This place was weird.
As they fetched the water, I memorized the place and everything I could see. Knowledge was power, and I was going to need it.
A few moments later, Lucifer returned with a glass bottle stoppered with a cork. The liquid inside glinted under the light, and suddenly I was desperately thirsty.
“Thanks.” I took the bottle, my hand brushing against his.
Electricity shot up my arm, jolting into me. Actual electricity, not a sexy spark.
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry.
I took the bottle, lifted it to my lips, and stopped.
Do not eat of the underworld.
It was a commonly known tip. If you ate the food of the underworld, you were required to stay there.
Did this count?
I looked between the bottle and Lucifer. His brows were raised as he watched me. “Well?”
“Quit staring. Aren’t you going to take me to Hades?”
“Yes. But I’m waiting to see if you’re going to drink that water.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“What?”
“Frankly, I don’t want to be trapped here.” I wasn’t revealing something he wouldn’t already know. I’d been freaking kidnapped for fates’ sake and it was far too early for Stockholm Syndrome to have set in.
“Water doesn’t apply. It is everywhere, and not a food of this world.”
“I don’t trust you.” I gestured forward. “Let’s get a move on. Unless you’ll let me go back to my quarters?”
“Hardly. Come on.” He turned and strode down the hall.
I followed, surreptitiously spilling the water onto the seat of an upholstered bench as I passed. The cushion sucked up the liquid without a sound, and I was left with an empty bottle that I tucked into the pocket of my cloak.
Fear skated across my spine. Now all I had to do was steal from Hades himself.
5
Hades
A knock sounded at the door, and I turned from the large window overlooking the sea that crashed below, sending sparkling spray up into the night air.
Only Lucifer would dare come to my quarters.
The devil was a thorn in my hide, but he was useful. He’d arrived here a few years ago, having recently gotten into another problem with heaven. I’d given him refuge in exchange for his magic, and so far, it had proved most valuable.
“Enter.”
The door swung open, and as expected, the devil walked through. Unexpected, however, was the woman he brought with him. She had put on a cloak and her head was bowed. I couldn’t see an inch of her, but I would recognize her anywhere.
My body would recognize her anywhere, going taut as something twisted in my chest.
I shoved it away. She was but a pawn in this game. That should not be hard to remember.
“A visitor to see you, my lord.” Lucifer gave a cocky grin. “Found her loitering outside the kitchens.”
It’d do me well if she ate of the Underworld. She had not, however. I’d sense her addition to my dominion if she had.
I nodded at Lucifer, dismissing him. His grin widened, and he disappeared back through the door, shutting it behind him, leaving me and the woman alone.
She looked up, her face pale and drawn. Wariness glinted in her eyes, that of a prey scenting a predator.
Wise.
She shifted left, putting the large desk, a massive block of ebony wood, between us. It was the first useful thing the desk had ever done. Nothing about my life was suited to a desk, but I’d never bothered to remove it. I rarely sat on the couch against the wall or the chair in the corner, either. The only things I did use with relative frequency were the books on the bookshelves. They lined all the walls, surrounding me entirely.
It was odd to see her in my space.
“This is sooner than I anticipated.” I stepped closer, inspecting her for any sign of increased fear.
How brave was she? How strong?
I found the fear in the tight line of her jaw and the glint in her eye, yet she didn’t look away. She arched a brow, keeping her distance. “You anticipated me coming here?”
“Eventually, yes.”
“Why did you kidnap me?” She glared, and I couldn’t help but enjoy watching the way her features changed. I’d never cared to look at another before, finding others to be as interesting as the rocks that made up the walls of my castle.
She, on the other hand . . .
It was strange, the way she was different.
I shoved the thought away. “I need you.”
“For what?”
“That is my business.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“You kidnapped me, you lunatic. Of course it’s my business.”
“Lunatic?”
No one had insulted me in . . . forever.
Literally, forever.
Gods weren’t recipients of insults. My brothers hated me too much to bother with insults, and everyone else was too afraid of me.
She flinched at my tone, and I smiled, the predator rising. Any kind of fear made the beast rise.
She stiffened her spine, staring me down. “Why didn’t you lock my room?”
“I am not your jailer.” Not in the traditional sense. “You may explore at your leisure.”
“Sure, that sounds super fun.” She crossed her arms. “I want to go home.”
“No. Tonight, you will attend the evening meal with me.”
Annoyance flashed in her eyes. “Tell me why you yanked me out of my life and put me in this forsaken hell hole.”
“You are but a pawn in a game you do not understand. The chess master does not tell the pieces what he intends for them.”
Her eyes darkened, a storm rolling in, rolling toward me.
I wanted to walk into it.
No. “Tonight we will discuss more.”
“At dinner,” she said, repeating the word as if it were particularly foul.
“At dinner.” Where I would ensure she ate of this realm. “Now go.”
I called upon my magic, drawing the darkness up from within my soul. It flowed out of me, and I imagined her legs walking her backward to the door.
I felt it when my power had her in its grasp, when it twined around her limbs like serpents. Something lit within me, an unfamiliar throb.
From my magic touching her?
She gasped and stiffened. “Stop it.”
I forced her backward, toward the door. She struggled against my power, her magic fighting mine, but she wasn’t strong enough.
I prowled toward her, and fear brightened her eyes.
Prey.
“Fine,” she all but growled, her back coming up against the door.
Something lit within me at the sound, and I dropped my magic.
She whirled and fled.
I watched her go, something strange filling my chest. I ignored it, striding back to the window to stare down at the sea. Losing myself in the crash of the waves below.
Faint footsteps sounded behind me. I looked back.
Lucifer.
He grinned. “Well, well. That was interesting.”
I turned back to the window, ignoring him.
He chuckled. “I’m quite certain you are a machine, my friend. But she has thrown a kink in your gears.”
A machine.
Yes, the title fit, and I relished it. I needed to stay that way. Whatever was malfunctioning inside my chest needed to be repaired. The cold that had once sat so comfortingly inside my soul had been invaded by the slightest flicker of heat. It couldn’t be tolerated.