The moment they rose into the skies above Asphodelia, something changed in Sirithiele. For the first time since they had reunited beneath the oak, she did not look like a dying ruler carrying the burden of a realm.
A bright, unrestrained laugh rang through the wind. It startled Veneri enough that he looked down at her. She was in his arms as her halo left steams of water in the air. Together they cut across clouds, rivers and forests that seemed to go on forever. Neither spoke for a while.
They just flew.
Sirithiele eventually unfolded the absurdly long scroll while still half resting against him in flight. Veneri looked down at it.
"You actually organized this."
She looked offended.
"Of course I organized it. Adventure category. First item. Fly over a sunrise with you."
He looked at the sun already climbing.
"It's nearly noon."
"Then we're late. Fly faster."
And to her delight, he did. He rose higher.
The clouds broke beneath them and sunlight spilled everywhere in gold. For a moment the whole world looked submerged in dawn.
"This alone was worth waiting eight thousand years for."
Veneri said nothing. He only slowed down as if refusing to let the moment pass too quickly. Eventually they reached the northern reaches where the Krepsuna horde moved like a dark infestation across the land.
They were thousands, maybe more. The ground itself seemed infected. Sirithiele looked down and grinned.
"Item two."
What started as extermination somehow became a game. Sirithiele conjured lances of divine water that pierced entire ranks. Veneri just used his glaive to destroy them.
She shouted at one point with a laugh.
"I have fourteen!"
"I stopped counting."
She looked offended.
"That is arrogance. You don't need to go all out."
Then she began deliberately trying to outdo him. At one point she leapt onto the skull of a towering Krepsuna, turned back and shouted;
"Catch me if I fall!"
Of course, she jumped in purpose. He caught her in midair while simultaneously tearing apart monsters below.
"You planned that."
She smugly pointed at the list.
"Item seven."
By the time the horde was annihilated, scorched plains stretched silent beneath them. Sirithiele stood breathing hard, looking delighted.
"Twelve items complete."
Then came the flying section and somehow, it was worse because apparently flying included sixteen separate activities. One was racing storms so they did that. They chased thunderheads until rain drenched them both and lightning flashed around them while she laughed like a reckless immortal.
Another was cloud diving, which turned out to mean free-falling through cloud layers while pretending death was not a concern.
Another involved kissing while upside down in flight. Veneri reread that item three times.
"That one is important."
And somehow, somehow, he agreed.
At one point they landed atop a floating ruin suspended above a canyon because another item required sharing stolen food somewhere dangerous. Veneri had literally stolen pastries from a market on the way. Sirithiele took one bite of it and almost spit it out.
"This is terrible. My palace food is better."
He watched her reach for another.
"You've eaten four."
"I'm dying. Let me have bad pastries."
And so, they sat on ruined stone with their legs hanging over the edge, eating awful pastries while wind swept through the canyon. And so they talked about the experienced they had. They talked about her life, about his daughters, about the husband whose face she no longer remembered and everything involved in it. There was sadness in their nostalgia but somehow it didn't dominate the moment.
Every time silence leaned toward grief, she ruined it by opening the list again.
"Item twenty-three."
"What now?"
"Ride a sea serpent."
"There is no sea."
"There's a lake."
"That is not the same thing."
She was already summoning one. Somehow they ended up riding a colossal divine serpent through water currents while laughing like children.By late afternoon they found themselves in mountain springs because apparently one item required bathing in natural waters while complaining about politics.
She insisted it was essential.
So they sat waist-deep in steaming mineral pools while she ranted about her children scheming over succession.
Veneri gave strategic advice and she called him terrifying. He called her dramatic and so she splashed him. He retaliated and soon it devolved into a water fight between two beings old enough to know better. At one point she laughed so hard she nearly slipped.
When evening came, the list was halfway done. Adventure gave way to quieter things. They wandered through festivals in hidden villages disguised as ordinary travelers. She made him try fruit that he didn't even taste back on Earth, like mangoes. She wove a flower crown and placed it on his head. He protested but eventually forgot to take it off. They danced in a village square because one entry literally demanded they dance badly together.
He danced badly on purpose and she informed him of this constantly. He accused her of inventing that list solely to humiliate him and they had so much fun.
Night eventually found them on a cliff beneath a field of stars. There was another entry.
"Stargaze and speak honestly."
Sirithiele leaned lightly against him.
"This may be the happiest day of my life."
"Mine too."
She was actually stunned.
"You mean that?"
"Of course I do. Most of my life has been about having to deal with politics or saving the world or my Dynasty and even having romantic moments with my beloveds. But to be honest, this is my first time I've ever enjoyed myself outside the aspect of romance or relationships."
Something in her expression broke into a happiness so fragile it almost hurt to witness. Then, she reached for the list. He groaned in response to that.
"There's more?"
"We have only three left. You said no skipping, remember? Fortunately for you, this is only for tomorrow so we're done."
Sirithiele had leaned against him at some point without either of them acknowledging when it happened. Her shoulder rested lightly against his arm while she looked up at constellations as if memorizing them.
Veneri was quiet for a long time. His voice was lower than usual when he finally asked the question.
"Are you really okay with this?"
"With what?"
"With dying."
He continued before she answered.
"I can still try. I have the Time Divinity. It's incomplete but I can find a way. I can force another route—"
Sirithiele shook her head before he was even done.
"No. You are being selfish, my dear. Life does not belong to anyone except the one living it. If someone wishes to decide how they should live, they should also be allowed to decide how they leave."
"..."
"I have lived long enough, Veneri. Honestly… it's a miracle I lived this long. Do you know? I learned more about Earth."
"You did?"
"My husband was a Transmigrator. He was a man from Italy on the sixteenth century. He lived through the Italian Wars. He saw cities burn, armies marching and lost everyone. He died in an attack and woke up here. He used to tell me stories about vineyards, stone cities, old cathedrals, bread. Oh, he would spend hours talking about bread."
That made Veneri smile.
"He made me understand your world a little so I've seen enough. I've loved, I've ruled. I've suffered and I was loved in return. That is already more life than many ever receive."
She nudged his shoulder.
"And right now, I want to sit here and watch stars with you."
"Sirithiele, do you remember when you told me to wait for my Fate? Well, I got rid of it."
That made her gasp.
"You did?"
"Yeah. I have a new Fate now. I don't know how to use it yet but my life is better."
He seemed almost surprised saying it.
"You were right, you know. You told me to live, wait and let Fate reveal its opening. And when I did, I found a solution. I escaped it. Now my life is better without it and somehow, if we didn't meet by that lake that night, I would be dead and we wouldn't be here. So in a way… we saved each other."
For a while neither spoke. Sirithiele slowly leaned closer and with complete seriousness and—
"I could kiss you right now but you are a married man. So I will not do it again."
"Again?"
She looked innocent.
"Slip of the tongue. But I am glad you're living happily. There's something I lied about."
She looked oddly sheepish.
"I'm not dying tomorrow at midnight. I'm vanishing tomorrow at noon."
Everything in him froze. Shock hit his face so openly it almost hurt.
"Noon? You told me it was midnight."
"I did."
"Why?"
She laughed nervously.
"I didn't think we would finish the list in less than a day. There are only three items left. They can all be done tomorrow so don't worry."
He looked like he wanted to argue and did not know where to begin. For once, Veneri Richinaria was completely defeated. Sirithiele leaned into him again. This time, her voice was sleepy.
"For now….I want one final sleep before I die."
She touched his face when he saw the look on his face. Her fingers brushed his cheek.
"Do not make that expression, my dear. It hurts me seeing you like this."
He looked away but she gently turned his face back.
"No. Look at me. I am not leaving you in a sad mood so do not sit here mourning me before I am gone. Spend tomorrow smiling for me, okay?"
That nearly broke him but he said nothing. Anything spoken might have shattered his facade. Sirithiele closed her eyes.
The wind moved softly around them. Under a sky of endless stars with only three items left on a ridiculous bucket list, they sat there in silence trying not to feel how close noon really was.