Page 99 of Bride of Death

I swallow and look at the nondescript black door framed by skulls. “Looks inviting.” It’s a joke, one he clearly gets because he snorts.

“This is the Netherworld Kingdom, trouble. And you’re the Bride of Death.”

With that pronouncement, he grabs the skeleton hand, twists it like one would a knob, and pushes the heavy door open.

I pinch my lips together. “I think I prefer the standard doorknobs from my last two accommodations.”

“Hades decorated his own wing” is Maliki’s explanation.

I don’t need him to say more than that. The grotesque decor makes a lot of sense. “I can’t wait to see the inside,” I mutter.

Maliki chuckles again and leads the way inside, then he steps out of the way so I can see the interior.

Biting the side of my cheek, I gingerly enter and half expect to find a bed lined in bones.

But I’m pleasantly surprised to discover a room full of color.

The door magically closes behind me, keeping the three-headed wolf from following. Though, I’m rather certain the beast can’t fit through the threshold.

However, Pip enters just fine—through the wall—and begins investigating the space while I gape at the flowered walls.

Petals and vines and leaves are embedded in the rocky texture, making my lips part. The plants are not real. I can see that from here. However, the details are incredible.

“Wow,” I breathe, taking in the interesting scenery. “I don’t even recognize what these are supposed to be, but they’re pretty.”

I walk over to touch a vibrant orange flower that reminds me of an Oriental lily.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, stroking the silky texture.

Maliki doesn’t comment, but I turn to find him rotating a familiar pot on the table.

It’s the one from my hut.

He grabbed it before we left, then it disappeared when he shadowed us up here.

Part of me wants to ask how it ended up in my rooms, but as I glance around, I realize it’s not the only thing that magically ended up here.

With a hint of suspicion, I go to the bathroom and freeze when I see that the space is larger than my entire home in the village. There are two double sinks—one on each side—a huge walk-in shower, and a tub that looks like it’s meant for bathing the wolf beast.

Holy fae,I breathe, touching the obsidian marble as I walk by the sink closest to me. The fixtures are all gold and silver, the opulence rather startling.

But what’s really impressive is the windowed wall of the shower, like through the glass. “It looks like a rainforest outside,” I marvel out loud, noting the way the mirage moves. “Like it really looks as though you’re staring right into the forest.”

Maliki joins me and pops his hip against the door frame, his arms folding. “Mine is just a black slate wall,” he tells me. “But I prefer it that way.”

I smile. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

I leave him to go investigate the closet like I intended when I first arrived and find all my belongings from the hut taking up a fraction of the space. The rest is full of gowns and other items, with one hanging alone, a note attached to it.

Narrowing my gaze, I walk toward it—which takes a lot longer than it should, considering this is just a closet, but the room ishuge—and pluck the paper off the deep red dress.

If you’ll honor me with your presence at dinner, I would love for you to wear this…

Yours,

Hades

I frown. He made dinner sound like a mandatory affair, but this note almost implies I have a choice.