Page 44 of A Bond in Flames

He said no more and seemed to go somewhere else for a moment. I touched his arm. “Why are we here?”

“This is where Somnus is. His dream-self, anyway.”

“Why would he come here, back to this realm, so close to Nox, even while he’s asleep?”

“I’ll show you,” Death said and took my hand, leading me to the tall main doors.

They were damaged, the marble chipped and gouged. “Someone’s been trying to get in.”

Death’s eyes swirled, and I felt his fury return. “Yes, but breaching them is impossible.”

Whatever was in here had to be something important or powerful for Nox to be so desperate to get in. “That must piss Nox off.”

“It does, but still she tries, and the fact Somnus and I have a temple in her realm and still she’s denied admittance infuriates her.”

Death slid my knife from the sheath strapped to my thigh, then sliced his forearm. He handed the knife back to me, then, dipping his finger in the blood dripping from the wound, drew a symbol on the door. The door rumbled, and a moment later, it swung open.

Taking my hand again, he led me through the massive doors, and I saw that the slice on Death’s arm had already healed. The doors closed behind us, and I took in the room. Inside was vastly different than outside. Everything was pristine, lush couches and cozy blankets, vibrant colors.

“Did you and Somnus choose the furniture?”

“Yes, when we were very young. This was a refuge from our mother, so we made it as comfortable as we could. We created every piece in this temple,” he said absently.

“You were powerful even as a small boy.” Something was seriously wrong with Death; he didn’t just give away information like that.

His hands hung loose at his sides, but they curled, his fists tight. “When you’re a terrified child, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.”

My heart broke for him and Somnus. “You were here a lot?”

“Sometimes, we were in here for months, and sometimes, years at a time.”

“Years?” I choked out.

The veins bulged in his forearms. “Nox created us because she was lonely. She wanted to know what it was like to love someone besides herself, but after we were born, she quickly returned to her default of using everything and everyone for her own gain. She sold Somnus regularly, bartered her small son in exchange for power.” His lips curled in disgust, his eyes bright with fury. “She let other gods sleep beside him, let them piggyback off his power. He didn’t have full control over it yet, so he didn’t know how to distance himself from it. He was forced to see the twisted shit they did in the Dream Realm to others, and sometimes, they turned their twisted shit on him.” His nostrils flared. “I made it so she couldn’t get near him anymore, and as punishment, she stifled my powers in her realm so she’d always be stronger.”

I felt sick to my stomach. How could she do that to her own children? “I’m so sorry. She really is a monster.”

The muscle at the side of his jaw tightened. “More than you know.”

He carried on through the main room and down a short hallway. Right at the end was another closed door. Death pressed his hand to it and whispered words I couldn’t hear.

The door swung open, and he stepped inside.

I followed but abruptly stopped, definitely not prepared for what was in there. I expected an altar dedicated to Somnus or something like that, some artifact that we could take back to the castle to wake his brother in Limbo; instead, there was a little girl.

Death walked to her side, staring down at her. He kept his features hard, but again, somehow, I felt his emotions and just how wild they were in that moment.

She was very young, maybe two or three years old. “You have a sister?” I whispered and joined him. My breath caught. She was utterly beautiful. Her hair was long and glossy black like Nox’s, her skin the same shimmery mother-of-pearl. “Why is she here? Why isn’t she with her mother?”

“Her mother doesn’t know she exists, and that’s the way it must be for now,” he said, voice low.

“Doesn’t know she exists? How? And if Nox doesn’t know she exists, then why is she trying to break into the temple?” I glanced up at him.

He ran the backs of his fingers down the child’s round cheek. “It’s complicated.”

“How long has she been here? How old is she?”

“She’s been here in stasis for a very long time. In human years, she is but three years old.”

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