Page 12 of Until Death
“Tell us what is happening!” shouts one man.
“Where is my wife?”
“Give us back our women!”
“Enough!” roars out a new voice, and I turn to watch as one of Deimos’ men emerges from the palace, the two stone guards stepping aside to give him passage. “Yourwomen? Do you dare defy your king by declaring ownership over what he may rightfully claim as his?”
A tense silence falls over the courtyard, and I can sense more than a few men bristling at the guard’s words. The man seems to realize he has crossed into treacherous waters as he quickly clears his throat.
“Nevertheless, the king, in all his mercy, has chosen to return these to you.”
Moving to one side, he signals to another guard. Within seconds, a flood of women comes pouring out of the palace, eager to be reunited with their loved ones.
I remain rooted to my spot, waiting, hoping to feel the girl’s presence, but it is not until the palace doors slam shut that I realize the mortal girl is not among them ... And gathering from the shouts of anger around me, she is not the only one still missing.
Several men stupidly make a rush for the guards only to be cast aside as if they were nothing more than ragdolls.
My own beast might be able to take on the two guards, but there are far too many within the palace walls for me to deal with alone.
Not to mention Hades himself, and the deal he made with the Fates.
“Go home,” one of the stone guards roars to the rest of us, “there will be no further entry into the palace today.”
I linger for a moment, unwilling to leave the mortal alone here, before finally turning and allowing myself to get swept away with the retreating crowd. I have no choice, not if I wish to be of any real use to her.
My steps are heavy as I move toward my own palace. As I step into the familiar halls, I pass by a room full of naked and writhing bodies finding pleasure in one another, but it does little more than disgust me.
With an exhale of frustration, I slam the doors to the room shut and move deeper into my palace.
It is becoming clearer by the moment that I will not find comfort here.
No, there will be no pleasure to be had until the mortal is safe again.
Not while the girl is held prisoner within Hades’ walls, and I am to blame for not protecting her.
As I pace the halls, I nearly trip over a man, my own anger having blinded me to his quiet presence.
“I am sorry, my lord,” he says, pulling himself up onto his feet, and my annoyance softens as I feel the man’s misery crash over me.
“You are one of my court, are you not? What troubles you?” I ask. “It is not often that I find one so dejected with the walls of my own palace, let alone my very presence.”
“Yes, my lord. Please, forgive me,” the man answers. “I mean nothing by it. I … I just cannot stop worrying about my wife.”
“Your wife, where is she?”
“The guards took Lilia from me earlier this morning, and she has yet to return.”
“And they did not tell you why?”
“No, my lord, but,” he pauses, as if unsure whether or not to continue.
“But?”
“May I speak freely?”
“Of course.”
“My sister belongs to Hades’ court,” the man says carefully, “and she mentioned that Hades is searching for one of the women from the ball last night.”
