Page 83 of Touch of Death
But I fear there is nothing that will ever calm me down after seeing Father here.
“Hazel, what has happened? Did Hades hurt you?”
“No … he’s dead,” I sob into his chest, waving a hand at the gate.
Eros glances between me and the souls on the other side, his brow furrowing as he tries to piece together who I’m talking about.
“He’s dead,” I repeat in between gasps. “My father. He’s dead.”
The words tumble from my mouth as fresh tears spring to my eyes. My heart feels as though it’s being pulled straight from my chest, having given voice to my worst fear.
“Hazel—”
Eros remains quiet as I finally pull away, my eyes narrowing on Death as he steps toward us.
Death didn’t save my father.
Instead, Death has stolen everything from me.
36
Death
Istep from the trees, taking in the scene before me.
It takes a moment for me to understand what I am seeing. That Eros holds Hazel in his arms, her face buried in his chest as she sobs uncontrollably.
It makes no sense to me, and yet, no matter how many times I blink, the scene never changes.
Fury burns within me as I watch him hold her in his arms. Despite wanting to understand why she has sought him out, my anger overwhelms me.
“Hazel—”
Stepping back from Eros, her gaze meets mine. Hazel’s rage own rage makes them burn bright as she takes me in.
“Hazel—” I start again, but she silences me with the narrowing of her eyes.
“Stay away from me,” she hisses.
“What happened?”
“You lied to me.”
I frown at this. I realize I should have told her about the book, I never meant to keep it from her … It was but a moment of weakness.
“If this is about the book, I can—”
“My father is dead,” she says, pointing toward the gate.
“What?”
My brow furrows as I follow the point of her finger.
Immediately my eyes search out her father’s soul as it wanders about on the other side. Waiting for Cerberus to return and allow him to pass through the gate and on to the rest of his eternity.
I straighten slightly as I realize what this must mean.
“You told me your shadows collect souls as an extension of yourself, or is that a lie too?”
