Page 18 of Love and Death
Where even nightmares cannot reach me.
6
CERBERUS
By the fiery gates of hell, what have I done?
My whole body shakes with anger as I make my way down the tower.
This cannot be happening.
I am not supposed to have a mate, let alone a fated one.
I thought I was mistaken after I was not able to get to her in Hades’ bedchamber, but now there is no denying it.
And, as if her being my fated mate was not curse enough, I had to go and mark her, too.
The scent of her—the taste of her on my tongue—it was enough to drive me mad.
I let out an angry snort at this.
Who am I kidding?
Ithasdriven me mad.
Isdriving me mad.
I would have taken her in my madness, if she had not stopped me. While that would have been a deathsentence in and of itself … I somehow managed to do something far worse.
I marked her.
I have initiated the fate bond between us and started the countdown to a decision she does not even know that she must make.
Regardless of Hades’ return, time is now running out for us all, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
This is all wrong.
I am all wrong.
My hands ball into fists at my sides, and I clench my jaw in an effort to keep myself steady.
If Hades returns too soon ... If he realizes the significance of what I have done, it will be impossible for me to keep my connection to the girl secret any longer, and then he will force me to sever the bond before it even has a chance to fully form.
Or worse, he will take her life to stop it.
One way or another, Hades will find a way to break us.
Of this, I am certain.
I slam my fist against the tower wall, biting back a howl of frustration at the thought. Gritting my teeth together as rage courses through my veins, I lean back against the stone wall and close my eyes to think.
I had hated the way she looked at Death. Hated how much I wanted her to look at me the same way.
I had almost been happy to watch him die, thinking I might finally have a chance with her. But I realize now how ridiculous, howimpossibly selfishthat thought was.
She will never be safe with me.
I cannot even protect her from myself.
