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Osiris rises from his throne, and I quickly bow my head to the stone floor. “Rise,” he commands. I scramble to my feet, keeping my head lowered. I can feel his eyes on me, and my cheeks flush with shame. All I had to do was get past this with a little dignity, and I couldn’t even manage that.
A finger lifts my chin, and I meet eyes eerily similar to my own—hazel with a gold ring around the edges, with flecks of gold throughout the iris. The god is handsome, his hair as black as mine. He wears a seven-tiered collar, each row made up of gleaming gold and precious jewels. A tall Atef crown graces his head, and a golden snake settles in the middle, watching me with slitted eyes. He is attired in royal robes and a sash instead of the short kilt his son, Anubis, wears.
“Please forgive my unseemly outburst, my lord,” I murmur.
Osiris raises a brow. “You have endured much in your short life, and you are still very young. I can forgive such, especially when it comes from grieving the loss of the one you love. Your mother did much the same when she passed through here.”
My eyes widen. “You have seen my mother?”
Osiris drops his hand from my chin and inclines his head. “Indeed.” He gestures toward the large doors behind him. “She has passed through to Aaru and awaits the soul of your father. Your daughter is with her, along with Alaric.”
I sway on my feet and my mouth goes dry. I cannot compute what he has just told me. “My . . . my daughter?” I whisper, tears misting my eyes.
“Yes, your mother cares for her in the afterlife. Alaric joined them when Morana killed him for his betrayal.”
Osiris catches my elbow before I land on the floor in a heap. “Because of me. She killed him for helping me, didn’t she?” He nods. Oh, gods. How will Cassian survive this?
He patiently waits for me to process, his gaze never leaving mine. It’s as if he peers into my soul, which is not the most pleasant of sensations. “Due to the suffering you have been through, I would feel it within my power to offer you a choice. You must think this over carefully; I am not prone to doing such.” I suck in a harsh breath, a flicker of hope lighting in my chest.
The room goes deathly silent as if this were some momentous occasion. Anubis shifts slightly, and I notice the scale is no longer empty. A feather sits on the right-side pan, which rests on the podium. The left-side pan appears empty, resting above the surface. Osiris clears his throat, and I bring my attention back to him.
“I will offer you two choices, Princess Snow White of Valderán. The first is this: you may enter through the doors into Aaru, be reunited with your mother and daughter, and live out eternity there. You will know happiness and peace, and your soul will be at rest, no longer forced to reincarnate. When Cassian’s time comes, he will be free to join you.” The glow around the doors brightens, rivaling the light from the torches. A yearning for peace envelopes me, a siren’s call that entices me to choose it over the unknown second option.
“Your second choice is this: I and the other gods will intercede on your behalf. Morana will be destroyed and your country returned to its former glory. A new royal family will be appointed, and your people will live in harmony and prosperity. In payment for this, you will wander the underworld, from whence you have just traveled, for five thousand years. At the end of that time, your soul will be released, free to be reborn, where you can then find another life with Cassian, should your souls find each other once more.”
I bow my head, the enormity of the two choices a heavy weight over my heart. But the minute he spoke, I knew there was only one choice I could make. My heart hurts at the thought of never meeting my daughter, but she is safe with her grandmother. I send out one last thought to Cassian, hoping somehow, his heart will hear my words and know the truth of them. My love for you is endless, Cassian. I will search the worlds for you, and one day, we will be together again.
I raise my head, running my gaze over the judges and Anubis before meeting Oriris’s inquiring look. “I choose option two.”
Chapter 33
Snow White
Ablindingsmilegrowson Osiris’s face, and behind him, the scale moves so that both sides are equally balanced. I watch in confusion as the judges leave the chamber as quietly as they came in. My brows furrow when Osiris takes my hand in his. “Well met, granddaughter.”
Anubis comes to stand beside his father, and I look between them, not comprehending. “Granddaughter?”
He tilts his head, and I gasp, taking a step back when his eyes begin to glow as mine do. “I—I don’t understand,” I murmur.
“I rarely visit your world,” Osiris begins, “as there is too much to be done here. I found myself one day yearning to walk amongst the mortals, and in doing so, came upon your grandmother. We entered into a brief affair, which your mother was a result of.”
I blink at the realization. “But, she was married—”
“Yes. She was able to convince her husband the child was his. Luckily, your mother wasn’t born with the god eyes, nor was she endowed with any powers. I have not had a mortal child before, but it seems to have skipped her generation and settled on you.”
My mind whirls, overwhelmed by the knowledge being thrown at me. One thing stands out, though. “What do you mean, powers? I have none.”
Can jackals smirk? Anubis does a very good impression of it. “You do, niece. Yours just haven’t been awakened yet.”
I stare at them both stupidly. The child I lost was a girl, who resides behind the doors opposite me along with my mother and Cassian’s father. My grandfather is the god of the underworld and resurrection. My uncle is the God of the Dead. It’s too much to wrap my mortal mind around.
But you’re not so mortal now, are you?
“I suppose having powers will be useful during my stay in the underworld. Will I be allowed to have them, or would that be an unfair advantage?”
Anubis takes my hand and leads me over to the scales. “Your confessions and willingness to sacrifice yourself to save your people have balanced the scales. Usually, that would indicate a person’s suitability to enter Aaru. But your case is a little different, due to you being a demigod. We are willing to offer you a different course of action.”
Osiris crosses his arms over his wide chest, the collar around his neck flashing in the light of the torches. “As offered before, you can go through to Aaru and reunite with your family, living in peace and waiting for Cassian to join you. Or, I can awaken your powers and send you back to your world. As a demigod, your powers are limited. Should you use them sparingly, you will be able to live a very long life, one that spans several mortal lifetimes. But I must warn you; should you use them all, you will return to your mortal status and live out a normal lifespan.”
