AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“By the God of Death,” I tacked on.
Von simply nodded.
I supposed that made sense. The God of Death ruled over the Spirit Realm. Since he made the crown there, it was fitting that was where it could be destroyed. The God of Death was said to be wicked and cruel, that he picked his teeth with the bones of the dead. Considering he created something as horrible as the Crown of Thorns as a gift for his bride, wicked and cruel seemed like vanilla descriptions.
“Why do you think he made the Crown of Thorns for his bride?”
“Most people believe it was because the Goddess of War was in his ear. That she persuaded him to create it. But no one held a knife to his throat. No, he did it all on his own.” His lips flattened, almost tugged back at the corners, as if he felt disgust for the God of Death. The look subsided and he added, “He was a fool.” His dark eyes retracted from the starry night sky, shifting to meet mine. “How much do you know about the Old Gods?”
“I don’t know a whole lot,” I replied honestly. “I know that the Old Gods were given life by the Creator, and before the New Gods were made, they used to preside over all three realms—the Spirit Realm, the Living Realm, and the Immortal Realm. The God of Death was the King of the Old Gods, but under his control, the Living Realm was caught in a state of decay, so the Creator gave life to the New Gods and asked them to take care of the Living Realm and Immortal Realm.”
I paused, smoothing my robe against my leg.
“The Creator banished the Old Gods to the Spirit Realm. The God of Death was not happy about losing the two realms, so he declared war and tried to take it back. Ultimately, he lost. They say he will try again someday . . . That’s why it is imperative not to worship the Old Gods, because prayers in his favor will increase his power.” I paused, my thoughts skipping ahead. “I always thought it would be interesting to learn about the battles—how legendary a war between gods must have been—but any books that would have gone into detail about them are impossible to find thanks to the royal family.”
Von spoke in his deep baritone, “Despite the Crown’s attempt to erase information about the Old Gods, there are books that still exist—if one knows where to look. The battles lasted for many years and there were many casualties. Eventually, it became so bad, the Living Realm was nearly destroyed. But contrary to what you learned, the God of Death did not lose the war. In fact, he was seconds away from winning it, but he found something he never planned to find and he withdrew his armies. Later, an agreement was made. The two warring sides would be linked together through marriage—the marriage taking place between the King of the Old Gods and the Princess of the New Gods. But the marriage never took place because the Princess of the New Gods, the Goddess of Life, died.”
My mouth popped open. “I had no idea Lady Light was the God of Death’s bride.”
Nowthatwas juicy.
Lady Light was known to be a pure and just goddess, a champion of life. Linking her to the God of Death would certainly be a dark stain on her impeccable, saintly self. I found the thought oddly satisfying. I also found it a bit confusing as we were taught that Lady light was wedded to the Lord of Light and their marriage was sacred . . . eternal. But the more I thought about it, the less confusing it became. The gods and goddesses were immortal, so it was not entirely uncommon for them to change spouses over the decades. If giving her hand to her enemy resulted in peace, then I could understand why she would have agreed to it.
I turned to Von. “The New Religion makes her death seem like she was a martyr—that her death was crucial for the continuation of the Living Realm. But there is one thing I never understood about her death—I thought the divine were immortal, so how could she die?”
Von shifted, the too-small chair groaning in response. “That is a lie—her death was not necessary. And yes, they are immortal, but each god and goddess has a singular weakness. For the Princess of the New Gods, the woman you call Lady Light, it is the roots of a tree filled with white leaves. The roots feather into long veins, covered in thorns. That is her weakness.” He paused. “The roots are what the God of Death used to forge the Crown of Thorns.”
I pursed my lips, thinking for a moment. “The books on the New Gods skimmed over that. They romanticized her death, making it sound like she had passed peacefully in the embrace of the tree, a tree said to never lose its leaves—not even in winter.”
“Another lie. Her death was anything but peaceful.”
A lot of this was new to me. I wondered how much of the information written in the Crown-approved books was a lie, or rather, how much of the truth had been left out.
“Do you believe they exist? Both Old Gods and New Gods?” I asked.
“I do,” he replied without an ounce of hesitation.
“You don’t really seem like the religious type,” I countered.
“On the contrary, darling.” He grinned. “I am a pious man.”
I scoffed at that. Pivoting from the topic of the gods back to his sister—a blatant shift—I asked, “Your sister . . . the scars on her back. What are they from?”
I didn’t care that I was prying into something I had no right to stick my nose into. Curiosity had gotten the better of me.
“That is not my story to tell,” Von said, proving he had more than just physical similarities with his sister. Just as she would not reveal what Von asked for help with, he would not talk about the reason for her scars.
I licked my lips, fumbling with this next one. “She said something about you sucking my soul dry.”
He laughed, the sound throaty, masculine.
I squinted. “You find that funny?”
“I do,” he said, a smile on his full lips.
I felt an insatiable need to swipe it off. “She also said I wasoneof yourside pieces. Do you find that funny as well?”
“I don’t do side pieces,” he stated firmly.
