‘Your god-powers grow stronger with each passing day,’ he said, ‘but they are not enough. Not yet, not to summon an army.’
‘An army?’
Thanatos inclined his head, the faint curve of a smile gracing his lips. That smile stole the breath from Mal’s chest. Such a rare thing to see, and all the more dangerous for its beauty.
‘Why would I need an army?’ she asked, her voice a whisper laced with unease. ‘What is happening up there?’
‘Get changed. Be ready.’
Mal’s eyes followed him as he turned, retreating a step towards the door but not leaving. ‘Are you not going to leave while I change?’
A soft chuckle escaped him. ‘Do you truly mistrust my word that I will not peep?’
‘Yes.’
He shrugged, casual and infuriating. ‘How unfortunate for you, then.’
‘Leave.’
Thanatos raised his right hand and dragged his fingers downward, mimicking the fall of sand in an hourglass. ‘We are running out of time, Melinoe…’
Grinding her teeth, Mal strode to her wardrobe, yanking free a simple grey riding dress. She let her black gown fall, pooling in dark ripples at her feet. When she glanced over her shoulder, she froze.
Thanatos had turned, watching her. Those obsidian eyes roamed her figure, devouring every detail as though he had uncovered some long-lost treasure of the world itself.
Mal swallowed hard, her skin prickling beneath that unwavering stare until at last his eyes met hers.
‘You are truly beautiful,’ he whispered, reverent as a prayer.
‘You promised not to look,’ she muttered, cheeks warming.
‘I never promised any such thing.’ His chuckle was low, dangerous, and he turned his back once more, leaving her to the quickened beat of her heart.
Mal slipped quickly into the grey dress, tugging on her black boots before pausing by the glassless window, staring into the open, uncertain world beyond. What awaited her out there, hope or ruin?
Thanatos materialised at her side like a shadow summoned by thought, his fingers brushing lightly along her arm. His touch was uncharacteristically gentle, almost reverent. She had grown accustomed to it over time, though every moment she allowed him close still felt like treachery. Against herself, against what she had once sworn.
He raised his hands, conjuring black smoke that coiled and curled like living silk. From within it, a wyverian swordemerged, a perfect echo of the blade she had always favoured. Short and elegant, its blackened metal shimmered with faint blue undertones, like starlight trapped within obsidian.
Mal’s lips curved into a rare, unbidden smile as he placed it in her palms. Gods, how she had missed this. The weight, the promise, the familiar surge of power that came with steel meeting skin. And yet, perhaps what she missed most were those long-forgotten training days with Kai, her brother’s laughter echoing as blades met.
She had avoided thoughts of her family, fearing the spiral of grief that lurked behind them, threatening to hollow her out entirely.
Her attention fixed upon the sword, but her once-steady hands trembled faintly. Then Thanatos’ hands enveloped hers from beneath, steadying them, grounding her.
‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ she said, voice breaking like fine glass. ‘I don’t know if I can save them.’
His fingers released hers only to lift her chin, urging her to meet the fathomless darkness of his eyes.
‘I believe in you,’ he whispered, every syllable low and sure.
‘You don’t count.’
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. ‘You’re right, I don’t. But for what it’s worth, I believe in you.’
Mal nodded, a fragile smile softening her face. She took those words and buried them deep, like seeds pressed into fertile earth, to be unearthed when despair clawed at her ribs and screamed that she was nothing but failure. She would carve them into the marrow of her bones if she had to, so that when her darkest hour came, they might yet hold her upright.
Mal trailed behind Thanatos to the castle’s great entrance, where Hades waited, his dark form haloed by the grey blue light that spilt from the volcanic stone. Allegra stood beside him, herusual serenity marred by an unfamiliar crease of worry.
