Page 39 of Bride of Death

And he just wrenched me out of reality and into the dream I crafted for him.

Fascinating.

Except being here means there is no one actively protecting Serapina in the waking world, which means I can’t stay. “We’ll chat soon,” I promise Maliki.

Or perhaps it’s a threat.

That remains to be seen as I blast him with a heavy dose of my gift and send him flying backward into a sea of black moss.

The seaweed-like texture grabs him on my command, pulling him under in a wave of fiery fury.

His responding growl echoes throughout the dark landscape, telling me there will be hell to pay whenever I release him. Buttruly, this was his fault more than mine. Had he simply slept, I wouldn’t have needed to resort to these methods.

Alas, powerful fae are countered with powerful dreams.

“I’ll be back at some point,” I tell him, then blink back into the Netherworld Village to hunt down my Omega.

It’s not a difficult task, her aroma one that calls to me on a feral level. So sweet. So sinful.So addictive.

I’ve not allowed myself to truly indulge in her yet, mostly because I’ve wanted to give her time to settle into this reality while I observed from afar.

But marking herself as single changed everything.

I no longer desired towatch. I wanted toclaim. Yet I gave my cousin a forty-five-day warning.

And he responded by spreading word of his pending nuptials to Serapina Everheart.

I told him tofix this, notforce her.

The bastard hasn’t even tried to talk to her, outside of that initial meeting where he threatened to become her worst nightmare.

Such a cruel thing to say.

He’s angry, yes. Rightfully so. But is Serapina to blame for her soul’s sins? I think not.

Just as I think he should knot up and talk to his betrothed, not send Maliki to seduce her for him.

Oh, I’m sure his pet assassin will do an amazing job pleasing our intended, and I certainly wouldn’t mind watching it happen. However, Hades needs to earn her, too. And if he’s not willing to fight for her, then he’s going to lose her.

To me.

I smile as her fragrance grows stronger, the perfume beckoning me forward. But I don’t want to scare her, so I slow my steps and observe her like I usually do—from the mist. It’ssimilar to Maliki’s ability to lurk in the shadows, only mine functions as more of a fog.

A fog that very much blends into the Netherworld Courtyard as I follow her down the black cobblestone trail. The sound of creaking echoes all around us as a gust blows through the skeleton trees, the bones rattling in response.

Serapina seems unbothered, her sight set on something ahead.

Her fists clench at the sides as she comes to halt by a tree. “How in the thorns is that even possible?” she demands, piquing my interest.

She can’t possibly be talking to me. And there’s no one else around for her to speak to. Not even Pip.

So she’s obviously voicing a rhetorical question, yet she kneels and grabs a handful of charcoal-colored dirt.

I creep closer, trying to understand what she’s doing, when she releases an adorable little growl and throws the sandy soil back down with a “Hmph.”

Narrowing my gaze, I lean over her shoulder to look at the clump she just discarded. It resembles standard Netherworld dirt.

Why has it offended her?I wonder.Because it’s cold?