Page 73 of Touch of Death
“Hazel.”
A heavy silence falls at this, and I cannot help but glance down at her, where she still sits at the edge of the pool, her eyes wide as she glances between us.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask carefully.
“He is hosting a masquerade tonight as a sort of final farewell. Hazel could attempt to convince him. To seduce him into staying here.”
“No,” I growl, rage clenching my heart at the thought of him touching her. “Absolutely not.”
Eros shakes his head at me before snapping, “And do you have a better suggestion? Any other plans we could attempt?”
“What about Persephone?” Hazel asks.
“I would not concern yourself with her,” Eros says with a bitter laugh. “It is no secret that Hades has grown cold to her. He has had his fill of her, apparently ... but you, Hazel, are a prized possession among mortal souls. You could be just the thing to bring him back to life, so to speak. And then, steal the key before he is any the wiser. Assuming she learns where it is, first.”
“No. I will not allow it. We will find another way, one that does not involve her going anywhere near Hades, let alone seducing him.”
I watch as Eros shakes his head at me. While he might think I am being thick-headed, I think he is too quick to risk Hazel’s safety.
He is trying to find the easiest solution here, one that involves what he knows best. But I know the sort of destruction that man could rack on someone like her. I will not stand for it.
All we need is a little more time.
“I am all ears, Death, if you have any better plans,” Eros mutters, slumping against a tree.
I give myself a moment to think.
Eros lets out a sigh, obviously mistaking my silence as me giving in. I am not about to quit that easily, though. Not when it involves Hazel going before the God of the Underworld.
There has to be another way.
We just have to find it.
“So?” Eros presses.
“I do not know,” I admit. “I need more time—”
“That is the only thing we do not have. It is now or never. This may be your only chance.”
I hate that he is right, but there is nothing I can do about it.
“What do you suggest then?” I ask.
“Practice,” Eros says, turning his attention to Hazel. “This will be your greatest challenge yet. With so little time left to practice, we cannot afford to waste a single moment.”
“Okay.”
I give him a nod, my shadows swirling in frustration, as I glance down at Hazel. She looks nervous, her face paling and her eyes widening as she takes in what is being asked of her.
I wish I could reach out and comfort her. That I could think of some other way to get us out of here without involving Hades in such a way.
In any way.
“One last thing, as much as I hate to do this, we need to add a new rule,” Eros says with a sigh. “No one is to go so far as to actually … satiate Hazel before she attempts to seduce Hades.”
“Why would you say that?” Hazel nervously asks as I eye him warily.
Eros grins at us, licking his lips as though he can taste something in the air, and I suddenly realize he can probably taste us. The desire that burned between us. How close I came to losing myself in her before he arrived.
