Page 3 of Love and Death (Tempting the Fates #4)

Two new guards hurry into view at his command, this time without Cerberus’ help, and roughly pull my father up off the arena floor and onto his knees. I watch in horror as his head lolls forward, his body sagging wearily between them, and the knotting in my stomach worsens.

How could I have forgotten so quickly how little leverage I have now? In the aftermath of Death’s sacrifice, I had forgotten what … who this has all been for.

My heart thuds painfully within my chest as I take a small step toward my father, my hands trembling as I realize the sheer horror of the predicament that I am in … and that it is no one’s fault but my own.

I am the fool who has wrought this chaos upon us all.

I am the one who turned my back on Death.

He gave up everything for me, and what did I do to deserve his sacrifice? To deserve him ?

Nothing .

I should have listened to my heart. I should have kept the promise I made to my mother. I should have let love prevail, but instead, I chose to let fear and anger blind me.

I chose to harden my heart, and now I have lost everything.

My eyes dart to Cerberus, but he keeps his own eyes trained on the ground, refusing to watch, let alone look my way.

Coward .

And to think he asked for my forgiveness before the trial for not protecting me better.

I see now the truth of it. There is no one left to save me or my father from our mortal fates, let alone from Hades.

A groan of pain jolts me from my spiraling thoughts as the king signals for my father to be forced to his knees.

“Stop! What are you doing?” I cry, taking another step forward just as one of the guards grabs a handful of my father’s hair, yanking his head back, and the other lifts a sharp blade to his throat.

“Tell me, petal,” Hades says. “Would you continue to defy me, even at the cost of your father’s soul?”

I struggle to swallow past the lump forming in my throat, my mouth now so dry that I’m afraid no words can escape my lips. Tearing my eyes from my father, I force myself to meet Hades’ gaze and slowly shake my head.

“Speak!”

I grit my teeth against his demand before forcing my answer out, my stomach pitting in defeat. “No. I-I will go with you. Only, please … Please, do not harm him.”

Hades watches me for a long moment, the silence stretching between us almost palpable, and my skin crawls under his unwavering gaze.

“Is that so?” he drawls.

“Yes,” I say, the word leaving an altogether vile taste on my tongue.

His lip curls up over his teeth in a cruel sneer at this, not unlike a monster that knows it has finally cornered its prey, and I know things are only going to get worse for me.

“Then beg,” he orders, his voice low and guttural.

“What?”

His eyes sparkle with cruelty.

“I want you to beg,” he says again. “Beg for your father’s soul to be spared, and perhaps, I may be moved to stay my hand.”

My stomach knots sickeningly at the very thought.

Of course, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve begged for my father’s life, nor do I believe it will be the last should he actually be spared, but it had always been of my own volition.

To do so at Hades’ bidding, to do so when I have no choice but to comply, is an entirely different matter.

There is no one left to save us, no one left to stand between me and Hades’ chosen form of judgment. I have no choice but to obey, however cruel his demands may be, and he knows it.

My eyes flash to my father, fear wrapping its poisonous tendrils around my heart as I watch the guards tighten their hold on him in anticipation of their king’s order.

I steel myself, the weight of my father’s life bearing down upon my shoulders, before turning my attention back to Hades.

“Please,” I begin, my voice barely audible above the pounding of my heart in my ears. “Please, spare my father, and I—”

“Pathetic,” Hades scoffs, flicking his wrist toward the guards.

“No!” I cry, dropping to my knees before the king and clasping my hands together in supplication. “Please. Please, my king, I promise to be obedient. I-I’ll do anything, if you will but spare my father’s soul.”

Hades stares down at me, a mixture of amusement and disdain playing across his features, his piercing eyes cold and calculating. It’s clear that he is enjoying this moment of power, relishing the fear and desperation that I’m certain he can all but taste as it rolls off me in waves.

“Is that so,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “You would do anything ?”

I nod, my throat thickening against the rise of bile as he cocks his head to one side, studying me with such twisted delight that it makes my skin crawl.

Hades steps toward me, and I swallow hard to keep myself from getting sick. Fighting the urge to turn my face away at the unbearable closeness of him, I cannot help but flinch as he stops to extend his hand in offering.

I clench my jaw, only allowing myself a moment’s hesitation before reaching out to accept it. Immediately, his fingers close around mine in a vice-like grip, and I have to bite back a yelp of pain as he yanks me roughly to my feet.

I stumble forward in shock from the suddenness of the motion, my body crashing unwillingly into his, and Hades is quick to grab my upper arm, effectively pinning me against him, before I can pull away fast enough to right myself.

“Good girl,” he whispers, bending so that his lips nearly brush against my ear, the heat of his breath tickling the hair at the nape of my neck and sending icy chills racing down my spine. “In future, you would do well to remember what you have promised me … for I certainly will.”

He lingers a moment longer, staring me down out of the corner of his eye, before finally straightening. He raises a hand to signal to his men, releasing his hold on me once again so suddenly that it causes me to stumble back and fall down onto the floor.

“Father!”

Even amidst the dust, the word escapes me in a sigh of relief as I watch the guards loosen their hold on him and pull back. My father’s head drops forward to hang in limp exhaustion, the blade now removed from his neck and returned to its sheath, and I let myself breathe again.

“Cerberus,” Hades calls out, turning on his heel to look at him.

“Yes, my king?”

“You will escort the mortal back to her room. I want her bathed and made presentable for me.”

“Of course,” the hellhound answers, stepping forward from the edge of the shadows and bowing his head once in acknowledgment.

I glare at him, willing him to feel the shame of his blind obedience to this cruel god, but he doesn’t so much as glance my way.

Suddenly, I hear the muffled sound of a voice from somewhere within the darkness, and a few moments later, Anteros bursts into view, clearly more than a little displeased as he turns toward the king.

“Hades, what have you done?” Anteros seethes.

“Only what any true king would do to secure the future of his kingdom.”

“But the trial—”

“But nothing,” Hades hisses. “The trial is over.”

“With all due respect, you do not have the right to simply end it how and when you see fit."

“Then you forget yourself, Anteros,” the king bellows, blue flames bursting to life to frame his upper body. “I am God of the Underworld. This is my domain, and I have every right to do exactly as I please.”

“Even so, I simply cannot allow—”

“Enough,” Hades snaps, cutting him off before he can say another word. “We are finished here. Speak another word, and you shall only make your brother meet a far worse fate than I already have planned for him.”

“If the trial—” Anteros presses, seemingly unperturbed by the king’s warning as he straightens to his full height.

“Silence! Guards, I will have this pestilence removed from my sight at once,” Hades spits. “Oh, and be sure to question him thoroughly regarding the last time he spoke with Eros.”

With a lazy flick of his wrist, several massive stone sentinels emerge from the darkness to take hold of Anteros.

“My king, I—”

“Oh? You thought I did not know? And here I was, thinking you had a better head on your shoulders. Love truly is a fool’s game. Away with you!”

With that, Anteros is dragged back into the surrounding void. For a brief moment, the muffled sound of a struggle can be heard before it’s once again replaced by an uneasy silence.

“Cerberus, the girl, now,” the king snaps before striding toward the swirling shadows himself.

I barely have time to look back at the hellhound before his massive hand has wrapped around my arm, wrenching me off the ground. His fingertips dig unyieldingly into my flesh as he hurries to follow after his master, dragging me along with him.

“Wait!” I cry, panic setting in as I’m pulled away from my father, but Cerberus pays me no mind.

All I can do is watch on in horror as one of the guards restraining him waits for Hades to disappear into the shadows, and then shoves my father roughly to the ground with a wicked laugh.

“No, stop! You’re not supposed to harm him! Father! Father, I’m sorry!” I shout in desperation, but he doesn’t so much as lift his eyes to meet mine before I find myself swallowed up in darkness, unable to see or hear what happens next. Unable to know whether or not I will ever see him again.

Once again, I have failed him.

But this time, it’s so much worse.

This time ... not even Death can save us.