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Naomi slapped his arm, then looked at Raiden. “Where’s Aziel?”
His expression dropped.
I inhaled deeply, my tone lowering as I looked at Naomi. “Not all of us made it back alive.”
She blinked back a tear, moving her eyes to meet Raiden’s. “I’m sorry.”
“Freya and my father paid for it,” he said stonily. “Don’t seal it. Thalia rules the underworld now. She won’t let anything get out.”
Maddox and Edmund looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded, letting them know it was okay. “Let’s go home.” I squeezed his fingers as I looked out over the horizon. So much death, so much pain had happened, but out of it, we were each stronger and still had each other. In the distance, my sister waited for us at the mansion, along with Dora. “All of us.”
Epilogue
Naomi ran her hands along my black lace sleeves. “Gods, or should I exclaim ‘goddesses,’ you’re so pretty, Elle.”
I wiggled my fingers, admiring the glittering black polish on my nails. “You did the best job on my nails.”
I looked around the large, white adjoining corridor. It was lined with several smaller rooms and led to the main temple where people were gathered. I could hear their heightened, excited chatter through the walls. Blocking it out, I let out a long exhale. I wanted to do this in the gardens at the mansion, but Maddox and Naomi had insisted on a big affair, and Raiden never minded showing off.
“I suppose it is quite pretty here,” I admitted, looking up at the flowers curling around the archway that led to the closed door.
“It is.” She admired the room. “So, I was going to talk to you about it this morning, and I know it’s your wedding day, but…”
I arched an eyebrow. “Spill.”
“I’m opening my own store. Raiden got me the funds.” Naomi scratched the back of her neck. “I didn’t ask from where.”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably best not to.”
“I’m going to be selling portable illusions.”
I placed my hand on my hip. “I’m so happy for you, but I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It took a few times to replicate it, but to hold my spells, I used the transfer box you keepers use to move a curse over. So when I create an illusion, I can pocket it by replicating the box.”
I tapped my fingers against my chin. “That’s really impressive. I’m so proud of you.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “I actually have something for you.”
I’d mulled over who I’d offer the vitality of goddess of the dead to ever since we’d returned from the underworld. Edmund wouldn’t take it—I already knew he’d refuse—and with Maddox, I was afraid the power would go to his head, but Naomi had always been so strong and humble that I couldn’t pass up giving her the chance of immortality.
I pulled the vial from my pocket and placed it in her hands, closing her fingers around it. “If you want to be goddess of the dead, then it is yours.”
She shot me a small smile but handed the vial back. “I’m grateful. Like, I think it’s so amazing that my best friend is a goddess, but I’m okay being mortal. I do know someone else you can offer it to though.”
My heart pounded. So did I, but I was afraid to offer it to Mona. I didn’t want to mess her life up. She couldn’t go back to Salvius if she was a goddess, and she loved her studies and work. “I don’t know, Nai. She has her life.”
She fixed the flower crown of black and white roses entwined with thorns where it sat on my head. “She’s still here. You’ve offered to help her get back to Salvius, but I haven’t seen her make a single move to go back home. You know, you two are way more alike than you’d think. She too has a problem saying what she feels.”
“I don’t. I told Raiden I loved him, didn’t I?”
“Way after you realized it,” she said. “Or you suppressed. You and he make a great couple. He did the same thing.”
Naomi curled a few more strands of my loose hair, then pulled away. “Now for makeup.”
“I want?—”
“Black. Yeah, no shit.”
