Skye is dead.
How she perished is a mystery. All she knows is that she is trapped in After, a makeshift city of souls surrounded by infinite darkness and terrifying monsters that tear ghosts apart.
But while all other ghosts accept the eternity of...
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What looked like the entire kingdom gathered in the throne room for a ball, and for once, the spectacular chamber looked drab compared to the beautifully colorful dresses and garb the party-goers wore. It was a dizzying swirl of different ancient cultures and time periods that never would have met each other in life, and above it all, the king of Aḫ-ḫur watched from his throne.
Nannāru, of course, was happily draped across him. The king ran his fingers through her rivers of hair, making the little silver stars pinned in her locks sparkle. Both of them wore matching blue robes and azure wraps over their shoulders, the priestess's adorned with gold moons and the king's with suns.
Blackburne stood proud and tall next to the throne in full armor and his lux-coated halberd held up straight. He pretended not to notice the royal couple unabashedly making out beside him.
Even I felt compelled to tell them to get a room.
Finally, as the music faded and another song began, the priestess slipped from the throne to chatter with her friends. Tamzi turned to his guard. "Nymandus, are you well? You look a bit like a stone gargoyle with that grimacing face of yours."
"I am not grimacing. I am...scowling. As your bodyguard, I must remain alert."
"Oh, yes. So that is why everyone has been too afraid to approach the throne." Tamzi waved over a servant balancing a tray laden with goblets of red wine. He took one for himself and offered the other to his friend. "It is a party, my friend. Live a little." Then he said over the rim of his cup, a bit quieter, "But how have you been? Any more incidents with the Light?"
The armored ghost's mouth twitched. He downed his wine in a few gulps to stifle it, ignoring Tamzi's offended hiss to savor it, damn it!
"Yes," he admitted, watching the dancers blur together. It was true. Since the night at the temple, he'd inadvertently summoned the Light again. And each time, he'd slipped away to visit Albrecht. He would always return to the afterlife in the nick of time. He laid a hand over his chest plate. "But...I am still here."
"And I am glad for it." Tamzi smiled as he swirled his cup, watching the wine spiral. "Nannāru and I are both looking forward to exploring the desert. I think the distraction would do you well, too."
Distractions.
That was the king's strategy to break Blackburne's anchor—to keep his mind from the pain. So far, it wasn't working.
The music faded again. There was a commotion below amongst the party-goers. The knight pointed into the crowd. "Erm. Your majesty? Your wife..."
"Hm?"
Both men gawked as the people of Aḫ-ḫur cleared the floor, leaving Nannāru alone. With a coy smile, she beckoned the king with a finger. The music picked up again.
The king smirked, ruby earrings catching the light. "Well then. It appears I have vital royal matters to attend to. Finish this for me, yes?" He passed Blackburne his goblet and joined his beaming wife.
