Captured (Shadow Guild Hades & Persephone #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,46

the castle, seeking the chamber down below. The pit would still lead to Tartarus if I threw myself into it. I didn't want the apothecary’s potion to wear off before that happened.

At the door that led to the stairs, I found Lucifer waiting.

He leaned against it with his arms crossed and lips twisted. “You’re leaving?”

“You know?”

He shrugged. “I pay enough attention to have an idea of what’s coming.”

I nodded. “Then, yes. It’s time.” I hesitated, staring at him for a moment. Memories of our past together flickered through my mind. He’d been my right hand for hundreds of years. For most of that, I hadn’t thought anything of it. He’d been a servant like all the rest.

Yet, he hadn’t been.

He’d been more than that, but I was only capable of seeing that now. It was like I’d learned how to feel over these last weeks, and now that I looked back on our interactions, I realized that we’d been…friends.

“Thank you,” I said. “For your friendship.”

Lucifer’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

“Really.”

“That is…unexpected.” He shook his head. “Though maybe not. If you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do, then you’re a different Hades than you once were.”

“I don’t know what I am. I only know what I need to do. So please move.”

He nodded and stepped away from the door. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” I opened the door then turned back to him. “Help Seraphia, would you?”

“I will.”

I inclined my head in gratitude, then quickly went down the stairs before I had time to think too hard about what was coming. Every other time that I’d gone to Tartarus, I’d been dragged there abruptly.

Going willingly was an entirely different matter. But all I had to do was think of Seraphia to be motivated. I knew what tortures awaited in Tartarus, and she shouldn’t have to face that. The mere thought of it made me break out in a cold sweat.

As I reached the cavern, my heart started to pound. I didn’t hesitate as I strode toward the pit. Far below, the portal to Tartarus beckoned. Seraphia filled my thoughts as I walked off the edge, letting the darkness take me.

Seraphia

I woke with a gasp.

Hades. Where was he?

He was gone. I could feel it. I sat up, frantic. I was still in his chambers, but I was on the couch. How had I gotten onto the couch?

I rubbed my eyes and tried to remember.

His kiss was my last memory—that intense kiss. He’d looked at me like he was trying to memorize me. And he’d suddenly been obsessed with my forgiveness and trust.

I surged to my feet and hurried from the room, nearly colliding with Lucifer, who waited outside. The angel looked…sad, almost.

“What happened?” I demanded. “Where is Hades?”

“Gone.”

“Where? Did he go for the crown?”

Lucifer laughed, the noise slightly bitter. “No. That would be the old Hades. The new Hades, well… I think he’s in Tartarus.”

“What do you mean?” Panic flashed through me. “He wasn’t cursed anymore.”

“No, you were.”

“Tell me what you know.” I gripped his arms and tried to shake him, but he was so big he hardly budged. “Tell me.”

“That’s just about all of it.” He pried my hands off him and shoved me gently back. “You know Hades. He wasn’t really into confiding in people. But I’ve got eyes and ears. I know you were cursed and that the universe likes balance. When I saw him walking toward the pit like he was headed to the gallows, I put two and two together.”

I staggered back against the wall. Holy fates. When had he decided to do this?

After we’d seen the Astra Planeta. They must have told him his plan with the crown wouldn’t work. Agony tore through me. Had he sacrificed himself for me?

Was he down in Tartarus even now?

Yes, according to Lucifer.

“How?” I whispered.

“I don’t know, but the apothecary is gone. Packed up and left minutes ago. Like she was never here.” Shadows flickered in his eyes as he spoke of her, and I recalled seeing him lingering outside her house. They had something. Or they once had.

“She helped him,” I said. “In exchange, he freed her from this place.”

Lucifer nodded. “Makes sense. But I don’t know the mechanics of the spells that were used to transfer your curse to him. So I don’t know how to get him back.”

“But we have to.” Panic drummed inside me. “We just have to.”

How much time did we have left? Did I have time to defeat Chronos and save Hades?

Yes. I had