Page 52 of The Forgotten Life of Ella Moon
“You know nothing about what it takes to be a god of the underworld.Theheavens are soft, just like your father is.Heallows the mortals to run freely.Ifit weren’t for my husband, the mortal realm would be overrun with sickness and disease.”
The heavens were far from soft.Herfather’s realm might be bright and golden.Butit was home toMercuryand theGeminitwins, all equally as deadly asPainandSuffering.Andthe mortal realm was far from a soft place.Butarguing that point wouldn’t get her anywhere closer to speaking toDeath. “Iwould never askThaneto give up his duties here.NorwouldIinterfere in them.Youforget thatIam also part of this world.Ilove the darkness as much as any god of the underworld.Iam my mother’s daughter.JustasThaneis his mother’s son.”
Aurora knew her words affectedSorrow.ManythoughtThanewas like his father.Acruel god that ripped the souls of mortals away.ButThanegave them a gentle death.Eventhose who traded their soul for the most selfish of things were given grace at the end.
Sorrow flopped back. “Heis.Isn’the.”Hertears still fell. “Ialways worried his father would destroy any softness in him.Areyou sure my husband can break this curse without killing my beautiful son?”
“Yes.YouandIhave that in common.Iwould never letDeathhurtThane.”
“How will you do it?”
“Death knows the name of the mortal who must die.Iwill make a deal withDeathfor that name.ThenIwill…”Thewords stuck inAurora’sthroat. “Iwill do what must be done.”Shedidn’t want to think about how she would end a life.Thatwould come later.Firstshe needed the name and to find the mortal.
“And if you fail?”Sorrowcocked her head.
“I won’t.”Auroradidn’t give roots to what would happen if she failed.
“But if you do?Deathwill want you as his own.Athing to use againstThane.AndIwill destroy you beforeIlet that happen.”
“Give me another option.”Auroradidn’t doubtSorrowwould destroy her.Sendher to a place whereThanecould never travel to.Andit would be for the best.Shedidn’t want to giveDeathanything else to hurtThanewith.
Sorrow looked away.Thelow light of the room caught her pale lashes.Thegod looked as if she would break under the weight of her sadness.Hergray eyes were always bright with unshed tears. “Thereis none.Icould curseFatefor what he has done to both of you.Men, no matter a god or a mortal, are such spiteful creatures.Andwhen they don’t get their way, they destroy everything.”Sorrowfinally turned to faceAurora. “Iwill speak to my husband.ButIcannot guarantee anything.Butknow this, daughter of life.Ifyou fail,Iwill destroy you.Iwill break you until there is nothing left but the dust that clung to my son this morning.Doyou understand?”
Aurora stood, crushing the little white flowers under her slipper.Theirpollen left a silver residue. “Youshould’ve remindedPainof the same thing.”
“I did.”Sorrowturned away.
CHAPTER25
AURORA
Nothing had changed in the last couple days since she andThanereunited.Nothing.Asin,Deathstill had not appeared andThanerefused to speak any more of a way to break the curse.Sheshould’ve been enjoying these few days of peace, but her peace felt like it was balanced on the edge of a blade.Atany moment one of them would slip and cut the other.
Thane must have felt it too; that was why he brought them toTheSeaofWishes.Aplace where wishes that were not made on stars go to die.Theywalked along the broken shores, which were made up of all the tokens mortals gave their wishes.
It wasThane’sfavorite place.
“I hate this place.”Itwasn’t the place she hated.Thesea was stunning.Itsdark waters reflected back the bruised sky ofManere.Theshore was made of coins, bits of glass, and tokens that glittered in the moonlight.Whatshe hated were the wishes that floated down like smoke, leaving a slight ripple on the glass-like surface of the sea.Theywere wishes that would never be heard.
“Why?”Thanespread out a blanket in the long grasses that surrounded the sea and unpacked the basket.
Aurora picked up a tarnished copper coin, then ran her thumb over the forgotten king that was pressed on the metal. “Somemortal is hoping they will come true.”Onlywishes made on stars came true.Andeven those needed to be done right.Awishing star must be found and at the right moment.
Thane uncorked a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. “Whosaid they didn’t come true?”
“I did.”Shetossed the coin back into the sea before joiningThaneon the blanket.Trueto his word,Thanewas in something other than black.Hisloose-fitted white shirt and dark brown trousers gave him a more carefree look.Whenshe was younger and still had silly dreams that they would beat the curse, she often pictured him in the heavens with her.Asmile touched her lips at the thought ofThanedressed likeSkyin pale blues and yellows, lounging on a cloud while she fed him sunberries.
That thought quickly dissolved like the smoky wishes that fell from the sky.Thanewould look just as out of place as she did inManere.Maybethey were never meant to have that.Tolive in peace.
“I didn’t bring you here to make you sad.”
“I’m not sad.”Notfor the reasons he thought.Mortalswere careless with their wishes.They’dmake a wish on anything, like dandelion fluff and candles, so she did not feel sadness for them.
“You forgetIfeel everything you do.Yoursadness turns my wine to vinegar.”
“That’s from drinking too much whiskey.”Sheswirled the shimmering liquid around the glass.
Thane moved closer, twisting a piece of her hair around his finger. “No, my dove, that’s all because of you.”
