Melissa’s Reviews > Undead Oaths > Status Update

Switching from Apple Books to KU so paging will be different going forward

Feet now permanently glued to where she stood, she gaped at the king of the dead. It was 1 thing to hear him say the Deathlands were a physical manifestation of his power, it was another to watch the world bend to his command. A soft charcoal haze drifted over the waters of the god-made canal. Soon enough, the fog dampened her feet, leaving the room in a state of eerie, static power.

Aidan’s power surprised Elysia

“Did you not fall through dreams and realms only to land at my feet? The fates marked you for death, and I am death.”

Aidan to Elysia

“Finding this talisman is going to be nearly impossible. You’re a god. If you couldn’t find it, then I’m⁠—”
He cut her off. “The only one in any realm above or below that could.”

Elysia doubts herself but Aidan doesn’t

He nodded. “Raw magic is, in essence, decay. The problem being Kava only has decomposition. The raw magic accumulates, but the plants, the people, the ether of your kingdom cannot use it, so like any other decay, it rots your home.”
“And the people,” she finished, her gaze going distant. Clearing her throat, she tipped her face at him. “The sky was hazy when I was first here two weeks ago.”

“I believe I mentioned the realms are woven by the power of the gods. The Deathlands are an extension of me—the dirt, the flora, the fauna.” He gestured and a sootlike haze appeared above his hand. “Raw, unformed magic. You’ll see it around me at times. Normally, the entire realm is cloaked in it.”

Aidan to Elysia

“I’ve lived my entire life on the precipice of death. Bent in half by others’ expectations and exploitations. Death doesn’t motivate me. The hope of living does.”

Elysia to Aidan

The fact of the matter was, the stick up her ass had been installed at birth by her mother, and it was not going to come out without a fight.
Elysia

Because despite Topp’s proclivity for running his dirty mouth, there was something far more unnerving about Aidan’s direct, unfiltered attention. Annoyed at herself, she took a long sip of her coffee, trying to work out why such tame flirtation was tying up her insides like she was sixteen and had never seen a man before.
Elysia

Lounging in one of the chairs was a man with black hair, hollowed cheeks, and intelligent bright blue eyes that were locked on her.
All the words she’d prepared back in Relaclave were nowhere to be found. Perhaps almost dying had stolen them. Thank you seemed trite, and launching into deal negotiations while in her pajamas poor form.

Aidan watches Elysia
Waiting for her to wake up after healing