The King Of Death | Hades + Fae

Chapter Eight

Hades

Three days passed.

I thought they'd take me to a dungeon, especially after my power burst from my body like water breaking free from a dam. I never meant to expel so much but I'd kept it contained since arriving in the Fae lands and it was itching to be released. 

I wasn't in a dungeon, though. I was in a room as large as my own in the underworld, yet much brighter. It was built from stacked stone, but from every crack flowers sprung free and lively. The bed was large, four posters carved from gold that reminded me of Tallulah's glistening skin with intricate vines and flowers etched into the surface. 

Along the right wall there were three large arched windows that lead onto an open balcony. I couldn't sense any barriers, nor could I see a wall of vines like the ones which protected the castle. The queen had somewhat imprisoned me, yes, but three large meals a day were left in my room along with a freshly drawn bath each evening. I could leave if I wanted to, jump from the balcony or simply force my way through the doors, but the Fates had lead me to her for a reason. 

A quiet commotion outside of my room rouses me from my seat by the fire, I was reading one of the hundred books that were tucked in a small bookshelf. This one was about fae and the manifestation of their powers. It hadn't escaped my notice that every single book in here was filled with knowledge of the fae and their species, all appeared after my first day and I had gotten through six already. 

"Just let me in, Grison! Gods you're insufferable sometimes." I straighten in my seat as honey slides into the room, through the cracks of the doors and caresses my ears. 

"Tally, I think you need to take a deep breath and think this through." Tally. Not my queen, not your majesty. My rounded ears gave the fae a false sense of security, I could hear just as well as them if not better, and hearing a man refer to the queen in such a casual way disarms me more than I realise.

The door swings open before more can be said and she walks in. 

Gone was the elegant gown and perfect updo, in its place a pair of leather fighting pants, clinging to every dip and curve of her lower body. A white billowing shirt was slipped over her, pulled tight against her chest with a breastplate of leathered armour, cinching her in all the right places. Her pink hair was tied at the back of her head and her hair fell in a ponytail that swept over her midriff. She no longer looked like a queen, she looked like a warrior.

"I see you found my books." She breezes into the room like she's walking on air, her steps silent and her movements graceful. The two gold guards stay still by the open doors but she pays them no mind as she slows beside the small bar cart a few feet in front of me.

"They're very interesting, thank you." A soft clang of armour rings in my ears as the guards straighten, making me clear my throat. "Queen Tallulah." I quickly add on. 

The pink haired beauty fights a smile as she pours out two glasses of a shimmering purple drink, every single movement like a dance she's been rehearsing her entire life. It was breathtaking. 

"We didn't get a chance to speak properly after your little... demonstration. I was hoping you'd have time now." Polite. She is the queen and yet she is asking me whether I have the time to speak with her, she's giving me an option when she shouldn't be. Twirling on the balls of her boot clad feet, Tallulah takes two steps forward and holds one of the glasses filled with the purple glittery liquid out. Sensing my hesitation, she lets out a soft laugh that sends euphoric shivers down my spin.

"It's lavender wine, we call it vinum." Tallulah doesn't wait for me to take it, instead lowering herself down on the chaise in front of me and placing the glass on the small table between us. She moves around to lay her legs over the armrest, leaning back casually. Smart girl. She was opening herself up to show me that I had nothing to fear, and more importantly, that she didn't fear me. 

I lean forward and grasp the cup, bringing it to my lips to take a small sip. Bubbles erupt over my tongue euphorically and the taste of fresh fruit mixed with lavender dances over my tastebuds. Everything the fae did, they did with flare. 

"What do you want to know?" I lean back in my chair and cross my legs, mirroring her relaxed state. Tallulah smiles, that fucking smile. On the surface it was innocent and kind, but I could see it. The twitch at the edges, the way her eyes crinkle. Everything about this interaction was calculated and planned. 

"Number one, what you are. You're not fae, and you're not human." Tallulah swirls her vinum as she averts her deadly gaze from mine. 

"How do you know I'm not fae?" A question made to provoke, she was smart. I, however, had a millennia of being a ruler on her. Just like I intended her shoulders stiffen and her hand stills. Those perfect fucking amethyst eyes fall on me again, right where they belong.

"Rounded ears, if it isn't obvious. That and you don't smell like fae, nor do you smell human." Smell. What a strange species these fae, I had read of their heightened senses in my second book but I had obviously missed the one which mentioned that they had a particular smell.

"Very observant of you, Queen Tallulah. What do I smell like, then?" I ask, leaning closer to her. Cinnamon and vanilla sweep over me like a welcome breeze in the heat of summer. Keeping my wits about me was beginning to be harder than I thought.

Tallulah leans forward, matching me as her nostrils flare. Her black pupils dilate as my sent fills her, just like I'm sure mine did. Does the same fog that clouds me also affect her?

"Horse shit." I choke on nothing but air at her response, leaning forward to clutch the table in attempt to still myself. Horse shit? Before I can react she sits back and swirls her wine again like she hadn't just insulted the god of death himself.

"Now that you've confirmed you're neither fae nor human, and I feel like you're not going to reveal exactly what you are. I have another question." Maybe I was wrong, maybe she didn't have the fog over her mind and fucking with her thoughts the way it did every time I looked at her. 

"Do you hear them?" Her words come out in a whisper, low and gruff compared to her usual honey tone. I straighten and glance back over my shoulder only to find the two guards already staring at me with deep glares. 

"Hear what?" I ask with a frown.

"The whisper of the gods." I turn my head slowly, painfully so. She was already sitting back up straight with her hands clenching the glass in her lap. Tense. 

"Peace is coming." I murmur the same words that saved me from her wrath three days ago and immediately her gaze drops down to her hands. 

"Death is coming." She whispers, so quiet that even I barely catch it. My heart pounds against my chest as I watch her. Tall and yet in this moment her worries had her hunched over, pulled in on herself with uncertainty. 

I was certain, though. The Fates had mysterious ways, and they had prepared her for my arrival, even if she didn't know it. The only question was why.