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“Alright, not an empty threat,” I replied wryly, before releasing a sigh and telling the newcomer,

“We are here in search of Hades.”

“And who would dare summon the King of the Underworld?” he asked, pointing his cane my way, as I think it became clear to him that I was the one leading this group.

“I am Cerberus.”

At this he gasped.

“The HellBeast King has returned?” he asked in clear shock.

“I have.” I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest, happy in the knowledge that my wound had healed and movements like this no longer hurt.

“And for what reason? For if it is to aid in battle, as you can see, you are decades too late,” he responded, making me glance around the ghosts of the fallen, that would now haunt this castle. Their faces were haunted and skeletal inside their spiked helmets.

“I am not here to help him but instead, I am here to help his daughter,” I told him, making him sneer angrily.

“Then you are the enemy, for who do you think did this!”

All the ghosts moved as one, closing in on us, making me rush out to say,

“I speak not of the Queen’s Daughter, but of the two he had with Nymph Leuce.”

The man staggered back, tapping his cane once more so as all the ghosts suddenly started to disappear. Their bodies evaporating like steam, leaving a blue hue in their wake.

“Then it is true… it was foretold.”

I frowned, demanding, “Explain.”

“Melinoë came here with an army, with the sole purpose to overthrow her father’s rule. She destroyed all you see now.”

I looked around, following the journey of his cane as he pointed to the destruction. Greek style columns were missing chunks out of them, as if chipped with the projectile of cannon fire. Walls completely missing next to those that had survived. And nearly the entire marble floor was cracked or covered in the aftermath of the castle’s devastation.

“But you are still standing, I see,” I pointed out, nodding to the old man whose face we still had not seen.

“Yes, and at the request of the King I remained, for Hecate told him that Fate would need to find him when the time came,” he replied, giving me cause to ask,

“What time?”

“The time that the next King in line for ruling the Underworld would come home.”

I frowned in shock, my brother muttering,

“Yeah, don’t expect me to kneel and call you your majesty.”

I ignored this and asked,

“The next King?”

“The one born from this realm and who is fated to save it, the one fated to his daughter, the one who holds the true power of Hades,” he told me, and had I not had an audience, I would have needed to sit down to process this. Could what he be saying, be true?

“Ella,”Lerna whispered in shock, as clearly I wasn’t the only one dumbstruck to hear this. But then my own prophecy came to mind. The one that spoke of my own Fate and how with my Chosen One by my side, I would become more powerful than even the most ambitious minds could ever dream. Those had been the words of the Oracle, the one now residing with the Devil himself. Could this be that prophecy?

Of course, the chance to rule over an entire realm was not why I was here, nor did it matter to me. No, all that mattered to me was getting my girl back and if I could do that without her wanting to stab me, then all the better.

Hence why I told him,

“She is the reason we are here. We need a piece of her mother’s tree to bring her back.”