The King Of Death | Hades + Fae

Chapter Thirteen

Hades

I have not left her bedside for three days. Grison tried to remove me on the first and I shrouded him in shadows so dark that he clambered for his sword. The man I now know as Ilias tried to enter countless times but my shadows slammed the door in his face. The only one who stood silently and let me stew was Pilos.

Healers were the only people I let close to the sleeping girl and even then when their hands touched her skin it took everything within me to keep from killing them all. The wound was not healing as it should, but it was healing. Machinery of any kind was not meant to work within the fae border which explained why everything I've seen is so ancient. Even their bathing chambers are nothing more than naturally heated pools, so no fae have seen a bullet wound before.

I have seen many, but only after they caused death. It pains me not to be able to help as she lay almost dead to the world in front of my eyes.

"Why is it you care so much about her?" Pilos speaks up from behind me, breaking our three day silence. I don't dare to hold her hand but mine stay firmly pressed into the feathered mattress only inches from it, just incase she reaches out for someone to bring her back.

"I do not know." My words are monotone, the energy sapped out of me. I finally understand what that means, and I can feel the skin underneath my eyes becoming heavy with my lack of sleep. The more time I spend on the surface, the more susceptible I am to mortal ales. Pilos sighs and steps forward, his golden armour now visible in the corner of my vision.

"What are you, Hades?" The god of death, the god of life. The god of good and evil. None of those titles feel remotely true. If I am a god, why do I feel so helpless? The bed groans underneath my weight as I push my palms down in frustration. My dark hair falls like a curtain around my face when I drop my head, shielding me from his prying eyes.

"I am not a threat to you." It's the only answer I can think of as a dark cloud settles over my mind, making me sluggish and slow. Pilos shifts on his feet, his armour clambering quietly around him.

"I know, I've known since the training room." Tallulah lets out a soft groan, the sound slipping past her cracked lips and I immediately straighten but her eyes stay closed.

"Why the training room?" I have little to no interest in his answer, but the conversation is a welcome distraction from my warring thoughts.

"When Tallulah grabbed your sword, you stopped." Pilos shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I finally turn to face him, noting his short hair has grown slightly in the past three days.

"Why would I not stop?" I ask, growing slightly irritated. Pilos raises his eyebrow.

"Many would not." He sighs and shifts his weight so he's leaning against one of the bed posters. It's now my time to raise an eyebrow.

"Tallulah was never meant to be queen. A year ago her father was killed in the throne room, and then two weeks later her brother was also killed there. There has been no time in our history where two rulers were killed so close together, and no time in our history where a lone woman or someone as young as she is has ruled over Ulanda." The evening sun beats down over my back, seeping in through the three large arches. Even the warmth feels more comforting here than among the humans.

"Are you both bonding?" I all but jump out of my ancient skin as a cracked husky voice joins our conversation. Pilos straightens and I spin in my seat to be met with those beautiful amethyst eyes, bright once again. My chest lightens like someone has removed a weight that had been crushing it.

"So what if we are? Or are you gatekeeping prisoners now?" My muscles tighten and I move to stand, but a soft weight on my right hand halts me. Tallulah's slender fingers slip underneath my palm and sparks shoot up my arm, fuelling a fire in my chest that ignited the moment my blue eyes met her purple ones over a week ago.

"Water, Pilos." Tallulah ignores her guard's banter and commands him in a broken plead, one which he doesn't hesitate to obey. Within a blink he's leaning over the bed with a glass of water. I bite back a growl when his hand slips carefully behind her head but another soft squeeze from Tallulah has me obeying her as well.

Her plump lips wrap around the lip of the glass and her tongue darts out slightly as she gulps down the water. My leather pants tighten as I watch her small tongue move back and forth with every gulp, her delicate throat bobbing. I want to wrap my hand around it and coax her tongue back out with my own, I'd kill for it.

Finally Pilos pulls away and steps into the washroom leaving us alone.

"You scared the shit out of me." I can't hold it back anymore, I'd sat in silence for three days and now the dark cloud has cleared in my mind leaving room for the many emotions swirling around.

"I scared myself." Her voice comes out smoother this time, like the honeyed tone I've grown used to. It dissolves some of my worries in an instant.

"You said death is here, I thought that was you dying." My shoulders sag but deep down I know what I would've done if she had died. I would've risked the wrath of Orfeas and gone to the underworld to pull her stupid ass back. Tallulah let's out a breath that I'm sure is meant to be a laugh.

"The gods whispered to me, Hades." She smiles weakly.

"They whispered that death was here, and I didn't understand it until I saw you kill those humans. I don't think they were warning me, I think they were preparing me for you." Tallulah's voice is soft and vulnerable. It's the only time I've ever seen her with her walls down and her heart laid bare as she stares up at me with those amethyst eyes. Only, I can see she doesn't understand the gods the way I do.

She thinks they called me death because I killed for her, and what scares me is that I would again. 

I would kill any man or woman who looked at this queen with an unkind gleam in their eye. I'd kill someone for bumping her shoulder in a hallway, or for taking the last muffin when she is craving one. I would kill myself if it meant keeping her safe. It's a strange feeling, one that makes me tug my hand back from her hold. Her eyes squint in confusion but the cloud in my mind grows heavier. I am not only the god of death, but also of life and balance - why does all my millennia of rationality leave me when I look at her?

"Hades?" Her soft whisper makes my heart ache, and the way her small frail hand reaches for me shatters it completely. Orfeas is still out there, waiting to get my power. If humans can get past the wall then surely he can too. My mind grows heavy with too many thoughts and before I can even contemplate my actions, my lips curl into a scowl and I storm from the room.