored in his eyes and then to Ro, who matched him.
“Forgive her, Keeper of Realms,” Orin said, far wiser than I had been. “We are still learning.”
Ezra dropped to the ground with a thud, scrambling backward before taking a knee, his eyes squeezed shut and hands trembling—whether with fear or fury, I wasn’t sure. The searing light radiating off the figure stole my ability to discern his features. Whatever he’d looked like, whomever he’d been, he hovered like a shining star in the pitch-black night.
The great voice of the sovereign lingered with an echo as he spoke. “Rise, Orin Aurelius Faber. In this name, I grant you not merely a designation but a profound responsibility. ‘Aurelius’ signifies the golden path of wisdom, the radiant thread of divine duty, and the sacred trust of maintaining order.
“With this name, I mark a new beginning of your eternity, entrusting you to wield your power wisely and to keep yourself in perfect order. You are a guardian of the delicate balance between life and death, a sentinel of transitions and endings, and a steward of the realms.
“Consider your role in this world as paramount. You stand at the crossroads of existence. Guard well the boundaries of your duties. You are now tasked with upholding the eternal balance, ensuring that all things flow according to the grand design.
“May the name ‘Aurelius’ serve as a constant reminder of the luminous path you are entrusted to tread, and may you embrace this divine duty with unwavering resolve. Through your actions and judgments, may you illuminate the way for all souls, guiding them on their journey with wisdom and compassion.”
Ro clasped her hands together, a bright smile beaming. “With this gift, Reverius, Keeper of Realms, imparts not just a name but a sacred charge, a reminder of your pivotal role in the cosmic order, and the immense trust placed upon your shoulders.”
