Page 15 of His in the Dark

I force my next breath to be steady, even as tears prick my eyes. They are tears of triumph. My hand is warm over the crystals. The flame is hot in the night. My own life runs hot through my veins.

"As within, so without," I say, my voice strong and steady, "I am at peace." I blow out the candle, concluding the spell.

What I do not expect is the chill that sweeps over me. The sudden drop in my chest. I attempt to grip forward but nothing is there.

Everything plunges into darkness. A sweep of bitter cold bites through me.

It is not the darkness of moonlight through the window, shining smoothly in. It is complete darkness, as if I've lost my sight.

My vision is gone.

I blink, my heart racing and my mind whirling with fear, waiting for it to clear, but it does not. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I drag in one breath, then another.

I do not wish to release the panic into the air around me. I do not jump up for fear that I will be lost in my own room. But my heart beats faster, as if the power I called on is too large for my body and too large for my control.

I choke on the panic. I've done something wrong, haven't I? I've done something wrong, and I don't know what it means.

I nearly scream out for help. As if a curse has descended in the wake of my spell.

Did I make myself mortal? Did I blow the last of my powers out of me with my breath? Or have I become even more immortal? Have I become something new?

The thoughts race around my mind, growing and spreading until my breath comes shorter. I felt the heat of my palm on the crystals, but now they are like ice under my fingers. Ice. The chill spreads all through my body and to my head, freezing my thoughts.

With no way to anchor myself, I’m lightheaded and lost in the dark. It only grows deeper. I drag in one final breath, and then even the darkness is gone.

HADES

She’s fucking gorgeous.

My heart races as I stare at her and the pounding in my chest grows louder and louder. The temptation to have her is realized. I’ve never felt such lust before.

Persephone lies on my bed, her pale skin almost glowing against the dark silk sheets. Someone with eyes less sharp than mine could mistake her for dead. That’s how deeply she sleeps. That’s how deeply shehadto sleep so she could be brought to me. There was no fight, I was told. Lost in thought and casting a spell, it was the perfect time. Her soul open for the taking.

No time seems to pass while I watch her chest rise and fall, each breath a sign of the life that shines within her like the light of the worlds above. The faint clinking can be heard and I wave a hand to mute it. I need not wake my queen even if she is held there in chains formed from my power.

Faintly I wonder of her concern when she realizes she is bound to the bedchambers. I wonder if her power will allow her to break them, but the thought is quickly relinquished. She is held here by fate. She will not leave until she submits to this reality.

My chambers, already decorated in a dark, opulent scheme, seem even darker with her brightness in it. A deep hum of satisfaction rises in my chest.

When she is asleep, the chains are like shadows around her wrists and ankles. They do not carry weight, they do not have a feel to them whatsoever, but if she were to fight against them, they’d keep her in place. They darken in color when Persephone stirs, my power tightening on her delicate wrists to be sure she does not escape.

Again an odd sensation stirs in my chest, almost like doubt or regret, but how could I doubt her? How could I possibly regret finally having the perfect match to myself?

Persephone stirs again and my breath stills. It’s as if the entirety of the Underworld is holding its breath with me, waiting for her to wake.

A beat of my heart deepens lowly, almost painfully. She will rule them all beside me.

Thump, she is mine. And this world is hers. A gift she mustn’t take lightly.

Thump. Every second she lays there seems an eternity. She must wake. She must agree to submit and accept the honor I have given her. She will be perfect. Even if she fights first, I remind myself, is that not admirable? Does that not add to her allure?

Fuck, my cock hardens, craving the fight. Quietly, I pace back to the window, attempting to rein in the desire that lights its way through my veins.

I have not been able to sit for hours in my impatience. I haven’t felt this alive in years. I haveneverfelt so alive. Because I’ve never had her. I’ve never had a soul so truly mine. My half in this world that I’ve been condemned to. The fates are never wrong. They said I’d have her.

I have her.

Ihaveher.

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