Page 13 of Love and Death (Tempting the Fates #4)

HAZEL

M y heart hums to life again as a plan starts to take form. Florence may not be able to get me out of the palace, but she may still be able to help.

Especially now that I’m beginning to doubt Cerberus plans to honor my request.

I turn back to face the succubus, my eyes pleading with her to listen to me as I blink away unspent tears. “You said you wanted to help me, is that still the case?”

“I did, and I do,” she answers, eyeing me warily. “What is it you have in mind?”

“I need you to find a way to distract Cerberus when he returns,” I whisper urgently.

“If you can just find a way to keep him busy, I could use the time to search the palace and find out what happened to my father, and what Hades has planned for Death’s body …

Of course, I would probably need to borrow the keys he gave you, too. ”

“Does a mortal mind really forget things so easily,” Florence murmurs, her eyes studying me for a long moment.

“Please.”

“No.” Florence nudges me to turn me away again so that she can start scrubbing my back. “As I have repeated many times, it is impossible. You would be caught before you could even begin.”

“But, if I can just—"

“No,” she interrupts sharply, prompting a tense silence to settle between us. “However, if you were to distract Cerberus upon his return, perhaps I could do the searching for you.”

I brighten at her suggestion. Of course, she would be the better option, but the task will be no less dangerous.

Possibly more so.

If I were to be caught, it’s unlikely that Hades’ men would do me harm in his absence, but I cannot assume they’d do the same for Florence.

I mull over her suggestion for another minute before turning to look at her.

“I cannot ask that of you.”

“You did not ask. I offered.”

“Still—”

“Do you think this task necessary or not?”

“Yes.”

“Then it is decided.”

“Thank you,” I say, utterly failing to find words worthy enough to express the true depth of my gratitude.

If she can manage this, if she can find out anything about Hades’ plans for Death and my father, then I may very well owe her my life .

The succubus gives me a small nod of understanding, and a wave of relief washes over me. Satisfied that there is now some semblance of a plan in place, I settle back into the water to let Florence finish bathing me.

The stress and tension slowly leach from my body as I finally allow myself to accept this rare moment of peace … that is, until Florence asks me to lean back and grabs my hair to rinse it.

“Mortal one,” she gasps, her fingers pulling my hair taut, “what in all the gods’ names is this?”

“What?”

I struggle to glance over my shoulder at her and barely manage to see that her gaze is trained on my neck. It takes me another second to realize that she’s just discovered the bite mark.

Florence reaches out to touch it, and I scramble to pull away, yanking my hair out of her grasp as I move into the middle of the tub.

“Hazel?”

“It’s nothing, just a scar.”

“A scar? No, this is no mere flesh wound. Besides, I would have noticed if you had this before. No, this is new. This is a soul mark. Who did this to you?”

“Really, it’s nothing,” I repeat, not wanting her to change her mind about leaving me alone with Cerberus.

“Tell me, or I will be forced to hazard a guess of my own,” she says. “If you wish me to help you, then you must be honest with me.”

My shoulders slump, but as much as I hate to admit it, she’s right .

“It was Cerberus,” I confess, breaking my promise to the hellhound in doing so.

Though now, I’m not sure I was ever capable of keeping this hidden for long. Not after Florence took one glance and so easily identified it for what it was.

Her eyes narrow as they fix me in place, studying me intensely. “Did you give him permission to do this?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“When did this happen?”

“Late morning, just after the trial,” I answer, guilt pitting in my stomach and heat burning in my cheeks as I recall what happened between us.

“Who else witnessed this?”

“No one,” I choke in surprise. “We were alone. It happened after he brought me back.”

The succubus looks away, muttering a harsh string of unintelligible words under her breath. Then, she turns back to me, the depth of gaze piercing me to my very core.

Before I have a chance to react, she leans forward over the edge of the tub and grabs hold of my arm to pull me back toward her.

Her other hand reaches out to brush the hair from my neck, and the next thing I know, I’m squeezing my eyes shut as I brace myself for the excruciating pain that’s sure to follow.

Her fingers graze my neck, gently trailing over the bite mark … but, nothing happens.

I open my eyes to look at her.

“Your turn,” she says, dropping her hand from the mark but keeping a firm hold on my arm. She gives me an encouraging nod, and tentatively, I reach up to touch the scar.

This time, the searing pain that shoots through my body reaches a climax almost instantly. My muscles seize, an involuntary scream tearing from my lungs through clenched teeth, and Florence is forced to hold my face above water to keep me from drowning myself.

It isn’t until she manages to pin me against the edge of the bath, what feels like an eternity later, that she’s finally able to pry my hand away.

“Curse you, Cerberus,” Florence grunts, quickly pulling me out of the tub and leaning me against it as my muscles begin to relax before wrapping me in a fluffy towel that she must have brought with her from Eros’ palace.

“As if things were not difficult enough as it is, you had to go and do this to the girl?”

I take a long, shuddering breath as the pain subsides to a more tolerable ache.

“What has he done to me?” I ask, before adding, “I mean, besides the obvious.”

“Hazel …” She pauses, her full lips disappearing into a thin line for a long moment before she tries again. “Hazel, this is no ordinary bite. This is a fate mark.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Cerberus has soul marked you ... claimed you as his mate,” Florence explains, the concern in her voice unmistakable.

“No. No, that’s impossible,” I stammer. “I never agreed to be his mate.”

“That is not how this magic works. This is a bond decided by fate,” she says, her eyes tracing the scar on my neck. “I doubt he had much choice in the matter, himself. Though, he certainly should have shown more self-control.”

“So, that’s it? I’m to be his mate now whether I like it or not?”

“Well, not exactly.” She fusses with the towel, and I can tell from the way her mouth twitches that she’s trying to choose her next words carefully. “You must still decide that for yourself, but the choice will be a difficult one. And, given the circumstances, you may not have much time to decide.”

“I already know my decision. I do not want to be his mate, so how do I get rid of this mark?” The succubus looks stricken by my response, and a strange sense of unease begins to creep up within me. “Florence, I can get rid of it, right?”

“I am afraid it is not that simple. A mark like this, once given, cannot be undone; however, the bond itself can be broken.”

“Okay. I don’t need it to be simple; all I need from you is the truth,” I say softly. “Please, just tell me what my choices are.”

She sighs deeply before nodding to herself.

“Very well, you can choose to accept the bond and bind yourself to Cerberus, body and soul, or you can choose to reject it and be destroyed along with it in the process.”

“Those aren’t choices, Florence. Those are death sentences. Surely, there must be another way?” I plead.

The succubus hesitates for a second before admitting, “One can survive a rejected bond, but only by killing their intended mate, thus, severing the connection in death and satisfying the bond with blood.”

I feel nauseous as my thoughts spiral.

Kill Cerberus?

The thought alone sends a shiver racing down my spine. Not just because she’s talking about committing murder, but because it is, quite frankly, impossible. Cerberus is a guardian, one of the most powerful creatures in the entire Underworld, if not all of existence, and I am but a mortal.

“That’s barbaric. I cannot kill him, even if I wanted to,” I whisper. “Even if he wasn’t a guardian, how am I supposed to kill something that even Death could not?”

“It may not be entirely impossible.”

Morbid curiosity gets the better of me, and I cannot stop myself from asking, “How so?”

“Even immortality has its limits when it comes to fate and the most ancient of magics,” she answers cryptically, her eyes glazing over and growing distant.

“What are you trying to tell me?”

Her eyes clear, snapping back to focus as she looks anxiously around the room. “Only that nothing, and no one, is truly above the deeper powers that weave our realms together. However, if I may suggest it, do not outright reject the bond. At least, for now.”

I can feel my patience growing thin over the vagueness of her answers, but I force myself to remain calm.

“Then, supposing I were to simply ignore the bond?”

“It is a mate bond, Hazel. Choosing to ignore it is as almost as good as accepting it. Once the tether solidifies between your souls, there will be no denying it. ”

“Why not?”

Florence shifts slightly, and I almost miss the discomfort that flashes across her features. “As I said, it is a mate bond, and it will demand that certain … conditions be met. Whether you want them to be met, or not.”

She does not need to elaborate further as understanding takes hold, heat rising within my cheeks.

“And if we do not?”

“You will. There will be no denying it. It will quite literally drive you both to madness until it is satisfied, or kills you in your madness. If Cerberus does not do so first ...” she trails off, and I can feel the blood draining from me as the full weight of her words hits me.

If what she says is true, then my only choice will be to lie with him or face certain death … Whether it be by his hand or mine.