Chapter 16

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I rehearsed what I was going to say when I saw the king and queen, but it didn't matter. We pulled up to the building where I would meet them and I was stunned to see a small cabin. Where was the grand palace I expected? This wasn't regal or sophisticated at all. It certainly didn't belong to the woman who slayed magazine covers in her ballgowns and full makeup.

"This is it?" I asked, not even moving my eyes to Hades.

"Yes, this is their vacation cabin. You didn't think we were going all the way down to Colorado, did you?"

"I didn't really think about it," I confessed.

When we climbed out of the car my cute little flats were immediately drenched in greasy mud. I let out a hiss of frustration, but understood why Hades had decided to wear something so casual. This place wasn't meant for formal wear.

I studied the structure as we approached it. The cabin was low to the ground, looking like something out of a Swiss mountain range. The closer we got the more I realized that, though it was small and underwhelming, it had fine finishes and small, artistic touches. It wouldn't have costed a fortune like a marble-floored ballroom would've but it still wouldn't be cheap. 

We climbed the stairs to the front door without saying a word to each other.

"Hey Noah," Hades said, acknowledging a young man who was leaning against the porch.

He was so still and so unassuming that I had hardly noticed him at all. But the second I saw him I knew who he was. Ajax's right hand man and childhood best friend and ended up being almost as famous and as sought after as the prince himself. They were inseparable. Each photo of Ajax that had circulated the news papers and tabloids in his younger years often captured Noah as well, always by his side.

Hades walked into the cabin like he owned the place, standing in the entrance way with a timid smile on his lips.

"Uncle Hades!" a child squealed, racing towards us. It seemed our timing was perfect.

But, while Hades got down on one knee and opened his arms for the young girl, I was staring at her mother. Straight black hair that poured down her back and sharp eyes that were so focused they were almost cat like. She was thin and rather short with her distinctly Asian features, but there was something fierce and unrelenting about her. Even while wearing jeans and a plaid shirt she was nothing short of powerful.

"Welcome Hades," Queen Keiko greeted, opening her arms. 

And between her knowing his nickname, his place in the world, and the beaming smile on her lips, I was left speechless when he straighten up and hugged her. He was a killer, a cold blooded murderer and this was how she accepted him into her home? 

Hades didn't seem at all surprised or uncomfortable though. "It's been too long," he murmured, then glanced up at the young girl who was staring up at him with wide eyes. "The last time I was here Clementine was much shorter and not nearly as strong."

"I am very strong, Uncle," Clementine affirmed. "Stronger than you."

"Just as a princess should be," he agreed while ruffling her hair.

"You must be Charlotte," Keiko murmured. Her smile seemed genuine enough, but her eyes roved over my form, making me uneasy. "Hades has told me all about you."

I spent the majority of the drive over here rehearsing what I would say her and her husband. I thought about how I would carefully trap Hades in his own words and prove his guilt. It would have been graceful, but damning, smart and undeniable. 

But, with the shocks I had received, my plan fell into nothing.

"Did he tell you that he murdered my best friend?" I demanded.

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