Chained by Hades, the Underworld King novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: The Choice
"No," Ingrith said.
Kaelor's eyes stayed closed.
"That was not a request."
"I know. No."
She walked to the base of the tree and knelt in front of him.
The red roots on the floor pulsed under her knees, and each pulse matched the beat in his throat.
"You've been sending sap to my mother every dawn," she said.
"I have."
"And you stand in the cold afterward with your hand on the wall."
"You saw that."
"I saw you go gray and say you were well."
He opened his eyes.
"Sixty years is a long time for a man who plans to spend them all on one woman's mother," he said dryly.
"You didn't ask me."
"You would have said no."
"I am saying no now."
"Then you have said it. Take her and go home."
The raven landed on a root beside them and cleared its throat.
"If I may. There is a way for the cost to be shared."
Kaelor's head snapped toward it.
"Be silent."
"A queen who wears the iron crown carries half of every cut. The tree takes from her too."
"And the crown eats a queen's years faster than a king's," Kaelor said flatly. "Every queen before her lasted a decade."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Chained by Hades, the Underworld King are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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