Page 94 of Trust the Fall

Her confusion melts into a smile. “The queen saved me. I had experienced a great level of trauma as a human, at the hands of my stepfather.” Her eyes lower. “I chose to take my own life to escape it.”

I wasn’t expecting that. Unsure what to say, I remain quiet and hope that doesn’t offend her.

“We reapers have a series of codes that determine where souls are to be taken.” My eyes meet hers through the mirror.

“The reapers choose where souls go? I thought that was God?”

“In the beginning, it was, but as the human population grew, souls needing reaping grew too. God entrusted us to make the determination,” she explains. “Based on our codes, suicide is automatic condemnation.”

I had no idea that was the case. In truth, I know little about what happens once a human dies, outside of that they go to either Heaven or Hell.

“The queen was transporting me, and due to my anxiety, I have a tendency to overshare.” She chuckles. “I was so nervous; I couldn’t stop talking. I blabbed my entire story to her, and that’s when she decided I wasn’t going to Heaven or Hell, but she was bringing me with her back to the kingdom of Solis.”

“Solis.”

The reaper kingdom was named Solis? Nobody had mentioned its name until now, and it hadn’t struck me as odd until now.

“Yes, this is Solis,” she says with furrowed brows. “Has nobody told you that?”

When naming the blade that would sit at my side, Solis had come to me like a whisper on the wind, and right now, I have a feeling it was no coincidence. But this isn’t the person to quiz on the matter.

I shake my head, eager to get back to the girl’s story. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me.

Not that I don’t trust the reapers. Every single one that I’ve met thus far has been great, but God is the all-knowing being. How can the last few minutes of a person’s life determine whether their soul should live in paradise or Hell?

The girl’s situation can’t be the only story out there like this. How many people were dragged to hell that truly didn’t deserve it? She did the only thing she knew to escape a terrible circumstance. She was let down by the people she loved on Earth. Someone should’ve known what they were dealing with.

The girl’s hand lands on my shoulder, and her smile turns sad. “It’s okay,” she says, likely seeing my distress at her story. “I harbored the pain, because I didn’t want my mother to feel it too. She was a good woman. A loving mother.” She sniffles before continuing. “She asked me many times if I was okay in the final days leading up to my suicide, but I shut her out. To this day, I don’t know why I didn’t tell her. She would’ve believed me.” She lowers her head to hide the tears that threaten to fall. “She carries a burden far greater than mine was in my short time on Earth. Survivor’s guilt has ruined her.”

My heart breaks for the strange girl and her family. More than anything, I see that some reform needs to be done here in Solis. There has to be something that can be done. Some better system has to exist, to ensure that only the truly detestable are taken underground.

She squeezes my shoulder. “You will be very good for the kingdom.”

I offer her a tight-lipped smile, and don’t tell her I have no intentions of being anything to the kingdom.

“Now, let’s put on this dress and get you to the ball, my princess,” she says, shooing the girl with long caramel locks toward an armoire.

I’m placed in a dress that I would typically not be caught dead in.

Not that it’s not gorgeous, but it’s not me.

The embellished sweetheart bodice gives way to a flowing gold tulle skirt.

“I look like a princess,” I mumble.

“You look like a queen, principessa,” she smiles at me in the floor-length mirror. “River will be here to escort you. You’ll bewitch every reaper in attendance.”

The reaper girls share a giggle, rushing from the room without another word to me.

I take a long look in the mirror and scowl. It seems so ridiculous that I would be playing dress-up instead of getting to know my mother more. I’m not here to meet the kingdom. I’m here to understand where I come from, and to enlist Camille’s help in ridding Hell of Nolda.

Meeting the subjects of Solis is learning where you come from, my inner voice chides, and I glare at myself through the mirror.

I’ll go through with the ball, but then I have to get back to business. The longer I’m here, the longer I’m away from Luke. I need to get back to him.

I’m pacing the floor for what feels like an hour when I finally give up and decide to go find my mother or River.

I’m wandering down hallways, not having a single clue where they lead to, when I come to the grand foyer. The large ballroom doors close behind a smartly dressed couple, and I rush toward it, wondering if Camille and River could already be at the party.