Page 82 of Spring's Descent
My spine stiffened. “You’re the mother of all witches—of all magic in The Realm of the Living. You’ll be able to break whatever enchantment they’ve placed.”
“Not if Hypnos blended his power with Demeter’s. Especially this close to the awakening. Until Persephone’s power manifests and she swears herself to you, magic will continue to spiral out of control, making it harder to wield.” Hecate shook her head. “The only person who will be able to cross is…”
“Thanatos!” A feminine voice called from the hall. My head snapped to her echoing footsteps, her silhouette darkening the door of Hecate’s laboratory a moment later. “Lady Hecate, Thanatos has just returned. And he needs your help.”
“Thanatos,”Hecate called as her knuckles rapped against the wooden door. She’d done all she could for me. A location spell confirmed Persephone was with the Earth Coven, but each of Hecate attempts at breaking the barrier between our realms had failed. We needed Thanatos.
Silence answered her.
There were lingering hints of cinnamon in the air, a telltale sign of Thanatos’s magic, but it was tainted with something sharp and foul. My body tensed as I recognized the smell of metallic tang doused in smoke—The Night Children.
Pushing past Hecate as she made to knock again, I burst through the door and swept into the room. My magic gathered at my fingertips, ready for a fight, as I flung my shadows out. But there was only Thanatos alone and bare before his floor-length mirror.
His pale body was streaked in red, the scarlet stains coming from what appeared to be dozens of bite marks and fingernails. His once pristine feathers were matted with patches of coagulated blood, the russet brown blending with bright red patches. Purple bruises had started to form, peppering his back and thighs with evidence of what he’d endured.
Thanatos’s great wings closed around him as he turned to face us. A few feathers broke free, drifting to the floor as I gaped. The worst of the cuts and claw marks had a clear ointment applied over them, but even with his healing, they looked painful. My breathing hitched as I registered the haunted look in his eyes—one borne of anger, grief, and a flicker of shame.
Swallowing against the wave of bile burning my throat and the urge to slaughter every member of Hypnos’s cursedkingdom, I focused on Thanatos and took a cautious step forward.
“Was this Hypnos’s doing?”
“In part,” Thanatos answered, this throat bobbing. His tongue swept out, licking his split lip. “The woman that was with him at the ball, she’s a witch capable of astral-projection. Hypnos asked her to wait for him in The Night Forest while he bathed. I should have known it was a trap.”
“The Night Children?” Hecate asked, her voice shaking with fury as she peered around my shoulder. I fought to contain the darkness billowing out, but frost cracked across the windows as the temperature in the room dropped.
Thanatos’s wings hitched higher, tucking close around himself as he met Hecate’s worried gaze. “The Night Children’s Southern Faction.”
“An entire faction?” Hecate gasped, her eyes going wide.
My fists clenched as Thanatos nodded once more. He’d been taken,used, by over a hundred Night Children. Judging by the placement of his wounds, I’d bet my soul he was used for more than just blood.
Ice crystalized against the floors and walls as my wings snapped wide. I was already at the window, shadows gathering around me before Thanatos’s voice stilled me.
“They’re dead.”
My spine stiffened as I turned to face him, but this time there was a fire kindling in his gaze. It grew as he spoke, smoldering with hatred and righteous retribution.
“All of them. They took everything from me…” His voice broke as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “Teeth and claws. Knives. They drank and fucked until I was nothing but an empty vessel. Until I was rendered limp, too drained to even keep my eyes open.”
My nostrils flared as my body shook with the need to slaughter them. To hunt down each of their miserable souls and resurrect them just so I could peel each layer of skin from their body. I needed to hear their screams and pleas of mercy, only to find newer, crueler ways to punish them.
And I would.
“They didn’t realize the God of Death couldn’t die.” Thanatos lifted his chin, seeing the rage play across my features. “I waited until enough of my strength had returned, until the horde of them were satiated, drunk off my body and blood… And then I tore them apart.”
“Good,” Hecate said, her body trembling nearly as much as mine. “I’ll fetch you a tonic to regenerate your health. As much as I’d enjoy condemning each and every forsaken soul responsible for harming you right now, we need your help. We think Demeter and Hypnos have been working together. They’ve managed to seal the passages between realms.”
Thanatos’s gaze snapped to mine. “Persephone?”
I stared into his eyes, hating that I had to place this upon his shoulders after everything he’d been through. Because I knew he would tuck every piece of his agony away to save her. To help me. With a deep breath, I forced the words from my lips.
“She’s been taken.”
54
PERSEPHONE
Demeter’s shrillvoice cut through the fog of my mind, rousing my consciousness despite my sluggish body. I forced my breathing to remain even, controlling each rise and fall of my chest as I willed my pulse to stay calm. Maybe I’d be able to overhear something that would get me out of this mess.