Page 44 of Spring's Descent

This just keeps getting better and better.

“Don’t worry, little witch. Your demon will keep you safe.”

Scowling, I tore my body away from his, standing beneath the icy tree at the edge of a large stone.

I was an earth witch—with powers. Strong powers. The soil was meant to speak to me, guide and aid me when necessary. I could already feel the caves beneath my feet. Magic had helped when Lark and I were running from Cyrus. It should be the same for The Underworld, right?

Aidoneus stood before me, content at watching me struggle to decide my next move. I loathed the slight tilt to his head and the small grin playing at the edge of his lips. As if I were nothing more than a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“There’s nowhere for you to go, Persephone,” he said, leaning toward me.

I pressed my back against the trunk of the tree, a few of the icicles clinging against one another.

“Are you quite finished, little witch?” He twirled a loose curl around his finger, waiting for me to ask for his help.

“Not even close, demon.”

I let Aidoneus see all the hate in my eyes as I called on my magic, the embers heating me from the inside. His eyes widened, taking in my power and the infinite defiance burning in my eyes, before I broke off an icicle overhead and thrust it into his chest.

28

HADES

Persephone would bethe death of me. I pulled the spike of ice from my chest, tossing the blood-coated tip among the trees as she leapt from the stone path, and sunk beneath the snow.

I was wondering when she’d try to escape. My little witch didn’t like being told what to do. But the look of fierce determination in her eyes as she thrust the shard into my chest… fuck if it didn’t make my cock hard just thinking about it.

Fear would’ve stilled most mortals' hands. Would have had them clinging on to me, begging me to find a way out of Cocytus for them, but I should’ve known Persephone’s pride wouldn’t let her fold, not when I had laid out the possibility of an escape so prettily before her.

Last night was incredible. Even facing off against the hydra. Watching her tap into her magic while drinking in her fear was delectable. I wondered how delicious her pussy would be.

I’d only allowed myself a quick taste of her on the banks of the Lethe. I hadn’t allowed myself anything further, not trusting I would be able to mask my true form once I had lapped at her sweet heat. Even with my fingers buried in her, my body had hummed with the force of her magic bleeding into the air around us. Every nerve ending in my numbed soul had awakened,much like how she forced my withered heart to beat again. The forgotten emotions of desire, passion, lust—all had flooded into me as her pussy clenched around my fingers, her breathy moans singing through my ears like a most cherished ballad.

My little witch had begged for release—for me—and yet she still stabbed me.

And then jumped.

A startled shriek followed her descent as she went, further and further into the deepest part of my realm. She thought she was running, thwarting my plans, but she was surpassing every milestone I’d laid out.

Persephone had been trained from a young age to think she was weak, but here she was, trusting in her abilities to find a path out of this hell.

It was mad to risk so much with so little information at her fingertips, but you must be a little mad to rule a kingdom of tortured souls. Pride raced through me as I heard a faint thud followed by a curse. There was silence for only a moment, and then my little witch was moving.

Persephone

That was terrifyingand definitely one of the stupidest things I had ever done. My body was chilled and disoriented from the rapid descent. Unable to see, I felt the ground beneath my knees, using my palms to push the snow out, until I had a small circle of space to breathe.

I glanced up, expecting to see a tunnel from above, only to find the snow had closed over. My vision spotted as I realized I had just buried myself alive. The frantic beating of my heart was ringing in my ears, a sharp pain in my chest growing as I fought for breath. It felt like I didn't have enough air. Likemy lungs were trying to expand, but my ribs had suddenly become too small. Caging them. Just as I was caged beneath the hopelessness of Cocytus.

No. I can't give up now.

Forcing my fingers to unfurl, I stayed on my hands and knees, pressing my palms against the luminescent blue stone.

At first nothing happened. But I concentrated on the feel of the smooth sapphires beneath each pad of my fingers, tapping them in a rhythm until the vise gripping my sternum eased and my mind calmed.

A faint brush of power sparked. It wasn’t warm like the earth in The Realm of the Living, but it didn’t feel hostile, either. More like a subtle curiosity.

Instead of drawing my magic forward, I took a deep breath and opened myself to an exchange of power. It was the difference between fighting the ebbing of the ocean’s waves and allowing the water to carry you back to shore a little at a time. Gentle strokes synchronized with the natural rhythm of the waves were far easier than plowing through the churning of the water.