Page 43 of Love and Death
And yet, I cannot believe that possible either.
Surely, it cannot be Father. Cerberus cannot be so cruel as to force him to walk to me in his broken condition, can he?
Fear grips me where I stand, frozen in place. My heart thuds hollowly against my chest, and I have to force myself to swallow the lump forming in my throat, despite the dustiness of my mouth.
At long last, the footsteps come to a standstill just outside the door, and I wait with bated breath as the handle is tried.
It doesn’t budge.
There’s another pause, followed by a heavy sigh, before a fist pounds on the door.
“Florence,” calls Cerberus in a husky whisper, “I need you to unlock this door, now!”
My heart leaps into my throat at the sound of his voice, my hand instinctively moving toward the dagger before I drop it to smooth out my skirts instead.
Cerberus hasn’t done anything.
I must not act out of panic. If I do, I may very well end up doing something I truly regret.
And yet, I have no idea what to do now that he’s here. If only I hadn’t fallen asleep, I might have come up with a plan.
“Florence? Florence, answer me!” His voice is slightly louder now.
What am I supposed to do? If he finds out she isn’t here … that she has the keys—
“Mortal,” Cerberus says, a growing panic as he raises his voice, “Hazel, are you there? Answer me! Has the succubus hurt you?”
“I-I’m here,” I call out, not wanting him to summon unwanted attention.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine.”
He lets out a sigh, this one sounding of relief, and there’s a gentle thud, like that of a forehead dropping, against the door.
“Good. Can you get Florence, please?”
I open my mouth, but quickly shut it as I remind myself that I’m supposed to be distracting him from her absence.
“She’s busy at the moment.”
Exasperated by my answer, I can almost hear the clench of his jaw before Cerberus says, “Then, tell her to stop whatever she is doing and unlock this door.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” A long silence stretches between us before Cerberus breaks it, his voice far too soft. “Little lamb, what have you done?”
“Nothing,” I answer, balking at the mere suggestion that I could have harmed her. “She just can’t come to the door right now, that’s all. It’s … women’s business.”
The hellhound mutters a string of what I can only assume are curses at this and then lets out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, she can continue whatever it is she is doing, but I still need you to come and unlock this door.”
“And why should I?” I ask, hoping to encourage his belief that Florence is still here with me as long as possible.
He hesitates for a long moment before answering, “Because I have done as you requested, mortal. I have found your father.”
Everything goes still at this, and even my heart, as I try to process what he’s just said.
