Page 61 of Going to Hell
Twenty-five? Damn. I kissed him a lot longer than I should have. It hadn’t felt like twenty-five heartbeats, though. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he’d been controlling me before I thought better of it. Even if I could get a straight answer, there was every chance I’d offend him by hinting I hadn’t been willing. The last thing I wanted was for him to cry cheat and not help me.
“Is this one building or several buildings connected by hallways?”
“Your home, Goddess, is what you make of it.”
“I’m not a goddess, and this isn’t my home.”
Rather than getting angry, he simply continued walking to the next set of stairs. We went up two flights, turned into a hallway, then found another stairwell to take us down another flight of stairs.
“I need a moment,” I said when we reached that landing.
Feet aching, I sat on the floor. Although all the walking had kept me warm, I shivered when I rested my back against the cool stones with only my thin dress as a barrier. How were some places warm and some so cool?
Hades crouched in front of me. His gaze swept over my face then down my arms like he was inspecting me. But for what? His expression was a little hard to interpret at the moment but edged toward dark and broody with a hint of hunger.
“You’re tired,” he noted.
“I am tired. How much farther is it?”
“How much farther is what?” he asked absently.
“How much farther is it until we get to where we’re going?” I clarified without a hint of the frustration I felt leaking into the words. “And, where are we going?”
He lifted his gaze from his scrutiny, stood, and offered his hand. Although I knew how distractingly devastating touching him could be, I accepted. His fingers curled over mine, and he gently helped me to my feet. Thankfully, he released my hand when I gave a little tug.
“Once the souls cross the river, they pass to their destined resting place. The pits, the meadows, or the fields. Every soul and their final destination is recorded.”
“Respectfully, I appreciate the information, but it didn’t answer either of my questions.”
“Respectfully,” he scoffed, almost as if to himself. “We go to the Hall of Records. We’re more than halfway there. Does that sufficiently answer your questions?”
“For now,” I said before realizing I was echoing his earlier words. He knew it, though, based on his smirk.
Ignoring him, I plodded on and tried not to think of how good it would feel to open a random door and have him magic me up a bed for some serious nap time.
“If you tire, we need not continue with this course,” Hades said, noting how my steps were dragging.
“There’s a shortcut?”
He frowned at me for half a second. “You know there is another way to free yourself.”
I wasn’t sure if he was purposely misunderstanding me or not but decided to not explain what I meant and addressed his comment instead.
“You mentioned something about mistaking someone else for Persephone in the past. I can’t imagine you were too happy about that. What happened to the girl who wasn’t Persephone?”
His anger flared, and he cut me a sharp glare.
“She was punished.” The words were clipped. Everything from the briefest flicker of red glow in his eyes to his fisted hands screamed to let the subject drop. If I was smart, I’d listen, but I had to be as dumb as a post since I immediately opened my mouth and pushed on.
“Then you understand why having sex isn’t an option. I don’t want to be punished for impersonating someone I am not.”
“I tire of your games,” he seethed beside me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask more questions about Persephone and the kinds of games she’d played, but I managed to stop myself before I could make things worse. The next few minutes of walking in silence didn’t help soothe his mood, though. I was just about to ask something else when a familiar sound reached my ears. This time I knew it wasn’t running water.
My steps automatically stalled.
“That sounds like it’s coming from ahead,” I whispered.
