Chapter 37
That name means nothing to me, but she says it with such confidence that for a moment, I almost believe we could be long-lost friends.
But her mention of other dimension rings in my ears, reminding me I could have never met this girl in my life.
“That’s a very unique name,” I say. “Also quite beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She folds her hands behind her back. “What was that thing?”
I don’t see a reason not to tell her; she seems kind enough, and she technically saved my life. “A Grimhorn. They are Belial’s servants, basically.”
Her eyes shift—no, change—gold flecks fluttering around in the blue depths. It’s like data processing on a computer; I wouldn’t have been surprised if script lines appeared.
“I see. Well, how about I get you back home—”
“No.” I shake my head quickly. “I mean—not home. I was trying to come here, but not… here, here. Oh my Gods, what am I even saying?”
Heat rushes up my neck. I feel flustered, and I never feel this way. My heartbeat won’t slow, just like around Kayn, but with her, it throws me off in a completely different way.
Is it… her?
Am I attracted to her? No. That’s ridiculous.
Her lips press together softly, like she can feel the chaos swirling in me. “Alright, how about this: tell me what you need, and I’ll see if I’m capable of helping. No guarantees, though.” She lifts her hands in surrender. “I’m merely a guest here.”
“Why are you here? A guest? And who—who were you talking to?” The questions tumble out faster than I intend. I feel like I’m intruding. Like I shouldn’t pry into her life.
Well, because you are intruding, Amarah.
She draws a deep breath and glances over her shoulder. For the first time, I follow her gaze.
There’s a door, utterly out of place in this sterile white hall. Dark wood, scarred with scratches. Deep violet and red etchings glow faintly from beneath the surface, like the frame itself was carved from those colors and someone painted over it with brown.
“I cannot stay long. Time works differently down here, and I must admit, my partners can be quite protective.” She shrugs, lips pursed as she looks back at me. “Okay… less so for one of them. Though it is ironic I asked him to stay behind because I had an intuition he shouldn’t come.”
I definitely don’t miss the plural in partners. Honestly, lucky them.
“I’m personal friends with Death. We’ve known one another for several hundred years. I come every so often to spend time with my dog.”
Heat suddenly rises to my cheeks. I have no idea why. “Your dog? Friends with… Death?”
She shrugs again and gestures toward a door. “He wasn’t really mine, but I sort of adopted him. And yes, Death. You are friends with a God, it would seem. It shouldn’t be so outlandish.”
I swallow, readying myself to ask how she knows that, but think quickly on it. I’m able to speak to her through the same link as Vendra. It doesn’t take a genius to know I’m at least acquaintances with one.
“Suppose you’re right.”
Her head tilts slightly, the same way it did before—as if someone is speaking to her, or she’s hearing something I can’t. “Was there someone else who was supposed to be with you?”
Fear hits me like a slap to the face.
“Oh my Gods. Kayn!”
I spin in a full circle, not even sure what I’m searching for. The gate that dragged me here? My heart? Because it feels like it just fell out of me.
Azahara laughs softly, and it’s enough to pull my attention back to her. “Do not worry. He is here.”
She grips the handle of one of the strange doors, and as she opens it, she quickly steps aside.
A second passes.
Then another.
And then, barreling out of the darkness, comes Kayn.
I release a heavy, shaking breath the moment he appears, running straight through the doorway and locking eyes with me instantly.
My smile cuts short the moment he whips toward the girl and lunges at her. A wild, burning anger explodes through the bond between us.
“No, Kayn!”
Before his strike can land, she’s gone—vanished in a swirl of dust and flecks of black, leaving no trace she’d ever stood there except in my memory.
“Hey, hey!” I rush the few steps to him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to face me. His pupils are blown wide, his entire body so rigid I’m afraid he’ll shatter if I’m not careful.
His shoulders rise and fall as he drags in air he doesn’t even need, and though he looks lost in his fury, he doesn’t lash out at me.
“I’m right here.”
I’m not going to pretend this isn’t justified; he watched me get ripped through the gates of the Beyond by a Grimhorn. His fear and rage are understandable. Swinging at Azahara? I understand the impulse.
A presence forms behind me, and Kayn’s gaze snaps over my shoulder.
“I’m friendly, I swear,” the redhead says softly.
I grip his arms, guiding his hands up until they’re cupping my face. “Kayn… I’m okay. She’s not the reason I was taken. She saved me.”
He blinks rapidly. Then slowly, his gaze drops from Azahara to me, and I watch him come back to himself. His hardened expression melts into pure relief. And by Vendra herself, my heart does too.
Especially when he whispers in a shaky voice, “I’ve never been so terrified, Amarah.
” He leans in, arms wrapping around my neck as he pulls me tight against his chest. “I thought I’d lost you.
Fucking Beyond…” Only now do I realize he’s trembling.
His fingers slide into my hair, and he buries his face in the curve of my shoulder, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish again.
“You’re okay… you’re okay,” he chants. “I don’t know what I’d have done…”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him just as tightly. The care pouring off him is overwhelming. I swear I could cry from it.
I nuzzle my face against his collarbone, smiling. “Thanks to Azahara, here. She completely obliterated the Grimhorn.”
He exhales shakily and lifts his head from my shoulder. I glance up at him and see his eyes fixed over my shoulder on the girl.
“You?” he asks.
He loosens his hold enough for me to turn, and I see her simply smiling.
She doesn’t react to the obvious disrespect Kayn—and, in a way, I—showed her.
She can’t be taller than five and a half feet, and she looks so gentle.
The kind of person I’d imagine curling up with on a couch to watch a movie.
Not someone who vaporized a Grimhorn without even touching it.
“Me,” she says. “It’s nice to meet you…”
“Kayn.”
A flicker of hurt pulls between her brows. “Lovely name.”
Jealousy shouldn’t flare in me, but stupidly, it does.
“I had a friend with the same name. I haven’t heard it in… what feels like hundreds of years.”
Great. Now I feel like an absolute ass for the jealousy. It dissolves into a warm churn of guilt in my chest.
Kayn wraps an arm around my neck, keeping my back flush against his front.
“You look no older than twenty-five,” he says. “Did you just say hundreds?”
She nods. “I’m not human.”
That’s the second time she’s used that word. Human.
“Anyway,” she continues, “would you mind telling me what year it is where you’re from, and your planet’s name?”
“3126,” I answer. “Earth.”
“Earth. Just like mine.”
She then closes her eyes, and I take the moment to look up at Kayn. His gaze is fixed on me, worry still carved into every line of his handsome face.
“What happened?” he asks through the bond.
“A Grimhorn dragged me through. It’s the same thing it tried to do through the mirror. And the moment it was about to… end me, it was obliterated. Kayn, she didn’t even touch it.”
His jaw tightens. “Her scent isn’t like anything I’ve ever come across.”
I don’t tell him about the dimension part. Something in my gut tells me I shouldn’t, not yet at least. I’ll tuck it away for later.
“We can worry about what she is later,” I say. “Let’s just get where we need to go.”
“It seems you are quite far from your intended destination,” Azahara says suddenly. “I will have to look into how you were sent here, because it doesn’t appear to have been done on purpose.”
She materializes in front of the door Kayn came through and opens it again. Beyond it is what looks like a waiting room—bright white, clean, and smelling faintly of toothpaste. Honestly, it reminds me of a dentist’s office.
“Walk through here,” she says, “and the door on the opposite side will lead you to your destination.”
“And why should we trust your direction?” Kayn asks. He isn’t rude, but he’s direct. While I feel oddly at ease around her, I understand his suspicion.
She only shrugs. “You may do as you please, but I guarantee walking this hall will get you nowhere. Each door leads to a different region of the Underworld. Death has altered this passageway so you may return to your side. It is your choice to go, or to stay.”
I look up at Kayn. He’s watching me, waiting for me to make the choice.
“I trust her,” I say softly. “I can’t explain it, so… don’t ask.”
After a moment of silence between us, he nods. “I mean no disrespect. I’m just—”
“Protective. I get it. I’ve got a few of you back home.”
Godsdamn, her smile is captivating. It lifts her plump cheeks, making the freckles glow in the bright light.
Kayn’s shoulders drop slightly. “Yeah… but thank you. I owe you for helping her.”
Azahara shakes her head and waves a hand. “No need to thank me. My creator didn’t grant me this power to waste it.”
I don’t miss the wary look he gives her before turning toward the open door and stepping through, his hand reaching back to take mine.
I’m halfway through the threshold when she grabs my shoulder. Kayn’s fingers slip from mine, and when my eyes flick toward him, he’s frozen mid-step—paused in place as if time itself stopped on the other side of the door.
I turn to Azahara as she says, “May I ask you something before you go?”
I’m certain she isn’t forcing me to stay; my feet remain by choice. But based on what I’ve seen, she could make me. I don’t know her physical limits, but I have no desire to find out if she’d obliterate me like the Grimhorn.
So I nod.
“What are you? You are no God, but you connect to the link with ease.”
“Oh.” I let out a small laugh and smile. “I’m a Witch. I’m bonded to my God, Vendra, who governs magic in our world. I’m one of the last full-blooded Yldarwrights, which is why I can speak with her.”
She nods slowly and takes a deep breath. “I see.”
“May I ask… what you are?”
“That’s a complicated answer.” She releases my shoulder and steps back. “But my intuition says I can trust you, Amarah. If I ask you to keep my secret to yourself, would you? At least until it’s time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to tell them,” she says, waving her hand in front of her face. That soft gold light swirls between her fingertips. “Do you promise?”
I swallow. “Yes. If you don’t mind me asking a favor. It’s sort of a big one.”
The smile she gives me is more of a grin, her perfect teeth gleaming beneath the fluorescent lights. “I promise it won’t be too much. Nothing is for someone like me. After all, everything else seems trivial when you’ve killed Gods.”
My eyes widen. There’s no way she just said that so casually. “I…”
I don’t think I’ve ever been speechless before.
“Now, tell me how I can help you,” she says warmly. “And then I’ll tell you what I am.”