Page 68 of Until Death
His eyes snap up, cold dread filling me as he easily meets my gaze.
Downing the goblet of wine, he snaps his fingers and several candles flicker to life, casting blue light around the room. It’s only now that I realize he’s only wearing a pair of black silk pants, his powerful chest exposed by the flickering of the candles.
He is beautiful and terrifying in the way only a god can be, strength chiseling every line of his body in sharp angles.
He stays where he is, watching me from across the room. There is something uncertain in the way he looks at me that gives me a small rush of courage, and I take a tentative step away from the door and further into the room.
I can only hope that the mention of his wife is enough to have turned him off of wanting me. That he won’t try anything else with her name hanging between us.
I’m not sure I understand his reaction to me mentioning her, but if it keeps him away from me, then I’m not willing to question it.
“Persephone has been teaching us how to seduce you,” I say, my voice shaky as I once again disobey his orders, “but you should know that I have no desire to do so.”
He neither reacts nor says anything in response to this.
Instead, Hades simply pours himself another glass of wine. Emboldened, I search for the right words to explain my behavior here and at the ball. Telling him the same thing I told Persephone not that long ago.
He tenses as I talk, but makes no attempt to stop me from speaking. As I finish, silence once again fills the room.
Hades doesn’t meet my gaze this time as he pours another glass of wine … then yet another, each downed in a single mouthful.
I take another step forward, knowing that I’m treading on thin ice. He turns so that his back is to me as I wait for some response to what I’ve just told him. His lack of a reaction gives me the courage to move even closer so that all that stands between us is the table.
“She loves you, even if you do no—"
He whirls on me at this, reaching across the table to grab my bruised wrist, his crystal goblet shattering at his feet. A cry of pain escapes me as his hand tightens around me, his gaze burning with terrifying intensity.
Twisting my arm, he drags me forward over the table, knocking the decanter to the floor with a crash. A cry of pain slips from my lips as I struggle to alleviate the pain from his grip, but it only grows worse with each movement.
Pulling me closer to him, he towers over me where I lie on the table.
“I told you not to speak of my wife,” he says, his voice so sharp that I wish he’d shouted instead.
With that, he jerks me off the table, tossing me to the ground where I land amongst the shattered crystal with a shriek of agony. Hot searing pain overtakes me as blood and tears mix.
I stare up at him, gasping for breath as I try to scramble off the glass, but my movements only make things worse. Hades reaches for me, his hand wrapping around my throat as he presses me back down against the floor.
New shards bite into my skin as my lungs constrict, burning with their need for air. My vision darkens for a moment, the room once more cast into impossible blackness.
Vaguely, I’m made aware of a commotion followed by the howling of a beast outside the room before Hades releases his hold on my throat. I choke as I suck in air, filling my lungs as best I can.
Hades strides across the room. Then a thundering sound crashes through the night, making me wince, as a heavy bar is secured into place across the doors.
I can hear the sound of claws dragging across the wood from outside, but to no avail.
I am imprisoned here.
Without any hope of rescue from Hades’ wrath.
26
Cerberus
Panic and desperation fill me as I do my best to tear the damn doors off their hinges.
I am consumed by my need to get to the mortal.
Hades is meant to hold all my loyalties, without question or hesitation. Yet, all I can think about is saving her.
