Kerala pointed again. “And the one next to him led a genocide that killed hundreds of people who believed in the wrong god.” She shuddered. “The things he did to the villagers . . .”
I turned to look at them, confusion and horror forming a noxious mixture inside my gut. The man who I’d been creeping toward had spun around, his body twisting in the faint breeze. His eyes met mine, and he laughed, a sound that sent ice down my spine. “I’d do it again, too. Eat the meat from their little hearts.”
Holy shit.
I stumbled backward, stomach lurching. He didn’t look crazy at all. No, the man who stared at me was stone cold sane. And evil. Pure, unadulterated evil.
Kerala grabbed me, yanking me back. She hissed in my ear. “If you’re going to run for it, you need to go. Now. You can’t help these people, and even more than that, you do not want to.”
I nodded, believing her. The cold, terrifying eyes of the man still burned into me. “You know I’m running?”
“Of course.” She frowned at me. “You could have been good for this place, you know.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
She shook her head. “Just go.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded.
I left her and the horrible scene behind, racing toward the library at the other end of the main street. It loomed in the distance, terrifying in its scale and shape, yet sanctuary. The twisted turrets reached into the dark sky, faint moonlight gleaming on the twists and curls of stone.
Home.
If I could just get there.
My lungs burned as I ran, my heart thundering in my ears and my heavy cloak whipping around my legs. I swore I could feel eyes on me as I got closer and closer to the library, people peeking out from their houses or from alleys.
I ignored them, finally arriving at the library steps.
I took them two at a time, sprinting upward toward the doors. The building loomed above me, the ornate architecture beautiful yet ominous.
So close. So close.
Almost home.
I reached the massive door and grabbed the handle.
Magic shot up my arm, and a massive explosion of dark smoke tore through the night. I went deaf and blind as the force blew me backward. I sailed through the air, weightless in the most horrifying way, and slammed to the ground.
Agony flared through my back and head as I lay on the cobblestones, stunned. I’d lost the knife, and even worse—my vision.
Blinking blindly, I struggled to sit up. Panic clawed at my chest as I spun in a circle, my vision slowly returning. At the top of the massive flight of stairs, the library door was blackened and solid.
I’d ignited some kind of protective charm.
Worse, I’d alerted the night wolves.
Growling sounded from all around, and I looked down to see the beasts creeping out from the alleys. The offspring of Cerberus. One head but terrifying all the same. They were as big as horses, their fur raised, and their lips pulled back from monstrous fangs. They growled, prowling closer.
My dagger lay on the ground nearby. Hades’ dagger.
I lunged for it, sweeping it up as my heart pounded, desperation making me wild.
“Come no closer.” I held out the dagger like the wolves would give a damn.
They didn’t. The massive beasts prowled nearer.
I couldn’t fight them with a damned dagger.
I needed my magic.
But then, I’d also need plants. And this damned realm had none.
The tiny bat that had been following me swooped around my head, diving for the wolves. They flinched back when it neared, but it was too small to do any damage.
I sliced the dagger through the air, trying to look threatening but knowing it was ridiculous. I was too small and weak, and the wolves knew it.
They backed up anyway, heads lowered in submission.
Hades.
I heard him before I saw him.
The faint rustle of wings cutting through the air.
I looked up, spotting the dark god and his golden wings. He swooped through the night sky, coming straight for me. In his haste, he hadn’t put on a shirt. His skin gleamed in the moonlight, his muscles looking obscenely powerful when flanked by his wings. The beautiful black tattoos moved over his skin, seeming to have a life of their own.
The night wolves ran, tails tucked between their legs. Hades landed in front of me, his anger so fierce that it rolled off him in waves. It slammed into me, his magic and his rage a wave that nearly sent me to my