Page 10 of Until Death
“Did you not say the shoe fit?” he asks, his voice low and dangerous.
“It does, I—”
Kneeling, Hades holds out his hand.
“Give me your foot.”
She hesitates for a split second before doing as he asks. The king eyes it for a moment before cupping his other hand around her toes.
The next thing I know, I’m forced to close my eyes as the woman screams out in agony, the crunch of bones sickening as it fills my ears. Another cry of anguish fills the room as her foot is forced into the shoe.
“You are right, the shoe does fit,” Hades sneers, motioning for the guard still holding the black box to step closer, “However, as is usually the case, this comes in a pair. Shall we see if the other one fits as well?”
The woman’s face pales at this and she quickly shakes her head.
“No, Your Majesty,” she says weakly. “I am afraid my other foot is … is not small enough to fit.”
“Such a shame,” Hades says with a look of disgust, returning the second shoe to the box as he straightens. “Very well. Guards, you may carry on.”
Hades moves to settle onto his throne, and the woman lets out a nauseating wail as the heel is removed from her broken foot and she’s once again dragged away from the stool.
The remaining women quietly try on the heel in turn, accepting their fate without question as they’re moved to either side of the room. All too quickly, it’s my turn to try the shoes on.
My heart pounds in my chest as I am pulled forward, my eyes momentarily lifting to meet Hades’ as he leans against the arm of his throne, his chin propped up by one hand. For a split second, I swear I see the corner of his mouth turn up slightly as if he already knows what my outcome will be.
The guard turns me around, pushing me down onto the stool as the other guard grabs my ankle, scowling in disgust at the sheer state of my feet. I barely have enough time to clutch the sides of the stool for balance before he has lifted my foot off the ground and slipped it into the crystal shoe.
It’s a perfect fit, of course.
A second is all it takes for my fate to be decided as I’m dragged off the stool and tossed among the others who also fit the heel. As the last woman is sorted, Hades rises once again to glance between us before waving a hand toward the other, decidedly larger, group of women.
“Release them,” Hades says, a ripple of whispered surprise rushing through the others, and I watch in dismay as they’re escorted out of the throne room. “As for the rest … Deimos, have them taken to the dungeons and see to it that they are dealt with properly. Perhaps a night or two down there will teach them better than to test my patience in the days to come.”
“Of course, my king,” Deimos says with a cruel grin, signaling for his men to act.
The guards step forward, emotionless in their obedience to the king. Panic begins to fill the room as several of the women cry out in fear, heads whipping about in search of a way out, while still others can do nothing but tremble at the thought of what awaits us in the dungeons.
I have to do something.
After all, it is my fault that these women are here. I should have stepped forward earlier and spared the others this fate.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep, steadying breath even as the chaos around me fills my ears. Opening them, I push forward, fixing my gaze on Hades.
“That will not be necessary,” I say, my voice just barely rising above the cries of the women as the guards attempt to herd us from the room. “I am the woman you are searching for!”
Almost instantly, my words cause silence to settle over the room once more. Those around me quickly draw back to leave me standing alone in the midst of the crowd.
Hades’ gaze falls on me, his expression hard but unreadable in its intensity. All too slowly, he takes a step toward me. His eyes search my face before dropping to rake over my body.
Finally, he shakes his head, and I realize then that he’s not going to accept my confession. Either I’m too late in my admission, or he truly doesn’t believe that I’m the one he’s after.
“No, girl,” he finally says. “You may be brave … or perhapsstupidenough to try to save yourself and the others from this fate, but it is too late.”
“I am her. The others need not pay for what I have done.”
“Your penchant for self-sacrifice is noted. Though, is your sacrifice truly worth anything when others have already had to pay for your disobedience? When you chose not to step forward when I demanded you do so?”
Frustration and shame war within me as I stare up at him.
