Page 76 of Love and Death
I take a step back to give him space, only to suddenly realize it isn’t just his chest that’s bare. The glow of the sanctum moves over the powerful lines of his back as he breathes, every muscle in his body designed for strength.
My fingers itch to capture the light and the beauty of his form knelt in it—a warrior in the aftermath of battle.
And then he rises, and I have to turn away to allow him his modesty. In turn, I try my best to rework the torn fabric of my own dress.
“You can look,” Cerberus says a minute later, and my cheeks burn hot as I hesitantly turn to find him now wearing the king’s pants and in the midst of pulling on his shirt.
Thankfully, leaving Hades’ silk breeks behind where his body still lies on the floor.
“Is he dead?”
“No, he is unconscious,” he answers coolly. “We need to go. He will not stay this way for long.”
“Death’s body—”
“I will carry it, but on one condition.”
“Yes?”
“You tell me everything you know about this tether.”
I nod once, and he moves into action. Walking over to the heavy doors, he throws them open before returning to the stone table.
I watch as he removes the shroud with careful reverence before taking Death’s body in his arms. He grunts, straining under the weight of it but doesn’t complain. All I can do is stare in shock, myself, having witnessed the nearly dozen or so men required to carry Death from the arena before.
“Can you run, or do I need to carry you on my back?”
I start to open my mouth to answer, but he’s already crouching.
“Never mind. Do not try to convince me you can keep up. It was a battle-worn question I never should have asked.”
I don’t fight him, despite my first instinct being to do so, and climb onto his back to hold on as best I can. The heat of his body is like an inferno, despite the layers between us, and I soon find the chill of the thin air a relief as he sets off. The tunnel blurs past, the blue flames bursting to life as if following along with him.
“The lights.”
“They only react to certain beings,” he answers. “Now, tell meeverything.”
Cerberus listens carefully as I tell him about Eros, the moor, and how I escaped Persephone’s room and found the secret stairwell, though I’m careful to leave out some of the more embarrassing details. He doesn’t say a word as Ifinish, and we continue our escape in silence as we race down winding tunnels, ducking into offshoots and through strange and wonderful caverns that all light up for him.
He obviously knows this place better than the back of his hand, and I shudder to think where I could have ended up if he hadn’t passed by the stairs and triggered the blue flames when he did.
Gradually, we make it out of the depths, the air warming and filling my lungs once again, despite it tasting like a half-forgotten breath. I look up as we round a much tighter corner and nearly lose my grip on Cerberus as we run straight into a wall.
Except, we don’t run into it … we runthroughit.
For a split second, I feel as though I’m being pulled through a wall of thick, perfectly smooth jelly, and then we are standing in the all too familiar halls of the sapphire palace. I look back over my shoulder, but the stone wall behind me looks just like any other.
Cerberus slips down a nearby hall and into a dark alcove nestled behind a large statue. He kneels to let me drop from his back before leaning Death’s body against the furthest wall.
“You are absolutely certain of everything you told me?” he whispers, turning toward me.
“Yes.”
“Very well, I will go fetch Eros’ body. Do not stray from here. Is that understood?”
I nod once, having no desire to leave Death alone here or risk getting caught wandering the halls when we are so close to escape.
Cerberus pauses, readying himself to leave, when I grab his wrist to stop him.
