The Promise of Hades (The Hades Trials #3) - Eliza Raine Page 0,60
if Cronos got his power into me and I went off like a bomb. I had to do something, but no matter how desperately I scrabbled around for a solution, nothing came. If Zeus had the other gods distracted, or convinced nothing was wrong, and Hades was trapped somewhere, then nobody was coming for me. I was on my own.
I barely saw the Underworld flash by below us, my mind was so focused on trying to come up with a plan that didn't involve everyone I loved dying. But as the flaming river came into view, my pulse raced even faster, my stomach lurching as we began to descend.
'Ah. There's Hades,' said Morpheus, from the head of the chariot, and my insides seared hot as the bond fired and I leaned over the chariot.
A little way off from the cavern that led to Tartarus, on a barren, uneven piece of rock, was a flaming ring twenty feet across. And at its center, on his knees, was Hades. His face snapped up to mine and I almost lost my grip on the chariot, his emotion rocketed through me so hard.
He was scared. And furious.
I reached for him desperately in my mind, but I couldn't hear him, couldn't get to him. There was no blue light around him, and his black trident lay useless nearby. Something had stripped his power, I realized. As the chariot soared over him, Ankhiale stepped out of the fire. She tilted her head and gave me a little finger wave, and a roar of frustration escaped me.
He's immortal. They can trap him, but they can't kill him. I clung to the thought, repeating the words over and over as we descended, and Hades and the fire witch disappeared from view. Pain surged through my gut again, my emotions mingling with Hades’ as we lost sight of each other.
Morpheus set the chariot down at the mouth of the cave that led to Tartarus, and turned to me.
'Off you go, my Queen. Cronos is expecting you.'
'Only Hades, and apparently now Zeus, can enter or leave Tartarus,' I said, refusing to move my feet.
'I think you'll find that the winner of the Hades Trials, and Hades’ Queen-to-be, also has that privilege,' he smiled at me.
Shit. What the hell was I going to do? Adrenaline was racing through my body, focusing my mind and building my power inside me. Which was exactly what I didn't want. My power couldn't help me here. In fact, it would be what killed me and everyone else in Virgo. And if Cronos was as bad as history and Hades said he was, possibly the whole of Olympus.
'I shouldn't have eaten those fucking seeds!' I yelled, and Morpheus blinked at my outburst.
'It's too late for regrets, Persephone. You will be a martyr. The little goddess who saved the world from a maniac.'
'You're the fucking maniac.'
'Ah, I see now that the shock is wearing off, the attitude is surfacing,' he said. 'I recommend being more polite to King Cronos.'
'Hades is your king, you filthy traitor,' I snarled.
'Not for much longer. Now go.'
I stared at him, desperation and fury boiling over inside me, with no outlet. With a hiss, I shot my arm out, and slapped him as hard as I could across the face.
'You're a fucking disgrace to the Underworld,' I spat, then stamped off the chariot, onto the rock. I didn't turn back as I marched towards the cavern. I couldn't face seeing if he would punish my brother or friends for my behavior, but I hadn't been able to help myself.
The orange flames of the river cast flickering shadows over the walls of the cave, and I walked fast. The last time I had been here, Hades had succumbed to the monster, and was about to set foot in Tartarus and take out his fury on the worst of the Underworld.
Perhaps I should have let him. Perhaps he would have killed Cronos. I knew in my gut that that wasn't possible though. Hades had described Cronos as primordial in strength. He was truly immortal, unable to be destroyed. Memories of when I was last in Tartarus swept through me, the utter darkness, the screaming tortured souls, the endless fear. Panic threatened to engulf me, blackness swimming across my vision, but I bared my teeth as I pulled the thought of Hades into my mind.
I had to be strong. I had to work out a way to escape this.