Run
I’m in a fresh level of Hell.
Two young reaper girls torture me with various forms of beautification, despite my every protest.
They were sent by the queen herself, tasked with making me presentable. I’m to be introduced to the whole of the kingdom, and Camille insists I look my absolute best.
Like she’d know what that even looks like.
I’ve hardly had more than fifteen minutes with my mother, and that didn’t exactly end well. I’m certainly not ready to meet her people.
The petite reaper with a black pixie cut curls one last piece of hair before stepping back and kissing her fingers like some chef at a human restaurant.
“You look incredible.”
Her Italian accent catches me off guard. This is the first time she’s spoken since she walked in the room.
I probably shouldn’t ask, but curiosity wins out. “What’s your story?”
“My story?” she asks, seeming startled at my having spoken.
“Yeah, you know … how did you come to be here?”
Her confusion melts into a smile. “The queen saved me. I had experienced a great level of trauma as a human, at the hands of my stepfather.” Her eyes lower. “I chose to take my own life to escape it.”
I wasn’t expecting that. Unsure what to say, I remain quiet and hope that doesn’t offend her.
“We reapers have a series of codes that determine where souls are to be taken.” My eyes meet hers through the mirror.
“The reapers choose where souls go? I thought that was God?”
“In the beginning, it was, but as the human population grew, souls needing reaping grew too. God entrusted us to make the determination,” she explains. “Based on our codes, suicide is automatic condemnation.”
I had no idea that was the case. In truth, I know little about what happens once a human dies, outside of that they go to either Heaven or Hell.
“The queen was transporting me, and due to my anxiety, I have a tendency to overshare.” She chuckles.
“I was so nervous; I couldn’t stop talking.
I blabbed my entire story to her, and that’s when she decided I wasn’t going to Heaven or Hell, but she was bringing me with her back to the kingdom of Solis. ”
“Solis.”
The reaper kingdom was named Solis? Nobody had mentioned its name until now, and it hadn’t struck me as odd until now.
“Yes, this is Solis,” she says with furrowed brows. “Has nobody told you that?”
When naming the blade that would sit at my side, Solis had come to me like a whisper on the wind, and right now, I have a feeling it was no coincidence. But this isn’t the person to quiz on the matter.
I shake my head, eager to get back to the girl’s story. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me.
Not that I don’t trust the reapers. Every single one that I’ve met thus far has been great, but God is the all-knowing being. How can the last few minutes of a person’s life determine whether their soul should live in paradise or Hell?
The girl’s situation can’t be the only story out there like this.
How many people were dragged to hell that truly didn’t deserve it?
She did the only thing she knew to escape a terrible circumstance.
She was let down by the people she loved on Earth.
Someone should’ve known what they were dealing with.
The girl’s hand lands on my shoulder, and her smile turns sad.
“It’s okay,” she says, likely seeing my distress at her story.
“I harbored the pain, because I didn’t want my mother to feel it too.
She was a good woman. A loving mother.” She sniffles before continuing.
“She asked me many times if I was okay in the final days leading up to my suicide, but I shut her out. To this day, I don’t know why I didn’t tell her.
She would’ve believed me.” She lowers her head to hide the tears that threaten to fall.
“She carries a burden far greater than mine was in my short time on Earth. Survivor’s guilt has ruined her. ”
My heart breaks for the strange girl and her family. More than anything, I see that some reform needs to be done here in Solis. There has to be something that can be done. Some better system has to exist, to ensure that only the truly detestable are taken underground.
She squeezes my shoulder. “You will be very good for the kingdom.”
I offer her a tight-lipped smile, and don’t tell her I have no intentions of being anything to the kingdom.
“Now, let’s put on this dress and get you to the ball, my princess,” she says, shooing the girl with long caramel locks toward an armoire.
I’m placed in a dress that I would typically not be caught dead in.
Not that it’s not gorgeous, but it’s not me.
The embellished sweetheart bodice gives way to a flowing gold tulle skirt.
“I look like a princess,” I mumble.
“You look like a queen, principessa,” she smiles at me in the floor-length mirror. “River will be here to escort you. You’ll bewitch every reaper in attendance.”
The reaper girls share a giggle, rushing from the room without another word to me.
I take a long look in the mirror and scowl. It seems so ridiculous that I would be playing dress-up instead of getting to know my mother more. I’m not here to meet the kingdom. I’m here to understand where I come from, and to enlist Camille’s help in ridding Hell of Nolda.
Meeting the subjects of Solis is learning where you come from, my inner voice chides, and I glare at myself through the mirror.
I’ll go through with the ball, but then I have to get back to business. The longer I’m here, the longer I’m away from Luke. I need to get back to him.
I’m pacing the floor for what feels like an hour when I finally give up and decide to go find my mother or River.
I’m wandering down hallways, not having a single clue where they lead to, when I come to the grand foyer. The large ballroom doors close behind a smartly dressed couple, and I rush toward it, wondering if Camille and River could already be at the party.
Hushed voices in a hidden alcove draw my attention. I would recognize the male’s voice anywhere … River.
“You look beautiful.” His deep, throaty timbre gives away his desire for whomever he’s with.
“And you, River, are handsome,” a woman says between giggles, sounding like a young girl. But it’s no young reaper. It’s Camille.
I don’t need to have had more than ten minutes with the woman to know without a doubt it’s her.
“We shouldn’t be here. Not like this,” she whispers.
“I’ve hardly had a moment alone with you,” River groans. “You’ve been surrounded by doctors and chancellors since my return. I need this one moment of peace and quiet with you.”
“This isn’t the time, River. We shouldn’t … not with—”
“I don’t give a fuck what we should and shouldn’t do, Camille. I want you,” River’s voice rises, and Camille shushes him.
I can only guess she quieted him with her mouth as neither one speaks for several seconds.
“I’m growing tired of this game,” River growls.
“And what game is that?” Her teasing lilt, flirtatious and inviting, tells me all I need to know. She isn’t really trying to deter him. If anything, she’s tempting him.
My word, what have I stumbled across?
I need to get the hell out of here. I might throw up on the spot if things heat up. This is my mother, after all. The last thing I want is a front-row seat to a very private moment. One that I’m sure would completely traumatize me. For the rest of my life.
“The one where you play coy and pretend that you don’t want me as much as I want you, Camille. Admit it. You can lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t lie to me. I can smell your arousal.”
Good. God. Help me move away from this spot.
My feet are rooted in place like some sort of voyeur, and I hate myself for not walking away before now.
“We can’t, River.”
“Like hell. You want me. You want us,” he says, and then it happens.
The dam breaks and they give into the pull. The sound of their moans and lips smacking together rips at my ears and turns my stomach.
They’re not even being careful about being caught. The alcove they’re in might have them out of view, but I stumbled across them and uncovered their identities easy enough. Do they have no shame?
A whimper from Camille finally snaps me into motion and I’m rushing away from the whole torrid act like my ass is on fire.
Well, at least they’re giving in to whatever temptations they’ve been fighting. It can only mean good things for me. Perhaps now my thick-headed mother will get it through her skull that River is not the man for me.
This will be easier than I thought. Meet the kingdom, request an audience with my mother, and get back to Luke, where I belong.
I push through the large ornate doors into the ballroom.
The opulence of the room has my jaw nearly on the ground.
Gold and white cover the surfaces as far as the eye can see.
The floors are white marble swirled with gold flecks.
White tulle chiffon curtains hang in waves from the ceilings, creating a cloud effect.
Twinkling white lights run along the material covering the ceiling and down the walls, creating a blanket of fairy lights that glow in the candlelit room. It’s romantic and picturesque.
Reapers flit around the room engaging in conversation. Some dance and some eat, but most stand around idly, appearing far too excited for these festivities.
When my eyes land on Cat’s, hers widen, and she rushes toward me.
“Victoria, what are you doing here? You were supposed to arrive on River’s arm. That was a direct order from the queen.”
I snort. “I don’t think the queen is too concerned about what I’m doing,” I say, and Cat’s eyes narrow in confusion laced with a hint of curiosity at my statement.
“Never mind,” I say, waving it off. I don’t want to air my mother’s private business. “I got tired of waiting around. This dress is heavy, and I want out of it. The sooner we get this show on the road, the sooner I can be out of it.”
Cat chuckles. “You are definitely going to bring a fresh rule to these lands.”