21. Turns out we are super rich
Nevaeh
I can’t take my eyes off the magnificent pale pink sky that is scattered with twinkling stars and multiple planetary bodies as I step through the portal.
On Earth, only the sun and moon are visible with their size, but here, I can count several planets looking like a burning moon or an icy sun, splashing the sky with different colors.
Begrudgingly, I look down at the enormous gate before me. If I didn’t believe in the strength of supernatural beings, I would be worried for the ones operating this monstrosity regularly. “Why is this so big?”
“That’s what she said!” In point three seconds, Seiji is hit on his head by Angel.
“It’s so the bigger vehicles can easily pass through the portal. You don’t exactly need cars to go around the kingdom, but it helps to have your own vehicle when we go to different realms.” Angel explains, signally to whoever is behind the gate.
“And I bought a plane!” Seiji cheers.
Anxo looks like he's regretting the decision to spend his entire day with us, not to mention the rest of his life.
“There was no convincing him otherwise.”
But why? We have our winged horses for that.
As if Anxo can picture the confusion on my face he shakes his head in defeat. “He did the puppy eyes. I was tired. Next day we had a plane delivered.”
The way my monkey’s eyes brighten, I just know he's storing that little information for later use.
The roar of the gates opening steals my attention again, and Seiji was right when he said I will be in awe the moment I walk through these gates because my jaw falls open in par with them.
The entire realm is a large island floating in the air with water falling down its edges and disappearing into thin air. But that’s not what makes my breath falter. It’s the four magnificent castles strategically built on four corners of the island with personal waterfalls in their backyards.
Sturdy bridges connect every castle’s third level around the entire Island. The architecture is mesmerizing. The perfect blend of modern and traditional.
“An enchanted dome goes around the entire kingdom. It’s capable of withholding even the strongest spells.” Grace walks by me with August in her arms, pointing at different things and beaming with excitement.
“Think you can guess which castle belongs to which Horseman, sweetheart?” Angel brushes past me into the empty kingdom.
It was decided that the first time Harvey and I toured the kingdom, it should be without an overwhelming crowd. Everyone was ordered to make themselves scarce for a few hours, but that didn’t stop the residents from welcoming us. The sidewalks are decorated with rare flowers, fireflies circling them and welcoming us at every turn.
It’s a relief to know they are happy with our return.
Frankly, it’s not hard to guess which castle belonged to whom since each is built to cater to the taste and power of that Horseman.
On my far right is one that gleams and captures my attention without even trying. I gasp as we get closer and see how precious jewels are embedded in gold bricks making them glisten under the sky. The bricks have delicate, intricate designs carved into them from the stairs to the top.
The back of my head touches my shoulder when I crane my neck to see the top. This building screams power and wealth. Every window, door, and arc is carved out of gold .
“Conquer.” I don’t have to guess since the outside of the castle is a dead giveaway.
Smiling tightly, Angel leads me away by a hand on the small of my back. His discomfort seeps into me, and it’s clear how uncomfortable he is around here.
My heart hollows when I notice how much his past still affects his present. The way he can’t bear to stand outside what is supposed to be his house and the sadness exuding him makes me itch to storm inside and break a few bones. They ruined home for him.
Anxo’s shoulders lose their tension, the farther we get from Conquer. He excitedly shows me his favorite spots and where his most trusted warriors and favorite people live. He goes on to tell me about an old female elf who visits him every month to deliver the most delicious pasta casserole he has ever tasted.
The story boosts his morale to right where it was before we passed the castle built on his pain.
We briefly stop in front of a building split into two parts. The smaller section is a school for kids and the bigger one is where the kids train twice a week.
A couple of years ago, Khatri proposed to the council that every kid should receive some form of basic training regardless of whether they want to join the ranks in future. He explained that for selfish reasons, he wanted his daughters to be able to defend themselves should the reason arise.
I don’t expect anything less from a man who closely witnessed the aftermath of Grim Reaper’s daughter’s abduction from her own house.
Next, we stop in front of a layered castle. The area cuts down significantly with each floor, creating a giant triangle structure.
Unlike Conquer, this castle is forged with solid black bricks, with every floor railing embellished with dark ruby jewels. The design of the building resembles a warrior fort. Once again, it’s not hard to guess this masterpiece of battle strategy is War .
“Each floor has a weapon specialization. The top level gives archers a complete 360-degree view. See how every floor after the top starts expanding? it’s a labyrinth. It’s practically impossible to reach the top, which is why Horsemen families will stay there in case of an attack.”
It’s clever how the stairs attached to the side of the mighty castle are purposely uneven to make the intruders trip and give our soldiers time to retaliate.
“How long did it take to build all of this?” I’m in awe of everything, and I’m sure Harvey’s shock mirrors on my face.
Angel answers, “We had a majority of centaurs and dragons volunteering, so not that long.”
Ex-fucking-cuse me?
“Did you just say centaurs and dragons? What happened to good old demons that lived in our kingdoms?”
Grace has to step in when Angel is busy trying not to laugh at my flabbergasted face. “They still do. Once a separate realm for Horsemen was announced, we received a lot of transfer requests from several species. Most of them were accepted.”
“Tell me we have banshees here.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, they—”
“—are total bitches. I’ve never met a more entitled species—other than Heaven-bound Archangels, of course.” Seiji interrupts with a disgusted face.
Nooooo. The one species I want to interact with is not here. And to think I’ll have to wait around for a decent one to come along is torture .
Amused with my disappointment, Angel pecks my lips until my pout disappears before turning back to Harvey, who hasn’t stopped asking questions in the last hour.
My mate has the patience of a saint, but I’m about to deck my best friend. It’s crystal clear Harvey is nervous about letting his people down, but I don’t get why he thinks overcompensating by diving into work immediately is the correct answer.
Grace finally pulls him away when she sees how her mate is starting to fret too much for someone who’s been in the kingdom for less than an hour.
I’m admiring a jewelry store with the door embellished with different shades of sapphires when Grace tells me that the shop is owned by a family of dragons who moved here after losing their home in a vicious mountain fire.
Who better to run a business with precious stones than dragons? Dragons have the unique ability to pick out the most precious jewels, and hoarding doesn’t do them any good these days. Opening a jewelry store is a great idea.
Jogging over, Seiji pulls me into his side by throwing his arm over my shoulders. “Oh, you’re going to love Famine. I sketched the design myself, so expect to be dazzled.”
“I thought we were letting her guess.”
“I’m giving a tour Anxo. Stop being so needy.”
I snicker at Angel’s pout, who demands Grace to ‘give him his baby back’ because he misses the little monkey. August is happy as ever, loving not having to exert himself by doing something as menial as walking.
My boy takes full advantage of being the only toddler around and stays off the ground almost all day, every day.
Seiji walks me to his castle, talking about his creativity and hard work, which Angel discredits as ‘nothing but a bunch of big fat lies’ in a hushed whisper.
“See the giant lotus-shaped roof? My idea . I wanted something unique... something that would fit my style.”
“You knew your style when you were eleven?”
“Again Anxo? Stop stealing my limelight brother.”
Coming closer, Angel whispers in my ear, “You know he is lying, right?”
“Look there.” Angel and I turn in sync to see Harvey roped up in Seiji’s lie. The Prince of Famine is sneaky when he wants to be. He has Harvey so wrapped up in trying to prove Seiji wrong that he has forgotten all about his earlier panic.
Shaking his head with a fond smile, Angel shares a secret wink with the mischievous Prince.
I turn back to the castle which is a different level of lotus petal on each floor. The gates are arched pointedly, and the roof is tilted 70 degrees, making the pattern visible. I love how the petals are made from shades of tinted green glass and center with blue.
One would think the walls made of glass is poor thinking from a safety point of view. I did for a minute, until Hazel whistled her sharpest tune, and the glass remained untouched.
We pass the only construction business in the kingdom run by centaurs next. Only it looks more like an evil lair. A mini black castle—which I’m guessing was an intentional choice. One would think twice before crossing them or their business.
I recognize the patterns on the dark bricks from the Conquer castle, and I have no doubt they helped make this realm the dreamland it is today.
Hazel clears her throat loudly. I only realize she is asking for my attention when she repeats the fake cough until I turn to her. She could’ve just called my name instead of trying to act subtle.
“Fun fact: the dungeons are built below surface level, so if a prisoner escapes, they would free fall until they reach the other end of the protective dome and get scorched to ashes.”
I watch her closely to check if she genuinely thinks prisoners escaping only to get burned to a crisp is fun or if she’s messing with me. Her straight face tells me she actually finds it interesting.
“That’s not what you call a fun fact, Hazel,” Grace softly corrects her.
“Oh? Just a fact, then.”
I love this woman and the way her brain works.
“Nevaeh, you remember what Dad always says about death?” Grace suddenly asks.
“There’s no hiding from it?” She nods with an eager smile and points behind me. When I follow her finger, my steps falter and slowly come to a stop. It’s magnificent .
I was expecting it to be jaw-dropping like others, but I didn’t expect this .
The castle is built with clear glass in a rectangular structure that reaches the clouds. The glass panel in the middle gives the impression that it’s filled with glistening water. It takes me a minute to realize it’s not water but thousands of souls trapped and floating inside the glass.
“Those souls power our realm. The king of Hell and Dean designed it in a way that every soul that belongs to Hell passes through here first, so as long as a Grim Reaper is alive and working, this realm will never fall apart.” I hear Angel explain, but my eyes are stuck on the mesmerizing view before me.
The use of gold, black, red and forest green jewels to hold the glass panel at the corners perfectly represents how each Horseman equally contributes to the survival of this realm.
Nudging me, Grace asks, “You want to go in?”
I do. I really do, but it doesn’t feel right. Not until I can walk inside and Papa will greet me instead of haunting silence. Grace understands that and pushes everyone to keep on exploring.
August is fast asleep on Anxo’s shoulder, clutching the dark sweater's neck in his tiny fist. Angel keeps rubbing his back, quietly answering Harvey’s millionth question.
“Ready to go home, sweetheart?” Taking my hand in his, Angel brings it to his lips to kiss my knuckles before leading me towards the center of our kingdom.
I let my eyes wander to the approaching castle. If I thought I liked the individual castles, man do I love this more. The design is minimalist and relatively modern, which lures attention to the realistic horse sculptures.
On each of the four pillars is a magnificent horse standing with its feet in the air, the castle resting on their back. The four horses of the apocalypse, a blood-red horse with black wings, a solid black horse with pale green wings, a spotless white horse with gold wings, and lastly, my Diamond, a pale horse with crystal wings dipped in red and orange at the bottom.
This shows our respect for their centuries-old loyalty to our bloodline. They are our partners in crime, not to mention immortal, they’ve seen more than we’ve lived.
“The Horsemen castle was originally built to act as an office, but it has more than sufficient rooms. I’ve made sure to maintain a home-like environment.”
My heart aches when I understand why Angel never called Conquer or Death our home because this is .
“You already know it was your dad’s idea that I stay here until I wanted to return to Conquer, but this just became home after so many years.”
Seiji interrupts, “Well, Anxo wanted a place to live. I just wanted to get away from my amazing yet over-loving mother.”
Grace chuckles and helps Hazel open the heavy door so we can step in. I swear if I open and close these damn gates twice a day, there won’t be any need for exercise.
I’m shocked when Angel guides me inside. The interior is modern, similar to the hotel we stayed at, but with the royal touches of richness. When I look closer at the walls, I know they’re not anything ordinary.
The floors are polished diamonds. Diamonds.
I get that we are somewhat rich, but a diamond floor has to be too much, right?
“It has everything you could want from private rooms to training and gym area. I even got a movie theater built in recently.”
Angel walks to the couch to pick up a blanket and puts it over August. The boy pokes his head out of Angel’s neck to look around occasionally, but Angel likes to carry him around just as much as August likes the ride.
“Come on, sweetheart. I have one more thing to show you and Harvey before we can retire to bed.”
I follow him without a peep because I’m looking forward to lying down after all the walking and getting shocked at every turn.
Hazel strides ahead and throws open the doors to a room. I look to my left curiously, only to find a large empty room. Yes, it has jewels and a pretty shiny crystal roof, but I’ve seen enough of that already.
A smack to the back of my head makes me turn to glare at Harvey. Shaking his head with a sigh, he grabs my cheeks before turning my face to my right. Oh… oh .
It’s a throne room. Our throne room.
On an elevated stage which I assume is enchanted since nothing holds it up, are stairs that lead to four exquisite thrones placed in a straight line.
The thrones are the same color as our rings with horse sculptures proudly standing behind them.
One thought enters my mind, and I blurt it out without filtering it. “These chairs look like they would poke your ass with all those jewels.”
Seiji laughs loudly. Angel has to cover August’s ears so he won’t get startled and tries to keep his own shaking to a minimum.
When Grace yawns audibly, Seiji starts teasing her about having a few rough and sleepless nights which has her blushing madly.
Clearing his throat Anxo interrupts Seiji's fun. “Grace, I believe you can show Harvey his room.”
“Or your room.” Seiji wiggles his eyebrows, but Harvey shuts his teasing with one look.
Wishing everyone good night, we leave the room and I volunteer to close the door behind me since Anxo is carrying August. I was right. I have to move them twice daily, and I’ll be set for a week.
“August? Kiddo, you sure you want a separate room?” August nods sleepily, but I know he’s confident about his decision. Even brought it up with Angel himself.
I was a little worried about leaving him alone in a new environment, but Angel settled my worries by showing me his room that was right in front of ours .
I'll be able to hear if monkey calls and this way the little guy won’t be subjected to my nightmares anymore.
Win-win, I guess.