as they lingered in the water, gradually evaporating. The scent was significantly sharper here.
I exhaled, glancing at Eira and Lumi. “Are you ready? We’re not sure what awaits beyond these doors.”
“It can’t be worse than what’s outside,” Lumi replied.
I smiled and pushed the screens to the side, revealing a wider hallway, with more rooms opening on each side. My heart jumped up in my throat at the sight of what stood at the end. Four Hermessi figures, four humanoid flames burning brightly white, blue, orange, and green. I held my breath for a moment.
“I take back my previous statement,” Lumi mumbled.
I noticed the soft sheen of her skin. It was as if light flowed through her veins, and she wasn’t even aware of it. I figured it had something to do with the Word, and I had to take it as a positive sign—maybe her power would help us soon, because I had no idea how we might be able to get past those Hermessi. Granted, I could try teleporting us again, but what if that no longer worked here? I had to consider all options.
This was Death’s home, and I doubted she’d make it easy. I worried that our advance so far could very well be in vain, that it had only served as a means to get our hopes up before mercilessly crushing them.
“They’re not moving,” Eira said, staring at the Hermessi.
I recognized their colors. Air and Earth stood by the left of the doors, while Fire and Water settled on the right. And, just like Eira had noticed, they were still, simply standing there. Fear threatened to cloud my judgment, but Death’s pull was even stronger. Every step I took was bringing me closer to her, and the connection was simply undeniable.
“We should keep moving. See what happens,” I whispered.
Cautious in our movements, we stepped forward. After we passed by the first rooms, we stopped, freezing on the spot. They had décor similar to that of the chambers before, with paintings of Death on the walls. Only these ones were inhabited by spirits, which simply stood close to the sliding screens and watched us. There were two of them in each room, I realized—mostly males and females from different species, all of them dressed in white, silken robes, translucent.
“Keep walking,” Lumi advised us.
Eventually, the three of us managed to move again, passing by the rest of the rooms. By now, we’d counted about a hundred ghosts, pairs silently watching us. I couldn’t ignore the sad look in their eyes, though I wasn’t sure who it was that they were feeling sad for—us or themselves.
Ahead, the Hermessi were still, but I could feel them watching. I sensed the rush of wind through my veins, the trickle of water down my spine, the blaze of fire in the pit of my stomach, and the earthly weight in my feet. Nevertheless, I kept walking, with Eira and Lumi by my side.
“It could be they’re not attacking because Death commanded them not to,” Eira suggested, her voice shaky. That calm demeanor from earlier had dissolved into an understandable state of dread, which, if I were to be truly honest, we all shared. But like I’d said to Baethal earlier, we’d come too far to stop now.
We reached the Hermessi, and only ten feet stood between us and what lay beyond those double screen doors. A stylized depiction of Death had been painted across the paper, beautifully framed by the shiny black wood. It showed her sitting in a massive throne with gilded details, the long-handled scythe in one hand and a red apple in the other. It had to mean something, though I wasn’t sure what.
From here, we had to get past the Hermessi and hopefully find Death. But the elementals shuddered, their flames releasing sparks in shades of white, blue, green, and orange, their heads tilting toward us. My chest tightened, as I wondered whether we had any real shot at saving our people. It was the wrong time and the wrong place to harbor such doubts, but I couldn’t help it. Yes, we’d made it here, by some twist of fate, but what guarantee was there that we’d ever live to tell the tale?
Right then and there, I thought about my father, now sick and fallen under the Hermessi’s influence. My mother, her strength and resolve tested by these dire circumstances. The almost four million fae that had succumbed to this ritual, so far. Inalia, who’d been forced to