The reflection over the hourglass mirrored Hades's face but upside down, casting his enchanting smile into something darker than it appeared to the naked eye. He didn't release Cerberus from the magic that had halted him, nor the flow of time around them, causing for the sand inside the hourglass to continue stall.
Instead, he leaned forward with languid ease and studied the sharp gleam of his nails, admiring the view as if it were art. The air hung heavy, the silence of the frozen room swallowing even the faintest hum of sound, and the candles trembled but did not burn.
"Did Thanatos tell you that my mate was going to kill me?" Hades inquired, voice smooth and unhurried. And though Cerberus had sworn back at home never to spill a single secret related to Hades's death, just to savor his torment, in the end, his curiosity triumphed. He needed to know why this man remained so calm, so certain he would triumph over death itself.
Was it because he had already defeated death once before?
Or was it simply arrogance disguised as confidence?
"He said she will bring your death, the rightful way to die," Cerberus finally said. "Thanatos wouldn't tell me how she would do it, though. Unfortunate, it would have been much more entertaining to know."
Hades chuckled, though the mirth never reached his eyes. "She is a human, Cerby," he said, his tone light and mocking, as if Cerberus truly were a dog. The latter's frown deepened with obvious irritation, and Hades, seeing it, let his amusement curl wider. "What could a human possibly do to me? Even you, with all the power you've gotten from your family's bloodline, have you ever once managed to kill me?"
"Thanatos can see death, and he has never been wrong," Cerberus snapped back, his bright eyes flashing. "My parents didn't believe his readings either, and you saw what happened to them. Perhaps humans cannot kill us, but perhaps she can kill you." His words, which had started sharp and teasing, softened into something darker, vengeful, even.
"You worry far too much for your dearest uncle," Hades laughed, a low, velvety sound that echoed faintly across the halted air.
"You're not my uncle!" Cerberus barked, his voice laced with both irritation and embarrassment.
"Then would you rather call Thanatos that hermit your uncle?" Hades quipped, grinning, and Cerberus rolled his bright blue eyes that swirled with light every time he moved. "Forget your worrying," Hades went on lazily, "I've seen her with my own eyes. She's quite an adorable little thing, hardly someone capable of killing me."
"What did you say?" Cerberus's face turned pale, almost ghostly. "You saw the girl? You saw her even after knowing she would bring your death?!"
"Why not?" Hades shrugged, the movement graceful and unconcerned. "She wasn't far from where I am. And you know," he hummed softly, violet eyes gleaming, "she looks too amusing for me not to draw her closer. Still, I doubt she'd come running willingly. That little head of hers is far too busy with her own worries. And kidnapping or locking her away would be my very last resort. So, for now, I'm simply watching the puzzle fall into place, waiting for her to walk into my castle." His smile turned sharper, a flicker of something unholy in his tone. "Of course, when the puzzle refuses to fall quickly—" he leaned back into the shadows, "—I don't mind giving it a little push."
The air around them stirred faintly then, though time itself remained shackled. The sands of the hourglass shimmered in the frozen light, each grain suspended mid-descent, as if even fate had paused to listen.
"You mean you will take her under your wings? Let yourself be played by her and fate then accept your death like a fool?" Cerberus asked with a deep frown, his voice lined with disbelief before he scoffed. "Oh dear, you sound like a man in love. I did not expect you, out of everyone, to ever fall in love, especially toward a mere human girl."
"Is it so surprising? She is such a delightful little thing, so you wouldn't understand," Hades hummed, the low, smooth tone rolling from his tongue like velvet. He recalled Evangeline's nervous green eyes, the way her breath caught whenever she dared meet his gaze, and how easily color would bloom on her cheeks whenever he stood too close. What amused him most, however, was not her innocence, but how the people around her recoiled from him as though he were death itself.
Not love—no. For Hades, it wasn't attraction born of tenderness, nor any warmth that resembled affection. It was far from it. What stirred within him when he looked upon Evangeline was a kind of twisted fascination, a pastime amusement to break the monotony of immortality. Cerberus seemed to think otherwise, which Hades had no intention of confirming—or denying—for his own entertainment.
"Hah! Hades Valentine falling for a human girl! All your enemies would be writhing underground if they ever heard of this!" Cerberus exclaimed with contempt that failed to hide the unease flickering beneath. Though he should have relished the thought of Hades playing with fire, he instead looked irritated, what an odd creature, thought Hades, before he gave a lazy shrug of his shoulders.
"That's not who you are, Hades," Cerberus continued as if mortified that he was going to fall in love with a human girl, "You are not someone who would stand back and accept defeat or death. You are not someone who would give up your entire being for someone else either, especially a woman. Seven hundred years you have been alone yet you were unbothered by loneliness. A man carved out from ice, someone who seem to have ice water flowing in his veins instead of blood now what? Enjoying playing with the creature who is going to take prey of him?"
"You speak funny," Hades snapped back, "Am I the prey or is she?"
What Cerberus still doesn't know was how Hades had calculated each and every of his moves.
He wasn't going to accept death and Evangeline without her own notice was slowly walking to his path the way he wanted, so controlled that not her nor Cerberus could ever guess. Hell, even fate wouldn't notice just how much he had calculated everything to his likings.
"You will regret it when she brings death to you," Cerberus warned, his voice echoing through the long, quiet hallway. The air shifted, heavy with foreboding, as if the castle itself held its breath.
"Don't be so quick to curse me, Cerby," Hades let out a low laugh that vibrated through the cold walls. "And I would love to see how she plans to do so. Seven hundred years without such entertainment, I doubt even you could amuse me as much as I expect her to."
"Yes, and maybe I will laugh and stomp over your grave for being foolish," Cerberus retorted, rolling his eyes. Yet curiosity bled through his irritation as he narrowed his gaze. "So tell me, how does this human look? Is she pretty?"
Hades Valentine didn't answer. Instead, his expression stilled into something unreadable—his lips curved into a thin, knowing smile that never reached his eyes. His voice dropped to a murmur, soft but absolute.
"Now it is time for you to leave."
"That's not fair! Hey, don't you dar—" Before Cerberus could finish, the world around him bent and twisted, shadows folding over one another. The next time he opened his eyes, he stood miles away, back within the dark halls of his own castle.
Fury surged through him, every strand of fur along his skin bristling with anger as his claws dug into the stone floor. "FUCK YOU, HADES!" he roared, the words echoing through the emptiness, swallowed by the night.
"This doesn't make sense! It doesn't! What is that old mean thinking?" Cerberus paced back and forth in his study room where it was filled with large jars that each seemed to hold a part of human limb stored in such perfection.
He continued to pace back and forth wondering aloud, "Is that man actually planning to be killed so willingly? Or is he planning to watch the girl amuse him and kill her before she could fulfill Thanatos's prediction?"
The second choice seemed to be more fitting thought Cerberus as he doubted that there was anything in this world that could ever, ever, make Hades give up himself. Especially not for the sake of a woman.
"Rahaj!" Cerberus yelled for a man to suddenly appear behind him, dressed in the pristine black suit without a single wrinkle as if he was allergic to it. "Find me books about mates. I want to see how that woman could do what I have failed for centuries!"