Page 5 of Queen of the Underworld

He could only remember the darkness.

The seething, unquenchable thirst for violence and bloodshed, and terror that was his constant companion, darkening his mind with shadows and whispering in his ear, seducing him into obeying it.

If he could shatter the gate between the Underworld and Olympus to allow the darkness to seep into that bright realm, he would do it.

He stared at the gate before him.

If he could shatter this one to make his realm collide with the mortal realm… His mood faltered. He would not do it. He sharply shook his head, dislodging the dark hunger that had spurred his terrible thoughts. He would not do either. The Underworld was his to protect now—his home. He would defend it and keep it safe until his last breath.

Hades stared at the gate, feeling the power of it humming in his bones. It was waiting for him. He looked back at his chariot, aware that he should leave, and then at the gate, aching to step through it. Drawn to it. Crossing the threshold felt like a vital need he had to satisfy, one that would kill him if he didn’t go through with it.

A stray thought gave him pause.

Had the Moirai brought him to this place he hadn’t ventured in centuries?

Hades gave another sharp shake of his head, angered by his foolish and sentimental thoughts. The Fates did not care about him enough to lead him anywhere. He was master of his own destiny. Poseidon’s interference and declaration that he would have a queen by his side had caused a fault in Hades’s armour, one he repaired as he hardened his heart and pushed out the weakness. He needed no one.

But he still couldn’t convince himself to turn away from the gate.

If he stepped through it and into the mortal world, he would aggravate Zeus, perhaps almost as much as Poseidon had aggravated him.

Hades hiked his shoulders and stalked forwards.

His pulse raced, heart galloping as he closed the distance between him and the shimmering rings. The power the gate emanated grew stronger as he neared it and the rings shone brighter. How long had it been since he had visited the mortal realm? How long had it been since he had walked in the light? Whatever light there was on the other side of the gate, it wouldn’t last long. His dark influence would blot it out in a matter of minutes, but they would be minutes in which he was no longer one with the shadows.

And if his disobedience angered his brothers, so be it.

He would show them who was the strongest and most powerful.

Hades drew down a breath.

And stepped into the portal.

And out into a cool, dark cavemouth.

Only he wasn’t alone.

Ahead of him, beyond the cave, the barren land gave way to lush grass and verdant trees bathed in light and filled with life—a young forest that shouldn’t have been there.

But it was the soft, melodic song of a female voice that snared his attention.

And bewitched him.

Chapter 2

Hades strode forwards with purpose, no trace of fear in his steps despite the nerves that attempted to engulf him as curiosity tugged him towards the forest. The darker side of his blood writhed and snarled, battling him for control, and he used every ounce of his iron will to hold it back, denying it.

Deeply aware of the devastating effect he would have on this fragile world if he let it steal control while he was here.

He would not harm this realm. He would leave it as he had found it, but not before he knew the owner of that bewitching, delicate and beautiful voice.

He sucked down another breath, anticipation swirling through him as he approached the entrance of the cave and the edge of a young forest that stood in defiance of the dry, barren stretch of coastline that hugged the Aegean.

An impossible forest.

“This land should not be able to bear such life,” he murmured as a distant memory of this place rose to the surface, one of dusty, arid dirt and tan rock under a stifling, hot sun, “and yet my eyes do not deceive me.”

He arched an eyebrow and canted his head.

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