River of Shadows (Underworld Gods #1)(92)

He’s right. Of course he’s right. This is all I ever wanted. This was the whole point of it all, so my father could be free, and so that I could escape. And now Rasmus is giving me the opportunity to do so, right here and now.

So why do I feel guilty? Why do I feel like I’m leaving Death when he needs me? And when did I start caring about his feelings like that?

“Hanna, please,” Rasmus says. “You have a choice. Make the right one. Make the smart one.”

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Okay,” I whisper. “Yes, of course I’m going. You promise you’re taking me to see my father?”

“I am,” he says, motioning for the unicorn to come closer. “We just have to get out of Tuonela first. He’s just on the other side of that waterfall, waiting for you.”

Rasmus holds out his hand for me.

I put my hand in his.

He helps me through the window, onto the gargoyle, and then we’re slipping down until we’re on the unicorn’s back.

I grab the mane for dear life, and Rasmus holds me from behind.

The unicorn flaps its wings and we take off like a rocket through the fog.

Leaving Death and Shadow’s End behind.

But they aren’t the only things that are being left in the mist.

A part of me is left behind too.



* * *



Not the end…only the beginning.





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Flip the page to read the prologue for

CROWN OF CRIMSON (Underworld Gods #2)—coming May 2022





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Need to vent about that cliffhanger? Bug me about the next book? You can always find me on Instagram (@authorhalle)





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There is also a novella prequel called GOD OF DEATH (Underworld Gods #0.5), which showcases Death’s life in Tuonela far before the events of River of Shadows. It will be releasing February 2022.





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Crown of Crimson (Underworld Gods #2)





A sneak peek at the prologue





Death





* * *



“Have you gotten cold feet?” the deep voice of reckoning booms across the walls of the cave.

“That’s a rather modern phrase for someone so old,” I respond, adjusting the blind mask. I wish I didn’t have to wear this ridiculous thing every time I seek out the giant, but because I can see in the dark, Antero Vipunen takes no chances. They say there’s no way to kill the God of Death, but there is…and he’s in the cave with me. Sometimes I think that Vipunen’s power rivals that of the Creator, and he could destroy this whole world if he wanted to.

As such, I wear the blind mask so I don’t piss him off. Part of me feels badly that both my children had to train in combat with him, wearing this heavy bronze and iron mask the entire time while wielding the sword. But at least they’re the finest warriors now.

I also used to think that there would be no day where their training would be put to use, but I feel that day creeping ever so closer, like the snakes do if you stay too long in the crypt.

“Then what is it that has brought my counsel again?” Vipunen asks, louder now. In the background I can hear stalactites fall from the ceiling and crash onto the cave floor, splash into the underground lake. As it always happens when I’m in the caves, I’m brought back in my mind, eons past, to when I was just a young little shit, thrown here on my first day on the job as God of Death. I felt so vulnerable, naked and helpless then, and I despise the fact that today I feel the same.

It’s a most unbecoming feeling.

“It’s the girl,” I tell him.

“The mortal Hanna,” Vipunen muses. “Is there a problem?”

I let out a breath. Fuck. I hate how uneasy I feel. “I have some…fears about the marriage.”

Vipunen lets out a low, rumbling laugh. More stalactites fall to the ground, one sounding too close for comfort. “Fears about marriage? Did you not learn your lesson the last time?”

He can’t see the fuck you smile on my face but I hope he hears it in my tone. “Apparently not. I’m concerned that she may not be the one you prophesied about. Any chance you could, you know, clear that up a little bit? Give me something a little more to go on?”

Instead of being so fucking annoyingly vague from day one?

“To give you more information would be to interfere with your life and the natural order of things and that I cannot do,” he says.

“Cannot or will not?” I ask.

A cold blast of air comes rushing at me. I’m not the only one who can influence the weather and temperature with my moods. “You dare have contempt for me?” he bellows.

“No contempt, Antero, only frustration.”

“Is it not your wedding day?” he asks after a moment.

“Yes, in fact she might be at the altar right now.” No doubt looking beautiful beyond words.

“Then you’re cutting things a little close, don’t you think?”

I sigh, adjusting the mask again. “I’m not asking if she’s the one, I just need to know if I’m making a mistake. What if I marry Hanna and the one I’m supposed to be with, the one that is supposed to save my kingdom, comes along?”