Page 55 of Seeking Hades' Ember

"So, why do you really want my mate?"

Malachi scoffed and looked away. A few feathers fell to the ground. "I ain't telling you shit," he spat at the dirt before me. Ares came over and slammed his mallet on one of the damaged wings with a light gruff. Malachi screamed while I willed myself a latte and sipped it like some elegant aristocrat.

"It's starting to smell like fried chicken in here, isn't it, Ares?" I cleared my throat as my miniature dragon, Hellbones, slithered to me up. Ares was in his battle mode, so getting a response from him was slim. Hellbones was the runt of his nest, and I didn't have the heart to send him away and be tormented by his siblings. The rest flew to an island in the land called Bergarian. The island was home to all dragons, but they only nested in the Underworld.

"What do you think, Hellbones? Does he smell like chicken?" He licked his lips as he went to smell Malachi. His tiny teeth were razor-sharp, but his mouth wasn't big enough to swallow him whole. He would have to eat him piece by piece. Malachi backed away as his bleeding wing shuttered.

"No wonder everyone hates you. You’re a sadistic fuck,” he rasped.

“Only to those that deserve it.” I placed my latte on the saucer and willed it away. “Now, give me answers.”

Malachi looked to Hellbones and back to me. "I don't think you want to do that." My dragon licked his lips. "In fact, I think you should let me go." Raising my eyebrows, I paced around him while Hellbones waited for the snap of my fingers. One snap was all it takes.

"And why is that?"

"Because Persephone might be sore with you if you end up hurting her mate. You do know she can feel every bit of pain you inflict on me, right?" I twisted my fist and heard the knuckles pop. Even though the infatuation I had with Persephone was not love, I didn't want her to suffer more than she did. Knowing what it is to have a mate and that power of emotion and attraction towards another soul made me guilty for holding her so long. However, I was intrigued at him still using his own mate as an excuse.

"Rumor has it, you aren't even Persephone's mate at all," I taunted as I bent down to remove a feather that landed on his head. "That it is, in fact, Gabriel." Malachi's eyes dilated, but the rest of his body showed no signs of faltering. "Now, why would that be?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Persephone is my mate! I came to hell while you threw your hissy fit and took her with me. You are out of your damn mind!" Malachi's teeth gritted. Hellbones started to get antsy.

"Hades, I need you to feel," Vulcan spoke as he put his hand on my shoulder. I had been so caught up in my interrogation that I didn't feel his presence.

"All I feel is anger and rage, Vulcan I suggest you-"

"Feel with your heart, Hades," I growled out and ripped my shoulder from his grasp. I was about to slice up Malachi's torso when I felt it. The pang of worry. This worry wasn't of my own but of someone else's, Jillian.

Fuck. I got so caught up in rage that I forgot. "It's passed sundown; the threat is gone. You need to get Jillian wherever they may be. They could still be running." I growled as I pushed the chair away.

"Give him something to think about, Ares, and call it a night." Ares cracked his knuckles as I ran up the stairs.

Jillian

My bare feet felt the old broken leaves. They crunched softly until I hit the smooth sand. One hand was on Cerberus, and the Phantomtails tails glowed for a perfect path for us to follow. The cave was dry and dark, but it was engulfed in the light once our friends flew in. Tiny water drops would fall to the rocks, but it wasn't wet enough to be uncomfortable.

Starting a fire would be nice, but the nagging in the back of my head said it might not be wise. I wasn't sure what animals were out in this wilderness, and Cerberus was huffing out all the lights of the Phantomtails. They chittered at him, almost arguing that it was okay, but he wasn't convinced.

I never thought the Underworld would be cold. The talk of fire, brimstone, lakes of fire, and overall heat that tried to consume your sins is what I thought it to feel like. Here, it was cold and lonely, even with all my furry friends around.

Sensing my distress, Cerberus came and curled around me. He was in a larger form as I leaned my head on his torso while he laid down. His face wrapped around me, and his tail tucked my legs into the fetal position. The rest of the Phantomtails came to sit on me like a blanket, covering me with their balls of warmth. It worked; it kept me warm, but my heart felt empty with Hades not around.

I hadn't slept without him since he charged into my life. Anytime I did sleep, I was haunted by nightmares. I forced my eyes to stay open as I remembered the promise to myself outside the cave. To pray, pray to a god for help.

I had prayed long before I came to the Underworld; I prayed for salvation, a hero to save me from the nightmare I lived. It never came, and a nagging feeling always told me that I should have never been there in the first place.

Closing my eyes, I put my cold hands together like I had seen the little children do on television when their parents put them to bed. In my mind, I called out to the one person I didn't know much about, the Goddess Selene, the goddess of mates. If she was listening, surely she would help, right?

I called out to her, begging for Hades to be all right. My worried soul was restless as I prayed, begging for him to be safe from any harm. He may be a god, the God of the Underworld, but sometimes even a god needs saving.

As I continued to pray, my thoughts started to haze, and my consciousness faded out.

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