Page 39 of Definitely Dead

“You’ll what? Kill me?”

“No. You’re already dead.” But Tyr could make sure he no longer existed.

Aster watched him, an unreadable expression in his eyes. “So, you’ll what? Erase me? Throw me in the river?” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “What would your mate think?”

“He’ll get over it.”

“Maybe, but will you? Can you live with that guilt?” His chest heaved with a deep sigh. “I don’t think you can.”

Tyr smirked. “You’re wrong.”

Then he uncurled his fingers and pulled his hand back, watching with a kind of primal satisfaction as Aster fell toward the water with a startled gasp. There was no splash, no disturbance. Only a shower of emerald light that flared and dissipated when he broke the surface.

“We’re almost there,” Charon said into the silence that followed.

Tyr turned and raised an eyebrow at his casual tone.

“What? He panicked and jumped into the river. Happens all the time.”

Tyr could only shake his head at the ferryman.

As they neared the far shore, thin rays of silver light began to break through the darkness, casting a cold hue across the sands. Overhead, blackness gave way to a sky of glittering stars and iridescent clouds, while a warm, fragrant breeze blew over the lake.

The longboat slowed, gliding to a stop next to a wide dock, its polished wood gleaming in the starlight.

“Good luck,” Charon told him as he stepped out of the boat. “I hope you find your mate.”

Then he sailed away, disappearing into the darkness once more.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” a voice rang out from the other end of the landing.

Though he had only met Hades on two other occasions, he wasn’t the kind of person someone forgot. A mane of hair the color of moonlight swept behind him in the wind, and his eyes narrowed when Tyr approached.

“And yet, here I am.”

“Here you are.” The god rested his hands on his hips, his leather jacket in an offensive shade of neon pink bunching at the hem. “What happened to the witch?”

“I threw him in the river,” Tyr answered without a hint of remorse. “He had it coming.”

To his surprise, Hades grinned. “You’re not wrong. Still, a shame that it ended so quickly.”

Tyr shrugged. “It was efficient. What did he do anyway? I mean, besides soul snatching my mate.”

Which he doubted Hades cared about. If he had taken an interest in Aster, it had to be something bigger.

“Oh, not much. He just murdered thirteen people, rode their souls to the Underworld, then loopholed himself right the fuck out of judgment.” A quiet, menacing growl punctuated his words, and his obsidian eyes flared with an orange glow.

Tyr perked up. Yes, murder, spells, soul-jacking—all bad. Very sad. But he only cared about the last part of that little rant.

“What judgment? What was his punishment?”

Hades sighed. “Your mate is in the Whisper Woods.”

“How do I get there?”

“I’ll take you. Save your mate, if you can, but this isn’t over.” He wagged his thumb between them. “You broke the rules. There will be consequences.”

Tyr nodded his understanding. Once he brought Sunne back, he’d face whatever Hades had waiting for him.

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