like diamonds. The spiders themselves sparkled green, purple, emerald, and amethyst as they guarded their treasures.
I approached on silent feet, my heart pounding.
Where was the damned door?
When we’d first arrived here, Hades had dragged me through the ether, and I hadn’t seen an actual door.
Echo fluttered around overhead, but he seemed as clueless as me. I sprinted down the corridors, searching for anything that looked like an exit. I almost missed it.
The door was built right into the books. They all looked different, but closer examination revealed that they were different editions of The Oresteia.
“Oh, Hades.” I reached out for them, feeling the magic of the portal spark against my fingertips. “You give yourself away.”
I stepped toward the portal. Just as I was about to slip through, an explosion tore through the library. I flew back, slamming to the ground with enough force to rattle my brains.
Aching, I sat upright.
Standing in the middle of the blown-out door stood Hades, looking like the vengeful god that he was.
Once again, his golden wings were flared, and his chest was bare. The terrifying, beautiful power of him would have sent me to my knees if I hadn’t already been there.
His magic rolled out from him in waves of black mist, and fire lit his eyes. He’d destroyed half of the front library wall, and the wolves crept up behind him.
Hades
Dust billowed around me as I searched for Seraphia, terror and rage pounding through me like a toxic poison.
Had she gone?
Loss tore through me, sharp as a Fury’s claws.
Finally, my gaze fell on her.
She knelt on the library floor, only twenty feet from the portal that she so desperately sought. Her brilliant eyes gleamed with determination, her dark hair wild around her face. She climbed to her feet. Chest heaving, she stared at me. Magic swirled around her, bright swirls lighting up the air.
She was magnificent.
She’d betrayed me once again, using our connection to gain the upper hand. Anger simmered low, the memory of her snapping the cuffs on my wrist making the darkness rise inside me.
She reached into her pockets and withdrew something too small to see. A moment later, her magic flared, the scent of flowers and the feel of the breeze rushing through the library.
Brilliant green vines climbed down her arms and out from her palm, beginning to form a wall in front of her.
“No.” I stepped forward.
“I’m leaving.” The vines had formed a wall waist high, thick and impenetrable. It grew higher.
The night wolves at my side growled and crouched low. I swept my arm toward the wall. “Destroy it.”
They charged, fangs snapping and hackles rising. They reached the vines and tore at them. She screamed, the sound slicing through me.
Did this hurt her?
Something inside me recoiled.
She thrust her arm out toward the wolves and shouted, “Stop!”
They halted immediately, backing up. But they didn’t go docile. My power still compelled them, and they lowered their heads, growling anew. The vines in front of her were torn and broken, but she had the wolves partially under her command. I could feel it though my connection with them.
The wolves were creatures of light and dark, and we both had a stake in them. Anger rose in me, and I reached out my hand, compelling the wolves to obey me.
She did the same, her brow creased and her eyes dark.
The wolves, caught between our magic, growled and snapped, unsure of who to obey.
“I will fight you forever, Hades.” Her voice rang with power, her hair and cloak blowing backward in a breeze created by her power.
I forced my magic toward the wolves, determined to take control. I could feel the darkness rising in them, edging out the light. Just a little more . . .
Just a little . . .
The darkness rose in me, egging me on. Punish her. Use the wolves.
But no. The wolves were too dangerous. When I did take control of them, they would snap.
There’d be no controlling them. The darkness would take them fully. They’d tear her apart.
I can save her in time.
Of course I could.
But before she received grievous injury?
My resolve wavered.
The sight of her weakened it even more. She stood tall and straight, proving her strength as she fought to control the wolves while rebuilding her wall of vines. Her emerald eyes captured me, her beauty a salve.
I couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t be injured by the wolves, and I found I couldn’t bear the idea. No matter how angry I was with her.