Page 14 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
“Freedom from your tyranny?” I said with a laugh. He didn’t find that amusing if that heavy sigh was anything to go by.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How did I end up with you in my life?”
“You wound me,” I said as I dramatically slapped my hand over my heart. “But seriously, do you think Thane did it?”
Hades stood from his desk and walked over to one of the many giant windows. He clasped his hands behind his rigid back and stared out over his kingdom. “I don’t know.”
My eyebrows acquainted themselves with my hairline. “You don’t know?!”
Since when did Hades not know something. I joined him at the window and found him staring at nothing, lost in his thoughts, a crease of concentration marring his fine brow.
“You’ve read the docket from Mr. Drake. The energy has gone somewhere. If it wasn’t Thane, then who was it?”
I placed my hand on his arm, drawing his focus to me. “But do you think itwasThane?”
He was silent for a long moment, and I nearly thought he wasn’t going to answer. “No.”
Relief flooded through me. “Will you help me find him?”
“I can’t,” he said, before turning away from me, putting an end to our conversation. Or that’s what he wanted to do but I’d never been much good at walking away.
“Can’t or won’t?” I spat.
“I don’t care, pick one.”
“You’re such an arrogant prick.”
“Watch it,” he snapped, his gaze angry and full of fire as he scowled at me. “I am still King, whether you like it or not.”
“And Thane is still a God, and he needs your help.” He might go by Thane now, but he was still Thanatos, God of Death and essential in the hierarchy of the Underworld. I clicked my tongue at Hades. “If this is how you handle your subjects, no wonder there are so many of them wanting to rise up against you.”
“That isenough!” Hades slammed his power into my chest, hitting me like a sonic wave and pinning me to the window in front of him. His eyes were two blazing orbs of fire, his fingers sparking with lightning, and I didn’t care that I’d angered him enough that he was losing control.
“You think Thane is innocent and you’re going to stand there and do nothing. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Hades wrapped his hand around my throat, his long slender fingers squeezing my jaw and forcing me to look at his anger. His voice dropped to a whisper. “There is more at stake here than you can possibly know, little Reaper.”
My body reacted to the deep rumble of his words, but I was going to ignore it. My core didn’t clench in time with his fingers around my throat. Nope. Definitely didn’t do that. Gah, who the fuck was I kidding? I liked making him angry because I always reacted like this. It was as if the threat of death by his hand was a fucking aphrodisiac.
“Hades.” Shit. Was that a purr? Oh, Gods. I think it was.
His gaze dropped to my lips, and he snarled. “Why do you do this to me?”
I had a feeling he was being rhetorical, so I stayed silent for once and just stared at the man. He lowered his forehead to mine, and I felt his breath against my lips. A fraction closer and his lips would touch mine. Did I even want that?
He let out a deep sigh that tasted like fresh mint and black coffee, then he released me, his power falling from me and his fingers leaving my skin. It left me feeling cold without him pressing so close.
One day, whatever this was between us, was going to explode and it was either going to be the best thing to ever happen, or it would destroy everything.
“I know I can’t stop you from doing whatever it is that you’re going to do but be careful.”
Oomf, this was straying into a weird place where Hades was actually showing that he – gulp – cared. “You could always order me not to,” I offered helpfully.
He huffed a laugh. “And since when has that ever stopped you?”
I shrugged. It’d never stopped me but equally, Hades had never punished me for it. “The twins and I are heading to Destiny this evening. We think the Fates were the last to see Thane before he went missing.”
Hades flinched. He had always hated the Fates, but that was more to do with the fact that he couldn’t influence them or make them do what he wanted. The Fates saw what was, what is, and what was going to pass and there was nothing Hades could do to change that. I think it scared him a little, too.
