Page 27 of Bride of Death (Netherworld Fae #1)

Sera

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Maliki asks me for the third time in the last thirty minutes.

And I…

I simply can’t take hearing this question again.

Because… “ No. I’m not okay. But I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“You always have a choice, Sera.”

“Oh?” I drop the clothes I’m holding onto the bed and rotate to face him. “What happened to you telling me I would be going about this the hard way if I refused the God of Death’s proposal? Where was my choice then?”

“If I recall correctly, you chose to tell him to go to Styx and didn’t agree to relocate to your new accommodations,” he reminds me.

“I don’t even know where Styx is,” I gripe back at him. But the second part of that statement is true—I refused.

“It’s an infamous river in the Mythos Fae Realm that has since dried up. But I actually first learned about it in Greek mythology.”

I blink at him. “Greek mythology?” I shake my head because I don’t even think I want to know. “Never mind. My point is, no, I’m not okay. And I need you to stop asking.”

His expression turns solemn as he nods. “Okay, Sera. What else do you need me to do?”

I consider my hut.

My things.

What little I own.

The closet is not even a quarter of the way full. I have very little in my dressers. The pots and pans and eatery items all came with my kitchen.

I guess I have the plant I only just started to nurture. Though, I don’t think there is much of a point in that hobby anymore.

There’s really nothing I care about here.

Except Pip.

And I haven’t seen him since he gave me the pot.

“Do you think Hades will let me take Pip with me?” I ask Maliki, feeling more dejected than I can ever remember in my life.

This isn’t the Sera I want to be , I think, disappointed. I guess I’ll just go back to being Serapina until Persephone takes over.

“No, I don’t think the obsessive-possessive God named Hades is going to let you bring a male fae to live in the palace with you,” Maliki says slowly. “How could you even ask that? And for the last time, who the fuck is Pip ?”

I gape at him. “What male fae?” I ask, utterly lost as to where he even came up with that idea. “And I’ve told you—Pip is a spirit.”

“A Death Fae,” he says.

I just look at him. “What Death Fae?”

“Pip.”

“What?” I blink. “You’re not making any sense.”

“You keep calling Pip a spirit. You mean Death Fae.”

“Uh, no, I mean spirit . He’s about this tall”—I place my palm around my belly button—“he floats around in a pretty blue cloak, and he has fiery sapphire eyes that glow in the dark.” Which scared the thorns out of me the first time I saw him. But that’s a story for another day.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about right now,” Maliki says.

“Well, that makes two of us. Now, which male fae did you think I wanted to bring with me to live in the palace?” I inquire, still confused about that. And a whole lot of other things, actually.

“Pip.”

“Pip isn’t a Death Fae,” I tell him, exasperated.

“ He’s a spirit . He brings me dead flowers and tries to cook for me but fails.

And he has big hollows where his eyes go.

” I point at my own features so he knows what I mean.

“Oh, and his face is a skull. But his nose is pretty cute. Like an upside-down heart.”

Maliki looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Oh my fae!” I shout, throwing my arms up in the air. “We’ve already been over that. No . I am not okay. Why do you keep changing the subject back to that?”

I’m ready to go pick up the pot in the other room and throw it at his ridiculously handsome head.

In fact, maybe I will.

I start to walk that way, only to find my hip trapped by one of his hands as he grasps my chin with the other.

My stomach flips as he walks me backward into the wall, his large frame towering over me as he stares down into my eyes. “I’m sorry I asked that again,” he says slowly. “I’m just very confused by your fae friend Pip.”

“He’s not a fae.”

“So you keep saying.” His brow furrows. “His face is covered in skull paint?”

“No, it’s a literal skull. Because he’s a spirit. Like he’s dead .”

Maliki’s lips part. “You mean a soul .”

“That is the same as a spirit,” I tell him as I try to ignore the tingles erupting across my jaw from his touch on my chin.

“It’s not, well, yes, it is, but a soul is very different in this kingdom. It’s a literal soul.”

“Also known as a spirit,” I mutter.

He presses his forehead to mine and chuckles. “You’re adorable, trouble.”

I stop breathing, his nearness stirring feelings inside me that I’ve never experienced before. Not in reality, anyway.

Only ever in my dreams.

But the way my heart races now is so much more intense than anything my mind has ever been able to fabricate.

My lungs force me to inhale, which has my eyes threatening to close.

Because fae, he smells good .

I just want to lose myself in his scent. His touch. His warmth .

Does he even realize what he’s doing to me? Does he feel it, too?

I can’t tell. He’s staring down at me like he’s trying to memorize my features. Our foreheads are no longer touching, but he’s still so close.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he tells me, his voice so soft I almost wonder if I imagined hearing those words.

“Thank you,” I reply, swallowing. “And thank you for being here for…” The words trail off as I suddenly recall why he’s here.

“It’s also my concern because you tasked me with convincing her to marry you.”

That’s what he said to Hades.

I press my palm to Maliki’s chest and nudge him back. “That’s why you’ve been so nice to me—because of your job.” I shake my head, a humorless laugh falling from my lips. “To convince me to marry Hades.”

Stars, I… I almost thought this was something else.

He’s an attractive fae. Thorns, he’s more than attractive. He’s one of the sexiest men I’ve ever seen.

And he held me all night.

It’s only natural for me to feel interested in him. But it’s one-sided.

“I’m sorry,” I say, laughing again at my own expense. “I… I don’t even know what we’re doing here. I’m just a task that needs to be finished. So I… I guess we need to… wrap this up.” Because I’m supposed to be packing.

Yet I have nothing of worth to take with me except the flowerpot and Pip.

I don’t even want my clothes. They were given to me by Alina.

In fact, nothing here is mine. Not even my own choices.

I was brought to this kingdom by my sister and her mates. For my protection. But now I suspect it was so much more than that.

Orcus has to know the truth about my soul. He’s Hades’s brother. Surely they’ve spoken.

So does Alina know?

No. She… she would tell me, right?

Unless she was trying to protect me.

“Ugh.” Of course she was protecting me. That’s what she’s done our entire lives. Why would it be any different now?

This whole experience with my independence was just some idiotic experiment.

And now I have to go right back to where I was a month ago.

A very bratty, very frustrated part of me longs to scream.

But what good would that do?

“Sera,” Maliki says, and something in his tone suggests it’s not the first time he’s said my name.

He’s still touching my chin, too, which I realize now as he forces me to meet his gaze. His other hand burns on my hip as he holds me against the wall.

“You are the most infuriating assignment Hades has ever given to me.”

I wince, his words a slap to the face. I definitely don’t want to hear this. “You?—

“No, Sera, let me finish,” he says, his thumb sliding up to press against my lips.

“I’ve been tasked with watching you for nearly a year.

At first, it was fine. You stayed in the palace, and I barely saw you.

But once you moved here, I spent every day getting to know you. Which makes me sound like a stalker.”

“It’s—

“Not done, trouble,” he murmurs, cutting me off again. “I’ve never hated a task as much as this one.”

I wince again, my eyes closing.

“Because I’ve never been tempted as much as you tempt me,” he says, his forehead touching mine again. “You’re not mine to want, sweet mystery. And I’ve been good. So fucking good. Even with Hades’s goading, I’ve kept my hands to myself. I haven’t touched you. Not until…”

I peek at him through my lashes, noting the pain in his features.

“Now that I’ve touched you, Sera, I don’t think I want to stop,” he tells me. “So hate me if you need to, but I need you to know that this is so much more than an assignment to me. You’re absolutely forbidden to me. The female I’m not allowed to crave.”

I shudder, his words undoing something inside me. “Maliki…”

His lashes flutter, his forehead still pressed against mine.

“Fuck, Sera, you have me wondering if tasting you is worth the wrath of a possessive God.” His soft words are a breath against my lips.

Then he pushes himself away from me and turns toward my bed, his breathing echoing through the small room.

Or maybe that’s my breathing.

I… I feel like I’ve run a marathon.

Pressing my palm to my chest, I try to still my beating heart. But it’s impossible, because I can see Maliki struggling to control himself.

Except his comment about wondering if it’s worth the wrath of Hades…

It’s not. I’m not worth that. Not for Maliki.

My soul…

My head falls back, my mind vacillating between guilt and fury. I don’t deserve to be punished. I did nothing wrong.

But how can that be true when my very essence is riddled with evil.

Hades might have said otherwise, but how can I believe him?

Persephone destroyed a realm.

My gaze falls to the floor.

It might not be my burden to carry, but fate paired us for a reason.

And I’m determined to find out why.

Which means I need to unlock my inner Omega.

“We should go,” I tell Maliki softly. “The only items I want to take with me are my flower and Pip.”

His shoulders visibly tighten. “I’m not sure Hades will let you have Pip in the palace.”

I narrow my gaze. “You know what? Given everything? I’m not sure I care.” Because I’m literally about to give up my life for this Alpha so he can trigger the memories buried deep within my soul.

If I want a ghost friend, I can have a ghost friend.

Besides, maybe Pip will follow me into the afterlife when all this is done.

There’s a morbid thought , I think, laughing to myself. Fae, maybe I have lost my mind .

Well, I blame Persephone.

And Hades.

And fate .

“Let’s go find Pip,” I say to Maliki. “He can decide if he wants to come with me or not.”