Page 103 of Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld #1)

Duty

When Styx first caught me

all by myself in Asphodel

she had been deeply upset

and did not hide her displeasure.

‘It is not your duty to be there,’

she said, gripping my arm

and nearly dragging me back

to my palace.

‘Why!’ I had cried out,

shocked by her forcefulness,

and she turned to me,

her split eyes cold with fury.

‘Hekate, I made a promise

to your mother to keep you safe.

The only immortals who roam

the Underworld do so

out of duty to Hades or

because they have been

imprisoned by another God,

but never ever by choice.’

When we arrived at the palace,

she let go of my arm

and I rubbed it where

she had gripped me,

a frown forming on my face.

‘I too am not here by choice,’

I told her sullenly. ‘I should

be allowed to roam too.’

The anger in her features softened,

‘You are a child of war,

and the Underworld is no place

for children, God or mortal.’

She added quietly,

‘There are beings here

that even Hades cannot control.

Beings that could harm you.’

A chill ran down my spine

at her words. ‘What kind of beings?’

But she ignored my question and

simply touched my face.

‘Just know that staying

in this palace is the only way

I can keep you safe.

This realm alone is my domain.

You can only go into

the Asphodel Meadows

if they become a part

of your duties.’