T he depths swallowed us in a welcoming embrace. Great swaths of luminous mist rushed up from below, swirling past us in a dizzying haze as we plummeted into the Underworld. I kept my face buried against Thanatos’ neck until I felt our descent ease up. Only then, when my stomach settled and the realm stabilized around us, did I realize just how fiercely I’d been clinging to him. I made an effort to relax my grip, hoping my nails hadn’t left marks on his shoulders.

“Sorry.” My voice came out as a feeble squeak as our motion stalled to a hover.

Thanatos chuckled, a soft rumble that I felt against my chest. “I have just stolen you, my priceless treasure, and dragged you into the abyss of Hades. And this is all you have to say?”

I readjusted to peer up at him, crinkling my nose. “If you were expecting fear, it’s a bit late for that.”

His laugh deepened, the rich sound rolling across the expanse of mist until it was stifled by the kiss he pressed to my lips. I softened in his arms, breath steadying to match the languid motions of his affection. I was never going to get used to the flight across the realms, but Thanatos knew how to redirect my thoughts. Even in midair, where I couldn’t hold him quite the way I wanted to, every gentle flick of his tongue sent my desire for him soaring. What I wouldn’t give to be back on the ground now, hidden away, in the proper position to make him whimper.

“Cyrie?” he breathed.

“Yes?”

“What…are you thinking about?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I was thinking you should take me home,” I answered shamelessly. “Right now.”

Thanatos rubbed his nose against mine. “I wish for nothing more than to be with you all night, my love. Which is why there is one thing I must do before we go, so that there are no interruptions to our time together.”

I stroked down the nape of his neck, letting my fingers wander along his spine. “Oh? What is it?”

“I have yet to deliver today’s harvest to the riverbank. Will you accompany me?”

My brows pulled together. I should have remembered that the souls still needed to be released. “Of course. Will Charon be there?”

“It is too early to catch him now, but that is for the best,” Thanatos said. “He can deal with the souls once we are gone, and there is…something…which I would rather you see when we are alone.”

I frowned, catching the hesitance in his voice. “What is it?”

“Let us go now, and I will show you.”

“Alright.” I tightened my arms around his neck, preparing to set off again. As we began our descent toward the winding rivers below, I appreciated that he flew slowly for my sake—both for a smoother journey, and so that I could better take in the sights. The Underworld stretched out beneath us in muted colors, a dreary landscape of waters carving through cliffs, blanketed in dim mist. The city of Hades was but a shimmer in the distance.

We sank deeper and deeper into the realm, homing in on the sandy bank of the nearest river. Almost as soon as we came close enough to make them out, a congregation of souls shuddered and broke apart, each member scurrying frantically away from Thanatos’ gaze. Repelled by their intrinsic fear of Death, they were all in hiding by the time we reached the ground, where he set me down gently on my feet.

The sand beneath my toes was black and hard-packed, as though it had been walked upon many times before, though there were no footprints to be found. No plants had managed to grow in this harsh soil, save for a few spidery tendrils colored more grey than green. I took a step forward to more closely inspect the flowing water—but Thanatos hastily caught my hand.

“Cyrie, wait!” He tugged me back to his side with unexpected fervor. “You must not go into the rivers! And you must never drink from any of them until you have been here long enough to tell them apart. Promise me.”

I squeezed his hand in my own, startled by the rare hint of fear in his voice. “I promise. I expect there are consequences to mishandling these waters?”

Thanatos let out a heavy sigh. “Yes.” He nodded toward the current. “That is the Acheron, the river of pain. You must never touch it, for I never wish you to feel pain again.” He raised a hand to cup my face, his expression softening, and I knew he was dwelling upon the agony that accompanied my death and transformation. I searched for words of comfort, but before I could find them, a new thought darkened his expression.

“And this is not even the worst that could befall you!” Thanatos groaned. “If you drink from the Lethe by mistake, the waters could make you forget. You could forget me! Please, please be careful here. Do not go to the rivers without me. Do not go anywhere without me! Not yet.” His wings flicked outward, an emotional flinch.

My lovely Death. He’d only just saved me, and already he was petrified by thoughts of how he could lose me again. I rocked up onto my toes so that I could peck his lips. “I’ll be careful,” I assured him gently. “No touching or drinking from the rivers. No adventures without you until I’ve learned about everything here. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

“Good.” He relaxed his posture again, though the smile he offered was bittersweet. “Hades fair. I never felt fear until you were mine. Now I suspect I may never go without it, immortal though you may be.”

“Cheer up, Thanatos!” I snatched his free hand and interlaced our fingers. “I’ve only just gotten here! I promise not to start any drama just yet.”

He answered my wink with a groan. “Just wait until the court gets its teeth into you,” he muttered. “But before I panic about that, I suppose we should finish what we came here to do. I must let these souls go free. Then, at least, I can get you away from this accursed river.”

“Have at it, then.” My lips quirked upward. It was always a privilege to see him performing his purpose, wings alight with mortal souls. Obviously, I’d never been around for this part of the process.

Thanatos shifted on his feet. His brow furrowed as he stretched out his wings. “Do not be afraid,” he told me in almost a whisper.

I would never fear him, but I had no chance to utter reassurance before an eerie wind swirled around us and his feathers glowed violet. The whistling of a sudden gale drowned the sounds of the Acheron’s babbles, building to a crescendo—until the wind ceased all at once. Lights exploded outward from Thanatos’ wings. And shrill screams pierced the stagnant mist.

The purple sparks I’d seen him flaunt before now hurtled through the Underworld air like tiny shooting stars, and where they fell to the shore, bodies flashed into being. A warrior, bloodied, carrying the blade that failed to deflect his killing blow. A middle-aged man wearing a headscarf, decked in jewelry. A sickly child, wrapped in cloth. All bodies of people that once were, exactly as they had been at the moment of their demise.

In an instant we were surrounded by countless souls, distinguishable from the living only by their hollow gazes and the way the edges of their figures faded into the realm around them. And as they manifested, all of them wailed, and all of them fled. As soon as they possessed feet to stand upon, they ran screaming from Thanatos, tripping over themselves and each other in their frenzied haste. I could see only one soul amidst the throng of them who did not fall to panic: an old, wizened woman with a wooden cane. She looked upon Death with some unknowable understanding, then slowly turned away, following the retreat of the masses at a steady pace.

I stared in stunned silence as the cacophony endured. Soul after soul fell from my lover’s black wings and reformed on the dark sand of the riverbank, only to bolt away in a fit of horror. Then, at last, the final violet spark was freed. A young boy emerged, shrieked, and ran, and the din retreated along with him. The dead were gone, and we were alone once again.

I tore my gaze from the last fleeing soul, and instead found Thanatos’ eyes. He seemed unaffected, though he searched my expression intently. I couldn’t blame him. The thought that this might have been how I’d reacted upon meeting him, had my sight not shielded me…the reality of it made my heart ache.

“Is this what happens every day?” I asked with a shudder.

“Well, usually they run to Charon,” he replied icily. “He quite prefers it when they squabble over who gets to pay him first.”

“I…” I started, then shut my mouth. Surely he didn’t want my pity, or my sympathy. He was who he was…but then what could I even say?

Thankfully, Thanatos didn’t seem to need a response—or perhaps my expression told him all he wanted to know. He brushed his thumbs over the backs of my hands affectionately, a melancholy smile on his face.

“I do not mind being feared,” he explained, “nor am I ashamed of my nature. I am the deliverer of the transition, steadfast and immutable Death. I am the shadow that is cornerstone to reality itself.”

“I know,” I said.

“I know that you do. But this realm is different to the planes we have walked together. In this place, unchanging souls can not only see me, but they feel my suffocating presence as well. Having witnessed this, my love, you would still be mine?”

A swell of emotion knotted in my stomach, bringing dampness to my eyes. There it was, a spark of that possessiveness I so adored, mixed with a touch of heartbreaking shyness. At the moment, I was feeling fiercely possessive, myself. “I would have you be mine,” I said softly. “Lovely Thanatos, I would walk the Underworld at your side for centuries to come.”

He grinned at that, his eyes reflecting the otherworldly mists around us. Distant souls shrieked their lamentations at the bank of the Acheron. “Then you will marry me?”

My breath caught in my throat. Of course, his intentions had been clear from the moment he’d begged Hades for my soul. But to hear the words aloud was another matter entirely. Could he see the way I blushed for him in the dim light by the river?

“Of course I’m going to marry you,” I breathed.

Thanatos giggled. It was a sound so pure, so perfect, I could hardly believe I got to be the one to draw it from Death’s pretty lips. He let go of my hands to wrap his arms around my waist, and squeezed me so tightly he lifted my feet off the ground. “I love you.”

“I love you, too!” I squeaked out through his tight embrace. I buried my hands in his hair and peppered his face with kisses. “I love you, Thanatos. Take me home. Take me to our home.”

“Oh, I intend to,” he agreed, his cheeks still softly flushed. He lowered my feet to the ground again, but made no effort to loosen his grip. “However…we will need to face the court, at least for a moment. There will be rumors stirring about you already, so it will seem as though I am hiding you if we do not make an appearance.”

“Right.” I bit my lip. “But…I’m not sure I know how to do that. I don’t know the customs. What am I meant to do and say? Oh, gods, am I meant to dance? I don’t know how to dance!”

I might have spiraled further, but I took a steadying breath on noticing that Thanatos was clearly unperturbed. Instead, he was regarding me with another doting smile. “Do not worry so. I have no doubt that you will outshine them all when the chance arrives. Now, though, it will be sufficient to observe from my balcony for a time. That is where I remain during these proceedings.”

I sighed, releasing the tightness in my shoulders. “That doesn’t sound too bad.” I studied his face, letting my gaze fall to his lips again. I quirked a brow. “So, we show ourselves up there…they stare at me…and then I can have you?”

Thanatos chuckled, then placed a soft, teasing kiss on my lips. “And then,” he purred, “I will worship you.”

I shivered in his embrace. I stole another kiss, brushing my tongue against his. Not enough. Never enough. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”

“Mmm. Come here.” He moved to scoop me up again, but I pressed a restraining hand to his chest.

“Wait. Can we not just flicker there like usual?”

“Flicker? Is that what you call it?” he teased.

“It’s descriptive enough,” I protested. “But can you not do that here? Is that why you always fly home?”

“No, I can. It is just that…you have seen the way souls behave around me. Manifesting out of nowhere tends to shock them into a momentary frenzy, so in this realm I usually fly instead.”

“Oh. I see.” I paused to consider that. “Will they panic if it’s just to the balcony? I’m not sure that carrying me overhead like a trophy is the exact image we’d like to convey.”

“Fair point.” Thanatos tapped his fingers along my ribs. “In that case, I think it will suffice to flicker ourselves home. Those below should not be overly alarmed at that distance, though they will certainly notice our arrival.”

I nodded, steeling myself. “Alright, then. Let’s get this over with.”

“Indeed.” He wrapped his wings around us. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Reality twisted in the way I’d become so accustomed to, and the the sands of the Acheron’s bank hardened to polished stone beneath my feet. A rumble of chatter burst forth from below us, mixed with the soft melody of a flute. Thanatos tucked my left hand into his right as we turned to look out over our balcony’s railing.

We were once again three stories up the face of the black palace, above the opulent ballroom—only this time, it was bursting with activity. Honored souls flocked around the tables at the perimeter of the dance floor, the edges of their manifestations bleeding into the Underworld air. Curiously, I spotted a fair number of the living as well. Were these lesser gods? Immortals like I was?

I didn’t get a chance to ponder. A hush fell upon the chatter, and the hairs on my neck stood on end. Below, the souls went rigid, then turned to stare up at us. Some whispered, some pointed, some gawked. Some glanced back toward the head of the room, and my eyes followed their gazes to the platform where twin thrones stood side by side. The seats were no longer empty.

Radiant Persephone sat on the right, on her throne covered in leafy vines. Her sleek golden curls had been twisted into an elaborate updo that seemed to entangle with her golden crown and the white flowers that bloomed around it. She wore gown of dark fabric, long and regal and grimly elegant. On another day I would have studied every intricate detail, but for now it was the leftmost throne that captured my attention. There sat Hades himself.

The King of the Underworld held himself with a commanding posture, his strong frame draped in magnificent purple robes which contrasted with the fair skin of his hands and face. He was almost as pale as Thanatos, which I supposed was to be expected for a man who rarely saw the sun. His hair, black as the midnight sky, was groomed neatly beneath his equally black crown, which glimmered with inlaid gems. The sharpness of his gaze filled me with unease. A shiver ran up my spine—he was watching us, too.

But as curious as I was to fully take in the legendary fairness of Hades’ features, I was also keenly aware that Thanatos was tensing up beside me. I tore my gaze away from the court and found him staring out across the ballroom, his eyes swimming with the same novel fear they’d carried when I stood near the Acheron. His wings had spread into a rigid arc, and his grip on my hand was tight.

I brushed my thumb over his knuckles. “Thanatos?”

He turned to look at me, and his expression softened. He let out a nearly inaudible sigh and drew me closer, pressing his hand to the small of my back. “Cyrie,” he murmured. His lips curved into a tender smile that masked the apprehension beneath. “Elysium is watching. Shall we show them that I am yours?”

I closed the distance between us, the Underworld air thick in my throat, and the sounds of chattering souls faded against the pounding of my heartbeat. I traced delicately up his jaw and along his ear, tucking away an unruly strand of hair. So close now, we were breathing each other’s air. “Mine,” I whispered. “And I am yours.”

Our lips met softly, a new exploration. As I kissed lovely Thanatos before Hades’ court, an indescribable certainty settled over me. With my mortality burned away, I had stepped into eternity raw and exposed. My afterlife was going to be a journey all its own.