The walls moved around me, warping into new shapes. The stone stretched like gray faces, moaning pitifully as they reached for me.
My heart pounded. Bile rose in my throat.
I shouldn’t have watched Dad disappear.
I bolted for the door.
I kept running, my heart fluttering painfully in my chest, until I reached the massive front doors of the castle. My palms slapped against the surface. With trembling arms, I pulled them open and ran.
Only then did I feel like I could breathe.
But it wasn’t enough.
I bent over and cried. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dad’s departure and Mom’s agony.
The ground vibrated beneath my feet. The ominous wrench in my chest worsened. Every hair on my body stood on end.
There was an aura in the woods unlike anything I’d ever sensed. I didn’t need immortality to detect the wicked presence advancing. Its energy made my skin feel like I’d been plunged into icy water.
Slowly, I turned and saw the horned creature approaching.
He walked gradually and purposefully, like time was on his side.
Oh…
A sense of calm settled over me.
Finally, the Devil came, proving Nova’s words true. I didn’t have to wonder anymore.
So, this was it. My love story didn’t end happy. That sucked. I cried during every sad human movie.
But I didn’t get to be sad.
Right now, all I needed was to be mad.
I held out my hand, expecting my weapon to materialize.
Reality smacked me in the face as my eyes widened.
Oh, Hades.
No power, so no weapon.
Oh, freaking Hades.
Wasn’t I supposed to carry around that weapon imbued with my power for exactly that situation?
Looking ahead, even with the distance between us, I noticed dark, purplish lips curling into a smirk, revealing white, fang-like teeth.
Was he smiling?
It was horrifying.
But it didn’t matter.
Oh, well. Time to terrorize him differently since I couldn’t sink a blade into his charcoal flesh.
What kind of flesh was that, anyway?
