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“It can’t be replaced.” Manea sneered at me. “That’s what it means for something to be irreplaceable, Rain Chaser.”
“I didn’t steal it, either, by the way.”
She waved a hand at me, the boredom returning to her features. “Prescott told me you would blame this on him. Told me all about your little gambit and how you turned the idol into a prize to be won. But here’s the thing about that: it wasn’t his to bet. And so you stole it from me.”
“Maybe it was yours once, but it wasn’t yours to start with.” I glanced at Leo out of the corner of my eye, debating if I wanted to reveal what I knew. “And I think it’s back where it belongs now.”
“Seth took something that was mine.”
“He took back something that was his. Someone. And killing someone else he cares about isn’t going to make you guys even.”
“Even. You say this like it’s a game. Like I care for human things.”
Frustration bubbled inside me. “You want a skull? Look around. Take your pick. This is garbage. Leo hasn’t done anything to you, and he didn’t know Seth was his father until a day ago. You think Seth cares about you? You think killing Leo is how you make Seth feel your loss? Wrong.”
So much for my suggestion that Leo not talk back. A fine example I was setting.
“I don’t expect you to understand it, human.”
“I’m not trying to understand it. The only reason I’m here is for him. To protect him.” I pointed at Leo, moving to stand slightly in front of him so he wasn’t in the line of fire. What fire, don’t ask me, I was running on instinct and adrenaline.
“Mortal life is fleeting. His time is short. What does it matter if I end it sooner? All he has is a brief series of years. Years. What is that to me? No one will remember him once he’s gone.”
“Agree to disagree,” Leo interjected.
“Your opinion isn’t necessary here.” Manea didn’t bother to look at him this time. “You will live or die as I see fit, and mere words won’t sway me in my decision.”
Something clicked in my head, but I couldn’t have said what it was. I just decided to roll with it. “What would sway you?”
“What?” Manea went rigid, releasing Hades’s hair and dropping her hands to her sides.
Hades, who had thankfully not said anything since bidding us to come forward, looked at me curiously and kicked his legs out in front of him like he was eagerly awaiting my response. I followed the line of his boots down to the floor and noticed the platform the throne was on for the first time.
It was breathing.
A hand moved next to his foot, clawing out towards me, its nails cracked and bloody. Hades stomped down on it, and the hand withdrew. The platform went still, and I swallowed hard. Whatever was holding up his throne was still alive.
“I-I asked what would compel you to change your mind about killing Leo. And me. Without getting your skull back.” The idol was gone, and judging by what Sido had disclosed to me about it, the temple wouldn’t relinquish it any time soon, no matter the situation.
There had to be another way.
“I want what’s mine,” Manea snarled.
“And I want a vacation in the Bahamas with no fucking rain.”
“I want to date a Victoria’s Secret model,” Leo offered.
“Shhh.”
“What, like only one of us gets to have one-liners? I don’t think so.”
This guy was literally going to be the death of me.
“Insolent fools. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you both right here and now.” She lifted her hand towards me, like she wanted very badly to do it no matter what I said.
“I will do anything in my power to get out of here alive.” My tone was adamant, and I wasn’t bullshitting. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do or sacrifice to get out of the underworld with Leo in tow.
“Anything?” Hades sat up straight in his chair, leaning forward to get a better look at me. My lungs trembled as he spoke.
