Page 18 of Spring's Descent
PERSEPHONE
The warmthof desire coursing through my veins moments ago cooled as dread settled like a weight in the pit of my stomach.
“Queen of The Underworld,” I repeated, my voice pitching at the ridiculousness of it. This had to be a joke. “As in the wife of Hades, the God of Death?”
The demon’s eyes narrowed, his spine stiffening. “Technically, Thanatos is the God of Death. I’m the?—”
“You,” I said, cutting him off as the reality of my situation sank in. The tingling in my fingers had grown painful as I remained suspended in the demon’s shadows, spurring on my anger. Demons were known to lie to get their way, but Queen of The Underworld was quite the tale. Aidoneus might be powerful, but it seemed he was little more than a dog sniffing out his next bounty. If he truly was taking me to Hades, it would be to deliver me as his next play thing.
I was to be sold. Again. Despite the demon’s claim, I was probably being carted off to someone at Hades’s court of monsters. According to Mother, young women were often taken and forced to give birth to little witch-demon hybrids to swell The Dark Faction’s numbers.
“You’re what? A worthless demon fetching a shiny new toy for his master?” An incredulous laugh spilled from my lips as I leaned into my temper, allowing it to overcome my rising panic. “You’re just like them, telling me what I have to do with my life.”
“You say demon like it’s a bad thing,” he cooed, but his eyes were blazing. “Demons are very much like the witches in The Realm of the Living, the same source of magic, only linked to a different realm.”
Ignoring the bite against my skin, I turned my wrists, gripping the shadows binding me as I glared. “Death should never be a source. It’s dangerous, unruly?—”
“As is life magic,” he cut in. “If one doesn’t know how to wield it properly. Death magic is powerful, but with a balance, all can be restored. You’ll see.”
“I won’t do it,” I seethed, injecting as much venom as I could. The pads of my fingers started to heat, to tingle and prick as if a live current was running through me. I gripped the shadows tighter, pulling myself up instead of just dangling there, and letting him see the truth burning in my eyes. “Whoever it is you’re bringing me to, I’llnevermarry a demon.”
His nostrils flared, a retort poised on his tongue, but his mouth snapped shut as he stumbled back, dropping to his knees.
I felt it, too. Scalding heat sparked around us, the force of it snapping the dark bindings holding me in place. My knees and palms dug into the sharp edges of citrine stones as I crashed to the floor, the new cuts causing blood to coat their pristine surfaces in red as I pushed to a stand.
The fresh wounds stung, my fingers were still slightly numb, and my body had already been stretched to its limits, but somehow the demon’s shadow bindings had failed.
We stared at each other for a heartbeat, both disbelieving the turn of events. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he panted forair. A hand came to his chest, rubbing a spot just to the left of his sternum as if he’d been struck.
Our impasse lasted only a breath, before his narrowed blue eyes looked up at me through thick lashes and pieces of his dark hair that had fallen forward.
Whatever energy had broken his bonds was humming in the air. I was more aware of him—the flicker of shadows surrounding him, the faint traces of heat coming from his body. If the startled look flashing in his eyes was any indication, he felt it too. Whatever this was, it had changed something important between us.
Thunder boomed in the distance, snapping my attention to the foreboding mountains behind him. He followed my gaze, watching as thick, gray clouds billowed out from the distant peaks. I could just make out winged silhouettes taking to the sky, like hundreds of bats.
“The Night Children,” he breathed, getting to his feet.
My mouth ran dry as I mimicked his motions, silently weighing my options. With a pissed off demon in front of me, the Lethe to one side, and the swarm of growing monsters to the other, it was safe to say I was thoroughly fucked.
Seeing no other option, I turned and fled, throwing what remained of my strength into my legs as I raced toward The Night Children, hoping to reach the mountains before they reached me. If I was quick enough, I might be able to find shelter.
I managed all of three steps before the temperature around me dropped and his swirling shadows seized me once again. They wrap around my forearms, weaving my hands together in front of me before doing the same with my legs.
I crumpled to the ground like a captured hare, the frosted stones cold against my tear-streaked cheeks. Rough hands seized me in the next breath, lifting me like I weighed nothing.
“Let me go, you stupid demon!” I shrieked between sobs, knowing full well that I’d just wasted my last chance. I would never escape this place and Lark… she’d suffer at the hands of my mother and Cyrus for the rest of her life.
Cradling me in his arms, he stalked toward the Lethe, keeping close but veering west along its banks.
Another tendril of darkness wrapped around my neck, forcing my chin up to meet his enraged glare.
“My name is Aidoneus, little witch. I don’t care if you hate me, or if every moment of your time spent in The Underworld is a living hell. Youwillgo to The Dark Palace and bind your magic to The Underworld on your twenty-first birthday.”
“If I refuse?” I said, finding a sliver of remaining defiance as I willed my body to stop trembling.
That cold, calculated gaze of his flickered with something akin to excitement as he noted the determination burning in my eyes. His lips quirked up at the edges before he tossed me over his shoulder, muttering something unintelligible beneath his breath.
A wave of fatigue crested over me as Aidoneus quieted, leaching what little strength I had left as he picked up the pace. Each step carried us further away from the monsters at our backs, only to take me closer to the one waiting for me at the end.