Shadow Guild: Hades & Persephone Complete Series by Linsey Hall

Author:Linsey Hall [Hall, Linsey]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Bonnie Doon Press
Published: 2022-10-12T00:00:00+00:00

9

Hades

* * *

The predawn darkness shrouded me in silence. Overhead, the sky was an inky black, and the streets were silent as I rode toward the main gate in my realm.

I’d left Seraphia alone in the bed, her small form dwarfed by the massive thing. It’d been so strangely tempting to join her—even just to sleep. Almost like softness and warmth were beckoning me.

Two things I hadn't felt before she’d arrived. Of course, I’d lain in the bed before, but I’d existed in that half world where I’d felt nothing. It was like she’d awakened something inside me.

I shoved the thought aside and rode from town, out through the main gate and down the mountain. I’d come this way with Seraphia earlier, but my destination was different this time.

Once free of the city, I nudged Horse into a gallop. He took off across the fields, tearing through the underworld, steam billowing from his nostrils. The wind tore at my cloak and hair, and I leaned low over the beast, urging him to gain more speed.

To take me away from Seraphia.

I needed to clear my head. And I needed answers that the darkness couldn’t give me.

An hour later, I reached the main gate to my realm. It sat in the middle of a gnarled forest, one that was far deader than the forest Seraphia had revived. The trees rose tall and barren against a dark sky.

In the center sat a gate, a massive construction of stone and iron. Cerberus stood guard, the giant three-headed dog waiting to intercept anyone who might try to escape.

As I slowed Horse near the gate, Cerberus turned toward me. He stood as tall as a house, his fur an inky black and his three faces large and squat. His eyes narrowed at me briefly, and then his mouths opened in what I had always assumed was a canine smile. His tongues lolled out the sides, and he lowered himself to his belly.

“Hello, Cerberus.”

He woofed softly, a greeting, and I rode up to him. Even in his submissive position, he was still taller than I was while sitting on Horse.

I knew the dog wanted me to pat its head. In theory, I understood that one was meant to stroke a dog. It had never been something toward which I’d felt any inclination, however. Perhaps the faintest tug of desire, but the darkness had always risen and stomped it out.

This time, however, my palm seemed to tingle.

As I reached out to stroke one of the heads, it felt almost like an out-of-body experience. I watched my black gloved hand reach and stroke. I had no idea why I was doing this, only that there was the strongest compulsion.

Cerberus released a blissful sigh, and I frowned at him.

He liked that.

Even stranger, I liked that.

“Good dog.” I drew my hand back and nudged Horse, moving on.

Too much of me wanted to stay with the hound, the same way I’d wanted to stay with Seraphia in the bed. What was this foreign desire for connection that was surging inside me?

I rubbed my chest, not liking the change.

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