Page 45 of A Bond in Flames

“Why is she like this? Why is she being kept asleep like this?”

“This was a punishment, part of a curse, and there is only one way for it to be broken. Until that happens, she must stay here, and Somnus stays with her in the dream world, protecting her, taking care of her so she is not alone or afraid, until she can finally wake again.”

“A curse? So there’s no way we can take her from this temple?”

“No, not without breaking it first.”

He didn’t elaborate, which meant he couldn’t tell me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the child lying there. “Are you able to talk to her through Somnus like you did me? In the dream realm?”

“No, she is blocked from me in every way. Only Somnus can reach her.”

I didn’t think I could despise Nox more. I was wrong. “What will happen to her when we wake him? Who will protect her in the dream realm?”

His jaw tightened again, and his hand actually shook as it hovered over the little girl’s cheek. “There are places she can hide. Somnus will ensure she’s hidden before he rises from his slumber. It will be only a few days, and then he can return to her.”

“She must be so scared,” I choked out, thinking of Jasmine when she was that little and my responsibility, and of baby Violet. I don’t know what came over me, but I reached out and cupped her tiny, little face, leaning in close and smoothing my hand over her hair. “It will be okay, little one,” I whispered. “Your brothers will keep you safe.” My heart squeezed. “What’s her name?”

“Marigold.”

I glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at me or his tiny sister; he had moved to a small statue beside her bed. “Your knife,” he said and held out his hand.

I took it from its sheath again and handed it to him. This time, he sliced through his palm and squeezed his fingers into a tight fist, letting his blood drip down the small statue while muttering words in a different language.

Death’s head was back, his eyes closed, and power rolled through the room, shaking the ground. I grabbed onto the side of the bed so I didn’t fall.

Finally, he opened his eyes, swiped his thumb through the blood pooled in his palm, and pressed it to Marigold’s forehead.

“While you walk the Dream Realm alone, let my blood be your protection, let it shelter you, guide you, comfort you,” he said in a low, raspy voice.

Then he stepped back, and the power pulsing through the room dropped, returning to how it was when we walked in. “You still have power in here?”

“Enough.”

“Now what?” I asked when Death said nothing more.

“Now we go home. Somnus will wake in the next few days, and I’d like to be there to greet him.” His gaze slid to me, and his eyes were back to black, flecked with distant stars.

He studied me in a way that made me uneasy. I glanced at Marigold, then back at him. “Is there something else you need?”

He shook his head. “Wait for me in the great room. I’ll be out in a moment.”

I nodded and hustled out of there, but I couldn’t help but glance back before the room was out of sight. Death had dropped to his knees beside the bed, the child’s hand held in his massive, tattooed, and scarred ones, and his head was bowed. He was talking, but there was no way I could hear what he was saying. I quickly turned away, feeling guilty for watching such a private and obviously painful moment, and did what he said.

When I walked back into the great room, I spotted a set of wooden animals. They lay on a small table by one of the couches, and I imagined two little boys in this place, playing with toys, sheltered within these walls. They’d been here sometimes years at a time. Were they always alone? What the hell was wrong with Nox that she didn’t care for them or protect them? They were gods, yes, and I had no idea how children with that kind of power were raised, but this was wrong any way you looked at it.

After meeting Nox and seeing the way Death loathed her, I doubted she’d ever cared for them the way a mother should.

When Death walked into the room, he was back to being somber and contemplative. Leaving Marigold behind had to be incredibly difficult.

We walked back through the massive doors and outside. “How long has it been since you’ve been with Somnus awake?” I asked to try and take his mind off his pain, to remind him that he had something to look forward to.

He lifted me onto the beast, then swung up behind me. “Thirteen years.”

Thirteen years ago, I’d been just fifteen years old. “When Somnus found me? Is that the last time you talked?”

“Yes.”

---