Page 11 of Until Death
He’s right, I should have stepped forward the moment I realized I was the one he was looking for. I shouldn’t have allowed my own fear to put the others in danger.
Now, I don’t know how I’m supposed to prove to him that, despite my actions and ragged appearance, I am the one he’s searching for.
“Let me prove it to you,” I finally say, though I have no idea how I’ll do that.
Hades’ eyes never leave my face, and I force myself to meet his gaze.
After a moment, he cocks his head.
“You will have your chance, as will the others,” he says. “After all, it is not punishment alone that awaits the woman I am searching for, but a king’s reward.”
“Reward?”
A murmur of unexpected surprise ripples through the room.
“Yes, a reward,” Hades repeats, his eyes lifting from me to look over the other women, “and I can assure you it will be a prize fit for a queen.”
Again, many of the women whisper in excitement at this, as if somehow a prize can make up for what he’s done to us ... For whatever he plans to do to us.
“Still, I suppose I should also reward one so willing to sacrifice herself to me,” Hades continues, his eyes finding me again. “So, I will hold off on sending you all to the dungeons, for now.”
Sighs of relief fill the room, but I know better than to let down my guard just yet. After all, Hades did not say he was letting us go.
“Deimos,” Hades says, waving a hand, “take the women to the servants’ quarters.”
Whispers and cries of despair fill the room as the guards once more step forward to usher everyone out. Hades is still watching me, and I force myself to stay rooted to the spot, despite how desperately I want to blend into the crowd.
“Except for this one. This one is to have her own room,” Hades tells Deimos. “Put her in the tower, away from the others.”
“Yes, my king,” Deimos says with a smirk that has me thinking the tower is the last place I want to be kept.
4
Eros
“Halt, stop right there,” one of the guards standing outside Hades’ palace orders, blocking my path. “Entry into the palace is currently forbidden.”
“Let me through, I have business with the king.”
“Then you must wait.”
“I am agod, or have you forgotten your place?” I hiss.
“These are the king’s orders. There will be no exceptions.Lessergods or otherwise.”
“You will step aside—”
A grunt escapes me as the other stone guard steps forward and shoves a powerful palm into my chest, forcing me several steps back and away from the main doors.
“You are to wait outside with the others,” he says, his voice low and threatening. “However, if you continue to insist upon waiting inside, we will be more than happy to have a cell prepared for you in the dungeons.”
Straightening, I brush myself off before giving them both a hard look, despite being unable to see or sense how it affects them.
The stone guards are notorious for blindly following through with Hades’ orders, not to mention their own threats, and the last thing Hazel needs right now is for me to be imprisoned. It would appear that I have little choice but to do as they say, for the time being.
“Fine, but do not think I will forget this abuse of power.”
Running a hand through my hair, I turn back to face the crowded courtyard. The space is full of beings of all kinds, though it is impossible not to notice the complete lack of women among them. The very air is different, imbalanced and teetering on the edge of madness as their rage grows with each passing second.
