Page 67 of Until Death
Hazel
Deimos is silent at my side as he guides me through the palace.
Trailing behind us are several of Hades’ stone guards, as if making sure no one gets in our way to stop me from being taken to the king.
“Where is she? Where is the mortal?!” My heart leaps at the sound of Cerberus’ voice ringing out as it echoes distantly through the halls behind me.
Deimos’ nostrils flare at this, his grip only tightening on me as he quickens our pace. I peek up at him, feeling the tension that rolls off him in heavy waves. I glance back, but my heart sinks as I am unable to spot Cerberus past the stone guards as we hurry through the halls.
“Pick up your feet,” Deimos hisses as we reach a wing of the palace that I don’t believe I’ve seen before. It seems darker than the rest, even the air feels heavier here.
We finally come to a stop in front of a towering set of ornate black doors. I don’t need to feel the way Deimos straightens beside me to know what must lie beyond those doors.
He opens his mouth as if to say something, but then he closes it. Stepping forward to push open the doors, Deimos all but throws me inside the room beyond.
I stumble, but manage to catch myself before I can crash to the floor. Spinning around, I race toward the doors, but I’m too slow as they slam in my face.
And a key turns in the lock, trapping me alone inside the room.
Alone but for Hades, somewhere deeper in the depths of darkness.
The vines that were covering my mouth turn to dust, and I have to pinch my nose to keep from sneezing in surprise. Slowly, I turn to face the room, doing my best to make as little sound as possible as I press my back against the doors.
My eyes take a long moment to adjust to the dark, but even as they do, I can still barely make anything out. Vague silhouettes seem to rise all around me, taking on new shapes in my imagination with each blink of my eyes.
Swallowing, I turn back to the doors. It takes me a moment to feel out the handle, but no matter how I pull at them, they refuse to budge.
“Who goes there?” comes a deep rolling voice, cutting through the night air.
My heart leaps into my throat, my body tense as I turn back to face the room. Chills dance over my skin, a cold sweat breaking out across my forehead and chest. Taking a quiet breath in, I force myself to hold my head high as I stare into the unending void before me.
Blood pounds in my ears as my eyes, trail over the room. I can just barely make out the soft rustling of fabric moving about the room, but I cannot tell where it is coming from.
Then, the shadows take shape, and a massive form appears just before me. I flatten myself against the door as the spicy musk of Hades’ scent washes around me, prickling at the back of my throat and nose. Slowly lifting my eyes, I peer up at him through my lashes as he looms up above me like the true nightmare that he is.
“Ah, if it is not the mortal herself.”
His deep voice sends chills dripping down my spine as he reaches out a hand to caress my face. It takes everything in me not to grimace at his touch.
His fingers run over my cheeks before they stop at my chin, pinching it he tilts my face up until I have no choice but to look him in the eye. Bright sapphire flames burst to life around his head and shoulders, before smoldering into a soft blue glow that illuminates the rest of his skin with the same eerie hue.
“What are you doing here?”
I swallow past the lump quickly forming in my throat, and he takes my moment of silence to lean down, his free hand coming to cage me in as it rests on the door behind me. The entire lower half of his body presses against mine, pinning me to the door as his gaze drops to my lips.
It’s only as he starts to bend to press his lips to mine in a kiss that I finally find my voice.
“I was with Persephone, your wife,” I tell him. “I-I just told her about us.”
A hiss slips through his lips at this, but it’s enough to have him stepping back from me.
“I told you not to mention her in my presence,” he snarls at me. “I thought I made myself very clear about this.”
His eyes blaze with an infernal fury, and I can feel the heat of his power radiating off him like a furnace.
For a moment, I fear that he might strike me down where I stand. But instead, he turns and disappears into the darkness, though I can now make out his angry steps as he storms about the room.
A soft blue glow outlines his broad frame, and I can just make out the shape of him as he paces back and forth. He stops at a table and I have to squint to make him out as he pours himself a glass of wine.
