Heiress of the Sea

Chapter 34

Soren kissed me, his breath warming my face as he scoured my being for any sign of injury.

"Did he hurt you?" he murmured.

Quickly, I shook my head. "No. Taking me from you was the worst crime he committed."

Soren eyed me slowly, leaning forward to brush his face against mine. "You shouldn't have agreed to go with him."

"Well then you shouldn't have risked coming here," I countered.

He chuckled ever so lightly, hands brushing against my spine. "Touché."

We laid down on the thin mattress; bodies intertwined. I kissed him gently, reaching up to run my hands through his hair.

"Ailith," he whispered against my mouth, "what are you doing?"

I sighed. "You once told me that your power grew every time I touch you; every time we kiss. I just thought"—

He laughed warmly. "You're quite clever, Ailith, but no matter what we do here—and, believe me, I have the same ideas as you, if not even better—my power won't grow enough to defeat Hades, Juniper, and get us out of the bloody underworld," he explained.

"So, you can't get us out?" I whispered.

Grimly, he shook his head. "I could get myself out. But you...you might not survive the journey. I'm not as good as Hades at traveling so quickly. You could easily die from the lack of air within the earth that separates the underworld from the Land. I'm not willing to risk your death."

"You need to leave," I gasped. "If you can get out, Soren, then you have to."

His gaze trailed across my face. "If I had wanted to save myself out of pure selfishness, then I wouldn't have come here for you in the first place."

"Why did you come here?" I breathed.

"Because I love you," he responded, and paused before speaking again—"and because I am going to get us out of here, eventually. How...I have no clue. But I swear to the Gods and Goddesses, I will get you to safety, and then I will destroy Hades and all he stands for."

I felt my eyes widening. "So I assume you have a game plan?"

He sighed. "As of now, no." His face twisted into a smirk. "But I'm sure that, between the two of us, we can come up with something that even Hades won't see coming."

~

We waited for hours.

"Wait," I suggested. "What if we killed Hades, and then escaped the underworld? It would be a lot less of a hassle to get out without him harping on us."

Soren grimaced, and shook his head. "It's going to be difficult for Hades. He has a homeland advantage, and Juniper could pop out of nowhere and unleash her powers upon us at any given moment."

"But what are the chances of that happening? Juniper won't risk your death," I reminded him.

He shrugged. "I think she would if it meant your death. And, to be perfectly honest, she doesn't want me, Ailith. She wants the title of being my Queen."

I shuddered. "How do you know?"

Lowering his gaze, he responded, "If she really loved me, do you think she would be going to all this trouble to cause me so much pain?"

I took a deep breath. I knew he was right.

"Well, we have to do something," I groaned, standing up from my seat on the thin, dusty mattress and approaching the metal bars. I threw my arms forward, slamming them against the metal. "I don't want to simply...stay here and waste away while Hades plans my coronation, or our wedding, or whatever."