I looked in the distance and saw someone rapidly flying towards us. It drew me in, as the figure grew closer and closer. The figure flew on the skin of the water- with water making two mountains on the opposite side of it.

I knew it saw me, and my wings shuddered.

Hands grabbed my shoulders, and I was spun around to meet Charon. He was out of his boat and in front of me in the water. Charon yelled something over his shoulder, but it was in a rushed language that I couldn't interpret.

Charon then started speaking to me, but my ears didn't register anything he said.

All I could hear was the waves being shoved aside for this figure.

I looked beyond him and saw Ember pushing Liam and Xavier. I could tell they weren't happy and they were fighting, but Ember was showing some kind of strength, some I've never seen him use. Xavier and Liam were fighting back, and my wings shuddered with their anger. But Ember didn't back down, and he kept pushing them farther and farther away from me.

Suddenly, right behind them was a portal.

Ember kept pushing them, and Xavier went through first. Liam made eye contact with me and outstretched a hand towards me.

"Kye!"

Charon squeezed my shoulders, just as Liam fell through. The portal closed, and Charon's voice finally reached my ears.

"Do you understand me?" Charon asked.

"Huh?" The words fell.

Intense anger sparked through his eyes. "Keep your answers short, do not tell him your name, and do not tell him what you are. Follow what Ember and I say, and you will get out of here alive." He held my wrist as we walked out of the water and onto the sand.

I gulped and nodded. Ember came running at us, and some of the sand hit our knees. "They're gone, Charon." He reported.

Charon sighed. "Good. One less thing we have to explain." He opened his mouth to say more, but the figure landed on the edge of the water, with a misplaced smile.

"Charon! Ember!" The man smiled wider. His teeth resemble Liam's- except his canines were shorter but still sharp. The man wore a big cloak, and I couldn't see his figure. He took his hood off, and he had two braids going down each side of his head.

Charon and Ember stepped in front of me while the man entombed both of them in a hug. Charon just stood still, but Ember gave him a hug.

"I see Persephone is still practicing braids." Ember smirked.

The man touched a braid and hummed softly. "Yeah, but it gives her something to do. Who knew that someone playing with your hair could be so relaxing? Plus, she's gotten better since the last time you saw her."

Ember snickered. "Yeah, you had hair sticking out of your braids in every direction! You look like you were electrocuted."

"Oh yeah? Maybe I'll drag you back to her so that she can have a new test subject." The man smirked.

"You can try, but Persephone would never torture me like that." Ember giggled. The man looked at him before moving to swoop him in a tight hold. He put his knuckle in Ember's hair, while Ember squirmed around in his grasp.

Charon sighed. "What do you want, Hades?"

Hades let go of Ember. Ember fixed his hair and stuck his tongue out at Hades. Hades pretended to be offended and stuck his tongue out. Ember recoiled and quickly placed a lollipop on Hade's tongue.

Hades circled it in his mouth a bit. "Cinnamon?"

Ember nodded. "Cinnamon and-"

"Hades!" Charon snapped, making me jump a bit. Charon paused for a beat, and then sighed. "If you have nothing to do, then please do this elsewhere. I have souls to transport." He gestured to the cold bodies in his boat.

Hades laughed loudly. "Charon, you never change- you're the grump who gets the job done. That's why you're Lucifer's favorite." Hades smiled with his eyes.

"Well, somebody has to take their job seriously." Charon mumbled.

Hades chuckled. "I'll make your job easier- I'll take them back with me. How's that?"

"Whatever, I get paid either way." Charon put his hands in his pockets.

Hades stepped towards Charon and put a hand on his shoulder. He patted it and then looked at me.

"Why are you here, Hades?" Charon asked. I glanced at Ember, and he seemed to be waiting for Hades' response.

Hades chuckled. "I was in my house, and I felt an anomaly at the gates. It lessened a bit when I was flying over here, but it's still here."

He let go of Charon and walked towards me. He took the lollipop out of his mouth and put it in his sleeve. As he approached me, I could tell that he was much taller than Liam- and I thought no one was taller than him. His eyes were emerald-like mine, just a little bit darker.

"Green eyes? Haven't seen anyone with those kinds of eyes since The Beginning." He knelt down in front of me, and his robe pooled around him on the ground. He was somewhat my height, but him being right in front of me scared me speechless.

Hades touched my hair. It was surprisingly clean, despite the last few days. The bottom of it was slightly wet due to the water, but it smelt like vanilla as he pulled some strands forward. "Long hair, huh? Persephone would love you." He smiled as he brushed them back.

His finger slipped, and he touched something that made him stop.

"And you have wings?" He lightly pulled, and my left wing cooperated. Hades' eyes grew wide. He rubbed his thumbs over the wings and slightly pulled my feathers apart. He did this for quite some time, but I didn't stop him as he moved on to do the same to my right wing.

It was slightly pleasing, and I wish he kept going when he abruptly let go of my wings altogether.

But at that moment, at Hades' expression, I wished I didn't look.

I wished I wasn't there at all.

Hades stood but kept eye contact as he did. Every trace of happiness wiped clean from his face. A stoic face stared back at me, eyes turning solid black as the wind tousled his braids. His mouth was in a straight line as his eyes stared into my being.

"I know Angels come here once in a blue moon to collect souls, but never the fledglings. And normally, when an Angel touches me, the personification of death, they recoil in disgust."

"But, you did not."

My eyes widened as every bone in my body told me to run. I felt immediate danger, and I wanted to run- to hide. I wanted Liam, Ember, Xavier- somebody, anybody- to come to save me from the invisible clutches of Hades.

Despite me being close to a breakdown, Hades continued. "I see three souls in that boat and four souls in you- one which is very corrupted. The soul you wear now must be the one you started with, yes?"

It took a minute to register the fact that he asked me a question. I was still in somewhat of a mental panic of what his motives were, but I managed a small nod.

Hades stared at me before turning his eyes into slits. "The last angel to come to the Underworld and withstand my touch was Lucifer- and he looked nothing like you before he changed. You have the wings of an angel, but you remind me of something else."

"Something that should've been killed off a long time ago."

Death rolled off of him, and almost drowned me.

I felt my vision getting blurry, as Hades' hand came down on my head. I closed my eyes and flinched as his hand lightly patted my head. He did that for a while, but I could tell that I wasn't out of the woods just yet.

"Before I jump to any conclusions, I want to hear what you have to say." I looked up at him, and he had a forced smile but cold eyes.

"So, young one, what are you?"