Little Saint Bride [Death and the Maiden, #1]

Chapter Twenty Eight: Daughter of Spring

He's never looked at me like that, a voice in my head whispers bitterly.

And when I hear him whisper Persephone, my heart feels like it's shattered into a hundred pieces. It feels like one of the vines has grown around my chest and strangled it. Why a growing death trap of thorns reminds him of his long lost love, I don't ask. If hearing a name makes me want to rip off the heads of every rose, God knows how I would react to getting a history.

Temper flaring, I pull Hadrian away from his trance. 'Come on, we have to keep moving!'

But the stupid man was love-struck. 'She's here,' he whispers, 'she's alive...?'

Why does he look so confused? I want to head butt him to see if it jogs his memory quicker.

'It's just some sodding grass, Hadrian! Move!'

I push the dazed boy around until we face where we'd been aiming. The passageway is larger and less foreboding, but as we stand there, cracks begin to show on the flagstone floor. Shoots of green seep through, and I push harder on Hadrian.

'I think your girlfriend may be out to get us!' I cry, trying to keep ahead of the growing foliage. If it catches us up, reaching our destination might prove an impossible task.

'She's not my girlfriend.'

'Maybe that's the problem!' I snap.

'I haven't seen her in over four hundred years...how are we a problem?'

'Communication is key! Four hundred years is a good rounds  number to hold a grudge for!'

'No wonder you failed that test on being nice,' Hadrian chuckles.

My foot catches on a vine, and I lurch forwards. Hadrian grabs my arm, saving me from falling. Instead of thanking him, I shrug his hand off and turn away, determined not to look him in the eye and see his expression as I behave like a coward.

The wall in front tapers to a close, where a rusted metal door beckons.

Without waiting, I slam my hand to the door and the frame nearly blows off the hinges. That's how old and worn it is. Hadrian jumps in fright before breathing a sigh of relief, whilst I stagger through the open doorway.

As soon as I set foot across the threshold, the plants begin to rush as the door, growing faster and forming new roots around the broken frame. Oddly, the plants don't encroach this new environment, as if the door, though old and broken, still keeps them out. Instead the vines grow longer, stretching across the gap, blocking the exit.

'Hadrian, hurry!' I scream, fearing that he's going to get trapped on the other side. I'm relieved when the handsome king ducks his head under the gap, giving me a thankful grin.

'Careful,' he says, dusting down his already-black biohazard suit and leaning in to lower his voice. 'Keep screaming like that and people are going to think you care.'

I roll my eyes. 'I do care, Hades...just not about you.'

Liar, I curse myself inwardly. You care too much!

Hadrian snorts. 'Hades is a terrible nickname, you know.'

'Would you prefer something more endearing, dear hubby? Kitten? Sweet cheeks...?'

I can see Hadrian suppressing a smile at the corner of his mouth as he reigns revulsion. 'God, no! Hades it is. Though only you can call me that, okay? I'm not going down in history as Hades...'

I stare at him then, wondering how I'd never noticed his dazzling smile before. After a few seconds I realise we're both staring at each other, and I cough, wondering if he'd been waiting  me to say something.