Chapter 27
Von
T he following morning, my gorgeous little mate looked positively divine, dressed all in white as we walked down a lengthy corridor. Her long legs stretched out from the twin hip-high slits in the silky fabric, teasing me with each stride.
I’d cut her training short this morning, sweeping her back to our bedchamber so that she could get ready for today. When she found the luxurious, sexy dress laid out on our bed, she gave me a curious look. I told her that I had designed it to look like the one I saw her wearing the day that she arrived in Edenvale. It was unlike anything I had ever seen her wear before, so unlike the ridiculous, rigid clothing she had worn when she lived in the Immortal Realm. She had run her fingers over the fabric, exclaiming that she loved it. With a smile on my lips, I’d asked her to put it on. So, while I sat in my chair, watching her, that’s exactly what she did. With every deliberate sweep of her hand across her skin, she made the act of undressing and dressing a knuckle-biting affair to watch.
We rounded the corner, walking into a much wider corridor, the dark walls full of artwork—paintings of the Old Gods. At the bottom of each was a silver plaque, stating who the picture was of.
She looked at the first painting—
The Goddess of War was adorned in her light armor and wicked leathers, her brow deeply furrowed, and a snarl on her painted red lips. She held her wicked blade out in front of her, pointing it at the viewer. A black viper coiled around her free hand, its mouth propped open, hissing in warning.
Saphira had hundreds of paintings of herself spread out all over the castle, while I only had the one—which just so happened to be at the end of this hallway. She had roped me into it many years ago, and it had been the first and last one I had made. Unlike her, I had no desire to have my likeness painted and placed all over the castle—my good looks were already etched into the minds of every soul in this realm, as if they needed the reminder.
“I’ve been wondering about something,” Aurelia said softly, pulling me from my private thoughts.
“Pray tell, Kitten. What is it?”
“Are there quite a few people who are not able to be with their loved ones because they are split into different tiers?” she asked, pulling her gaze from Saphira’s likeness, and looking to the next one, which belonged to the Goddess of Storms.
“Unfortunately, yes. There has been such a large influx of souls over the past couple centuries, it is hard to keep up with them. Quite a few slip through the cracks.”
She glanced to the other side of the hall, finding the portrait of the God of Lust. The male lived up to his title—inspiring the affections of both sexes. I noted that her step slowed, and her eyes took their sweet time taking the tall, handsome god in.
I narrowed my eyes.
“What sorts the people and decides where they go?” she asked, steps slowing so she could spend a bit longer with the painting.
I decided it would conveniently go missing tonight.
Answering her, I said, “The Da’Nu river decides what tier to place them in when they first arrive here. The ravens drop their souls in the rushing waters. Based on their past, it decides where they are to go. However, it does not consider their loved ones, it only looks at that soul’s specific behavior.”
“So then . . . how does one get moved to a different tier?”
“Such a curious little kitten,” I mused, smirking. “They have to request it during one of the throne meetings.”
“And then?” She looked up at me.
Creator above, those wide, blue eyes were going to be the end of me. “They make their request and then I decide if I will grant it or not.”
“So, all of these people have to rely solely on you to either approve their request or deny it?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like a rather poor system.”
I chuckled at that. “If you saw how things were before, you would find the old ways even worse.”
“What were the old ways?” she asked, her tongue lingering on the last two words, drawing attention to them.
She was such an inquiring thing, and as always, I was more than happy to indulge her.
“Originally, the Spirit Realm was made up of three tiers. For centuries, I left the mortals to do as they pleased in their own tier.” I shrugged. “I figured they had gotten along in the Living Realm, why should it be any different in the Spirit Realm? But as it would seem, having eternity on their side accompanied by no repercussions for bad behavior, well, it led to moral rot. Because of it, living conditions became abhorrent. I do believe my blindness to what was happening down here is why the Creator dethroned me from the Living and Immortal Realms and gave them to Aurelius while forcing me to rule over the realm I’d allowed to run amok.”
She shook her head, her brows knitting together. “I thought that all three realms were in a state of decay and that’s why Aurelius was made?”
“That was a grand stretch from the truth—one that Aurelius fed the realms. All so he could portray himself as the redeeming hero and I the destructive villain. It was just the Spirit Realm that had gone to shit. The other two realms were in good standing.”
She was quiet for a moment. Too quiet.
I had a feeling it was to do with my lackluster replacement—a topic she had made abundantly clear she did not wish to speak about. But just because she didn’t want to talk to me about him, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t open up to someone else. In truth, having her train with Zahra, Dameon, and I wasn’t just because I wanted her to become a stronger warrior. I wanted her to have a friend, someone she could confide in. Who better for that role than Zahra, the Goddess of Companionship?
“Is that why you went on to create the nine tiers? To redeem yourself?” she asked, pulling me from my private thoughts.
“Not quite.” I glanced down at her, finding her eyes on me, as curious as ever.
I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip—it was all I could do to stop myself from backing her against the wall, taking her pretty little face in my hands, and kissing her until her knees grew weak.
“So . . .” Softly, she shook her head, as if this was some perplexing riddle she couldn’t figure out. “Why did you do it then?”
I let out a rumbling breath, my voice husky. “I made the tiers because I met someone who cared deeply for the mortals, who saw their worth, while I was blind to it.” I paused for a moment, my gaze holding hers. “I made the tiers because of you, Little Goddess, because I wanted to honor what you treasure.”