Page 38 of Until Death
“Let us join them. I can show you things—”
I recoil, my heart pounding in my chest as I scramble to my feet, shaking my head at him. Words fail me as I stumble backward, unwilling to take my eyes off him lest he try to follow me, and slam straight into a wall.
Only, it isn’t a wall.
Strong hands wrap around my arms, bracing me against a solid expanse of muscle before I can tumble to the floor.
Slowly I look up, expecting to find myself in the arms of another attendant, only to find something much worse.
Someonemuch worse.
Staring down at me, his expression unreadable even as blue flames flicker to life across his skin and hair, is Hades.
I gasp and hurry to put as much distance as possible between us, but he stops my retreat with a single, heavy hand on my shoulder. His grip is tight, unyielding, and I can feel the heat of his body pressed against mine, even as his eyes lift to take in the scene around us.
“Deal with them,” Hades growls after a long moment, waving a hand at the women that have lost themselves to the pleasure of their partners.
Guards emerge from behind him, their armor glinting with refracted light from the water as they pour in to surround the pool. They move with practiced efficiency, separating the attendants from their clients and ushering them away without a word.
I watch in horror as many of the women are dragged out of the room in protest, crying out for mercy as they do their best to cover their naked bodies.
Nervously, I peek up at Hades.
A dark aura emanates from him like a suffocating cloud, twisting my stomach sickeningly. I thought he was the one who ordered us to be brought here, but from the way his eyes burn as he takes in the remaining women now cowering in the water, I am starting to think not.
Perhaps this was Persephone’s doing then, but why?
“Take the rest back to their rooms,” Hades orders, his fingertips digging into me.
I watch as the other women gather their things and are escorted from the room, thankful to see that Lilia is still among them as she sends a furtive look my way. As they pass, I suddenly realize that I should leave with them, but Hades’ grip holds me firmly in place.
Glancing up at him, he doesn’t meet my eyes.
“Not you.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I try to swallow back my panic at his words. It isn’t until the last of the guards and women are gone from the bathhouse that he finally loosens his grip on my shoulder.
Hades’ hand drops to his side, and I step back, putting as much distance between us as I can without angering him. I can feel his eyes on me, burning into my skin, and I shiver involuntarily.
“How did you do it?”
I blink in confusion at his question.
“I-I’m afraid I don’t understand,” I stammer, my voice barely above a whisper. “How did I do what?”
Hades steps closer, quiet rage rolling off of him in heavy waves, as he reaches out to tilt my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“Rhyzihr, the incubus that was sent to seduce you. How did you, a mere mortal, resist him, when so many of my own court could not?”
I stare back at him in shock, not knowing what to say. Was it Hades, after all, who sent these men to tempt us? Was this one ofhistests?
“Answer me!”
“I-I do not know him, let alone love him to allow such a thing to happen,” I say.
Hades’ raises a single brow at this as he continues to stare down at me. Curiosity flickers through his otherwise unreadable expression before he lets out a low snort.
“Love,” he says, the word dripping from his lips like poison, “as if love were powerful enough.”
