Little Saint Bride [Death and the Maiden, #1]

[Rewritten!] Chapter Twenty Nine: Elysian Fields

So I scoop the flower up in my palms and hold it out. 'This. Aren't we going to talk about this?'

The flower is a gentle, cone-shaped red flower with budding petals like a trumpet. Hadrian looks at it with such a strange, pained expression that I close my hands around it and pull it to my chest.

Could I be the Daughter of Spring? How? Reincarnation? Who is Persephone, other than Hadrian's lover? The book said she could return the spring from the coldest winter. If I could make things grow...it would not be such a terrible reason to live.

'Persephone was nothing like you,' is all Hadrian says, slicing through my fantasy.

Nothing rings in my ears. Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes, but I'm determined not to let Hadrian see. I gather myself together into the best cold stare I can muster, before turning to thank the Moirai.

'Thank you for your help,' I say, and I bow low to show respect.

'Through the door are the Elysian Fields.'

'Don't leave through those stairs-- that takes you down to the Inner Circle, where the Punished go.'

I nod, noting the dark steps that we shouldn't take, further across the room.

'See you at the wedding,' the third Moirai says, eyes glittering.

The words cause a flush around my ears. I can't tell if they're in jest, or whether it's the future and they will attend a wedding that I'm at. People who see the future are incredibly disconcerting.

I walk past them, and towards the little brown door that has now appeared on the farthest side of the room. My boots seem to scream fee-fie-fo-fum as I crunch towards it, the silence being chewed up by the stomping.

Finally, after an age, but before I reach the door, I hear Hadrian's reluctant footsteps begin to follow.

I grab the handle of the wooden door and open it, blasting cold air into my face, lifting up my messy brown locks. Startled, I gasp, forgetting how it feels to be alive.

At least, as alive as the depths of hell can make you feel.

And outside the door, it's night. Night, and the sky is filled with thousands of brightly glowing stars. Stars I never thought I'd see again once I became Hadrian's bride, but the Underworld has them too. I gaze in awe at the nearest cluster, twinkling brightly against a sky of navy, black and purple, and distant galaxies of hazy white. 

I wonder if Nate can see them? Maybe one day we can stand under this sky together.

Someone crashes into me from behind, and grumbles, 'I thought you were going to keep moving.'

Warm breath licks along my neck, and I suppress the urge to wrap my arms around my body. Hadrian's tall frame stands behind me, and I can sense every particle of him on fire-- itching for a fight. The two of us survive on winding each other up, and this is one step farther than either of us expected. If I snap now, we'll both end up fighting.

So I'm delighted to walk through the real, tangible door in front of me and onto soft, green grass.

Immediately as I step out, the grass seems to shiver and lilt towards me, growing in long tendrils to stroke along my body. Instead of feeling shy, I enjoy it-- I reach to touch it, and laugh as it coils and flicks to reach me.

Ahead of me, there's fields for miles around, stretching from here until the ends of hell. I blink, because there's no palace in sight-- no Elysium at all-- but I find peace, not worry. My body relaxes as if I'd just stepped through the doorway and into home.