'This was a game to him; and he never lost...'  

We left a Pale Ruin(Part 3)

I entered the large hall and my eyes inadvertently landed on his.

The god of death and ruin sat on my throne; his hand lazily stroking the top of the disfigured sickle.

I didn't speak as I walked up towards him, his red eyes following me like the sun. They were covered by darkness, making them beam out like two beacons in the night. Even after everything I've seen him do, even after everything I knew him capable of, my feet didn't falter.

I walked towards him like a lamb to slaughter; well-aware of the power he possessed.

"My king." Thanatos said huskily, his tone laced with a small hint of irony.

It was ironic. I- the king of Olympus- stood before the throne, with him seated in it, watching over me like a hungry vulture. His eyes hawk-like and slanted down to peer over me.

"Comfortable?"

Thanatos smiled slightly. He tapped his ring against the crooked blade of the once beautifully crafted sickle. "You have quite the view from up here..."

"I can spot almost everything." I said softly; knowing what was really happening.

Thanatos' smile turned twisted; "Almost."

We stared at each other.

The atmosphere turned thick with tension and I knew the trouble I'd gotten myself into, but like a ghost running towards a light, I couldn't hold myself back. That red light kept calling. And calling...

Thanatos stood up from the throne, his long, muscled legs taking the stairs one by one. Slowly, like a panther, he made his way down to my level, his eyes fixed onto mine. Intimidation was his forte'; and I was never too good at looking away from him.

Finally, Thanatos was level with me.

We were the same height; both tall men and poised in stature. His small smile was back; a smile that wasn't big enough to be called a grin, nor thin enough to be a grimace. A smirk rather; a knowing smirk.

"Your weapon, my king." I felt the sickle press against my chest.

Thanatos held it out for me to take, but there was more to it than that. He wasn't just handing over the weapon that nearly ended my empire.

No. He was handing over the goal he was given by Nyx too.

He was handing me my empire...

I moved my hand up and wrapped it around the handle of the sickle, careful not to touch Thanatos' gloved hand. He smiled softly, but as I tugged back, eager to get the sickle's blade away from my heart, Thanatos' hand clamped around mine.

His smirk widened and suddenly, my vision was filled with red. Thanatos was right in my face, his voice soft and knowing; "How are you feeling, Apollo?"

I didn't falter in my answer. You don't blink in front of Thanatos; if he smells blood, he strikes. "Better, thank you."

"Good." Thanatos pressed the sickle harder against my chest. "The king should be strong."

I gritted my teeth; "You've made your point." I attempted to push back the sickle, but Thanatos was quicker.

He grabbed the back of my neck with his other hand and smiled, his fangs gleaming. I was momentarily frozen by the sudden proximity and his hand on my skin. This was too intimate not to be a threat.

"Have I?"

We all knew why Hades and Zeus wanted so badly to break Nyx' hold on Thanatos and Hypnos.

Yes, because they felt for the young boys and they were family after-all, but there was more to it than that. There is always more to things in Olympus than what you can see on the surface.

What was Nyx doing? Mentoring them, of course. In what?

Well, in the sweet and bitter ways of assassination.

Of kings.

I didn't waver as his red eyes watched me for any sign of weakness.

Thanatos looked good on the throne; like it fit him. I wasn't blind. I knew what this was and I knew that I was extremely lucky when Thanatos pulled away slightly and let go of the sickle.

I pulled the weapon back and curled a fist around it; making sure he'd have some trouble ripping it back if he happened to change his mind.

Thanatos' smile was back to being a farce. Too sweet and too masked. I tried to form one on my lips, but the anger I felt at being pushed into a corner was too overwhelming. I'm not used to being the one on the receiving end of such a nerve-racking situation. I'm the king; and before that, I was the golden prince. No one bested me. No one but him.

Ares may have been perverse with the need for power, but Thanatos was always entitled to it. A king with no crown on his head. No, instead the crown rested in his hand and he had no problem with pressing it to ash.  

My smile was sickly, I could feel it. I could feel everything; especially how close he was standing.

"Thank you for your service to the kingdom." I spoke with delicate precision; this was a game I didn't want to lose. "You will be rewarded."

Thanatos nodded his head once, his eyes locked onto mine, watching; waiting.

"Do you accept the position as my general?" I'd planned on asking him much later, when things had cooled down and I was sure that I wanted someone trained their whole life to kill kings, right next to me, every day. But I was at a loss for words and so the question tumbled out.

Thanatos knew it would and he was ready to catch them and dangle the threat in front of my very eyes. This was a game to him; and he never lost.

"I would be honoured, your majesty." His close proximity made me want to take a step back, as his dark hair nearly stroked against my chin as he bowed slowly. I could smell him; he still smelt of dried blood, sweat and war.

I wondered then how events would have unfolded if Aurora hadn't come along. Would Thanatos be standing here bowing down at me, his ruler? Or would he be bowing over my corpse? I believe I already knew the answer...

"And Aurora will be my advisor?" I was pushing it perhaps? I couldn't tell anymore; his smile was too good.

"I will confirm it with her, but I suspect she would be honoured."

I was surprise, too say the least; "You-" I titled my head; "You'll let her work for me?"

Thanatos' smile widened at the sides and slowly, he leaned in to me, his hot breath suffocating; "Of course. I know you admire her..." Thanatos titled his head slightly, his red eyes filling with a hint of menace; "And I know a part of you wants her."

"I-"

He interrupted my quick denial with his smouldering eyes. "However, I'm not worried... Because I know." His eyes lowered to my lips and I felt my fist clench around the sickle; "I know a different part of you only wants her because I have her."

His eyes snapped back up to mine; "Because you want me."

I didn't answer him; neither confirmed nor denied it. It didn't matter. So we left it hang there, in the air. I wanted to swallow, but Thanatos was looking exactly for that- a sign of backing off.

"Where is the Aegis?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

Thanatos eyed me for a few seconds, but finally, after he was satisfied that I was put back in my place and I knew exactly the extent of power he had over me, he grinned and his handsome face lit up. "With me; where it will stay. Yes, my king?"

"Yes." I did as I was told.

Thanatos nodded and stepped forward. He walked past me, making sure our eyes stayed locked and he grazed his shoulder against mine.

There was the threat of intimacy.

Not the intimacy I perhaps would have wanted, but a different kind.

Thanatos pulled up his hood and his black cape swayed like a snake. His heavy feet dragged the cold shadows with him, until he reached the door and I could let the breath out that I kept locked up inside.

Quickly I sucked back in a heavy gulp of air as he turned around with a bright smile and his voice so sickly sweet, I knew then that my death would not have been too difficult for him to stomach; "Glad you're safe, Apollo..."

I smiled and watched as the door opened and closed, leaving me to contemplate what I'd done.

My general was a trained assassin, who had just threatened to take me out in case I set a foot wrong; like my father and half-brother. My advisor was the fiancé and future wife of my general, equally cunning and cold-blooded.

And I was infatuated with both.

I sighed and pressed the cold steel of the sickle against my forehead. With two hungry wolves by my side, how long before I either join the pack or the pack takes care of me?

The gold of the throne glimmered and for the first time in my life, I shielded my eyes. 

*Song- Chaos is a ladder, Game of Thrones

This chapter reminds me a great deal of the prologue in Book one, when Thanatos enters Hades' palace. There are even a few lines used here that are almost exactly the same as in the prologue. 

This is also my favourite chapter from The White Dawn; we get to see who's really in charge. Thanatos; just a king without a crown...