Page 21 of Touch of Death
“Now, you can say you gave everything for her, but to what end?” I hiss, clenching my hand around his throat so that his gasps become silent and his body falls limp. Dropping him, I wave disinterestedly at the man before ordering, “Put the body in the dungeon.”
Leaving the throne room as the man is dragged out to the screams of his daughter, I make my way through the palace to one of the spire balconies that overlook the entire city.
It is not long before I hear the sound of struggle echoing up the stairs toward me. I watch the door as a guard appears and tosses a woman to the floor at my feet.
“Eris,” I say, leaning back against the balustrade.
“Hades,” she sneers, slowly lifting her eyes to meet mine. “To what do I owe the displeasure of being summoned?”
“Death.”
She frowns, quickly scrambling back as she pushes herself up onto her knees. “What?”
“He has returned, and now we must make sure he stays long enough for everything to be put in place.”
Her eyes widen at this, a wicked grin slowly spreading across her face.
“What do you require of me, my king,” she says, her eyes bright with hunger.
“You are to follow him, find out where he goes and what he intends to do … and this mortal of his, I would know how much she means to him.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“You are not to harm the mortal, is that understood? She could prove to be useful.”
Eris lets out a grumble of disappointment at this before answering, “Fine.”
“Good,” I say, turning to look out over my realm. “Now, leave me.”
10
Hazel
The silence between us is deafening as Death’s boots echo off the crystal floor.
“Sydian,” I whisper, careful that no one is near enough to hear, “what are we going to do now?”
The question, or perhaps the sound of my name for him, is enough to give him pause.
Though the throne room now lies somewhere behind us, we’re still not free of the awful presence that fills this place. Death lets out a sigh as my eyes dart about the shifting shadows that seem to lean closer to us, as though they, too, are eager to hear what he has to say.
But Death says nothing.
The longer the silence stretches between us, the more I worry that this is it ... Thatthiswill be the end of us.
An end to something that’s barely had a chance to start. I haven’t even had the courage to tell him that my heart sings for him.
We have barely even had the chance to get started. I’ve yet to even tell him the way my heart beats for him or how my fingers itch to capture his likeness again.
I open my mouth, but none of these thoughts slip out.
Nothing does, as Death suddenly pulls me toward the shadows, and I barely have time to react before he’s wedged us both into a small crevice just off the main hall. His body presses against mine, making my heart beat wildly in my chest, even as his icy shadows rise up to shroud us where we hide.
Death lifts a finger to his lips, signaling for my silence, before turning to watch the hall. I follow his gaze, hardly daring to breathe given what little space there is between us, waiting to see what’s caused us to suddenly take cover.
It takes a few more seconds before I hear the thud of approaching footsteps, and then I watch as several massive stone guards pass us by.
As soon as they’re out of earshot, Death leans down so that his lips are as close to my ear as they can get.
