a/n: You guys are always so sweet in the comments section, so shout to all of you who vote and comment to support my work! It means so much to me to be able to write something a number of you enjoy to read. Sound off in the comments what you liked/disliked in the story so far, please bare in mind I started writing the series itself when I was young and stupid (not that I'm not anymore)))) 

I am also incredibly sorry for not updating for SEVERAL months. University happened. So I did not have much free time to write, hope you understand my reasons. I will try my best to get the story going as we REALLY are so close to the finishing :) I'm excited but also a little sad about that. :')

Follow me on Instagram if you like: emberia_

***

{For you, I could steal the stars, but I can also get them through legitimate means - if that impresses you more}

Gaia's golden eyes sparkled brighter with each surpassing second. It was the moment of the cunning truth. The moment we all have been dwelling on. I wondered if the crowd was holding their breaths, I know I did mine.

"Who teamed with this unholy creature?" The girls hesitated, in fact, they hesitated so much they did not dare get involved, which clearly was understandable. We were not friends, not even acquaintances. Regret that came was expected, it washed over my senses and made my knees tremble.

"No one?" She grinned to herself. "No one wants to be accountable?" Gaia had a smirk laced on her lips, she knew. Off course she knew. The list of participants must have gone through her for approval.

"Truly, I must admit your dumbness astounds me. Your bold voice? Just a pain to my ears." The calm stare was one of a learner – she was trying to study me whilst descending a flight of stairs. For a ridiculous second, I was confused why she didn't simply teleport or fly. Maybe Mother Nature wasn't all-powerful as many claimed her to be?

"You came all of this way to do what exactly?" Mother Nature giggled, shifting a glass of liquid in her hand. She did not take a single sip of the beverage, as if it was there to add her character.

"Ambush me?" I felt every coarse word that escaped her. "Your avenge is pointless." She leaned incredibly close, whispering into my ear. "She adored him."

"Adored him so much that she chose him over her own offspring. A mortal."

It was like the world stopped, time froze and nothing mattered but the shuddering rush of heartache building in my chest.

"Kill the half-breed." Mother Nature gestured to a man with a golden crown, Zeus I realised, then scanned familiar faces behind me. "Banish the rest." Athena, Melinoe, Dysnomia and Tyche hesitantly approached my side. I averted my eyes to them for just a sliver of a second, wanting to check if they were alright. All I got was a dirty look from Melinoe, Tyche was sulking to the ground muttering something along the lines of, "What an unfortunate situation." Athena was staring back at her Queen. Dysnomia unlike everyone else, had a very scary grin to her.

"LET GO OFF ME!" I yelled punching blindly at the guards who growled loudly, they restrained my movement. It lasted a millisecond. Everyone left. Vanished into thin air with no one but me, Gaia and several guards.

"YOU THINK DEATH SCARES ME?! YOU'LL BE DOING ME A FAVOUR!" I shouted after the Goddess that seemed to take her leave - until I noticed that she was pacing across the floor. Back and forth.

"Favour?" Gaia said almost quietly her voice echoing, then added. "We'll see about that." I got a chill down my back as a figure appeared before me, his pitch black eyes staring at me. She must have called upon him, somehow in her mind she really did that.

"Be a darling and wash this peasant down that river of yours?" Mother nature spoke so softly to her son, it made my skin crawl. Devil seemed indifferent. "If under my terms, I'm all game."

"No terms, Hades." Gaia spat out hastily.

"I like a good deal." His lips curled into a viscous smirk. "You know I do." It was difficult to understand the depths of what was happening but Gaia was ready to give up her arms and legs to have me dead. I just couldn't understand why didn't she simply kill me herself? I wasn't a full Goddess.

"I'm asking you as your mother."

"And I'm telling you as the King of the Underworld."

Gaia's grin was painfully wicked, livid even. "I guess I have a spare minute, let's hear this deal of yours." Hades smirked darkly, giving me an impression of a fatal beast. It was moments later that he smiled more lovingly at his birth giver and sighed.

"I want access to Olympia." Gaia looked dumbstruck for only a moment. "You want me to lift –" Hades interrupted her. "I want to be able to return home without needing you to summon me." Those midnight eyes flitted to me. "That is my only condition."

I opened my mouth to yell, to expose Hades to do – anything. But I couldn't, my head sagged in a bow, lips sealed shut.

"It's a deal." They shook on the bargain and Gaia approached me, slowly enclosing to preach in my ear. "For a second there I thought he would want your soul. But how pathetic is it, that even Devil himself does not see of your use?"

Hades may have had his on and off-days. But he was always evil. No matter in what shape or form of deed that was called upon him. Anything to do with the Devil was sinister and left you indebted to him.

I lifted my head to give him a silent glance.

Hades didn't need my soul. He already had it fisted in the crook of his palm from day one.

"Hera is to be crowned at noon. GET PREPARATIONS SET FOR TONIGHT!" I had no clue who she was ordering to, as no one was around. Although I found myself locked between three guards that tied me in ropes, so that was a greater worry.

Traitor!

I tried to scream in vain, but even if I could physically yell my profanities this wasn't right. Hades was never on my side, he was never on with the plan. Hell, he didn't even know of my plan in the first place!

"You have something to say?" The Devil cocked his head to the side, showing no emotions. The knot within my brain seemed to tighten as I let a strangled growl of pain.

"You wish so badly to be strong but I can see the despondence in you. " His hand found the curve of my cheekbone. His soft fingertips slid down my face, his dark black eyes travelled down go my lips before glancing up to my eyes. "I can see it all over you."

He leaned over, his pale lips connecting with mine for a moment. I almost fell immobile at the weird sensation that spread through my body.

I pierced his lower lip with my fangs, blood seeping into my mouth.

"Rotten prick."

I don't know who was more surprised me or him at my loudly voiced imprecation. Hades shoved me backwards, then his eyes found mine. I felt erratic, my eyes twitched and the unsettling knot that started to expand, it quickly took over full capacity of my skull. It was a strange experience that had me slightly nauseous, but I recovered as the Devil strode forwards.

"I like my insults just as one likes compliments." He chuckled wiping the leak of blood that came down his chin. I swallowed the blood still swirling in my mouth and met his confident glare.

"Go back to Hell, where you belong."

***
"I learned to swim the other day, I will just reach the surface!" I called to Hades who walked just further ahead of me and the men that stranded me. Their knots were rough, each had an end of a rope as if it were a leash. I was delusional actually. Instead of shedding tears and wailing in pity I was pumped to go on the journey we were. I wanted to see Lethe for myself. Maybe it was his demonic blood, or maybe it was completely something different. But I knew that lunging into a river which would wipe out my entire existence wasn't such a bad idea at all.

"And how exactly can you do that?" One of the guards asked quietly. "We're not meant to communicate with the prisoner." Another to my left, dwelled. I couldn't really point out their identities or what was different about each of them. The three were cloaked, but I saw a glimpse of a skull underneath one of the hoods.

"I'm just curious!" The first whisper-yelled. "How does one get out of water? They swim out." I replied, but observed them stroll in confusion. "You know...waddle their limbs? No?" I tried to reiterate but still zero response.

"No river of the Underworld holds water." Said one that haven't spoken before. "What does it hold then?" The ropes pressed tighter around my waist. I turned to give him a flat look but they pulled me forward to keep up the pace. I noticed Hades looked back to check if we were following, then continued on in silence.

"Only his Darkness knows." One to my right murmured. "How to locate the rivers I mean." I watched Hades flex his back to look down under a tree that looked rather ancient, as if it was about to fall over on its own. "Can't you just get a map?"

"Their locations are dynamic." Hades cut in, materialising right before us. "Rivers are never in the same place twice."

Well, that would explain why Gaia couldn't simply take me to Lethe herself.

One of the skeletons gave out a tiny noise of fear. "We are terribly sorry, your Darkness. We did not meant to –" Hades raised a hand to mute them. "That is all of your service today. I will personally take on the matters." One by one they lowered their heads in a slight bow and then disintegrated on the spot.

We continued on in silence. I could tell that the ground was steadily inclining but we were surrounded by nothing but evergreens. The higher we climbed, the darker the soil became. The stones were too large to call gravel, but they sure made the walk a lot less comfortable. I could barely keep up with the Devil's long strides.

"Can we stop for a minute?" I called after him, stopping to plaster my palms on either sides of my knees. I tried to regain my breath but Hades gave me this indescribable look that simply stole any amount of air I could take in. "What?" He was staring funnily so I couldn't just help but question.

"Why are you not begging? Not crying for mercy to spare your life?" His dark features were puzzled and he even joined me at the log that I sat on.

"Would you spare my life?"

Hades looked away.

"I don't even think it is humanly possible to convince a Devil." I suddenly voiced. The midnight black eyes flitted to mine. "But you're no human."

"I am...a half-breed." I directed my eyes to the long grass and watched how still it was. No crickets, no butterflies. "You don't even know what a half-breed is."

"What will happen to me?" I quivered, fiddling with the white sleeve. "Where will I go?" At this moment we exchanged glances. I thought that Hades was not going to answer but then he did. "Where do you think all of the dead goes?"

"I used to think Heaven and Hell, but now...now I'm not sure anymore." I felt a cool presence on an object on my chest. There was a frown on my face and I grasped a familiar pendant wrapped around my neckline. I took the chain off and handed it back to him. "Can you give it back? It's my grandmas."

"Keep it," Hades spoke slowly, watching my every move as I retracted the extended hand.

"Why am I feeling so..." I searched for the right word. The Devil stood up and walked forth. "I don't know."

"But you do know! I feel calm, relaxed even...I am about to die and I have absolutely no care in the world...that isn't okay." He didn't even look back to see whether I was following him. "Hades!" I called after the running God.

I was battling fake thorny leaves until a face popped into my view. Hera. "Mother doesn't have the best of patience. Get going!" She pushed me back and I fell right onto my spine. The pain – I didn't feel it.

Still, in a haze, Hera grabbed a fistful of my blonde hair and began dragging me in a direction I was originally heading. The whole charade stopped when I refused to make a single noise of pain. Maybe her grip slipped, maybe she was confused or even...offended? I knew that she wasn't exactly content at my lack of sobbing but she kicked me once in the stomach and then shoved me further along.

"That's enough." I saw Aphrodite in my vision, I recognized the famous crimson red gown that she so outrageously wore. I smiled a little but then it faded when she simply helped me up, then moved aside. I think I have never seen Gaia this silent. If she didn't shine so bright, I probably would have missed her in the crowd that has gathered to watch.

"Get it done." Gaia muttered and then went for the female deities lining the sides. She started chatting to them, not even caring about the fact that someone aka me, is about to be exiled. 

I felt familiar hands grasp both sides of my shoulders and out of pure blissful panic I grabbed tightly onto those hands. I closed my eyes, my face was instantly drawn into a flinch as I waited for the worse to occur. When nothing happened, I slowly opened my eyes and saw the exposed view. We were on the edge of the cliff and below...well below was the river of death. The voices in the background were further away, Hades teleported us right to the edge of the mountain.

"I'll drown. Hades. You know I will." I was shaking all over, and I felt his grip tighten. We were scarily high, twenty, if not more feet from where I looked down at the river. It could have not been water that filled the crevices in the land. The liquid that formed the river was dark, pure sable. I was so engrossed in the view, and the endless sickness in my stomach when I barely registered the last few words that Hades said to me.

"Isn't that the plan?"

I lifted my gaze, my eyes searching his for one last time. Because I knew, I knew that for as long as I existed anyone I ever loved was in danger. This was the solution and this was the outcome.

"Please take my voice." I blurted out of nowhere. His dark eyes scanned my face, slightly taken back. "I don't want to hear myself scream."

But he was not willing to do that, I could tell by the way his eyes narrowed on the sides. Then, his hands released me. Pushed me off the edge, removing any ground I had under my feet. The wind was soothing against my face, and even when I knew the end was near, I didn't scream. Because his voice sang to me the whole flight down.

"Don't be so appalled, little sin. I have a lot planned to satisfy your misery."

a/n: You guys are always so sweet in the comments section, so shout to all of you who vote and comment to support my work! It means so much to me to be able to write something a number of you enjoy to read. Sound off in the comments what you liked/disliked in the story so far, please bear in mind I started writing the series itself when I was young and stupid (not that I'm not anymore))))

I am also incredibly sorry for not updating for SEVERAL months. University happened. So I did not have much free time to write, hope you understand my reasons. I will try my best to get the story going as we REALLY are so close to the finishing :) I'm excited but also a little sad about that. :')

Follow me on Instagram if you like: emberia_

Have a lovely day :)

- e.m