But despite it all, he didn’t hate Hades or even what might come to pass. He hated his inability to stop it, he detested that his loyalty was in question and that he understood Cyane’s predicament better than he was letting on.
How could he claim to be loyal while also lying to those he was loyal to?
The worst thing that could happen wasn’t her death.Death belonged here, death was easy for him to control and understand.No, the worst thing that could happen is her loss of faith in me.
Which could happen. If he couldn’t protect her from whatever Hades planned to do with her.
Hades called him again.
The Day of Deals was nearly over, and Cerberus had one last thing to do before he confronted his lord.
The God of Crossings
Back in armor,Cerberus entered the ballroom from the shadows. His gaze caught Hades’s from across the room. He deftly checked out his lord, trying to read him and know what mood Hades was in before Cerberus approached. Their eyes met, and Hades gulped back his cup of nectar, dismissing him with a nod to talk with the undying bowed in submission at his feet.
Although Cerberus had been temporarily dismissed, that didn’t mean Hades still didn’t want his hound by his side. But he turned away, taking those moments to set his plan into motion.
It was rare for Cerberus to not answer his lord’s summons at once, but he believed the deal he could make was one that would please Hades. Even if it was shrouded with betrayal.
Cerberus scanned the ballroom.
He wanted to make this quick and get back to Cyane before she awakened.
The ballroom held far fewer guests, but there were still a hundred or so in attendance.
The strongest ones.He assumed. Or the quickest, the craftiest. The ones the undead Trojan horse didn’t hunt, like the gods and demi-gods, and those like Tantalus, the eternal servant, who was serving timeless punishment.
Flowing strips of cloth still hung as curtains, but none touched the ground, having been torn away by daemon hands and teeth, consumed due to the blood they’d soaked up. Candles lit the room, clustered in thousands along the walls, giving what had been purple-white the appearance of dried blood.
The obsidian walls gleamed.
Soft music played so conversations could be had and deals could be made. The undying who remained dressed conservatively or manipulatively, depending on the deal they planned to make.
The smell of nectar was potent as basins overflowed with it, wetting the floor in slick puddles. Even those that didn’t partake in drink carried it around where it soaked their clothes and sandals.
Cerberus judged through the eyes of his hounds while searching for Hermes. He found the golden god, blessed by Aphrodite (whom he now envied), speaking with Hypnos near Hades’s dais.
Cerberus strode across the room towards them.
“One poppy is all I need,” Hermes said.
“One from my dwelling could put half the mortals asleep. It’ll cost a steep price for me to relinquish one.”
“Was it not I who helped you with Hera when she needed Zeus asleep? Was it not I who brought Pasithea, a revered Grace, here to wed you? Have I not allowed the crossings of you and your offspring to the slumbering mortals above? You could not own half their lives with sleep without the power I bring,” Hermes argued.
“All power is omniscient, even if it’s yours, young god. You did not allow something that is the right of gods far more ancient than you,” Hypnos mused. “We have been at this all day, and my stance will not change. If you want a poppy from my garden, I will know why first.” Hypnos regarded Cerberus and canted his head in greeting.
Cerberus nodded back. Hermes’s lips curled in distaste.
“We are not done,” Hermes gritted as the ancient god of sleep wandered away. Hermes turned to Cerberus anyway. “You and Hades’s mortal guest have been missing all day. I feared that the horse may have swallowed her.”
“Are you keeping tabs on me?” Cerberus didn’t want to think of Hermes watching for Cyane, let alone himself, any more than what he wanted to ask anything from this god.
He’d prefer to break Hermes’s jaw wide and eat the golden boy whole.
“Oh, don’t sound so honored. There have been whisperings that some of Hades’s brood wanted to leave after his grossly entertaining stunt. Who else could they make a deal with to escape Tartarus if not you? Even I can’t cross a non-god from this place.” Hermes looked around. “So where is she? Our mortal guest?”
“Safely away, slumbering as mortals do. She’s not here.”
