Page 21 of Bride of Death

He would rather be feared and revered; it means no one will bother him.

I prefer to meddle.

Hence my purpose in this kingdom right now.

“I won’t take you to Hades,” I add. “And I won’t escort you back to the Soul Yards either.” Which is what most fae would do in this case, as the creature has clearly escaped. But Serapina wouldn’t know or understand that.

And she named it.Him, I think. “Do you identify as male?” I ask, just to be sure.

Pip nods.

“Interesting.” Most souls don’t interact like this. Though, most souls don’t escape the Soul Yards to make friends with human females either. Yet here we are. “Well,Pip, I think you and I need to be friends, too.”

The soul looks at me expectantly.

“I assume you’re not fond of Maliki since you fled Serapina’s house the moment he arrived,” I say. “And you don’t work for Hades.”

Pip shivers visibly but doesn’t start glancing all over the place again. Instead, he holds my gaze and waits for me to continue.

It’s not exactly a confirmation of my assumptions, but I don’t really need him to corroborate my statements. His reaction to Maliki told me everything I needed to know.

So I move on to my next point, which is simply, “I also care about Serapina.”

Pip continues to stare.

“So we should protect her together,” I inform him.

More silence accompanies my commentary. Silence that appears to be underlined with doubt.

Hmm. I like this soul. He’s smart not to trust me. Unfortunately, though, I need to change his mind on that.

“As a show of good faith, how about I make her evening breakfast tomorrow,” I offer. “Then I can mist it into the kitchen for you to present it to her.”

Pip considers this, the flames of his eyes narrowing into fiery blue crescents.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I promise. “Our souls are destined.” Something Hades refuses to accept, but it’s true. Persephone was meant to be my mate, too. Perhaps if he’d listened to me, Omega kind would have survived.

But that’s a debate for another day.

However, a history lesson may be appropriate for now. Especially if it helps convince Pip to ally with me.

“How about a story?” I suggest. “After I’m done, you can decide if we’re to be friends or not, hmm?”

Pip floats a tad bit closer, his movements slightly less guarded.

“I’m going to interpret that as you being interested in my tale,” I muse. “To start, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Morpheus. You probably know me as the God of Dreams.”

If that information startles Pip, he doesn’t show it.

I smile. “Now that the formalities are done, I’ll begin. Many moons ago…”

Chapter 6

Sera

Hades.

The name whispers through my mind, both familiar and frightening. “You think I’m engaged to Hades?” I ask Ghost, my voice sounding a million miles away as I try to sort through the confusion in my head. “Is this because of Alina?”