Chapter Eighteen #2
‘Sister,’ he purred, delight curling through the word. ‘Have you come to end us all?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Zagreus,’ Mal replied. ‘We both know I cannot. Not on this soil.’
He clutched at his chest in mock offence, long pale fingers splayed dramatically. ‘You wound my heart. I thought we were family, and yet you dream of killing me.’
Mal rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Kage. ‘We must leave. Now.’
Zagreus chuckled, the sound echoing unpleasantly through the chamber. ‘My mother will come for you.’
‘I’m well aware.’ Mal reached for Kage without hesitation, urgency sharp in her movements. ‘Send her my regards.’
Zagreus’ smile thinned. ‘She’s coming for your child.’
Mal froze.
Slowly, her attention shifted back to him, to the god she had so often questioned, so often wondered whether she could ever trust. In that moment, he looked achingly like Hades. The resemblance struck her like a blade.
She pushed down the fracture in her chest at the memory of what she had done, at the knowledge that she had killed her own father, and lifted her chin, refusing to let the pain show.
Kage reached Mal’s side and she caught his sleeve, fingers closing tight. Her attention fell upon the wolf, and her heart fractured all over again.
‘I can’t take you with me, Wren,’ she said softly. ‘Not into my realm.’
The great white wolf whimpered, lowering her head in quiet disappointment.
‘We can’t leave her behind,’ Kage protested.
‘Her soul is tethered to this place,’ Mal explained, voice strained. ‘I don’t know what would happen if I dragged her into my shadow realm. It was never meant for her. It’s made for shadows and she’s… not that.’
‘I can keep her,’ Zagreus offered lightly. His tone was indifferent, but Mal saw something dangerously close to hope in his mismatched eyes. She felt the urge to snuff it out.
Before she could speak, Kage exhaled and nodded. He turned to the wolf and rested a hand against her side. ‘Be careful, old friend,’ he murmured. ‘And take care of Zagreus.’
Mal frowned, one brow lifting. Wren padded over to the throne and settled beside Zagreus, her posture easing, her blue eyes calm once more.
Mal tightened her grip on Kage’s arm and turned away. He looked at her then, dark eyes bright with unmistakable relief that she had come for him, that she was taking him away.
She did not look back at Zagreus or the wolf.
She focused only on Kage.
The world folded in on itself, and within seconds they were gone, slipping seamlessly into her shadow realm. Kage inhaled sharply, eyes widening as he looked down at himself, at the way his body was no longer flesh and bone, but smoke and darkness shaped into form.
‘It is done,’ Mal said, returning to her seat. She gestured for Kage to sit beside her, and the instant he did, she reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly. She needed the reassurance of his presence, so familiar, and so real.
Vera frowned. ‘Your brother should remain here.’
Thanatos shook his head. ‘He cannot. Souls tethered to the Underworld cannot linger in this realm for long.’
‘Then why can we?’ Vera demanded.
‘Because you are bound to Hell, not the Underworld,’ Thanatos replied evenly. ‘That is an entirely different reckoning, one we will face when the Kings of Hell decide to come knocking.’
Mal turned to Allegra. ‘What about magic?’
Allegra nodded slowly, her expression distant as she sifted through unseen possibilities. At last, she sighed and leaned forward. ‘There is a way, but…’
‘But what?’ Mal pressed.
‘But it would require a magic,’ Allegra said carefully, ‘that is forbidden among witches.’ She paused, weighing the words. ‘It would allow him to walk both the land of the dead and the land of the living.’
Mal straightened at once.
‘However,’ Allegra continued, ‘it would mean cursing him.’
‘Cursing him?’ Mal’s brow furrowed. ‘I will not curse my own brother.’
‘It is the only way,’ Allegra said softly.
‘With the curse, he would spend his nights in the mortal world and his days in the Underworld. Bound to both, yet claimed by neither. Even if Persephone finds him, she would not be able to touch him, could not harm him, could not drag him to Hell or anywhere else. The curse would shield him. He would be untouchable.’
‘And cursed,’ Mal hissed.
‘And cursed,’ Allegra agreed. ‘Condemned to live that way for eternity.’
All eyes turned to Kage. He sat as he always did, quietly and thoughtfully, bearing the weight of their words without outward reaction.
Mal kept hold of him, refusing to let go.
Her grip tightened without her noticing, yet he did not react at all.
She wondered whether it was because he was dead, or because his body was made of shadow now, or because his thoughts were so far away that nothing could reach him.
‘What do you think?’ Kage asked, turning to Thanatos.
Thanatos blinked, clearly surprised to be consulted.
He considered the question carefully before nodding.
‘It is a good solution. You could even spy for us while in the Underworld. Persephone would have no true claim over you. She would not be able to command you. The curse would bind your soul to both the living and the dead. Not to her.’
‘This isn’t—’ Mal began, but Kage leaned forward, cutting her off.
‘I want to help,’ he said simply. ‘If cursing me allows me to spy for you in the Underworld, then so be it. And when I’m not there, I can help on mortal lands as well.’
‘Kage, no…’ Mal’s eyes widened, stunned by how readily he accepted such a fate. ‘You would be cursed. For eternity.’
Kage shrugged, almost gently. ‘I already am, aren’t I?’
Something splintered in Mal’s chest. Somewhere in the distance, she was certain she heard the creature’s laughter. Mocking, knowing, and delighted by her despair.
‘You are not cursed,’ she said hoarsely.
‘But I am dead.’ He finally looked at her, black eyes wide and unguarded.
And in that moment, though Mal was the youngest of them, Kage looked like a child again. Small. Vulnerable. In need of protection.
He had always needed protecting, this precious, quiet brother of hers, and she had failed him. She had not protected Haven, and her sister was dead. She had not protected Kage.
And now, he was dead too.
‘I will not be the reason you are cursed, Kage,’ she said, her voice tight as she tried, desperately, to steer him away from this path. But she saw it then, unmistakably, in his eyes and in the faces of the others. This was the only way to keep him safe. The only way to stand against Persephone.
Mal turned slowly towards Thanatos and poured every shard of her fury into her stare. Fury for the lies. For the truths left unspoken. For the bond that tied them together. For not saving her from herself. For not saving Kage.
She knew, somewhere deep down, that none of it was truly his fault.
Still, she made sure he felt it.
And Thanatos bore her hatred without flinching, accepting it with a quiet grace, as though he welcomed it. As though he deserved it.
Allegra rose from her seat, lifting her hands as green smoke curled into being around her fingers. ‘The curse will be stronger if you help,’ she said softly to Mal.
A low growl tore from Mal’s chest.
She would not become the monster they expected her to be.
Not the monster they feared.
Not the monster Ash already believed she was.
Allegra moved into place behind Kage, lifting her hands to cradle his head, fingers already humming with intent.
Mal opened her mouth to protest, to beg them to stop, but the words died before they could form.
She saw it then: the quiet resolve etched into every face, the way Kage turned slightly away, bracing himself. Ready.
Mal’s gaze flicked once more to Thanatos. The look she gave him carried everything she could not say. That this felt like losing her brother all over again. That this wound would never truly heal.
And for the first time, she was no longer certain she had the strength to keep fighting the thing that gnawed at her mind, that whispered and rotted and waited.
So Mal turned her back on them.
She walked away, each step heavy with finality, leaving Allegra standing behind Kage as the curse took hold, as the others bore witness in absolute silence.