Page 48 of Love and Death
This isn’t right. Why would my father be held here, of all places?
Especiallyif what the guards said about their orders concerning the queen is true ... And, regardless, why aren’t there any men posted outside her chambers?
Or anywhere else, for that matter.
I suddenly realize that I haven’t seen or heard anyone, guard or otherwise, since our run-in with the stone sentinels.
Where has everyone gone since our return from the arena yesterday?
Before I have a chance to question Cerberus about this, his fist has already connected with one of the doors.
Twice.
The knocks reverberate through the empty halls, making the hairs at the nape of my neck stand on end. Every fiber of my being wants nothing more than to turnon my heel and run as fast and as far as I can, but even if that were possible, it’s already too late.
Perfumed air wafts through the cracks in the door as someone presses against it from the other side.
“Yes?” Persephone whispers, and my stomach clenches at the sound of her voice.
“I have the girl with me.”
“Cerberus?”
She sounds just as wary as I feel.
“Are you expecting someone else?”
“No, but …” she trails off, the uncertainty in her voice only heightening my unease.
“Then, are you going to let us in?”
“I need to be certain that the girl is with you first.”
Cerberus’ nostrils flare in annoyance before he turns his head to look down at me expectantly.
Of course, I’m the only one who can assure her of my presence, but do I want to?
What truly waits for me behind these doors?
What if my father isn’t here?
As far as I know, this could just be some ploy of Persephone’s to exact her vengeance upon me in Hades’ absence.
And yet, there is only one way to know for sure.
“He speaks the truth. I am here.”
“Hazel,” Persephone sighs with relief, quickly unlocking one of the doors and cracking it open. “Come in, please.”
Cerberus shifts to one side, releasing his hold on me and motioning for me to step past him to move inside.
I hesitate for a split second, reluctant to cross over thethreshold and into her chambers, before finally doing just that. Much to my relief, as surprising as that is, the hellhound doesn’t shut the door behind me, but enters as well.
We have barely made it past the threshold before Persephone shoos us out of the way to shut and lock the door behind us.
There’s no going back now, and I whisper a silent prayer to myself that I’ve made the right choice as I turn to take in my surroundings.
The vast room is cast in pale moonlight, fog rolling across a flowering, mossy floor as it would a secluded heath on a gentle spring morning. Even in my current state, I cannot deny the sheer loveliness of the scene before me.
