It wasn't just the alignment of her features or the glow of her skin, the sweep of her hair or the curve of her form. It was something that shone within her, and I couldn’t identify it.
The memory of her pressed against me burned, an inferno that had imprinted itself against my flesh. I wanted to shake the feeling away, peel the skin off if I needed to.
It weakened me, this insane obsession.
She crossed her arms and glared. “This isn’t my room.”
I raised a brow, resisting looking away from her. “You forfeited that room when you ran away.”
“Of course I ran away, you bastard.”
“Well, there will be no running now.” I stepped back, needing the space from her, and reached for the door handle. “Unlike last time, this door has a lock.”
“A lock?” Shock echoed in her voice.
“I’ve neither the time nor the desire to chase you.” Lie. I had the desire to chase her across worlds, and I hated it. “Therefore, you will remain locked in this room until we come to an agreement.”
She huffed out a breath, staring at me with such fiery anger that it lit something inside me as well. Her scent wrapped around me, floral and fresh, reminiscent of things I’d never seen. Never cared to see.
Until her.
“Don’t look so pleased,” she said. “Just because your little plan to drag me back here worked.”
“Pleased? You put a hole in my stomach when you left.”
“I didn’t leave. I escaped. And you were collateral damage. Which I’m fine with, by the way.”
That might hurt if I knew how to feel pain. “But you’re back now.”
“Because you forced me. How long is this damned potion going to stay in my system?”
“Forever.”
Anger flashed on her face, but no surprise. She expected me to play dirty. She had no idea.
“I want you to remove it.”
“I can’t. There’s no cure that I know of.” It was true, and from the way her face fell, she believed me. Good. She’d stop trying to run. “When I touched you, I could feel the magic going wild inside you. The darkness rising. You liked it.”
“I did not.”
Pleasure flashed through me. “Then you don’t deny that it is there?”
She scowled.
“Let me help you,” I said. “I can teach you to master that power. Grow stronger.”
She shook her head. “I want nothing to do with it.”
“You’re a menace to yourself and others if you don’t train with it. You could have killed Lucifer.”
Guilt flashed in her eyes, then cunning. Her gaze traveled over me, taking in all the details of my attire as the cogs in her mind spun.
She was plotting my downfall, it was certain.
I couldn’t blame her. It was what I would do if I were in her position.
The chess game was back on.
“I want nothing to do with you,” she said.
It was expected, but still…frustrating.
My hands tingled, and I resisted a frown. I couldn’t help clenching my fists inside my leather gloves, though. If I removed them, I knew that I’d see them fading. I’d see myself fading.
She wasn’t the only one who was cursed. My own curse was acting up as well. I needed to get out of here.
“I’ll give you time to think.” Before she could say anything, I shut the door in her face and locked it, tucking the key away in my pocked.
“Hades!” Her voice echoed through the door, followed by her pounding fists.
A wry smile tugged at one corner of my mouth, and I strode away, rubbing a hand over my face.
The halls were empty as I strode through them, headed for the pit of darkness at the base of the castle. Now, more than ever, I needed its guidance. Seraphia had the ability to derail me from my task. She hadn’t managed it yet, but only an imbecile would underestimate his foe.
I would never underestimate Seraphia.
Not again.
She’d proved herself a more than worthy opponent. Smart and strong, cunning and dangerous—it drew me to her like a moth to flame. The memory of her body pressed against mine flared through me, igniting a desire that was far too human.
I wanted her.
Before she’d come, I hadn’t even understood the concept.
I shook the thought away as I reached the stairs that led to the depths of my castle, which were far more austere than the public spaces above. I felt more at home here. It made sense, given that I was the closest thing to a creature built of cold granite.
Quickly, I took the stairs two at a time, descending to the cool, calm darkness that soothed my soul. When I’d touched her, I’d felt darkness, rising and strong. But more than that, I’d felt light. I’d felt the goodness of her soul, her selflessness and willingness to help others. Kindness and generosity.
All so unfamiliar. So foreign.
And yet, so Seraphia.
It unbalanced me.
The air grew cooler as I descended the wide spiral stairwell, the dark magic soothing me.
I stepped out into the large chamber and its almost deafening silence. Unlike the castle above, which had been built by an army of the dead, dark magic had hewn the cavern straight from the rock. Before I’d been born—created, more like—it had crept out of the pit in the center of the room, forming this temple to darkness and power, greed and despair.
I strode toward the pit, my soul quieting as I approached the deep, dark chasm. At the edge, I stared down into the abyss. Gleaming stars swirled in the depths. Whether they were real or a trick of the mind, I had no idea.
As always, the pit called to me. To enter was death—a return to Tartarus, where I would be tortured for what felt like an eternity. Chronos was there, though I had never met him. He was a Titan, and the miserable bastard had been imprisoned there long ago.
It was said that he might be my father—that I was a creation of his magic. The product of his bond with the darkness that imprisoned him in Tartarus. Why I was forced to return every millennium, once my body had fully faded away, I had no idea. But it was as reliable as the setting of the sun.
Memories of that pain filled my mind—endless years of torment in the flames and freezing wind of the worst part of hell. Feeling like my body was liquefied by fire and reformed by ice. It was nothing compared to the punishments I dispensed to the murderers and rapists here in the underworld.
I pulled off the gloves that covered my hands, revealing them to be as I’d expected—partially transparent.
“Damn it.” I drew in a steadying breath as I clenched my fists, drawing strength from the dark magic that wafted up from the pit. It flowed over me, filling my soul, re-solidifying my form. For a while, at least.
Time was running out.
This place was both my savior and my despair. It had formed me, death incarnate, with one purpose: to spread the darkness. I’d been trying for millennia, but without Seraphia, it had been impossible.
Now that I had her, I would succeed, defying my fate and breaking the cycle that dragged me back to Tartarus to be tortured.
I drew in a deep breath, letting the magic of this place soothe the riot in my soul. It forced away the light with which Seraphia had infected me, calming the torment within me. Emotion seeped away, replaced with the calm, cold detachment that kept me sane.