Aurora moved past the rows of cells containing supernatural creatures in various states of pain, in search of her husband. Gnarled, burnt and broken fingers reached out to her as she passed, their pleas for mercy that would never come, grating on her ears.

In her first days in Phostos, her heart had clenched every time that she heard their cries for mercy but it only took a moment to search their minds and see the callous and downright brutal crimes they had committed against others during their lives for whatever sympathy she felt for them to evaporate. In these cells were creatures that had massacred thousands without cause, tortured innocents for their pleasure and killed indiscriminately. There were pedophiles, rapists and child abusers. No, she would not feel sorry for them.

She followed her husband's presence to the cell of a tiger shifter who had betrayed his family and gotten them killed for money. Hakim had been trying to find out the man's fears since the day before so that he could create a personal hell for the man where his worst nightmares would reign supreme for eternity.

Hakim.

"What are you doing here?" She narrowed her eyes at their fourteenth-born child.

She tried to keep their children away from the worst of the offenders that came to them but Kessan was his father's child. He idolized the ground that Hakim walked on and took all his life advice from his father's actions. That meant like her husband, her son reveled in the torture and pain of these souls, granted they deserved it but it would have been nice to have just one child to have a normal conversation with. As it was, dinner conversation revolved around who had gotten the baddest soul of the day or caused the worst misery to one of their prisoners.

"Mom, don't be a buzzkill."

"A what?" She frowned at him.

"Buzzkill. You know, the one who kills all the fun. I heard it from the dragon who came in last month."

Hakim snorted at him. "You keep hanging out with Limos and all your language skills are going to deteriorate."

"He is funny and says the best profanities when he's in pain."

Hakim shook his head exasperatedly at their son then walked towards Aurora. He crouched to the ground so that he could gather her in his arms and kiss her. Aurora hands framed his face and she kissed him back, loving the sweet fire he always stroked inside her. She moved closer to him, her hands going around his neck and his moving to her rounded belly to feel their unborn child.

"Ew parents, I don't need to see that. Keep it together, old man." He said to his father.

Hakim laughed, pulling away from the kiss. "And you were calling your mother the buzzkill. Finish up here." He commanded his son and took Aurora's hand in his big one.

"But you were about to teach me that hammer thing." Kessan pouted.

"Later, I promise." He ruffled his son's head and led Aurora away with a hand on her waist.

Aurora leaned against him, enjoying his strength as they walked. He was truly the most handsome and masculine of men. In his true form, he towered over everything that could ever walk on the planet. But as he walked with her, he shrunk his form so that he appeared like a human male of six foot five. The large, curled horns disappeared and the red, fire-strengthened scales gave way to flawless, tawny skin. His tail shrank back into his body and he used magic to snap on clothes on his body.

He detested all things human but they had to be practical. They could hardly coexist with the top of her head reaching his waist. So when required, he shrunk his form and his demon-like features. It was another one of his considerate traits. He always thought of her first and it made her feel lucky that she, who had been nothing but a weakling during her lifetime, had been blessed with such a man.

When most supernatural creatures died, their spirits had five routes available to them. If they had been good in their lives and had nothing tethering them to the earth, then they would find peace. The council of judges was made up of the oldest spirit of each race and they were the ones who judged and condemned each spirit.

If a spirit was deemed unworthy of peace, then it remained in Phostos, the part of the underworld that had prisons dedicated for eternal torture and suffering. If they had lived good lives but did not want to find peace, they could stay in Calliopa, a paradise where they could have anything they wanted and would continue to look over the loved ones on earth.

The fourth option was for those who had died horrifically or were tethered to the earth by some injustice done to them. Those were the spirits that were free to haunt the living and cause havoc on earth.

But not all spirits found a definite resting place. Others who had been cursed, had not believed in anything during their lifetime or whose tribes had not conducted the proper burial rites for them, would find themselves stuck in limbo.

When Aurora had died, she had been given the option of peace or eternity in Calliopa. However, the most unexpected thing had happened in the fourteen days that the judges had given her to decide her fate. She had met Hakim and had fallen in love with the powerful keeper of the damned souls. As a god entrusted with overseeing the punishment of the most vile of creatures, the realm which he lived in had promised nothing but pain and suffering but that was not what had happened when she had chosen him over eternal peace.

Together they had made a home in the barren land and Hakim made sure she never wanted for anything. She loved him with everything she had in her and a day never passed that she did not thank the universe for the good fortune of meeting him or making the right choice. With him, she finally had the life she had been denied on earth. Gone was the sickness and blindness she had suffered whilst living amongst humans on earth.

The only thing that could have made her happiness complete was having her brother with her but Vlad had his own cross to bear and path to walk. Bargaining with the universe for him to get a mate was the only thing she could have done for him. If their marriage had half the happiness and love she shared with Hakim, then they would be fine. At least that was what she had thought until one of their daughters had called her to talk to a spirit that had recently arrived from the earth realm.

"Is the baby okay? Is your back aching again?" He asked her as they walked.

She wanted to lie and say yes so that he could give her one of his magnificent massages but they had more urgent matters to discuss. She could not be happy whilst her brother's happiness was threatened. Vlad was the only one who had ever been there for her. The rest of the family had quickly grown tired of her sickness and weakness. He had been the only one who had been patient with her and sat by her when she had been on her deathbed.

"The baby is fine. But Vlad reached out to me. He said his curse is still intact."

Noting the seriousness of the conversation, Hakim stopped and turned so that he was looking at her.

"And?"

"And it shouldn't be. Diana is gone. The judges retried her after Vlad's mate gave her redemption. Her spirit was allowed to find peace so she should have no influence whatsoever on the living. All her ties that kept her from moving on were severed by Vlad's mate."

Hakim frowned as he seemed to consider her words.

"Have they checked for a talisman? A binding object?"

"I'm sure they have but it's been two thousand years, my darling. What can they find?"

"Well, Diana's coven is here. It will be my utmost pleasure to get some answers for you," he smiled.

"Thank you." Aurora stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

It was quite ironic that the White faction of witches was the one that had ended up in the Underworld. But Aurora could hardly complain especially since their pain and misery had brought her much needed satisfaction over the years. She had not been able to do much for Vlad whilst she had been alive but now she had a chance to see that he got the justice that they both deserved.

Aurora went to finish making the cake she had been making before she had been called to see to the banshee. Neither her husband nor sons cared for mortal food, rather feeding on emotions but they had a weakness for vanilla cake. Half of them were skulking in the kitchen instead of doing their respective duties, waiting for her to finish so that they could pounce before the others found out she was baking. She laughed as they fought to lick the bowl.

"Ophi, may you please watch the oven?" She asked her more responsible son when Hakim called her.

"But he'll never allow us to taste." Her sixth youngest pouted.

"That's the point, sweetheart."

She teleported to their bedroom to find Hakim wiping his bloody hands on a handkerchief.

"Did they talk?" She asked him, anticipation burning in her chest. Vlad's messenger had said that the answer to breaking the curse was in the underworld with them and Aurora would do anything to find it.

"With some persuasion." He smirked.

Generally, Hakim loved delivering punishment to those who deserved it but there was nothing he loved more than making those who had hurt her family suffer.

"They said that the talisman was a memory necklace, some ancient relic that can be used to alter minds."

"Alright then, I'll tell them."

"Be careful, Rori. Travelling between worlds is still dangerous and you've been doing too much of it lately."

"I'm not going to get lost."

She saw the reluctance on his face but there was nothing to be done. Even though he wished to come with her to ensure her safety, it simply was impossible. There were too many tortured souls and malicious being in Phostos. They were unstable and always seeking for a way to crawl away from their suffering. Without Hakim's presence to keep the balance, things would go south very fast.

She was about to leave when Hakim called her back.

"Wait. Let me call in a favor so that you can make a trans-realm call rather than go there."

"But the realm guardians always ask for a heavy price." She reminded him unhappily.

"And I'd rather pay it than have you travel and get lost where it would take me years to find you when you're so close to our daughter's delivery."

Aurora waited. When her husband received permission for her to contact those on earth, she reached for her brother's wife. Erinna...that was what she had said her name was.

She must have been eating because her image appeared through a silver spoon, the nearest shiny object.

"Aurora?"

Aurora was glad to see her again. She was really beautiful, more so now in her pregnancy. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that for once, the universe was going to be kind to her brother. A baby would give him the sort of unconditional love that he had always lacked. If only she could be there to hold the baby too, but they couldn't have everything they wanted.

"It's nice to see you again. Congratulations on the baby."

"You too," Erinna beamed.

"Is my brother there? I was not given much time."

Erinna's expression became somber and she shook her head. "He really wanted to see you."

It made Aurora sad because she would have wanted nothing more. Because of his less than friendly relations with the lords of other realms, Vlad was on a permanent ban from ever making or receiving calls from other realms. They hated his conduct and sought to limit what freedom he had. Even with Hakim's influence, contacting him was impossible. Her only hope of seeing and talking to him was if he was around when she called his wife.

"There will be other times. The talisman you seek is a necklace."

"The memory necklace?"

"You know it then?" Aurora asked, relieved to know that they would not be starting from scratch.

"We do. Vera once used it on Vlad and she had it at Silvercrest but it perished with those who had captured me."

Ah, the volcanic eruption. Many souls had descended to the judgment halls that day. Aurora had thought that her brother had gone off the bend again only to learn that the mass killing had been brought by his mate.

"Are you positive it was destroyed?"

Someone could have stolen it and escaped before the lava began raining.

"No, but I can't see how it could have survived the fire. Not to mention, there was no one else there who could have known its value enough to save it."

"Fair enough. Let me see what else I can find out."

**************

"Before you go, may I please ask one question?" Erinna asked Vlad's sister.

Aurora nodded, looking at Erinna intently. Her features were vastly different from Vlad's, given that they shared no blood but the intensity of that gaze was the same, flaying her and leaving everything exposed.

There were so many things that she wanted to ask someone who had more experience than her but given their time limit, she chose the one that was at the forefront of her mind.

"Do you think Vlad will ever be forgiven?"

If Aurora was surprised by the question, she didn't show it.

"Forgiveness is for those who want it. Last time I was with my brother, he was hell bent on revenge. Have things changed?"

Erinna thought of all the tangible changes that Vlad had made. How he refrained from spilling blood or torturing his enemies unless absolutely necessary, the remorse he now allowed himself to feel over his victims and his desire to atone for everything he had done.

"Yes, things have changed." It was the only true answer.

Aurora's face softened. "And how is he doing?"

Erinna inspected her fingers as she put together a reply that was true but would not betray Vlad's trust.

"He struggles with the past. When he is awake it's fine but at night..."

"Ah, nightmares. Are they of his life before he turned or of his victims?"

"Of his life. I asked him if I could take them away but he feels his suffering is the only way he says it's his atonement for the suffering he has caused others."

Knowing Vlad, that self-punishment would never end. His subconscious would continue to torture him in his dreams forever.

"That's Draco's mind speaking. He always exacted a punishment on Vlad for every little misdeed. It's too ingrained in him for him to give it up easily."

It broke Erinna's heart that the only forgiveness that Vlad knew was that which he paid for in blood and tears.

"How do I help him?"

How could she help him believe that it was okay to heal, to move on?

"I'm not sure you can. Your presence is probably the best thing you can do for him. In time he will learn that the only atonement that he can make is becoming the man he wishes to be from now going forward. The past cannot be changed."

"And his soul?" With the certainty of their future, Erinna wanted to cover all bases, to know what to expect should things not go their way.

Would he forever be damned?

"The judges can change their minds. It is rare but not impossible. You should not worry about the fate of his soul though. Isn't the point of breaking his curse to make sure you can be together forever?"

She was right. With the curse gone, no one else would be able to kill Vlad.

"Thank you." She said to Aurora, inclining her head.

A gentle expression came over Aurora's face. "No, thank you. You have cared for my brother in a way few other people have. It might just be thing that will save him."

****************

Aurora closed the communication channel with a heavy heart. She had seen the burden of guilt on many people over the years and it never was a pleasant thing. It crushed the best of men and for someone like Vlad with centuries to feel guilty about, it would be debilitating. It was a wonder he was even getting up in the evening every day.

She pushed away the empathetic pain. There were very few ways she could help Vlad now. The only thing she could do was to help break his curse and give him a long, happy life with his mate and children.

She turned to her husband who had been listening intently to the conversation.

"They say that the necklace was destroyed."

"Then the curse should be gone unless-" He broke off, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Unless what?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's too ridiculous."

"We're dealing with a woman who held a grudge for two thousand years; ridiculous is exactly what we want."

"Well..." He scratched her head, letting her know that whatever he had to say, she wouldn't like. "I might have taught the kids how to make deals with some of the souls here. Just some harmless fun, they are demons and like collecting things. I taught them how to collect useless baubles only but they learnt that they can buy curses from those who have died and can't hold the curse intact anymore."

White hot fury stole through Aurora. She knew of their children's penchant to terrorize mortals but to think that they could have added to Vlad's misery?

"So my brother has been suffering because one of your children thought it would be fun to buy his curse from the woman who is determined to take everything from him?"

Guilt spread over her husband's face. "I didn't say that, Rory. I just said it's worth a check. And they are not my children, they are our children."

"And which of our children would be the one responsible for this?" She asked, her nostrils flaring with her temper.

"Do you need to ask?"

No, she did not.

Had loud screams of pain not been bouncing around the hallways of Phostos, then the whole underworld could have heard the footsteps of an angry woman stomping death into the rough floor as she strode to the one whose blood she wanted. She burst through her twenty-first son's room.

"Mum, what's – aah!"

Rakia immediately dropped the soul he had been playing with and squealed like a piglet as Aurora gripped his ear between her fingers and twisted.

"Mum, ouch! Mum, come on," he begged, bouncing on his toes to alleviate the pain from his ear.

"Did you or did you not make a deal with the woman who made it her life mission to make your uncle suffer?"

"Of course not! Ouch, mum, let go. Come on, it hurts. We're adults, we can talk about this." The three thousand and five hundred year old demon pleaded.

"Let him go, sweetheart." Hakim said gently, putting his arm around Aurora.

"Yes, dad, tell your wife. This is abuse."

Aurora let his ear go then pushed him away to dry her eyes which were now filled with tears. How could any spawn of hers have done this? Demons were demons and usually she did not fault them their nature but they had one golden rule and that was 'family first before everything else'. They looked out for each other.

"You and I are going to talk later." Hakim pointed at his son, giving him a stern look before turning to Aurora.

"Rory?"

"How could he?"

"He probably didn't know. Let's get the full story first."

"I'm beating him after this. I don't care what you say."

Strangely between them, Hakim was the one who was reluctant about punishment for their kids. It was their one point of contention. Aurora had seen how human kids who were undisciplined turned out, for demons it would be a hundred times worse. So she never felt guilty for twisting their ears or spanking the demon off them when they needed it.