Page 1 of Queen of the Underworld

Chapter 1

Hades was in a black mood and the Underworld shook because of it.

Crimson lightning struck around him, each bolt that connected with the obsidian earth making it tremble and spraying chunks of rock and gravel in all directions. A great jagged streak hit close to him, the heat and power of it buffeting his left side and knocking him away from it. The chariot pitched, the sudden movement shaking him with enough force that the cold, numbing darkness lost its hold on him for a heartbeat.

A moment he seized as fiercely as he gripped the leather reins to guide the horses to safety.

He gave a hard shake of his head, trying to dislodge the thickening darkness as it crept back in, as it whispered in his ear and shredded the fragile fragments of his humanity with sharp talons.

Before he could even begin to fight it, it pulled him back down into the abyss, stealing control of him once more, and all he could feel was hatred. At himself. At this world. At everyone.

His lips stretched into a slow, malicious grin as he raced through the dark lands on his chariot, carving the earth up in his wake as he thundered forwards, the shadows that clung to his shoulders streaming behind him like onyx wings. The light from the ribbons of lava that flowed down the cragged faces of the black mountains and formed rivers beside the road reflected off his obsidian plate armour, chasing over the talons of his gauntlets as he raised his hands and snapped the reins again, urging the four black steeds to run faster.

The thick air filled with the beautiful melody of screams of souls as the ground trembled and bucked, and a spiky mountain burst from a plain off to his left, like the fierce teeth of a beast that had circled beneath its prey from below to catch them within its jaws.

And devour them.

The fear of every soul in the village the mountain destroyed trickled through him, feeding the darkness within him.

His lips peeled back off his fangs as his grin widened. He savoured their pain. Their terror. Pleasure rolled through him, a drug he couldn’t get enough of, one that only made him crave more as the darkness tightened its grip on him. He cracked the reins harder, demanding the enormous onyx horses obey him. They whinnied in response and surged forwards on a new wave of power, carrying him faster across the uneven land, up an incline towards an ancient mountain range.

Another fierce bolt of scarlet lightning struck close to him and his head whipped towards it. The brightness of it seared his eyes and he flinched, growling at the light. The cold receded for another heartbeat, and Hades was quicker this time.

He gritted his teeth and fought the darkness, refusing to let it rip control from him again. Sweat dotted his brow as he struggled against it, attempting to purge it from his soul to free him of its grip. His breaths shallowed and grew faster, his muscles clamping down on his bones with enough force to make his entire body ache as he waged war against himself. The darker side of his blood that he kept secret from all—a feral beast that lurked within him, constantly waiting for the right moment to strike, constantly trying to make that moment happen by whispering poisonous words in his ear to weaken him—fought back, clawing at his mind with wicked words designed to spread doubt and feed his fears.

Hades clutched the reins harder, trying not to listen to the truth it spoke, but it wouldn’t be silenced. It purred at him, murmuring words designed to seduce and tempt, to draw him back into its arms and make him surrender to it.

He couldn’t remember why the darkness had risen this time.

But he felt sure he had done terrible things while it had held him in its grip, numbing him and robbing him of any soft emotions he might possess, transforming him into a monster fuelled by rage and a thirst for violence.

He always did.

Hades looked at his realm as the lightning continued to rage across it, as the land shifted and mountains erupted. This catastrophic storm was his fault. It was born of him.

And he regretted it.

He tried to pull his temper back under control, fought harder against the darkness that slowly chilled his blood and shut down his feelings, those seductive words it murmured to him luring him back towards it. He couldn’t give in to it. He glared at the black talons of his gauntlets and tightened his grip on the reins. He couldn’t.

Whatever had plunged him into a black rage must have been powerful, so devastating that he had completely lost himself to the darkness.

If he let it take him again, he might not come back from it.

Fear of what he might do if he became the darkness, losing the last shreds of his humanity, was a potent motivator and had him fighting harder as he clamped his teeth together and growled. He could not let the darkness take him again.

But he couldn’t remember why it had so easily stolen control.

If he could, he might be able to tame the darkness again and bring it back underhiscontrol.

Hades looked at his dark realm again. How long had he raged? So much felt different to him as his powers stretched outwards, connecting with the lands and funnelling through them to reach far from him. He swallowed hard, regret tasting bitter in his mouth. He hadn’t meant to harm so many under his care.

But then, he never did.

His mood shifted, guilt twining with the regret, with the fear, dragging him back down. He didn’t want to feel these things. Did he? He wanted them gone. Didn’t he?

Hades lost focus as those desires snaked through him, the thunder of hoofs growing distant in his ears and his connection to his realm falling away. No. He didn’t want to feel them. He didn’t want to feel anything.

What was the point when it only led to pain?

---