Death was not what Zalish had imagined it would be. She should have known Athula would not be satisfied with the stunt she had pulled. It was far too easy of a way out.

The light greeted her as it had the first time she visited the underworld. Whimsical wisps of orange light twist in between her fingertips as she floats nowhere, waiting. She didn’t have to wait for long.

“Stupid girl.” The crackling voice travels just as the wisps of light do, leisurely. “If you wanted to speak with me, you need only to pray.” Athula’s head appears within a lingering orb of matter, the tips of his hair breaching the barrier of light. His mouth has already been stained with golden blood.

Zalish closes her eyes, a sigh falling from her. For some reason, she’s calm. For the first time in a year, her heart feels light and her head feels clear. Is this what death is? Clarity? “You wanted my suffering. What better suffering is there than death?”

He laughs, his breath heating the nothing all around them. “Oh dear.” Another chuckle escapes him. Zalish cracks open her eyes only to see that his entire form has appeared. He’s large enough to hold her in the palm of his hand. His bloody smile is all she can see as he cranes his neck, his entire body shadowing her. “You truly are naive if you think dying is the most painful thing in the world.” His head cocks to the side as he swishes his finger around.

The air chills. “You of all people should know the agony that comes with living. The pain that comes from regret.” She shivers, the implication clear in his voice. He flattens his fingers, his smile going lazy. “You aren’t finished living until I say you are. Go back.” Zalish grunts, her teeth gritting as the swishing of his hand threatens to send her body flying deep into the nothingness.

She shakes her head, her fingers trembling. Her eyes water as colors flair around her. “No.” And just like that, the force falls from her.

Athula’s white brows furrow. “You’re… Resisting me?” His laugh is abrupt, and pain is what follows. Both the golden band on her arm and mark on her neck burn. White light flashes across her eyes. She clenches her jaw. “You think you’re stronger than me, child?” Her ears ache as his laughter continues. “You disregard my generosity; you abandon my blessings.” His grin morphs into a sneer, and Zalish knows she has messed up.

She can’t win a fight of wills against a god, especially not in his domain. “I’ll show you the agony I want, the suffering you will give me.” His hand, large and clawed, scoops her up, his fingers pinning her arms to her sides. He raises her. “Look into my eyes.” Zalish can’t seem look anywhere else. His eyes, nearly the same color as her own, deepen, the shifting clouds of dust warping to trap her. “You think you’ve known agony? You know nothing.”

But she will.

As Zalish looks into the god of sins eyes, she sees souls. The soul of every person she’s ever encountered stares back at her, their sins and deceits twisting within his eyes. Not only do the souls of others look into her, but she catches a glimpse of her own as well.

And it is one destined for horrible things.

Waking up felt like waddling through three feet of spider’s webs. Not only that, but her mouth was so extremely dry that she had to fight the urge to bite her own tongue just to moisten it with blood. And to add onto the growing pile of irritations, Elwin is the person to greet her after her trip to the Underworld? The world is truly cruel.

“Would you care to sit down and talk like a civilized lady, princess?” She grits her teeth. It was hard enough hearing Zulith call her that, but she can barely stand to hear the title coming out of the Empress of Velshlind’s mouth.

She scoffs, her clawed fingers twitching. “Look around. I grew up in a cave surrounded by murderous amonos. If you want civilization, go back to your city.” Elwin’s face contorts just for a split second, her beautiful pale features twisting into something nasty and vindictive. She sucks her teeth and stops circling Zalish.

“I’m not going to fight you, girl,” She responds, a few strands of her hair tickling her cheek. Zalish gets a thought then. It’s one that’s so wildly unfunny to her, that she can’t stop the laughter that bubbles up.

Zalish’s smile almost cracks her cheeks. ”You don’t even know my name, do you? Gods, that’s hilarious. You’ve come to me for more than just business, and you don’t even know my name. All this power you’ve got and this tiny piece of information eludes you?” The empress first looks surprised, then confused.

Zalish supposes she shouldn’t care about whether this woman knows her name. She should worry only about the plan she was tasked with carrying out, for the threat of Athula’s punishment should she fail rings heavy in her ears. Not only that, but she finds that this is something she actually wants to do.

For the first time in a long time, she has an actual purpose in life. One that makes sense. Zalish had seen something in Athula’s eyes. She had seen the sins of a thousand people. The sins of her people. And while she hadn’t been particularly blind to them in her previous life, the threat that lingers over her now makes those sins weight more heavily on her shoulder. She will have to be the one to pay for them. That is her job as the amono blessed by the god of sin. It makes her hate her tribe even more.

Athula wanted her mortal form to work for him. He can’t enter this realm in his current state, and all of the preparation that he requires must be done here. She supposes she was sympathetic to his cause, as he too was cast out from his home, abandoned by his family for sins he was not completely at fault for. And he wanted vengeance. In this part she must play, he has offered Zalish solace from the ghosts that haunt her.

She had no choice but to accept.

Even if that meant working with the woman that set her demise into motion. Her tensions leaves her. She doesn’t know how, but Athula had taken her guilt. And what he can take, he can surely give back. She swallows, her head swimming. She won’t survive the guilt. Zalish finally sits.

Her fear doesn’t last long. “I know why you’re doing this.” Zalish’s words come out like a song, her toothy grin stretching her lips. “I know what you need from me.” Elwin purses her lips. “And I won’t give it to you.”

Her eye twitches as her long fingers dig into the ground, likely wondering how or why anyone would ever defy her wishes. “You would dare go against Athula just because you hate me? You would risk damnation? Denouncement?”

Zalish’s head tilts, her unnerving eyes narrowing in on the empress of a dying nation. “I never said I wouldn’t do as he ordered. But just know that I won’t let you use me like Zulith did. You’ve already traded me once, mama, I’d be stupid to let you do it again.” The empress stiffens, but she can say no more, as the words Zalish have spoken ring true.