A Touch of Chaos (Hades x Persephone Saga, #4)

by Scarlett St. Clair

It was the temple of divine direction, and it was here where Rhea sat staring off toward the east. From where he stood, she was only a shadow, the edges of her body illuminated by starlight, but as his eyes adjusted, he could see that she wore robes the color of the sunset, cast in orange and red hues. Her long, black hair cascaded down her back like the fringes of night, and a turret crown gleamed like the rising sun atop her head. On either side of her lay her two loyal lions. It would have been a breathtaking scene had it not been for the fact that the lions were dead and a river of blood was running from them and Rhea, over the mosaic floor, to his feet. He was too late. As he approached, he could hear her ragged breathing. His heart beat in tandem, breaking with every step. He rounded on her and saw a great spear embedded in her breast. She turned her head and looked at him, and he recognized the shadow in her eyes. It was death. “Have you come to take me away, my son?” “It seems I must,” he said. Hades knelt beside his mother. “When did he come?” He did not wish to say Cronos’s name for fear that his father might hear. “I do not know,” she said. “Time is different when he is near.” She turned her head away and looked east again. “I knew when he had entered the world again.” She spoke in a whisper. “I could feel it in my heart.” “Why did you not hide?” She smiled a little. She smiled like him. “Perhaps…this is what I deserve,” she said. “For what?” Hades demanded. “Fo...