Page 20 of Spring's Descent
The river of fire would grow, increasing in heat and intensity as it angled west, descending into the heart of Tartarus. We needed to cross the bridge before we descended too deeply into the abyss. My monsters would be there, standing guard over the forsaken prisoners, but I’d have to risk it. Without my wings, this was our only option.
The main obstacle would be after when we came upon the frozen river bleeding through the desolate kingdom of Cocytus. The icy plains would test my little witch, but the only alternative would be passing through the heart of Tartarus, and circling around the Phlegethon toward the river Styx.
No, we would be forced to head toward Cocytus and the Mountains of Mourning, and hope my magic was returned to me.
Agonized cries rose up from the smoldering pit in the distance, like music to my ears. The monsters trapped in Tartarus, those tortured in The Valley of Torment, deserved every moment of suffering.
Inhaling deeply, I let their fear revitalize me, their unanswered pleas of mercy acting as a soothing balm for myaching soul. Tartarus was one of my favorite places in The Underworld. I was able to maim and kill, to slice and gouge as much as I wanted, knowing that every slab of skin and bones that came under my knife had earned its place.
Persephone shifted in my arms as the air grew hot around us. Her head rolled to the side, exposing the sleek curve of her neck.
I very much doubted my little witch would understand the beauty of Tartarus. There were monsters in her world just as there were in mine. The only difference was that the shrouds of righteousness the living wore were stripped from their heads the moment they entered my realm.
I should know. I was the god of monsters. The worst of them all.
She’d called me a demon, as if I were little more than a common errand boy, but I was the beast she feared, the one who would lay claim to her in every way.
But to do that, I needed her to agree to be my wife.
Thanatos had been right. I couldn’t risk her fleeing again. Too much was at stake. Persephone wouldn’t come with me willingly, that much was clear. I needed to hide my true identity until our souls were bound.
She would hate me when this was over. My little witch would curse and scream, she would fight me for every inch of freedom, and she would lose.
13
PERSEPHONE
Everything hurt.My muscles were aching, dozens of lingering stings coated my body, and there was this hazy warning brewing in my mind that the reprieve of sleep wasn’t something I wanted to give up.
The scent of sulfur and brimstone singed my nostrils, banishing the comforting darkness further as distant crackling and sputtering of what sounded like fire rumbled around me. The rhythmic crunching of stones was synced with my body’s subtle swaying, and I realized the warmth surrounding me was emanating from two strong arms holding me against a firm chest.
My eyes snapped open, muscles tensing as the events of the last day and a half came rushing back.
The first thing I saw was a river of fire outlined in garnets. Steam swirled high in the sky, the white tendrils stark against the impenetrable black clouds. Cracks had formed along the riverbank, the red gems glowing with smoking embers. My heartbeat raced as I traced the path of the river, finding the land rising as the blood-red waters descended. A sheen of sweat broke across my brow as I gazed upon lava flowing down jagged cliffs,the molten rock forming beautifully grotesque waterfalls ending in pools of red.
This was the Phlegethon.
I heard the agonized screams before I realized that the large maroon lumps floating in the pools at the bases of the burning waterfalls weren’t stones, but people forced to endure their skin and muscles melting away until only bones were left.
Dizziness washed over me as I watched a freshly burned body crawl out from the blood-red lava, transfixed by the macabre scene playing out before me.
Bony hands clawed their way up the shore, held together with fibrous cartilage as they sank into garnet stones for purchase. The skeletal arms flexed, heaving a torso out behind them as layers of muscle started to build. When the poor creature’s knees landed on solid ground, the top layer of skin and hair having only just regrown, the ground shifted, throwing it backward.
Its echoing wails screamed into the blackened sky as the molten rock swallowed them once more.
“Don’t feel sorry for them.” Aidoneus’s voice cut through the horrific spell, the vibration of his chest against my body reminding me this wasn’t a nightmare I’d concocted but my reality. Swallowing against the dryness of my throat, I glanced up to find his piercing blue eyes pinned on mine. “The pool is the beginning of The Valley of Torment. It stretches for miles, growing darker and deeper, until it reaches the bronze gates of Tartarus. Every soul sentenced has earned its fate.”
“I can’t imagine what they could’ve done to warrant an eternity of burning to death.”
“No, I don’t think you could,” Aidoneus said, the vehemence of his voice momentarily stilling my tongue. His eyes flashed black, the sudden change pulling a gasp from my lips. He blinked, releasing me from his gaze, before looking ahead.“Believe me, the atrocities they committed fit the punishment. As far as I’m concerned, eternity isn’t long enough.”
A subtle buzzing started between us. The places where my body was curled against his pricked with electricity, reminding me of how he had rendered my body into a wet, trembling mess within minutes of capturing me. Despite the current anger simmering in his gaze, I found that I wanted to lean further into him.
Gods above, I must really have lost it, because I wanted to press my cheek against his chest and breath in his scent of frost and darkness. Did he feel the mounting energy between us the way I did? Clearly, I was delusional with exhaustion because I allowed the tips of my fingers to trail up the hard planes of his chest, tentatively exploring.
Jolts of power pricked beneath my touch, delivering a rush of warmth through my body. Aidoneus sucked in a sharp breath, his steady footsteps faltering as I pressed my palms flat. Heat coiled at the apex of my thighs, the metal of my necklace cool against the fire blazing through my body.
I was far too aware of how little I was wearing, of how his gaze took in my flushed skin and peaked nipples, but I couldn’t find the strength to break whatever this was.