Eternal

He turned away from her then and with one last bittersweet glance towards her, he teleported away, yet in that moment, he did not return to me.

Chapter Thirty-One

Lawson

I was standing within his great room and my tension was palpable. I wanted to be anywhere else at that mom

ent, but my pride would not allow me to just run away.

To be completely honest I always felt like I owed Hades, for not ending my life when I reaped my revenge on those who had been responsible for my sweet Lilianna’s demise. I honestly believed Hades was aware of that fact and used it against me at every turn.

Before I had come here, I honestly believed finally meeting my mother would change my life for good and truth be told it had, only it hadn’t been for the better.

My father had always portrayed her as some kind of angel, but that was not the woman I had met, she barely even acknowledged me when I had arrived and I hadn’t had a single moment with her. Why she sent for me in the first place was beyond my understanding, and honestly as far as I was concerned, my mother died along with my father on that fateful day.

All those moments had seemed to lead me here, standing at his feet, fighting the urge to bow, but eventually succumbing, proving my allegiance to a being that deserved to die a most painful and brutal death.

My mother Persephone sat by his side, in a corseted ice blue dress, that portrayed the ice that surrounded her heart perfectly.

She stared right through me, not even bothering to acknowledge my existence, as though she had never created me at all.

“Speak boy, give me your report,” ordered Hades with a puzzling smirk on his face.

I slowly rose back to my feet and took a step back, before clearing my throat. I didn’t care if my need to stall was obvious or not, all I knew was that I had to choose my words carefully. As long as he did not openly question me, then as far as I was concerned, lying by omission was no ill fate.

“Unya has definitely been touched by your brother’s blood, as well as by Calliah’s. As far as I can tell at this moment in time, she does seem to be demonstrating a strong ability in her sorceress side, but I cannot rule her out as the one that the prophecy spoke of, not until she has reached her eighteenth birthday at the very least.”

I bowed my head in fake respect to the brute that sat before me, and hoped with all my might that he bought the sack of shit that I was trying to sell him.

“So, you honestly believe that she is more sorceress than anything else?” asked Hades, his dark eyes practically sparkling.

“As I said previously, she is definitely portraying strength in that field, she does seem to resemble her predecessor a lot more than any of those who came before her.” I refuse to utter the name of her great grandmother, knowing that Hades would not welcome the name drop. It would be a lot better for him to utter her name, then myself.

“Oh yes, our dear Mihaela. I honestly believed we could have had that one if only her daughter hadn’t befallen such a fate. Mihaela’s death was a true shame, but the worst part is that I was not handed her soul to clutch within my very grasp, to torture eternally. She caused me too much trouble to escape unharmed, death was much to kind for that disgusting creature.” The poison spilled from his lips, and I made sure that my mind remained blank, just in case he had one of his spies about, trying to read my thoughts and prise my secrets out into the open.

“Very well Lawson, you may return to the girl, but no matter what she proves to be, once she hits eighteen, you are to bring her to me at once.”

“But why my lord, if she is not who you seek, why would she matter to you.”

I knew that I shouldn’t have spoken out to him, especially as his eyes flashed with rage. I was trying to think of the best way to get myself out of the mess that I had just created when I felt a splicing heat sear across my cheek as Persephone struck me.

“Do not dare to speak out against your King, I will not sit idly by as you question his decree. If he orders you to bring this child, then that is exactly what you will do. Do I make myself clear?”

Her tone was as cold as the colour of her dress, but I could have sworn that I saw a glimmer of warmth within her eyes, whether it was true or wishful thinking remained to be seen at that point, but I couldn’t help but cling on to that tiny thread of hope that had bloomed within my chest.

I kneeled back down before the Queen of the underworld, bowing my head before her and seizing her hand within my own.

“Yes, my queen, I should never have spoken out to My lord, I forgot myself.”

I placed a kiss on the black sapphire that sat upon her ring finger before she pulled her hand free from my grasp.

Hade’s looked at us in what I could only assume was amusement as he waved me on with a simple brush of his hand. It took a moment for my mind to register his gesture, but by that point I had been seized by the guards and thrown out of the palace. With the ordeal now behind me, I quickly shifted out of the underworld and returned to Kat’s place.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Unya

I had just managed to undo my spell when Marcus re-appeared, he had a glimmer in his eyes that told me he was well aware of what I had been doing while he had been with Kat.