“Come on,” she called out. “Leave Hades to Azagoth.”
Cat hesitated, and when Azagoth barked out a curt, “Go,” some secret, dark part of her rebelled. She’d just spent what was likely days in a hell dimension with a male who wanted her, a male she wanted, and the person who was keeping them apart wanted her to leave.
Screw that.
She held Hades tighter and boldly met Azagoth’s gaze. “I’m staying.”
Azagoth’s eyes glittered, but his voice was calm. “What I’m about to do won’t work if I’m not alone with him, so if you want him to live, you’ll go.”
Lilliana held out her hand. “Trust him.”
Swallowing dryly, Cat nodded. Very gently, she eased Hades’s head onto the ground, stroked her hand over his hair, and said a silent good-bye.
Why was this so hard?
“Azagoth,” she croaked. “The human and I…the demons enchanted us, and unless it’s broken—”
He cut her off with a brisk hand gesture. “Whatever was done to you will lose its power when you leave the Inner Sanctum. So go. Now.”
Sensing he’d reached the limits of his patience with her, she reluctantly shoved to her feet. She managed to keep it together until she was inside Azagoth’s office. The moment the door closed, she started bawling, and Lilliana pulled her into a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Lilliana said, and was she crying too? “I knew something was wrong days ago, and then when we tried to operate the doorway to the Inner Sanctum and it wouldn’t work, we feared the worst.” She pulled back just enough to eye Cat, as if making sure it was really her, and then she hugged her again. And yes, she was crying.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured into Lilliana’s shoulder. “I screwed up, and when I tried to fix it, I only made things worse.”
“It’s okay,” Lilliana said. “We can hash it out later.” She wrapped her arm around Cat’s shoulders and guided her toward the door. “Let’s get you cleaned up and fed. You must be exhausted.”
Cat cranked her head around to the closed portal door. “But Hades––”
“There’s nothing you can do for him. Azagoth will update us when he can.”
Cat wanted to argue, to rail against being led away, but Lilliana was right. “What about the human?” she asked as they walked toward her quarters. “What happened to him?”
“The griminions took him to the human realm where he’ll be met by angels and escorted to Heaven.”
Good. When most humans died, their souls crossed over to the Other Side on their own, but this poor guy had gone through the worst nightmare imaginable, and if anyone deserved a Heavenly escort, it was him. He’d definitely be sent to a Special Care Unit where humans who died as a result of trauma went to allow them time to adjust. Cat had a feeling he’d need an eternity. She just wished she could do more for him.
Cat was so lost in guilt and worry about Hades that she barely noticed when they arrived at her small apartment. The fragrance of her homemade crisp apple potpourri snapped her out of her daze, and she wasted no time in showering off the remains of the Inner Sanctum. She tried not to think about the fact that Hades was part of that. Gone was the smoky scent of him on her skin. Gone was his touch. His kisses.
She tried not to cry again as she dried off and dressed.
When she was finished, Lilliana was waiting with a tray of food and a pot of hot tea.
“Thank you,” Cat said as she took a seat. The food looked amazing, but she couldn’t eat. Not until she knew Hades was okay. “It’s weird to have you serve me.”
“It’s what friends do,” Lilliana said. “Also, Azagoth sent word that Hades is fine.” Cat nearly slid off her chair in relief. “Like he said, Hades was only mostly dead.” She grinned. “I’ve made Azagoth watch The Princess Bride about a million times now. He bitches and moans, but he laughs every time.”
That was hard to imagine. “What does ‘mostly’ dead mean?”
“It means that Hades was killed, but griminions grabbed his soul and brought it straight to Azagoth.” Lilliana shoved a cup of tea at Cat. “If Azagoth can get a soul to a body fast enough, he can sort of...reinstall and jumpstart.” At what must have been Cat’s expression of amazement, Lilliana nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t know about that until today, either.” She propped her elbows on the table and leaned in, her amber eyes glowing with curiosity. “So. What’s going on between you and Hades?”
Cat wasn’t going to bother asking how Lilliana knew. It was probably written all over her face. She stalled for time though, sipping her tea until Lilliana tapped her fingers impatiently on the table.
“Nothing,” Cat finally sighed. “There’s absolutely nothing going on with Hades.” Saying those words made her heart hurt far more than she would ever have suspected.
“Why? Doesn’t he share your feelings?”