❛THEY WOULD TELL YOU OF A KING WHO STOLE ME HELPLESS FROM MY SUNSHINE GARDEN.❜
They won't tell you about the woman who came to him sublime, lily eyes and lily lips. A king does not ask permission from his prize, but she, oh she, she knelt, kissing m...
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HALL OF HADES, THE UNDERWORLD.
HADES.
TEARS RAINED FROM THE SUNSET PINES AND CRIES WEPT IN THE BLOODSTAINED AIR.
Aphrodite's fooleries had wrecked my undead kingdom.
Had it been another, I would already have uprooted their bones and painted them a special shade of red. But she was an Olympian goddess, and such women were... something else entirely.
Shades howled like shipwrecked sirens in the corners, mourning in screeches that were nails scraping against rust. Hundreds of waiting souls whimpered and cowered in helpless fear at the click of my boots on the polished granite floors. Even the diamonds on the banisters and velvets on the wall bloomed into goosebumps as they kissed the feet of the Lord of the Dead.
"Thanatos!"
In the space of a breath, he appeared out of air, black eyes twinkling brighter than the unfeeling heart pumping in his chest.
"My Lord," he bowed, unfazed by the terror of death. His clever eyes descended on the female in my arms, mouth opening to speak just as my harsh voice cut him brusquely.
"What the fuck is the meaning of this? Why aren't these souls judged and sorted into their afterlives yet?"
"Lady Aphrodite has been killing thousands until you concede to her request... to marry Persephone. The souls drift in faster than we can judge them. Rhadamanthys is getting restless, my Lord. He nearly threw a fit because one of the souls stepped in before the previous one was judged."
A string of curses loosed from my livid tongue faster than bolts off keenly sharp arrows. A dry smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Get Triptolemos to assist the judges. And find Hecate and tell her to come to my chambers at once," I ordered, impatience colouring my voice.
"Yes, my Lord, if I may ask why you are holding this unconscious lady in your arms-"
"-you may not, Thanatos. You'll have a better chance seducing my horses. Go," I darkly scowled at his outright shocked expression. Turning on my heel, I took long strides to my chambers, hardly paying heed to the subjects dropping to their unliving knees out of respect.
The young woman had dropped like a withered wildflower at my very touch on the banks of the Cyane. My arms swiftly gathered her, cutting the fall. But then there was this wild instinct to get her to safety, away from that traitorous scoundrel who called himself my nephew. So I took a gamble and dragged her across Poseidon's watery kingdom to the land of death beneath it.
