ONYX

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Are you ready?”

She had been indecisive. Once again Hades hadn’t answered her questions and now he was leading her to an unknown place. She didn’t know what to make of it. At first she wanted to decline and lock herself up in her room that way she wouldn’t have to see him, but by doing that she would never find out why he chose her.

This could be the answer that she was looking for. They congregated in the foyer in front of the door. Winnie, Hypnos, and Gemma weren’t in sight. She was surprised that Winnie hadn’t come to her while Hades was away. She fell asleep before she got the chance to see her.

Alessandra knew there would be time to reunite later. Right now she had to be ready for the unknown. Hopefully wherever they were going would give her some insight as to who his wife was.

Persephone.

She wondered what kind of woman was his wife and what happened to her. Hades seemed sorrowful when he called for her in his sleep. Alessandra’s own heart ached for him. But he was a secretive man.

She had to keep her guard up.

“Yes.” She replied, wary of her decision to give him the opportunity to make sense of all this confusion. She only hoped that this wouldn’t be in vain.

He extended his arm towards her, expecting her to take it, but Alessandra hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue on this path, especially with him. None of this was certain to her anymore, not even Hades. Fear began to take root in her mind and she began to think of the outcome of going through with this. Where are they going? Who will they see? Why did they have to leave?

“I would never lead you astray.” Hades said, his voice firm in his promise. The last thing he wanted to do was lose her trust, but he had the sinking feeling that he was starting to.

Without speaking, Alessandra willed her limbs to move. She placed one foot in front of the other until she was standing close enough to him. Their chests touched before she finally put her hand in his. They continued to stare at each other even when Hades envisioned the place where they needed to go and they were automatically transported. Moving through time had been quick, and I blur. The world shifted and she swayed with the sudden bend in their present location.

And when it all stopped, Alessandra nearly collapsed had Hades not been there to catch her. “I’ve got you.” It was a promise that he would always keep to her despite the growing suspicious that she held against him. He couldn’t explain to her how important she was to him or, in fact, what she truly was because the choice had to be her own without his influence.

Where they arrived was someplace completely out of her element. Growing up, she’d never left the castle grounds. How could she? She was a danger to any and all that’d come within the same vicinity of her. She never even got to know her people in court or in town. No one got to marvel at the Princess of Evyon because she was shut-in. Now, the circumstances have changed.

“Where are we?”

“The outskirts of a village where a family of farmers live.” Hades nodded his head in the direction to a small cottage behind Alessandra. She’d been so taken by the vast amount of land that she hadn’t noticed the home.

It was the dead of night and they could hear were the sounds of pigs and other farm animals moving about in the back. There was a garden in the front where Alessandra could see various vegetables sprouting from the soil. In the morning someone would have to pull them up and clean them.

“Why are we here?” She asked.

“I want you to do something,” Hades began, he was skeptical about her reaction to the next piece of information he was about to give her mostly because he didn’t want to alarm her.