The burning runs down my back, over my thighs, twisting around my legs. It reverses and shoots up to my stomach, finally reaching my chest. As the last inch of me is filled with whatever dark and demonic magic this is, the world begins to fade and everything goes black.
* * *
"You betrayed me. I've done nothing but love you. You were to be my queen, rule the Underworld side by side. It's what you wanted." Drogaem stood in front of Lux, breathing heavily, a trickle of blood running down from her mouth.
"Love has nothing to do with this," Lux says breathlessly taking a step toward him. "I cannot let you do this. I cannot."
"You’re weak!" Drogaem screams out, taking off toward her.
Lux's body begins to glow, everything whirling around her, the light becoming brighter and brighter as she leaps in the air, slamming into Drogaem. The walls of the tomb shake wildly, stones plummeting to the ground. As they collide, Lux swings her arm down, stabbing her dagger deep into the crevice of Drogaem's neck. The light bursts from the wound, sending Lux spiraling backward. She slams into the ground hard and slides until her body hits the steps.
Drogaem lay on the ground, his blood flowing from the wound. He reaches up and pulls the dagger from his throat dropping it on the ground. He presses his fingers to the wound and pulls them away looking curiously at the red liquid dripping from his fingertips. He focuses in, trying to close the wound, but it doesn't work.
Bending down on one knee he picks up the dagger, turning it back and forth, watching the shimmer wave across the blade. His eyes shift up to Lux who is barely moving on the ground. His lip snarls and he drags his body slowly across the tomb, dropping down next to her. With a loud growl he turns her body over and stares angrily down at her. "You bitch. I promise you I will return, and when I do, I will find you and I will kill you."
Lux reaches up and touches Drogaem's cheek, her face calm and serene. "How beautiful our life could have been. Your powers may be great, but they cannot save you from this death. We can only hope that your soul disappears, as your life has meant nothing but pain and torture."
Drogaem's face is draining in color and he feels the weakness surrounding him. "Don't you know me better than that? I will make sure neither of us find that peaceful rest."
Chapter 24
Briar
A deep gasp pulls at my lungs as my eyes shoot open. I blink wildly staring up at the dark ominous void above me. My hand throbs, my head aches. My dream is not the normal dream, it was a memory and for the first time, I was able to see the world from outside of this woman's body. Her name is Lux, the woman betrothed to Drogaem, the woman who was supposed to be the Queen of the Underworld. She is the woman that killed Drogaem the first time, and the one that held the very dagger still pressing to my back, enchanted to kill a God.
The sounds of the room are coming back to me, and my vision is clearing. To my left I hear Kane's voice, whispering, almost singing as if it's floating through the air surrounding everything. I slowly turn my head to the left, finding myself lying next to Drogaem's corpse. My face scrunches, and I close my eyes tightly, turning my head back. The smell of rotting flesh brings new life to my wakefulness but it isn't pleasant in the least. I study myself and look again, finding Kane's body, controlled by Drogaem, standing over his corpse. On the ground below are the mortals he has captured, no more life in their bodies. Blood spills on the ground all around and he steps through it as if it's not even there.
Next to him, stands a tall pillar holding a large bound book. It looks to be covered in some sort of leather, but with the marks that pepper it, I'm fearful to think what it's truly made of. Drogaem is speaking some sort of enchantment, and I watch his hands move from the top of his corpse to the bottom. From his fingers, strings of dark fall, his powers pull like yarn, dissipating into a thin fog that sinks into the corpse's rotting skin. He is nearly finished with his ritual.
My first instinct is to move, grab the dagger from my back and plunge it into the heart of Kane's body before Drogaem can exit, but I stop myself, gripping on to the sides of whatever table I am laying on. I grit my teeth and tap my head against the surface below me, frustrated by the position I'm in. I know that if I kill Drogaem now, I will kill Kane, too. And when Kane dies, I no longer exist. All that will be left when Willem returns will be two bodies of God's and one mortal, only a shell. I hate this choice, I hate lying here knowing that there's a chance that what I'm doing will lead to the torture and suffering of every living mortal in the realm, but letting Drogaem finish his ritual and claim his body back is the only way that I can save Kane.
Even if Kane and I had not bonded in the way that we had, I couldn't rule the Underworld on my own. Kane and I weren't even married yet and therefore I wouldn't be given the throne. The crown would go to Willem and who knows what would happen to me. I may be sent back to the Mortal Realm, or I may be forced to stay, lost in a world where I don't belong. I can't imagine being here without Kane by my
