Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud “We All Must Attend the Deathbed of the Lich” by Haden Cross — a dark fantasy story about an immortal ruler finally approaching death and the kingdom ordered to gather at his bedside. Told through a collective “we,” Cross turns a fantasy death vigil into a story about propaganda, obedience, political memory, and the strange moment when a population realizes the supposedly permanent thing governing their lives can end.

You can find the written version of this story right here.

About the Author

Haden Cross is the author of The Uncontinented Stars, which was a finalist for the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction. Their short fiction has been featured in The Deadlands and Shadowrun: Augment. 

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About Cetera Magazine

We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons.

Credits

• Author: Haden Cross
• Narrator: Jon Negroni
• Editor: Natalia Emmons
• Artwork: Jon Negroni
• Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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