Asphodel (The Underworld Trilogy)

He scans me up and down with his vibrant blue-green eyes, a playful look on his face. “We’ll see about that.” Then he breaks his focus on me and shifts to the right, stepping closer to Charon. “How many souls today, ferryman?” he inquires.

Charon drops his head shamefully. “Only twelve.”

“Twelve?” I don’t think I’ve ever heard Hades voice go up that high and I bite back a giggle at the sound of it. I swear he almost squeaked.

“Yes,” Charon replies. “But the day has only just begun.”

The two of them engage in heated debate. I take that as my cue to exit, slowly creeping away from them. Then when Hades starts shouting, I take off running down the dock and as far away from it as I can get before he realizes I’m gone. But it doesn’t take him long.

Seconds after I take off he appears in front of me and I almost smack into him. “Argh,” I growl. “Stop doing that!”

“Stop running away,” he says calmly.

I step to my right then to my left, but he keeps up with me. When I move he moves. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from you!”

“How many times do we have to go over this,” he groans, frustrated. “You’re not going anywhere.” The frustration in his voice hardens to stone cold absolution.

“Watch me.” I charge ahead, shoving into him as hard as I can. He falls back, but disappears before he hits the ground. And I’m still running. I’m free. Or maybe not. I’m running, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m still in the same spot.

Looking over my shoulder, I see Hades with a devilish grin clutching the bottom of the shirt. “You know,” he retorts. “I always knew you’d be difficult, but I don’t think I was prepared for this.”

“If I’m so difficult, why don’t you just let me go and save yourself the hassle?”

He spins me around by the tail of my shirt and grips onto my shoulders. His eyes sear into mine. “I don’t think so. I like the defiant part of you.”

I mentally curse the tiny sliver of defiance that is wrapped up somewhere inside of me. Without it, then I wouldn’t be here with him—Hades. The devil without a disguise. A dark, cold, and drab version of what a queen might want in a king. Some other future queen. Not me.

Hades lets go of my shirt and I brush past him trudging farther down the banks of the Styx. After I make it a few feet, he materializes next to me keeping up with me stride for stride. “All right,” he says coolly. “Enough of this. We are going back.”

I raise an eyebrow. “To earth?”

“No.” There’s a baffled tone in his deep, gruff voice. “Why would we go back there?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I thought there was some decency inside of you somewhere.”

“I promise you, there isn’t.”

“Then I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll find my own way back home.” I walk faster, kicking up gray sand as I break into a jog.

Hades isn’t next to me anymore. He’s behind me. And as I get farther away, I hear him shout, “You won’t last an hour out here by yourself! There are regions of the underworld that would make even the most fearless heroes wet their pants!”

“I’ll take my chances!”

A second ago he was right behind me. Now he’s inches in front of me. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Before I can react, he lunges for me, scooping me up into his arms like a Pelican carrying a mouth full of water and fish. I feel like he’s going to swallow me. At any second I’ll be swimming through the enzymes in his stomach amongst catfish guts. I’m inside his body like food that doesn’t agree with him. Spit me out already! I want to be regurgitated. I slam my fists into a wall of hard abs. “Let go of me!”

“Oh is that what you want? You want me to let go of you?” He mocks me with a condescending tone. “I’m only here to serve you my queen.”

He releases me and I stumble forward, prepared to eat a mouthful of gray sand, but instead, I ram into the frame of my bed. “What?” I whirl around, confused. I’m back in my bedroom.

Hades leans, propped up against my doorframe. “Welcome back.” I start toward him and he spreads his arms out blocking me in. “Now, when you can learn not to venture off on your own or plan any more secretive escapes, I’ll consider leaving your door unlocked, but until then—”

“Don’t you dare!” I interrupt.

A moment later Hades vanishes and my door slams shut. The lock clicks like a gun after it has been cocked. I hurl my body into the thick wood and pound on it. “Open this door!” I jiggle the brass knob and it barely moves.