WHEN AVES COME KNOCKING

5

5

"Hades you do not have permission to do this." Nyx's distant growl stirred me from my slumber. The sound of loud footsteps drew my attention to the stairwell.

It had been three months.

Three months of slop for food and greywater for drinking. No human contact other than the groaning noises that sounded from the cells around me and no light other than the swaying light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

The sounds of human voices sounded foreign in my mind. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't hallucinating, that there were actually people coming down the stairs. There steps echoing down the hall, making my ears throb.

"I don't need your permission." A man snapped in response to my mother. His voice cold and harsh. Tall shadows expanded in the doorway before the humans frames entered the cellar.

I push myself away from the far wall of the cell. Stumbling forwards, I hit the bars and grip them tight. Squinting against the light that filtered down from the stairwell. My legs already shaking from the effort of standing, I found myself panting softly just from the short time I had been on my feet.

Shadows blocked the light from the stairs for a moment before four people emerged. Mother included, trailing behind them, her face held pure anger. Darkness dancing around her wrists and merging with the bottom of her black dress.

In front of her, three men stood. My heart pounded when I recognized the blond hair and hazel eyes from the previous months.

"Zach," My voice cracked, and I shocked myself at how pathetic I sounded but it was enough to get his attention.

Instantly, the son of Ares turned in my direction and hurried to the cell. His hands fumbled with the lock on the other side, he cursed under his breath and yanked the lock right off. Shoving the door open, he pulling me out of the cell and close to him.

"It's okay, your okay." Zach breathed, just standing holding me in a tight hug. One of his large hands pressed against the back of my head. His brown leather jacket smelled like the forest that we had wandered through before Nyx took me away.

I sniffled, my throat tightening as tears of relief filled my eyes. My hands clung to the army green shirt he wore under the jacket. My legs almost giving out from the strain of having to stand. Luckily Zach allowed me to lean most of my weight on him.

"You are not taking her. She is my daughter and I choose what happens with her," Nyx snarled in front of us.

"Amara will no longer be staying with you. This is not how a child should be treated. Especially when it's your own daughter." The man, Hades, spoke again. Slowly pronouncing the last sentence and narrowing his eyes, his hands clenching into fists as he stared at Nyx.

"It is better than ignoring them for years, better than shamelessly sending them on quests that could lead to their deaths." Nyx snapped back. Meeting Hades stern voice with her own, "She was bred for this, can't you sense it? Amara can handle this, it is only a test of course. I need to see how far she can be pushed, with all that power in her veins we need to know how much she can take before breaking." Nyx hissed.

"Not like this. We had a deal," Hades growled.

Raising my chin, I peak over Zach's shoulder and flinch against the power that smacked me in the face when I met Hades's obsidian eyes. He was tall, and like my mother, resembles more of a serpent than anything else. His light robes flowed effortlessly off his shoulders, the pure white color of the silk robes detailed with grey and black skulls at the base of his sleeves and robes. The white of his clothes made his hickory skin seem darker and his eyes held a story of their own, they were so dark that it was impossible to see where the iris ended and pupil began.