Page 109 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
“Much of it is inhabited by the living, but a distant region is reserved for those who have not yet chosen to reincarnate.”
He pauses for a moment, worry knitting his brow. “Though it is... leaking.”
I rear back. “Leaking?”
Leaking what?
“Souls.”
My brows leap, and my jaw drops.
It must have something to do with Vassileo being destroyed.
I’m almost afraid to ask, but, as per usual, curiosity overcomes it.
“Where are they going?”
His gaze gradually returns to mine. “To Akash.”
The air in my lungswhooshesout of me.
“Do they eventually reincarnate again?”
He huffs a ghost of a laugh. “Even I don’t have an answer to that.”
Sacred fuck.
“What can be done about it?”
Expression unreadable, he studies me for a moment. “Nothing, apparently. It’s history repeating itself. Or... entropy.”
Wearing a mask of indifference, he gives a shrug, but his sorrow is palpable, and I have that urge again to reach out and console him somehow... though I do have one selfish question.
“Are you able to discern the souls of animals that have passed?”
Thessaly, I already know, would be in Mors’ domain, Avernus.
I assume the same for Horace, but maybe he came from outside of Bellorum...
Azrael quirks an eyebrow. “Did you have a familiar?”
“He was a guardian of sorts... A raven. Horus.”
He offers me an empathetic smile. “Close your eyes, and summon an image of him in your mind.”
My eyes slip shut as I visualize the first time Horace parroted back,Love you more.
The backs of my eyes burn just as warm fingertips brush my temple.
My heart aches, already sensing the answer he’s about to give me.
When Azrael’s fingertips leave me, I open my eyes to find his bright amber gaze filled with apology. He gives a soft shake of his head. “I’m sorry.”
The disappointment in his response is subtle; expected.
“I had a familiar once. Cerberus.”
Empathy fists my heart. I don’t dare ask what happened to him.
