After supper, Kane and Fate left the
castle for a walk. The balmy evening was filled with promise, and maybe even a
bit of romance.
Fate cast her gaze upward, the ceiling
of rock snarled down at her like a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. Blood-red
mist hovered amidst the fangs, giving the illusion that it had just devoured a
fresh meal. She shuddered and forced her sight away.
How she missed the sky. Sometimes it
felt like she’d never really known the baby blue air overhead with its hot
sphere of gold, or the pitch of night enlightened by an ancient moon and a
billion stars. Had it all been a dream, this other life as Scarlet Prince? Had
she really existed on the Surface? It didn’t feel real anymore. She was Fate
now, some inhuman creature with silver hair, magical powers, and an
unquenchable lust for souls.
The latter would have been nothing
more than fantasy on the Surface, a tale woven by fanciful writers, but it was
reality that didn’t resonate with her any longer.
Still, a sliver of her former self
lingered within. A spark of what was once Scarlet still flickered deep inside.
It was her family and Shelby that kept the fire alive. The part of her that was
still Scarlet held hope that she might see her loved ones again.
She sometimes envied Vale and Sybil.
Despite the circumstances, that they had been torn from their lives on the
Surface by Malus’s minions, they still had one another. Even though Vale had
searched for Sybil for one hundred years in the underworld, time had not made
their hearts forgetful. They held each other as dear as they did on the
Surface, if not more.
“I wonder where Sybil was tonight,”
Fate pondered as she and Kane walked hand in hand through the streets of
Necrosia. She wasn’t sure why, but she kept glancing around, expecting to see judgment
in the eyes of the citizens. But everyone just smiled at them, accepted them.
It was a place where all races were welcome: shades, necromancers, and anyone
else who joined their community. It was a rare and beautiful place.
“The Oracle? I don’t know,” he
replied nonchalant. “Why?” He looked down at her with a soft stare that made
her heart quicken.
She shrugged and looked away. “I just
wanted to ask her something.”
“About what?” he asked as he led her
to the left, towards a jewelry vendor. Earrings and necklaces made of bones,
animal scales, and precious gems hung from the makeshift store walls. Some very
beautiful, some macabre.
“Nothing, really,” Fate said, then
asked, changing the subject, “Have you and Vrill decided what you’ll do to find
the scroll on the Surface?”
He shook his head as he leaned over a
small box on the vendor’s table, blocking Fate’s view with his muscular arm.
“No, we also must speak with the Oracle. She might be able to see its
location.”
Fate nodded, frowning as she rose
onto to her tippy toes to see over his shoulder. “What are you looking at?”
He was silent for a moment, ignoring
her. Then, after handing something to the vendor, he turned to her with a shy
smile. “Close your eyes,” he ordered softly.
Her brows pulled together in
confusion, but she complied, shutting her eyes.
She felt his body draw closer, his
warm breath feathering over her face. Her head swam at his nearness, her senses
blurred. His scent was more than intoxicating, it was alluring, seductive. It
confounded her how just being close to him could completely throw her off her
game. But instead of analyzing it, she just let it happen, falling back into
the bliss.
He then took her hand into his,
heating it with his hot demon skin, and she felt him slide something onto her
finger.
She gasped, her eyes opening with a
start. Kane lifted her hand, kissing the back of it before allowing her to see
what he’d given her.
“But...” she sputtered.
Kane leaned into her, pushed her
silver-white hair from her ear and after kissing her earlobe, whispered in Attra,
Dark World’s native tongue, “Vosira mea anima.”
I give you my soul.
