Forever Yours

Chapter Thirty-Six

Kaethe opened her eyes. Pain shot through her body, making her curl into herself and close her eyes again before it disappeared and she was able to straighten her body once more. Opening her azure eyes a second time, this time without the mind-numbing pain, and she was able to glance around to take in her surroundings.

Light filled the brightly colored large room she was in while the lightly colored floor she was laying on was cold to the touch. She shivered once, groaning as she sat up to have a better view of her surroundings. Gold and silver surrounded the room. Large white marble pillars created a circle around her and she could see gold thread intertwine within the white. The room itself was open to the air outside, letting in the warmth of the sunlight that filtered through its arched doorways. Looking up, she saw a dome above her head. It was a stain-glass, bright blues, red, and other colors splashing against the black lines of the panes in which pictures moved within pictures as she watched the sun pass among its panes. The bright colors fell to the floor, creating patterns upon the marble.

She had no idea where she was. The last thing Kaethe remembered was the truck hitting Quinn's car, sending it spinning on the pavement. She didn't remember anything after that, except "Ian!" she gasped out as her muddled brain worked out he'd been there. "Just before the truck had hit us, I saw him... I know I did...."

"Ugh..." a sound came from beside her.

Turning around, she saw that Quinn lay on the floor a few feet away from her, his body no longer broken or bloody. He had a hand to his head, holding it over his eyes as if the bright sunlight was hurting his eyes as he gently and slowly moved his body. Rolling over, he laid his face on the cold marble floor and groaned again. "What the hell happened? I feel like I went ten rounds with Mike Tyson and didn't come out the winner," he asked the floor, his voice muffled by it.

"Quinn," Kaethe whispered as her eyes once more took up the task of glancing around their surroundings. Moving them to where she thought the front of the room might be, she saw twelve large throne chairs; each one their own design and colors.

Getting up off the floor, Kaethe stood, albeit painfully; and took a small, slow step towards the chairs. She was testing her movement, making sure it wasn't all painful and unwanted as she moved until her hand touched the first chair she came to. Glass, cold to the touch and clear to the eye, shined with bright burst of lightning that ran inside the transparent fabric. Kaethe recognized whose chair it was and brought her hand back, letting it fall to her side. She glanced around at the other eleven chairs, and knew immediately where they were.

"Quinn..." she whispered as she stared at the chair with wide eyes, full of shock and wonder. "I think we died." She turned her head at her last statement, eyes brimming with tears. "In fact, I know we did."

Quinn had stood up while she was gazing at the large throne before her, his head throbbing as he watched his girlfriend softly touch the chair. He had lowered his head, his dark hair hiding his eyes from the bright sunlight that was giving him a pounding headache, however when she said she thought they died, his headache was forgotten as he quickly brought his head up and stared at her. "What are you talking about, Kae?" he demanded to know.

Kaethe turned her whole body to look at him, silver tears gleaming in her eyes as small rivers fell down her cheeks. "We died, Quinn," she repeated. "There was a car crash, and we didn't make it."

Quinn frowned at her. "Then shouldn't we be in the Underworld? I don't remember it being this bright before," he replied as he glanced around.

"Yes, but... we're not," Kaethe commented. "We're on Mt. Olympus."

"Yes, you are and welcome, my children."

Their heads turned to the opened doorway and to where the woman stood, golden hair and eyes staring back at them. She moved into the room, the chiton she wore a bright blue that moved against her body like water. A crown of rubies sat upon her head, her hair fanning the small tiara. Bracelets adorned her wrist, clanking against one another while in her other hand she held a small fan, the feathers shaped and colored to look like a peacock.