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As do most members of Thieran’s dark court, according to the stories. The courts were decided centuries ago when the gods formed a treaty after the great war. One court to rule the light and one to rule the dark, with a king at the head of each.
“You have nothing to fear from any of them. They’re loyal to Lord Thieran.”
Her smile is quick and sincere, but it doesn’t soothe my worries. It sparks new ones. Thieran asked me if I was a spy for the high court, and now Kaia makes it sound as if the King of the Gods might consider me a threat if he knew I’d been able to cross the veil.
The thought makes me shiver. The last thing I want to be is a target of the king.
“You’re safe here, Elora. You’ll have private rooms, space to explore, and whatever else you desire. You have only to ask.”
We pass a series of open doors, their contents lit both by the same torches that rimmed my tower room. Wide windows look out on the endless gray of the Shadow Realm. The last door reveals what appears to be a throne room, an imposing black throne sitting at the far end of the long room.
It sits alone without a mate. The God of Death and King of Shadows has no queen.
“So I can go anywhere I want?”
“Within reason, yes. You wouldn’t be able to visit somewhere like Síra, of course. There’s nothing there you need to see anyway.”
I bite back a chuckle. I imagine the Goddess of Witchcraft has no idea how many men I’ve sent to Síra. It’s probably the place I’d be most comfortable, surrounded by the screams and blood of the tortured. Just like the forest, her warning about Síra only makes me want to visit it more.
Stopping at the base of another wide staircase, she turns left, gesturing at doors as we pass. “If a door is open, you are permitted to use the room.”
“I thought I could go anywhere I wanted?”
“You can,” she assures me, leading me past a large painting of a three-headed dog standing over a figure shrouded in black smoke. “But this is Lord Thieran’s palace and his rooms and his rules. Don’t worry. There are plenty of places for you to explore.”
A wide, tall window takes up most of the wall at the end of this hallway, and I get my first good glimpse of the Shadow Realm. It’s nothing like I expected it to be, nothing like the stories I heard as a child growing up.
I expected mangled, twisted trees covering a scarred landscape. The stories my uncle told were full of fear and fire and smoke so thick you would choke on it. But this is nothing like that.
There’s no color here. Everything exists in shades of gray. But the terrain isn’t all that dissimilar from Acaria. Hills slope gently away from the palace, stretching across the land to a forest of blackened, barren trees.
The grass is tall, swaying in a gentle breeze, and a large path curves through it. Wide enough for a horse and carriage—if such a thing exists in the Shadow Realm.
Everything about this place continues to surprise me.
“You have a similar view from your room.” Kaia stands at my elbow, and I can sense her watching me carefully. When I don’t speak, she nods at the window. “Videva isn’t far. That road leads from the kitchens to the village. If you ever wanted to explore there and introduce yourself.”
“A village full of dead people?” The vision of a town made up entirely of translucent mortals sends a shiver through me.
“Of souls, yes. Many of them work in the palace. Only souls from Videva are eligible to serve at court.”
“Lucky them,” I mutter, but Kaia ignores me. “What do they do when they’re not serving?”
“Most of them choose to occupy themselves with mortal pursuits.”
I turn to her, eyebrows raised. “They die just to continue their work in the afterlife?”
“Eternity is a long time, Elora. They make goods and trade them with each other or with Lord Thieran.”
“In exchange for favors?” I wonder what the God of Death asks from his souls.
“Sometimes.”
She doesn’t elaborate, moving away from the window and stopping before a large set of double doors thrown open to reveal an impressive dining room. The black marble table with space for at least two dozen gleams in the firelight, and the high-backed chairs give the room a regal feel.
“You’ve only to come here and ask and food will be provided to you. Whatever you wish.”
“And if I wish to eat in my rooms?”
