Page 49 of Deadly Games
“I don’t know, but he knows you’re a threat to him and the longer you’re here, the more danger you’re in,” Hades said, glancing warily at the path up ahead. He knew the unseen dangers lurking in this realm better than anyone, so when he was afraid, I knew I had reason to be.
“I’m not leaving,” I said firmly. “Not without Fenrir.”
Hades frowned, and I knew the look that came across his features. The same look he always wore when he thought I was being stubborn, as if he didn’t possess that quality in abundance. Or maybe he just thought it was different somehow when he did it.
“She’s right,” said Loki. “We can’t just abandon him, and if your father is onto us, there’s nowhere in the seven realms we can hide her forever.”
“What about the Ether?” asked Dionysus, ignoring the glare I shot him. Guess even he was capable of being overprotective.
Hades considered it for a moment before shaking his head. “That’s the first place he’ll look. He must know Ares is Kore’s father. There’s no other explanation for how he’d know about her destiny.”
“They were besties at one point, the way he tells it,” Loki agreed, his arms folded. “If Cronus is threatened, maybe we’ve got something. It’s not like we have any other choice.”
“What about Fenrir?” asked Dionysus. “I don’t know how this all works, but don’t we all need to be together to pull this off?”
It was a fair point. The truth was, we didn’t even know if it was possible to kill Cronus, let alone have a game plan. We were all just making this up as we went.
“This is all pointless to argue,” I said, knowing I had to choose my words carefully if I was going to get them all on board. “If Cronus wanted us all here, he got his wish, and there’s no way he’s going to let us out.”
“She’s right,” Dionysus agreed. “Right now, I think our only option is to storm the castle, so to speak.”
Hades scowled, clearly displeased with the direction the conversation had taken. Not that he had a choice, either. “That plan might be a bit more literal than you know. My father left after he cast the enchantment on Fenrir, but I’m sure he’s using him as bait. He knows we’ll come back, and I’m not going to deliver her right into his hands.”
“No, I’m going to deliver myself,” I countered. He turned to argue, but I folded my arms and squared my shoulders to make it clear I wasn’t backing down. “You know this world better than anyone, Hades. There’s nowhere we can run and nowhere to hide. One way or another, this has to end, and I’d rather face him directly than get ambushed.”
“She has a point,” said Loki.
“Would you stop saying that?” Hades barked.
“I’m just saying,” Loki grumbled.
“It sounds like we’ve made the only choice we have,” Dionysus said, ever the diplomatic one. Thank the godssomeonein this five-way clusterfuck was. “We shouldn’t waste anymore time.”
Hades grudgingly nodded, but he retreated back into his usual moody silence as he led the way. I decided to give him a little bit of space, for as long as I could. As infuriating as it was, it was kind of touching that he was so upset. Maybe I meant more to him than he let on.
It only raised more questions as to what was going to happen between us once all was said and done, but I just hoped that was a luxury I had to worry about later.
“What’s that?” Dionysus asked, breaking the silence after we’d walked for what felt like an eternity. Then again, it was kind of hard to tell in the realm of the dead.
I followed his gaze to the long, winding valley cut into the solid gray landscape up ahead. To my horror, I soon realized it was a riverbed that had been almost entirely depleted.
“That would be the River Styx,” Hades said solemnly, coming to a stop at the top of the hill to survey his macabre kingdom. “What’s left of it, anyway.”
I brought a hand to my mouth to stifle the gasp welling in my throat. Now that we were close, I could feel the faintest echoes of life traveling through the riverbed, but even those were growing dim. Their distress permeated my lungs, and a grief heavier than any I’d ever known settled on my shoulders like a mantle.
I’d been horrified by Cronus’ actions before, but until this moment, the gravity of it all hadn’t fully set in. Once it did, there was no paralleling the disgust and hatred that settled deep in my core.
This was no longer a mere matter of destiny or even protecting my realm. It was vengeance, and Cronus deserved the same empty fate he’d condemned so many souls to.
I intended to ensure he met that fate.
“The palace is up there,” Hades said, pointing to a hilltop structure I could barely make out the outline of in the distance. We followed the riverbed to the base of the hill leading up to the palace gates, and the closer we drew, the thicker with dread the air became.
There was something else coexisting with the hatred deep inside of me. Pain. Guilt. Anguish for the half-life Hades had known all these years, and the future he had been so determined to face alone.
As bleak and unforgiving as this realm was, I no longer saw it as the prison or punishment I once had. This place was part of him, and its wounds were carved deep in his soul. Whatever there was left to save, I had to try. For him.
When we came to a stop outside the great gates, I reached for Hades’ hand and he looked down at me in surprise. His irritation softened and the disapproving lines smoothed on his face. He gave my hand a tight squeeze in return, which filled me with the strength I needed to go through with this.
