Page 83 of Until Death
Everything I have done so far has been for him.
But can I continue down that path if another’s existence is now at risk?
It was one thing to give my life for his, but it is quite another to bargain with Death’s, to offer up his very existence in exchange for my father’s soul.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath as I give myself a moment to try and calm the storm of pain and sorrow that has arisen within me.
My hand clenches, the note softly crinkling in my palm.
And I know my answer.
33
Death
All of a sudden, everything comes sharply into focus, and I see a girl standing before me. Tears staining her cheeks as she stares at me. My heart pounds as I stare back at her.
Somehow, I know that she is the one.
She is my missing piece.
My everything.
I watch her as she pulls herself up tall, wiping the tears from her cheeks. I listen as Hades repeats the choice being given to her, and my heart breaks for her.
I would do anything for her.
Anything to ease the pain of this moment.
Anything to protect her heart and soul from the devastation that comes with making such a choice.
And I will.
Setting my jaw, I force my feet to carry me forward.
I push past Hades and move toward her father. He glances up at me, his eyes blank and unseeing as I come to a stop before him.
Instead of forcing her to choose, I reach out.
In a blink, I surrender my immortal powers into her father’s body.
A gasp escapes me as I feel the very essence of my being begin to drain from me.
A cold more painful than anything I have experienced wraps around me … but for a strange warmth that seems to come from my pocket.
Reaching in I pull out a completely full vial, the golden liquid within glowing warmly as I stare at it.
Suddenly, it shatters in my hand the liquid oozing out and up my hand to slip beneath my sleeve. I cry out as it burns into my skin, wrapping its way up my arm and across my chest before finally burrowing its way into my heart.
I gasp, and in an instant, my memories return in a rush.
“Little one,” I breathe.
My heart and mind are overcome with her.
Turning, my eyes find her one last time just before my vision grows dark.
“Death! I choose you!”
