They materialized in darkness so complete, Aria thought she'd gone blind.
Then torches erupted to life along the walls—blue flames that gave off no heat, only cold light that made everything look like it was underwater.
She stumbled, still gripping Hades' hand. He steadied her without a word, then released her like her touch burned.
"Where—" Her voice echoed wrong in this place. Too loud. Too small. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere safe." Hades moved past her, his footsteps silent on the obsidian floor. "For now."
Aria's eyes adjusted slowly. They were in a massive hall, the ceiling so high it disappeared into shadow. Pillars of black stone rose like the ribs of some ancient beast. Between them, she caught glimpses of doorways leading to corridors that seemed to shift and breathe.
"This is your... home?"
"One of them."
Helpful. Real helpful.
She hugged herself, suddenly aware of how cold she was. Or maybe that was just Hell. Did Hell get cold? Apparently, this part did.
Behind her, something huffed—hot breath against the back of her neck.
Aria spun. All three of Cerberus' heads loomed over her, eyes glowing in the dim light. Up close, she could see the differences between them. The left head had a scar across its snout. The right one's eyes burned brighter. The center head—the one watching her most intently—had markings in its fur that almost looked like runes.
"Does he... always follow this close?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the beast.
"No." Hades' voice came from across the hall. He stood with his back to her, hands clasped behind him. Tense. "He's never done this with anyone."
"Is that bad?"
"I don't know yet."
The center head lowered, pressing its massive snout against her shoulder again. This close, she could feel something—a vibration, almost like a purr, rumbling through its chest.
It was... comforting. Which was insane. This thing could bite her in half.
"Can he understand me?" Aria asked, carefully reaching up. Her fingers hovered over the beast's head. "Like, if I talk to him?"
"He understands everything." Hades turned, and the look on his face stopped her hand mid-air. "Cerberus isn't just a guard dog, Aria. He's part of me. My rage. My hunger. Everything I keep locked away." His silver eyes darkened. "And right now, he wants you more than he's wanted anything in millennia."
The way he said want made heat coil low in her stomach.
"I don't understand any of this," she said. "Yesterday I was robbing crypts. Today I'm in Hell, marked by some ancient artifact, and being stalked by a three-headed dog that's apparently part of the god of death." She laughed, and it came out slightly hysterical. "This is insane. I'm insane. Or dead. Am I dead?"
"You're not dead."
"How do you know?"
"Because if you were dead, you'd be one of my subjects." Hades moved closer, each step deliberate. "You'd be a shade. A soul. But you're not. You're alive, breathing, bleeding. Your heart is still beating in that fragile mortal chest."
He stopped a foot away. Close enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes.
"And that," he said softly, "is the problem."
"Why is that a problem?"
His jaw tightened. For a long moment, he just stared at her, something warring behind his expression. Then he reached out, his fingers hovering near her collarbone but not quite touching.
"May I?"
Aria nodded, not trusting her voice.
His fingertips brushed her skin, and she gasped. Not from pain—from the shock of it. His touch was cold, yes, but beneath that...
Power. Raw and ancient and utterly overwhelming.
He traced a pattern she couldn't see, his brow furrowing in concentration. "The Heart fused with your soul here." His finger pressed gently over her sternum. "It's woven into every part of you now. Your blood. Your bones. Your breath."
"Can you remove it?"
"No." He dropped his hand. "Not without killing you."
"So I'm stuck here."
"Yes."
"Forever?"
Something flickered in his eyes. "That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you survive what comes next."
A chill raced down her spine. "The things that were chasing us—"
"Are the least of your concerns." Hades stepped back, putting professional distance between them again. "You've been marked as a vessel. Every creature in this realm will either want to use you, consume you, or destroy you. Possibly all three."
"Great. Fantastic. Love that for me." Aria ran her hands through her hair, wincing when her fingers caught on tangles. "So what do I do? Just... hide here forever?"
"You learn." Hades turned toward one of the corridors. "You train. You survive. And you figure out why the Heart chose you in the first place."
"Wait—you don't know?"
He paused, his back still to her. "The Heart of Cerberus hasn't chosen a vessel in over three thousand years. The last one..." His shoulders tensed. "The last one destroyed half of the underworld trying to steal its power."
"I'm not trying to steal anything!"
"Intention doesn't matter. Power is power." He glanced back at her. "And you, Aria Vale, are now carrying more power than most gods. Whether you want it or not."
The weight of his words settled over her like a shroud.
"I can't stay here," she whispered. "I have a life. Friends. A... a job."
"You're a thief."
"So?"
"So that life is over." His voice was flat, final. "The moment you touched the Heart, the moment you fell into my realm, your old life ended. Accept that now, or die fighting it later."
Anger flared hot in her chest. "You don't get to decide that."
"I don't have to. Fate already did."
"Screw fate."
His eyebrow arched. "Brave words for someone who can't survive here alone."
"Then teach me."
The words came out before she could stop them. But once they were out there, hanging in the air between them, Aria realized she meant them.
If she was stuck here, she wasn't going down without a fight.
Hades studied her, really looked at her, for the first time since they'd arrived. His gaze swept over her face, her stance, the way she held herself despite being terrified.
"You're serious."
"Dead serious. No pun intended."
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. It vanished instantly, but she'd seen it. Proof that something human existed under all that ice.
"Training you would mean spending time together," he said carefully. "Close proximity. And given Cerberus' reaction to you..."
The beast rumbled behind her, possessive.
"That could complicate things," Hades finished.
"Complicate how?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he turned fully toward her, and the look in his eyes made her breath catch.
"I haven't felt desire in over a thousand years, Aria." His voice dropped, rough around the edges. "I locked that part of myself away. Gave it to Cerberus. Separated the god from the beast so I could rule without weakness."
He moved closer. One step. Two.
"But standing here, looking at you, feeling the pull of the Heart inside you..." He stopped right in front of her. "I'm starting to remember what it felt like to want something I couldn't have."
Heat flooded through her. She should step back. Put distance between them. But her feet wouldn't move.
"Is that what I am?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper. "Something you can't have?"
"You're mortal. I'm a god. You're temporary. I'm eternal." His hand lifted, fingers almost touching her cheek. "But more than that... you're the key to something. Something that could either save this realm or destroy it. And until I know which..."
His hand dropped.
"You're untouchable."
The word hit like a slap.
Before Aria could respond, before she could process the rejection and the desire and the confusion all tangled together, a door slammed open somewhere in the palace.
"MY LORD!" A voice—female, sharp, urgent—echoed through the halls.
Hades' entire demeanor changed in an instant. Cold. Controlled. The god, not the man.
A woman appeared in the doorway—beautiful in a dangerous way, with crimson skin and horns that curved back from her temples. She wore armor made of bones and carried a spear that dripped with something that definitely wasn't water.
"The council demands an audience," she said, her yellow eyes flicking to Aria with barely concealed disgust. "They want to know why there's a mortal in the palace. Why the Heart has awakened. And why—" her lip curled, "—Cerberus refuses to leave her side."
"Tell the council I'll address them when I'm ready."
"They're not asking, my lord. They're demanding. If you don't appear within the hour, they'll come here themselves."
Hades' jaw clenched. "Let them try."
The woman bowed stiffly, shot Aria one more poisonous look, then vanished.
Silence fell, heavy and uncomfortable.
"Council?" Aria ventured.
"The ruling demons of the underworld." Hades moved toward the corridor, his shoulders rigid. "They maintain order in my absence. And they're going to want you dead the moment they see you."
"Why?"
He stopped at the threshold, looking back at her one last time.
"Because the last mortal who carried the Heart tried to overthrow me. And she almost succeeded."
The torches flickered, casting dancing shadows across his face.
"Get some rest, Aria. Tomorrow, your real nightmare begins."
He disappeared into the darkness, leaving her alone with Cerberus and a thousand questions she was too afraid to ask.
The beast's center head nuzzled against her palm, warm and solid and oddly reassuring.
"You're not going to eat me, right?" she whispered.
All three heads rumbled—soft, almost affectionate.
"Good. Because I think you and I are going to need each other to survive whatever hell this is."
She paused, then laughed bitterly. "Literally."