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Yet, the moment I hit the ground, Kaif starts fighting me for control when I am suddenly standing. I don't even have time to see where we are when Kaif takes over completely. He grabs Lucas and twists. He moves me around like a puppet in my own body so quickly that everything is a blur. I see my father standing, staring at the pantry when Kaif shoves Lucas at him. My father catches him, startled, not expecting my son to be thrown at him like a football. Then Kaif blasts the portal with his own magic, and the portal slams shut.
“What the fuck, Kaif,” I snarl as he lets me forward enough to have some control. However, the sound of Eziah choking makes me realize Kaif let him go, and I grab his arm. Lifting my gaze, I find we are in some sort of room.
The walls are made of stone, each torch with an eerie green flame. I can hear and feel the slow movement of each flicker of the fire. It is so quiet that I can hear the blood pumping through my ears. All of my senses are heightened by the silence, like a living creature that is holding me captive.
“Are we in the shadow realm?” Eziah looks around, confused.
But it is Kaif's voice that comes out of me before I can answer. “No, we're in the underworld.”
Eziah's grip tightens on my hand as he looks around frantically. “What are we doing here?” he whispers, his voice catching in his throat.
“No idea. But whatever he knows about your mate, this must be the place he meant.” Kaif's voice has resonated through my body before, but this feels different. My mind is clear, yet I can feel Kaif's presence almost as if we are two separate beings here, not one.
It's like he's waiting for something, watching for anything to happen.
“Why are we here?” I ask, trying to gain some semblance of control over my body.
“More importantly, why the fuck did Kaif just shut a portal to death's playground?”
“You chose to come,” Kaif reminds me.
“I thought maybe the shadow realm, not the realm of death!”
“Too late for that now. We need to speak with Hades. If Lucas is coming here, that means Hades has been speaking with Lucas, so I want to know why we broke the curse. He has no reason to be speaking with my son,” Kaif answers, his voice low and steady.
“Doesn't Hades hate you?” Eziah questions.
“Don't worry, the feeling is mutual,” Kaif replies.
“And we couldn't just ask him in the mortal realm?” Eziah snaps back.
“Don't be stupid, Eziah,” Kaif retorts. “Do you think we can just make a quick call? No, if we are here, it means Lucas has been called here. You need permission to access this place. Hades also knows that if I were able to come for him once released from my prison every 12 generations, I would have come back for him. So now I am curious how Lucas found access to this place when I tried to get back here to kill him for centuries and couldn't.”
“This is crazy,” I mutter, but I know that we don't have much choice.
Kaif starts walking towards a narrow path, and I can feel my legs moving as he takes control. Eziah follows us cautiously, but he doesn't say anything.
“You seem to know your way around?” Eziah mutters as we reach a massive iron gate.
“That's because this place was also my prison,” Kaif answers.
Kaif examines the gates, and I feel his hesitation, like he is almost scared to touch them. He grabs the gates. “So strange,” he whispers as he pushes it open easily, and the grating sound echoes through the halls. “Something is not right,” Kaif mutters, and I can hear his thoughts spinning.
“What is it?” I ask Kaif.
“These gates are never open. I was imprisoned in that room, but the gates never opened, yet they caused horrendous pain when touched.” I try to imagine what it was like to be trapped down here. He would have gone mad with the silence and the numbness. This place is like a void.
As we walk down the corridor, a faint light catches my eye. We eventually come to an open room with two huge fireplaces against opposite walls, two large couches arranged around it and several chairs scattered around the room. The walls are painted in rich jewel tones of green and red that catch the reflection of the firelight. Candles have been placed strategically alongside doorways to help illuminate paths through this realm of cloaked darkness.
The air is filled with warmth radiating from both fires glowing along each side wall. Kaif continues to walk through the halls, but we see no one when we come to another room. The walls are decorated intricately with paintings depicting scenes from Greek mythology I've never heard about. At the same time, chandeliers light up the middle space, giving off a warm glow throughout the area. A grand piano sits alongside two armchairs in one corner of this vast chamber.
Golden candelabras illuminate every corner, the flames changing colors. Behind us is an intricately decorated altar covered in symbols depicting birth and death. Sacred texts line the walls alongside frames filled with never-seen artifacts found deep within these cavernous halls hidden away.
“Hades!” Kaif yells out.
“Maybe he went out?” Eziah offers, and Kaif looks at him.
“Where, grocery shopping?” Kaif deadpans. Eziah shrugs.
