Page 24 of Until Death
I can feel my resolve already slipping through my fingers.
And then there’s Persephone.
I can’t stop myself from thinking about her, and my stomach twists with discomfort. Guilt and shame flood through me. I’d seen the pain on her face at the ball.
She is one of the few beings who has tried to help me, and this is how I plan on repaying her kindness?
I hate everything about my plan, but I don’t know what else to do. The more I try to come up with any other way to go about this, the less certain I am that there is another way.
Not now that I’m alone. If Death were here … I shake my head, pushing the thought aside.
I cannot dwell on what I’ve done.
I must focus on the task at hand … on surviving long enough to hopefully save the ones I love.
Still, the last thing I want is to come between Persephone and Hades. For goodness’ sake, I’m not even interested in Hades, nor do I wish to break her heart.
Gods know I do not want to be the one responsible for that.
If only there was some way for me to get word to Persephone, to let her know of my plan. To assure her that I have no interest in her husband other than to save my father’s life, if not my own.
Deep down, I believe she would understand.
Taking a deep breath, I curl up on the bed, my eyelids growing heavy from the churning of my mind.
As much as I dislike this plan, I have to remind myself what this is about. Who I am doing this for. At the very least, I have totryto save my father’s soul.
I’ll never be able to live with myself again if I don’t.
My eyes drift shut before I can spiral any further, and at long last, sleep takes me.
I’m awakened by the sound of a key turning in the lock, my heart leaping into my throat as I suddenly sit up in bed. I turn to look just as a guard opens the door.
“You are to follow me to the dining hall for dinner,” he says, barely glancing my way.
“Dinner?”
I blink in surprise, turning to look out the window only to see that the daylight has begun to fade. Quickly rising from the bed, I do my best to smooth out my skirt and hair before nodding to the man.
Quietly, he leads me out of the room and down the stairs of the tower. I chew my bottom lip, wanting to ask questions but knowing that he won’t answer them.
Instead, I busy myself by taking in as much as I can as we make our way down the spiral staircase and through the sapphire palace.
The guard’s pace is far too quick for me to catch more than a glimpse of the rooms and floors we pass. I suppose, for now, I’m to remain in the dark when it comes to finding my way about this place.
The longer we walk, and the nearer we possibly draw to Hades, the more nervous I become. My hands worry the smooth material of my dress, the hemline sweeping over the stone floor as our footsteps echo through the empty halls.
I can only hope I’ve done enough to catch his eye again.
When we finally reach the large dining room, the guard pulls the doors open to allow me to step inside, and I'm surprised to find the other women already seated within.
Of course, the guard chooses this unfortunate moment to suddenly announce my presence with the loud clearing of his throat. I freeze, my cheeks burning with embarrassment, as everyone turns to look our way.
“Move,” the guard says, shoving me forward when my feet refuse to obey.
The man stops at an empty seat in the middle of the room. Not so gently pushing me toward it, I take my seat and the guard disappears.
An uncomfortable silence fills the room as we await Hades.
