The Dark God's Bride Trilogy, #3 (9 page)

I will end up like that apple! I will shrivel up and die!
She considered that fact intensely.

She felt his light fingers touching the side of her left cheek. It was slightly cold, but other than that, she didn’t feel any different. She sprung off the bed and rushed to the dressing table. She stared at her reflection in the mirror to see if her appearance ha
d changed. Her hands swiftly touched the skin on her face to feel the elasticity.

Her face was that same as it
was before.

“
Was that enough proof?
” he asked.

What could she say to that? Nothing. She could say absolutely nothing. She remained silent as she watched him plac
e the glove back on his hand.

“…
Why me?” she whispered.

“
It was decided long before you were born.”

“Is that why the Oracle predicted that I would die at twenty-three? So I would come to you? I’m still alive, but you brought me here anyway…”

“
Your time on earth has ended. I simply came to claim what is mine.
”

“So I can never go home again?”

“This is your home now,”
he persisted.

Even if this was all part of Fate’s big plan, did it mean that she
had to go along with it? Couldn’t she simply refuse? Couldn’t she simply just say no? After all, she was a person with real human thoughts and feelings. Didn’t that count for anything?

Amara frowned. None of the answers she came up with was in her favor. Even if she didn’t like it, there was absolutely nothing she
could do to change the prospect. In the world of the living, her free will may have counted for something, but not here in the Realm of The Dead.

Twenty-three years
, Amara contemplated. Her twenty-three years had been too brief.

Oh well. At least, I lived my life to the fullest. There are still many things I still haven’t gotten the chance to experience, but I don’t have any unfinished business either. Except for him…

Amara buried her face in her hands. “Could I have some time alone, please?”

He answered her request and left the room.

Don’t think about him
, she told herself.
Just don’t think about him.
But she couldn’t help it. Had he realized that she was missing yet? Would he wonder what happened to her? Would he be the slightest bit worried? Would he even care now that he was fed up with everything?

She couldn’t stop the feeling of sadness from overflowing into tears. She would never get to see her mother or her friends ever again. Well, who was going to judge her even if she did cry? She didn’t care anymore. She would cry whenever she wanted to cry and there sure as hell
wouldn’t be a better occasion for it.

She let out a soft sob against her hands and wept for some time.

Noctis arrived
at the Realm of The Dead after stepping into the portal that the Oracle asked a blind man to conjure up. All that he could see was a dead and barren piece of land that stretched from horizon to horizon. If the Oracle didn’t lie to him then he should be expecting Death to show up any minute now to greet his newly arrived guest.

Abruptly but predictably, a pitch back wormhole distorted the space in the sky. The anger inside of him began to permeate.

“
How dare you trespass into my realm?
” A deep-layered voice echoed all about him. From the wormhole, Death appeared in a dark dusty cloak.
“Turn back now… while you still can.”

Calm,
Noctis reminded himself
. Must remain calm.

“You know exactly why I’m here,” he interjected. His fists were tightened by his side.

“
You’ve wasted a trip. Leave before regret comes too late.”

“I will leave as soon as you return my female to me. Do so before my patience thins and maybe, just maybe I will forgive the crime of trying to steal what is rightfully
mine
!”

“
I grow wary of your claim. I implore you, for your own sake, to leave while you still can. You forget that you are standing on my soil. Even you have no jurisdiction here.
”

“Why are you trying so hard to get me to leave? Could it be that my presence is a threat to you?”

“
You flatter yourself,
” Death derided.

“You are afraid of me because you have no power over me. You are afraid that I
will succeed in taking my female back to The Realm of the Living. Isn’t that the reason why you are desperately trying to keep me away?”

“
There is a limit to how much of your insolence I can tolerate!”

Noctis could sense anger rising in Death’s tone. The plan was working. “If it isn’t true then wager with me. Settle it once and for all. Unless… you are
that
afraid of losing.”

“
You want entrance in to my realm? Then be my guest! If you fail to take her back to your world by the time the sun rises on earth, you will relinquish all claims on her. I will never hear a single word of it from your mouth again! If you, too, fail to escape my realm then it shall be your fate to remain my prisoner for all of eternity! I welcome you to my humble home!”

The soil beneath his feet softened considerably. Noctis found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the earth. The more he struggled, the deeper he sunk. The earth swallowed him completely.

Instead of being buried under the earth, he fell through. He hit a few tree branches before landing on his back. He looked up, and there were dry tree branches between him and the dark grey sky. He was not underground but under a sky. He was in a dark forest and not a cave. The law of physics seemed to be weak in the Realm of The Dead.

Now he understood what that woman meant when she warned him about the new set of rules.

An ominous silence surrounded him. The earth beneath him began to tremor. Sensing danger coming, Noctis gripped tightly to the blade in his hand. A massive wooden beast rose above the tall trees in the distance. It released a thunderous roar as it tore its roots from the ground. He attempted to freeze it with his powers, but quickly remembered he could not control the time flow in the Realm of The Dead.

It will have to be done the old-fashioned way. 

Once mobile, the beast stampeded through the dense forest as though it were flowing through snow. It was coming for him as no doubt its master instructed. Noctis dived out of the beast’s direct path. The size of the beast and the speed it was moving made for a difficult break. It turned around and charged at him once again.

When the beast came close enough, he leaped onto its front limb and began to climb his way to the top. It attempted to shake him off, but he kept his body close and his grip too tight for the beast to succeed. Once the beast tired, he drew the blade from his back and swung violently at the beast’s neck. He hadn’t use
d a weapon in centuries, but he was once an experienced warrior. The blade in his hand was sharper than any sword he had ever seen. It cut through the hardwood of the beast’s neck effortlessly. He summoned a white flame and embedded it inside the beast. The flame spread quickly like a deadly virus and consumed the beast. He jumped and rolled onto the ground to break the fall just before what remained of the beast hit the ground.

“Is this all you have in store for me?” Noctis said mockingly. “I can’t say I’m impressed.”

  “
You have spoken too soon
,” Death’s voice echoed in the forest. “
Our game has only just begun.”

“That castle in the distan
ce.” Noctis pointed. “Is that where you’re keeping her?”

Silence.

“So it is.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “If you attempt to remove her before I get there, I will take it that you’ve forfeited.”

“I would not waste any more time if I were you
,” Death reminded him. “
Remember the consequences if you should fail.”

“Noted. But if
you
fail to keep us here, then she is
mine
. Remember that as well.”

“I will not fail.”

“Only time will tell.”

Amara went rigid
when she heard the doorknob turning. It was too soon for him to come back. She needed more time to settle her emotions before she was ready to face him again.

He was coming closer. Lying in bed, she could sense his footsteps coming closer. She lifted her head from the pillow and turned her head
in his direction. Her eyes widened when the person she saw was not the one she had expected. The man standing before her was covered in mud and dirt from head to toe. His right hand was holding a massive silver blade that was dripping with blood. She wouldn’t have recognized him if it wasn’t for the shade of blue of his eyes.  

It was Noctis!
He came for me! He actually came for me!

She sat up, wiped away the tears with her forearm. He immediately seized her by her wrist and hauled her off the bed and toward the door.

She could see that he was in a nasty mood.

“You came…” she breathed. She hadn’t even thought about the possibility that he would come all this way for her. She truly thought that he didn’t give a damn about her anymore.

“You doubted that I wouldn’t?” he asked as he led her down the hallway.

“I didn’t think you would come,” she replied honestly when he glanced back at her. “What happened to you?

“Now is not a good time to chat. We need to get out of here.”

She followed him down the hallway, down flights and flights of stairs, and out to the grey-cast courtyard. There were life-sized statues of various people in various positions scattered across the seemingly endless courtyard. There were dark flowers in full bloom everywhere they went. Stray petals on the sidewalks crumbled like glass beneath her feet.

Suddenly, he halted and pulled her behind him. The tension in the air was growing by the seconds.

“Stay close to me,” he instructed.

Amara panicked when she heard savage growling surrounding them and sheltered herself behind him. Out of curiosity, she peeked out to see what was happening. The growling was coming from skeletal hounds stripped of skin and flesh. They were rising from ground in great numbers.

“These things just won’t die.” Noctis muttered a curse.

Probably because they’re already dead.

They coordinately dispersed around them and attacked in strategic groups. Noctis wielded the blade and slashed through them while they were still in midair. Their broken bones dropped to the ground and
were absorbed by the earth. Noctis defended Amara from the continuous attacks, but it felt like the hounds were growing in numbers.

A single hound went for her. Its sharp fangs were coming for her face. Amara gasped in terror. She thought she was done for sure. Noctis yanked at her hand to pull her back and used his forearm to block the attack. The hound’s sharp fangs sank into his flesh. Annoyed, Noctis hurled the beast against the castle’s wall.

His arm!

“Freeze them!”
she urged him.

“I can’t control time in this realm,” he replied between huffs of breaths. They kept on coming. There was just no end to it.

“What do we do now?” she cried.

“Come with me.” He began to fight his way toward the balcony of the courtyard. Beyond the balcony was a steep drop to the rapid river below. Amara could already guess he was planning to jump. She would hate to jump from this height, but the situation left them with no choice.

Desperate times
, Amara said to herself.

“Trust me,” he said, tightening his grip on her hand. “Just trust me.”

“I trust you,” she replied, her voice breathless. She was surprised by how much faith she had in him.

He summoned a wall of flames between them and the hounds. He quickly returned the blade to the sheath at his back and then pulled her into his arms. His right hand was holding her tight while his left hand guarded her head. Amara closed her eyes and took a leap of fate. She would never have the
nerve to do it alone, but he was with her. And that gave her the courage.

They fell from the balcony and crashed into the rapids below. The strong current swallowed them both. Amara felt faint, but even in that state, she could still feel his arm holding her tight as they were being swept along the currents. She had no doubt
in her mind that they would be separated from one another if he didn’t hold her tight enough.

Amara felt weak and dazed. Perhaps it was caused by the fall or being without oxygen for too long. She wished she could help him fight the currents. She wished she could be of some help to him instead of being dead weight. He was fighting the dangerous currents with only one arm because she had the attention of the other. 

Just when she was about to run out of air, he managed to get them both to surface. She greedily gasped for sweet air to fill her lungs.