Page 26 of Spring's Descent
I didn’t move, but somehow I was standing at the edge with stones crumbling beneath my toes. A gentle breeze beckoned me forward. Soft clouds lined the horizon, looking as if they’d be a gentle place to lay my head among the infinite expanse, one I could get lost in forever.
Wanting so badly for the exhaustion to end, I leaned forward, but a brush of comforting warmth rising from the ground stilled my movement.
Shaking my head, I looked down to find a single dandelion stretching toward me. Its thin stalk wrapped around my ankle.
“All of your suffering would be over.” Mother whispered in my ear, but my gaze stayed locked on the small flower.
It was a simple thing. Fragile. It could be broken without a second thought. Many people would consider it worthless. Anuisance. Something to get rid of. But I could feel its roots digging deep into the earth, the entirety of its being focused solely on tugging me back from the cliff's edge.
Its leaves thickened, the roots burrowing deeper as it wound further up my calf, desperate to hold me to this place. This one weed was holding me to this life, tethering its existence to mine.
I reached my hand toward it, my fingers a breath away from the outstretched blossom shining up at me.
A sharp lash of agony shot through me as the scent of my mother’s magic filled the air.
“No,” I breathed, watching as the yellow petals wilted. Tears fell along my cheeks as the last tendrils of warmth from the dandelion’s touch faded. Chest heaving, I took a large step back from the cliff and turned to face my mother.
“Just because something is small does not mean it’s insignificant.”
Her sneer twisted, transforming into rows of fangs. The golden locks of her hair shifted into black, melding together to form a scaled hood.
A deep voice reached me through the haze, warning me to run, but all I could focus on was the red eyes staring into mine. A beastly screech pierced the air as the she-dragon dove, her talons outstretched and aiming right for me.
17
PERSEPHONE
Electricity buzzed around me,the soft curls of my hair rising toward Kampe as the air charged. Before I knew what was happening, the energy condensed into a searing heat and burst outward.
There was nothing visible, no blasts of flames or bolts of lightning, but the she-dragon recoiled as if I’d struck her. Her great wings struggled against the ash filled sky, each beat sending waves of hot, stifling air cresting over me as she fought for balance. Despite one of her wings being bent, she managed to pull her body up into the black clouds circling overhead, offering me a moment of reprieve.
Sulfur stung my nose and mouth as my mind fought to remember where I was. Sweat coated every inch of my body, the thin material of my gown clinging to my heaving breasts like a second skin with the fire opal hot against my chest. Obsidian stone lay beneath my fingers and knees stretching over a giant chasm with a river of fire beneath.
I was in The Underworld on the edge of Tartarus, dragged here by…
“Persephone,” a low voice rasped, the sound like something between a groan and a plea, but it cut through the haze of my mind.
My eyes widened as they landed on Aidoneus. He was struggling to stand, his lungs heaving.
His face was flushed, sweat beading on his brow as his entire body trembled. But he wasn’t plagued by the cursed powers of Kampe. It wasn’t fear that gripped him. I didn’t think there was much in this world or any other realm that could frighten Aidoneus. This waspain.
Far too aware of the plunging drop, I stood, attempting to locate the source of whatever magic held Aidoneus in its grasp. He was a powerful demon, one at home in this part of The Underworld. He’d shown no signs of his body weakening from lack of food or water as mine had, nothing to hint at even a moment of discomfort. Until now. Whatever was affecting him was a force to be reckoned with.
“Enough,” he growled, fighting through the unseen spell. He shifted forward on his knees, the black material of his tunic parting to expose the network of tattoos inked across his chest. There were intricate lines and ancient text, but one caught my eye: an up-side down torch placed directly above his heart.
“No,” I breathed as my stomach clenched. My entire body tensed as if preparing for a fight, already sensing the danger before my mind caught up. That mark was a symbol for Hades, God of The Underworld. Witches whispered often about the one who bore it. He was the demon responsible for the devastation in The Realm of The Living. Dozens of villages, hundreds of innocent lives, all cut short by his hand. The only demon respected enough by Hades to be branded with his emblem: The Hound of Hell, Hades’s general.
A ringing in my ears started as all sound fell away.
No.No.No. The word played on repeat in my mind.
Bile burned the back of my throat as I forced myself to meet Aidoneus’s gaze. I’d let him hold me. I had even found a sense of peace as he carried me through The Underworld. I should have been trying to kill him the moment I laid eyes on him, but I’d been seekingcomfortfrom this monster.
The bridge shook as the she-dragon shrieked overhead, the beating of her leathery wings showing that whatever power affected her moments ago had worn off. She was regrouping, and it was only a matter of time before she attacked again.
“Stay by me,” Aidoneus commanded as he forced his way to his feet.
I was running out of time. Desperate for an escape, I glanced to the far side of the bridge, unable to see anything past the dense fog. Towering, snow-capped mountains were visible just beyond, confirming Cocytus was on the other side—A land of ice and heartbreak. It was suicide for someone like me to enter its borders. I was barely clothed with no food or supplies, but this was the furthest I’d been out of Aidoneus’s grasp. I’d been too much of a coward before, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I wasted this chance to escape the Hound of Hell.