Have you ever loved something so deeply you'd trade your life for it?
For Helen, the answer is simple: family. In a world where loyalty is bought with blood, she'll do anything to earn someone's love - even if that someone is the god of Death, Thanatos. When Thanatos claims her as his chosen, Helen returns to the mortal world with a divine purpose: to teach humankind to accept death rather than fear it.
But walking the line between life and death comes with a price. The longer Helen serves, the more she begins to crave what she's lost - the warmth of life, and ability to do more than just exist. By the time she realizes what she's given up, however, it's already be too late.
Can you stop a death after it's already happened?
Legends say that if you descend into the Underworld, you can bargain with Death to reclaim a lost soul. No one who's tried has ever returned. Desperate and guilt-ridden, Natalya will do anything to save her daughter. But Death is not willing to release the girl whose name he took - and as Natalya ventures deeper into his labyrinth, she begins to wonder if she ever had a chance at all.
keywords: Myth-inspired fantasy; gothic atmosphere, divine tragedy; Mother-and-daughter bond; literary fantasy; dark myth retelling; trauma and healing; grief and memory; dreamlike-surreal narrative; legacy and identity; underworld journey; psychological fantasy; emotional transformation; poetic prose;