Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 94417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Silvie does so, returning a few moments later with a gown draped carefully over one arm.
That is not all Silvie is carrying.
She is also carrying a crown in both her hands. I step to the side to let her pass, unable to keep myself from the gilded crown. Silvie sets it carefully on the table, then drapes the gown over a chair in the far corner of the room. Her head stays hung low although her posture straight.
When I turn back to Hades, his dark eyes are lit with amusement. “Dress. I will wait for you.”
“Will you?”
Hades takes a long step toward me, and I go to him. “Yes,” he answers. “I will be out in the hall.”
I tilt my face up, my heart pounding, and Hades leans down and kisses me. I’ve never felt the need to please him as I do in this moment. To stand beside him as if I know what I am doing. Hades breaks the kiss, and I bring my fingertips to my lips, my breath shallow. I grip him before he can leave me.
“Are you sure?” So many thoughts scour my mind. All the what ifs.
“It is time, my Queen. I am sure.” Something flashes in his eyes that I can’t place.
Despite my fears, I feel myself falling.
Falling in love.
Or maybe it is deeper than love. Maybe it is a love I did not know existed until I came to the Underworld.
“Dress,” he says again, in a low voice meant only for my ears.
Then he turns and leaves, closing the door behind him.
I whirl toward Silvie and the chair. “The court?”
“Indeed, my Queen,” Silvie says evenly. “Come now. I will help you.” It’s evident her demeanor has changed. I do my best to mirror what she offers. The seriousness of the situation.
The new gown, the fabric a rich, luxurious silk that falls over my body like water.
I watch Silvie adjust the gown in the mirror, pulling the ties in the back, each drape becoming more exquisite under her hands.
But then she lifts the crown over my head and settles it down.
One blink, and I am transformed. There is a grounding that settles the anxious parts of me. Almost as if I was waiting to wear it. Like my soul once had it before.
The crown has not changed anything about me. It has not done magic.
And yet, it possesses me, more than I possess it.
“Beautiful, my Queen,” Silvie murmurs. “You are fit for the court.”
“Am I?” I catch her eyes in the mirror. Enchanted bells and fires in the grate—those are small things. How could they be anything else in comparison to passing judgment in the court of the Underworld?
“You are,” Silvie says more firmly. “Is there anything else I can do for you, my Queen?”
“What should I expect?”
“Sit beside him on your throne. Watch and wait. It will not be hard, I assure you. Hades will guide you, my Queen. He will not lead you astray. Likely he will ask you your opinion. You are quite capable of giving such things,” she adds with a smirk.
With a huff of humor, I agree.
Silvie escorts me to the door. As promised, Hades is waiting on the other side—along with a cloaked guard. The only one of his men I recognize is Minox. The others do not offer me their names and they change frequently.
Hades’s eyes are hot and dark when Silvie opens the door for me. He offers me his arm. “My Lady.”
I put my hand on his arm, “My Lord.” I nearly ask him to allow me to simply observe today, but I bite my tongue, mindful of the audience. I know not what comes but intrigue has captured me.
“There is no need for nerves. It is your rightful title,” he states as if reading my mind.
Hades escorts me down the hall, all the while I stand tall and keep my head still so as not to compromise my crown. He leads me to a wall that opens with a wave of his hand. As if it was locked with a magic that disguised it. There are three more guards waiting outside the court. All three dressed the same, with the black cloak tied at their throat and hoods up nearly covering their faces with the shadows they offer. I can though make out slight differences in their faces although they don’t offer enough to recognize them.
In awe, I enter the massive room beside him.
“My Lord,” one guard in front greets us with a bow of his head. “My Lady.”
“Call her Queen,” Hades says abruptly. “I prefer the sound of it.”
“Yes, my Lord. My Queen.” The guard bows more deeply this time.
Hades leads us past, and the guards fall into step behind us. They stay close enough to offer protection, but far enough that we still have a bit of privacy. All the while the nerves run through me. My hands are nearly numb. The stone floors are slightly worn from centuries of passage. The ceilings so high but lit from candles that draw the eye up. And in the room that echoes the click of our footsteps sit what must be a hundred pews in four equal rows and at the head of the room, the raised thrones and several seats.