Crown of Crimson (Underworld Gods 2)

She will rise and you will lose everything, the statue’s voice comes into my head.

I look over at the creepy statue just as Kalma lowers the crown on my head. It feels hot, like the metal is melting onto my head, and I swear the statue smiles at me.

“There we go,” Death says quickly as he slips his gauntlet back on. “Now it’s done.”

Then he grabs me by the elbow. “Come along, wife,” he says, pulling me down the aisle. “There’s the matter of the honeymoon.”

The what?

Sarvi steps out of the way as Death brings me out of the crypt and past the candles, over to the cellars and dungeons, taking me down a wide, dark hall. This doesn’t seem like honeymoon material at all.

We come to a sudden stop in front of a wide gaping hole in the floor, a blackness that seems to go down forever. Definitely not honeymoon material.

“What are you doing?” Kalma asks from behind us.

Death pulls me close to him, leering down at me. “You think that just because you’re officially a queen now, I’m going to treat you like one? After what you’ve done? You can’t be trusted, Hanna. I can’t risk you getting loose again, because I know now that you’ll never come back.”

Sir, Sarvi’s concerned voice cuts through from behind us. Pardon me, but I don’t think this is fair. You should take a moment and think again.

“What is he doing?” I ask Sarvi, my voice shaking.

But Death answers the unicorn for me. He brings me over to the edge of the hole until my feet are dangling over it.

“This is the oubliette,” he says scornfully. “It’s where I put people to forget about them. I don’t think it will help me with you, but at least you’ll learn your lesson this way. I said I was going to tear your wings right off, little bird. Now you have no way to fly.”

Then he lets go of me, snatching the crown off my head at the last minute.

I scream.

And I fall into the darkness.

Chapter 10

Death

“The Conjuring”

“I feel like you’re judging me,” I say, leaning back in my chair and swallowing a gulp of sweetvine wine. I know it’s too early to be drinking, but frankly I need it.

Sarvi stares at me from the other end of the table. We’re in the war room, waiting for Kalma before I start our meeting. I haven’t seen either of them since the wedding yesterday and I have a feeling they’re a tad upset at the way I treated Hanna.

I am not judging you, Sarvi eventually says in a careful tone. I just don’t understand how throwing Hanna in the oubliette immediately after making her queen was the right thing to do.

I let out a bitter laugh. “I never said it was the right thing to do. You know I don’t always do the right thing, try as I may.”

I am very aware of that, Sarvi says with a swish of its tail and I feel my loyal steed’s judgement double.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kalma says, coming into the room with a few books under his arm. “I was up in the library, damn ghosts had hidden what I was looking for.”

He takes a seat at the middle of the long wood table and places the books on top. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” I say, having another swig of wine. “Just Sarvi judging me.”

Kalma and the unicorn exchange a glance. Even though Kalma can’t verbally communicate with the equine, they seem to understand each other anyway.

“I take it this is about Hanna?” Kalma asks with a raise of his gray brow.

“Naturally. And so, what are your thoughts on the matter, since we’re all talking about it.” I lay out my gloved palm and gesture with my fingers. “Come on, come on, let’s get it out of the way.”

Kalma exhales, staring down as he moves the books around on the table. “I think she is the Goddess of Death now, and the Queen of Tuonela. What you do in your relationship with your wife is none of my business.” He pauses, shooting me a dark glance. “However, as someone who now answers to this queen as much as I answer to you, I will request that you treat her with a little more dignity.”

Hot anger flares through me and I grip the wine glass until the stem nearly shatters. “She’s a traitor, Kalma.”

“Then why did you marry her?”

“You know why,” I grumble.

“You believe she might fulfil the prophecy,” Kalma says. “And if that’s the case, the prophecy speaks as not only the one you will be able to touch, but the one whom you will love and marry and unite the land against the uprising. Pardon me for saving this, Tuoni, but though you may have just married her, this is not how you treat someone you might possibly love in the future.”