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By the time I was done with the fairy tale, the men had slid down onto the pillows and fallen asleep.

I closed the book and carefully crawled to the foot of the bed, then climbed over the low footboard.

I was going to leave. I really was. But then I made the mistake of looking at them.

The hounds had become puppies, curled up in slumber.

The vacuum of my absence forced them to huddle closer until they were in a puppy pile.

Harsh male faces softened and sweetened.

Muscles relaxed. Big bodies folded in upon themselves. Adorable. Absolutely adorable.

A thought quickly followed that one. Nope! Not today, Hades! I have not survived the fiery torment of their slamming sex appeal only for your boys to seduce me with their cuteness. Not. Happening.

I hurried out of the room and down the hallway to mine.

But then I paused at the door. They were asleep.

I was not. I could leave. I could take one of their cars and drive home.

I looked down at the book of fairy tales.

The story of Rumpelstiltskin hadn't been very whimsical at all.

It was kind of annoying. Too real. No one was innocent.

The father got his daughter into trouble, the daughter agreed to Rumpelstiltskin's terms to get herself out of that trouble, and then she turned on him and backed out of their bargain.

Sure, it was because she didn't want to give up her baby, but hey, a deal's a deal.

She shouldn't have agreed to it if she couldn't go through with it.

Maybe Rumpelstiltskin took advantage of her situation.

But maybe he was a lonely old man who gave that girl everything he could in the hopes that he might have someone to love.

And she betrayed him. But he was supposedly the villain.

“It's all about perspective,” I whispered.

There was so much going on in this situation that I didn't know about.

Who had Hades taken advice from? How did they know that I was destined to unmask Silas?

Did they also know that he was the one who murdered me in a past life?

And if so, why not just tell Hades who Silas was?

No, it couldn't be that simple. I was the common thread in these weaves, and I needed to pull myself out so I could see the design.

That there was a design, I had no doubt.

So, no, I couldn't leave. I had to be as cunning as the miller's daughter. Silas wanted something from me. Whether it was to use me as a tool to destroy the Cerberuses or for some other reason, I needed to find out. And these hounds could help me do that. We could help each other.

And Ace too.

I closed the bedroom door behind me, set the book back on the bedside table, and crawled into bed. I was suddenly bone weary. The roller coaster of revelations I rode that day had exhausted me. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.