Heiress of the Sea

Chapter 33

Hades snapped his fingers, and we were gone.

I shut my eyes, and only felt my body speeding through miles and miles of darkness. The tears were whipped from my face and my hair blown back as we were blown through tunnels of pitch black. I felt Hades's breath thickening as we halted to a stop.

My feet were planted on a ground of dirt, and slowly, I opened my eyes.

I gulped down bile as I looked around. The underworld was a dark, tall-ceilinged pit of dirt illuminated by candles. Slaves, all covered in chains and groaning as they limped around, carried piles of bricks and or pushed wheelbarrows of produce, all traveling like corpses in no given direction.

"What...what are they?" I wondered aloud.

Hades whispered in my ear, "The souls of those who behaved poorly in life. They were all lent the corpses of those who went somewhere much...nicer. The chains are there to remind them of the wrongdoings and crimes they committed in their mortal life. I must remind you, dear Ailith, that this is hell."

I coughed. "Why do you enjoy living here?"

He snorted. "You think I live here?"

Slowly, I nodded.

I felt his grip on my waist. "You are a naïve little girl, aren't you?"

I didn't respond, but simply ground my teeth together as he lifted me from the ground, and floated away from the pit of dirt we were standing in. He turned, and we faced a long tunnel lined with torches.

I closed my eyes we he pulled me through the darkness, and bit my lip as he skidded to a halt. This time, I closed my eyes, and felt him whispering in my ear, "You can open your eyes now."

Carefully, I peeled my eyelids open, and nearly felt my jaw unhinge and fall to the floor as I looked at what lay before me.

An alabaster castle, surrounded by a tangled iron wall and a blood-red moat, with a forest of orange and yellow trees reaching out into the distance. Crows stood on the metal pikes of the protective wall, and tan wild horses wandered around aimlessly. I felt a warm, tropical breeze brushing my face. The sky was the color of the sunset right before the sun melted into the earth, and the clouds were gray as charcoal.

"This is where I live," Hades murmured smugly.

I turned to him. "What's inside the castle?

His eyebrow quivered. "You've been inside a castle before, haven't you? There are rooms, and corridors, and a throne room, a dining hall, a ballroom...you get the idea."

I lowered my gaze. "I don't believe you."

"Well, this is where you're going to spend the rest of your mortal life, so you'd better get used to it," he responded, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards the iron gates.

I gulped. The idea of living in this hellhole, no matter how unusually beautiful this one specific place was, frightened the living daylights out of me.

And I'd thought I was scared of Lord Goridian.

I wondered what Soren was thinking, whether or not he'd actually meant it when he'd told me was going to come for me. I knew how he felt about me, but to think that he'd risk everything; risk his kingdom...

"If you're wondering if your Land Kingdom lover is coming to save you, then I'll save you the suspense," Hades told me, stopping in front of the gate. He snapped his fingers, and a servant came by and slowly rolled the iron gate upwards.