“I was,” I whisper. “After Ethan, after everything. I felt like I was splintering into pieces that I couldn’t hold together anymore. Korithax showed up after I was raped, when I had whispered his name. He had shown up when I took the overdose, saving me even when I didn’t want him to. And when I summoned him with my blood, I wasn’t expecting him to actually care, not after I’d basically told him to go fuck himself on Christmas Eve.”
I huff out a laugh, remembering how he’d come to me to ask for marriage. How I’d thought he’d lost the absolute plot, with his little glowing orb and his fake smile.
Talia’s brows knit. “You summoned him?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “After that day at college, when the report got released, and Jason came over to be a dick. Some of the players’ girlfriends came into the cafe and started talking shit and got me fired… I’d just had enough.” My throat catches, but I keep going. “I used my blood and his summoning circle and screamed at him to come. I agreed to marry him as soon as he arrived, signed the contract, and then well… here we are.”
Ezra’s eyes are wide now. “Jesus.”
I tellthem all about the realms. About Fjellheim Heights, how it was a world in the clouds. Aurora’s veil, and how I’d wanted to bring them there to one of the cabins under the ever-twinkling northern lights. Well I did, until one of the creepy ass people kidnapped me, and the literal king of the realm triedto seduce me. I told them about Solara, where the sky’s always golden, and their goddess is perfection personified. But I left out the part about my mom, just wanting to keep some things to myself. I told them about Stormravan, where the wind screams through the mountains. About Luminaria, where light bends and breathes like it’s alive. I can’t bring myself to tell them that Luminaria’s goddess is also my sister, because I still can’t quite believe it myself. Then I tell them about Noxthrallia, how I’d rather die than ever return back to that godforsaken realm, and the ritual that was performed.
Finally, I tell them about Zeriavoss—where they are right freaking now—and how it felt like home the moment I stepped into the fields. I describe the way the blood blossoms bloom, and how the lakes reflect the blood-red lightning streaks like molten ruby in a vast blue sky. And I tell them why I agreed to become immortal, and with a quivering voice, exactly what happened when I had become immortal. And just who, or what, I had become.
“I just wanted more time,”I say, staring into my cup. “More time with him. More time to find out who I am. It felt like the only way to live without waiting for the clock to run out.”
Talia leans back against the bed frame, arms crossed. “So let me get this straight. You got dragged into a soul bargain from the Heir of Hell, married him, became immortal, visited magical realms, and—oh yeah—you’re apparently the reincarnated version of someone who created… everything?”
“That pretty much sums it up, yeah,” I say, shrugging helplessly.
When she puts it like that, it really all does sound like some crazy, far-fetched dream. How had all of this happened in justthe space of a few months? I’d gone from being a regular college girl to a long-lost Queen reborn.
Ezra sighs dramatically. “Ugh. When you created everything, you could’ve made me rich!”
I giggle. “I think you’re about fifty thousand years too late for my help.”
Typical Ezra. I’ve just told him things I don’t even think my favourite fantasy books could conjure up, and he’s concerned about the fact I didn’t create him as a rich man.
Talia gives a slow, wary nod. Like she’s slowly processing everything. “So… what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’m exhausted. I left home to come here and be someone who wasn’t broken. And now I’m a long-dead queen, a creator of realms, and Korithax is my mate.”
Ezra nearly chokes on his tea. “Your what?”
“This is like your bullshit fae books you have at home,” he cackles. “A fucking mate? You have a mate now?”
“I know,” I groan. “It’s crazy. But I feel it. It’s like this tug toward him. I can’t stand being away from him, my body, my heart, my soul—it aches for him.”
“Okay, horny bitch, calm down.” Talia laughs, throwing a pillow at me.
I roll my eyes, blushing. “He’s also great in bed.”
I smirk behind my tea as both of them gasp, letting out a soft giggle when Ezra slaps my arm.
“STOP. This is too much!” He fakes fainting onto the floor, and we all burst into laughter. That wild, unfiltered kind of laughter that comes when you’re seconds from crumbling, but someone reminds you that joy still exists. It makes me feel lighter than I have since I woke up.
“Wait,” I ask, frowning. “How the hell did you even get here?”
Talia and Ezra glance at each other before Talia speaks. “Aran came. He said you needed us, said you were lost andoverwhelmed, and that you might not even remember yourself when we arrived.”
“And of course, we didn’t hesitate,” Ezra adds. “We just came.”
I stare at them, my chest aching. How was I going to do anything without them? Maybe I could have them turned immortal, too.
“So, uh,” Ezra says, eyeing me carefully. “You really gonna be Queen of Hell?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I was supposed to just be Korithax’s wife, Queen of Hell. But now it’s way more than that, and I don’t know who I’m supposed to be anymore.”
A knock soundson the door, and we all look to it as it slowly creaks open, Aran’s head popping in. I offer him a genuine smile of thanks, and he offers me a soft smile in return.
