Tempting the Fates

Chapter 20

I wanted to be strong. I wanted to look into my fiancé's eyes and show him nothing but strength, but I was still weak inside, and I hated myself for it. My life had never been threatened before (at least, not like this). As I stared down at the message in horror, I realized something. This was someone with a formulated plan, who may be steps ahead of us at any point. They were already playing mind games with us. I knew someone was after the throne, but until that moment it hadn't really occurred to me that they intended to take our lives in the process.

Hades landed the chariot, and Thanatos hopped off. Hades paused, his arm still around me. The danger of falling was gone now that we'd landed, but the terror I was feeling was far different. I feared losing everything I cared about... and for once, that list included Hades. We held each other for a moment, not speaking. The horses shifted a few feet in front of us, calming themselves after the journey.

"It's going to be okay, Callie." He dropped the reins and turned me to face him. His face was both pleading and commanding. "I will not let anyone harm you. I'll protect you with every fiber of my being."

I nodded, still unable to speak. I believed him. The conviction in his eyes said more to me than his words ever could. But the comfort he offered me didn't make the situation any less terrifying. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he gave me a solid hug. His hand brushed softly down my hair.

"You can stay here, if you'd prefer." He pulled away. "I need to have a closer look."

"No." I finally forced myself to speak. I took a long, deep breath to fortify my nerves. "We do this together. I want to see, too."

He helped me down from the chariot and we walked toward the burnt ground. It didn't smell like I'd expected it to- maybe like campfire or a fireplace. Instead, it smelled like nothing at all.

"Magic." Hades reached down at the edge of the circle and picked up a handful of ash. As he squeezed it in his palm, it disintegrated into thin air. "From a god- though who would do this is still beyond me."

"That's not all, sire." Thanatos called from a few yards away.

We walked over to where he was crouching and looked down at what his body had been concealing. Laying on a silver platter in a pool of blood was a delicate finger, with a thin gold ring still attached. Going by the pallor of the skin, and  it was fresh.

"Holy shit." I whispered. "Whose finger is that?"

Hades knelt for a closer look, and then his head drooped with defeat. He lifted a hand up to his face and began whispering to himself in Greek.

"Sire?" Thanatos spoke up. "Is it...?"

Hades did not answer him; he simply nodded twice and stood. I couldn't be sure of what he was thinking- he looked both sad and furious. He turned to Thanatos. "Call for Hermes. I'll send her back to her mother."

I blinked in confusion. "Wait, why? I want to stay with you." I argued, surprising even myself at the honesty of it. My mother had said to stick with him, and that's what I was going to do.

Hades' mouth lifted at one corner, his eyes sparkling. "No, not you." He motioned for me to follow and walked me back to the chariot.

"The finger?" I asked, and he nodded. "Well, whose is it?"

"Persephone's." he muttered as he put me in front of him and grabbed the reins once more.

"How do you know?" I gripped the cold metal chariot, itching to be back in the relative safety of the palace.

"The ring on the finger... it was the one I gave her." He muttered.

I was in complete and utter shock. Hades had seemed so sure that his first wife was either dead or had run as far away as she could. But just forty feet away, her severed finger rested on a silver platter. It was a clear message to Hades that whoever wanted to hurt us had already hurt her. Had they killed her? Was I next?