A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone #1)(26)

She sighed and turned around, remembering that Minthe had appeared from a passage behind Hades desk. Looking at the wall now, there was no indication a door existed. She stepped closer, leaning forward to inspect the wall—seamless.

The door probably responded to Hades magic, which meant it should respond to her favor. She ran her hand over the smooth surface—until her hand sunk into the wall. She gasped and drew back quick, heart beating hard in her chest. She inspected her hand front and back, but found she was fine.

Curiosity overwhelmed her then, and she looked over her shoulder before she tried again. This time, she pushed farther into the wall. It gave way like liquid, and when she stepped through on the other side, she found herself in a hallway lined with crystal chandeliers. The light kept her feet in shadow, and when she took a step forward, she fell and landed hard on something sharp. The impact took her breath away. Panicked, she inhaled in gasps until her breathing returned to normal. It was then she realized she’d fallen on a step. The light overhead barely touched the outline of a staircase.

Persephone struggled to her feet, despite a sharp pain in her side. She took off her pumps and left them behind, making her way down the steps at a steep incline. She kept her hand pressed to her side and the other on the wall, afraid that if she fell again she’d break her ribs.

By the time Persephone reached even ground, her legs and side ached. Ahead, a blinding but hazy light filtering into a cave-like opening. She stumbled toward it, and walked right into a field of tall, green grass speckled with blooming, white flowers. In the distance an obsidian palace rose—it was beautiful but ominous, like clouds full of lightning and thunder. When she looked behind her, she discovered she’d traveled down a great obsidian mountain.

So, this is the Underworld, she thought. It looked so normal, so beautiful. Like a whole other world beneath the world. The sky here was vast and alight, but she could not spot a sun, and the air was neither warm nor cold, though the breeze that moved the grass and her hair made her shiver. It also carried a mix of scents—sweet florals, spice and ash. It was how Hades smelled, too. She wanted to inhale it, but even shallow breaths hurt after her fall.

She wandered farther from the mouth of the mountain, keeping her arms crossed over her chest, hesitant to touch the delicate white flowers for fear they would wilt. The farther she walked, the angrier she became with Hades. All around her was lush vegetation. Part of her had wanted the Underworld to be full of ash and smoke and fire, but here she found…life.

Why had Hades charged her with such a task if he already excelled at creating it?

She continued forward with no destination other than the palace. It was the only thing she could see beyond the huge field. She was surprised no one had come after her yet. She’d heard that Hades had a three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to the Underworld. She wondered if it was her favor that helped her pass into this place unknown.

Except that she sort of wished someone would come along, because the longer she walked and the heavier she breathed, the more her side hurt.

Soon she found her way barred by a river. It was an unsettling body of water, dark and churning, and so wide she couldn’t tell what was on the other side.

This must be the Styx, she thought. It marked the boundaries of the Underworld, and was known to be guarded by Charon, a daimon, also known as a guiding spirit, who lead souls into the Underworld upon his ferry, but Persephone saw no daemon and no ferry. There were only flowers—an abundance of narcissus spilled over the side of the river.

How was she supposed to cross this? She looked back at the mountain—she’d come too far to turn back now. She was a strong swimmer, except that the pain in her side might slow her down. Aside from the width, it looked rather unassuming—just dark, deep water.

Persephone stepped closer to the bank. It was wet, slippery, and steep. The flowers growing along the incline created a sea of white—a strange contrast against the water which looked like oil. She tested it with her foot before slipping into the river completely. The water was cold, and her breathing became labored, which made the pain in her side worse.

Just as she set a decent pace across the river, something clamped down on her ankle and pulled. Before she could scream, she was dragged under the water.

Persephone kicked and clawed, but the more she struggled, the tighter the grip and the faster the thing moved, deep into the river. She tried to twist to get a look at what had snatched her, but a spasm of pain made her cry out and water spilled into her mouth and down her throat.

Then something clamped down on her wrist, and she was jerked roughly as the thing pulling her feet was halted. When she looked at what held her wrist, she screamed. It was a corpse. Two vacant eyes stared back at her. Bits of skin still clung to parts of its skeleton face.

She was caught between the two as they pulled her up and down, stretching her body to the point of pain. They were soon joined by two more who took hold of her remaining limbs.

Her lungs burned and her chest ached, and she felt pressure building behind her eyes.

I’m going to die in the Underworld.

But then one of the dead let go to attack the other and the rest followed soon after. Persephone took her chance and swam as fast as she could. She was weak and tired, but she could see Hades’ strange sky brightening the surface of the river above, and the freedom and air it promised motived her.

She broke the surface just as one of the dead caught up with her. Something sharp bit into her shoulder, and dragged her under again. This time, she was saved as someone from the bank of the river managed to grab her wrist. She was dragged from the water, the dead thing wrenching free with a vengeance. A scream tore through her and suddenly she couldn’t take in air.