“Did something scare you, child?” A weak voice came from the far side of the room. Annabelle paused. She was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to be in here. Maybe she could sneak back out again. “It’s okay, Annabelle, isn’t it? You can come over. I’m Hades.”
Timidly, she walked farther into the room. “You’re my daddy’s papa?” As she got closer she could see he looked really old. She got the feeling he was not supposed to look like this. Something was really wrong with how his energy was flowing—it was like there was a massive hole in his life-force, and it just kept flowing out of him.
“Yes, I suppose I am.”
She stopped beside his bed and then looked over at the corner of the room, her eyes remaining there. “Who is the man with the long cloak?”
Hades lifted his eyebrows and looked over at the corner. “You can see beyond the veil? That is incredible. That is Thanatos. He is waiting to take me to the Underworld. It will not be long now. Tomorrow, after everyone has been together for the day.” Hades lay back and smiled at the little girl.
“So, if you’re my daddy’s papa, does that mean you’re my grandpa?” She smiled. She had Grammy Annie, but never a really real Grammy and Grandpa.
“I suppose it does. Me, a grandfather, who would have expected that?”
Annabelle smiled and crawled onto the bed, laying down beside him. “Daddy told me a story about you, when you met Per… Per… sep.”
He chuckled gently. “Persephone. I am sure she would not mind you calling her Granny. I think she would love it, actually. We did not have children as little as you.”
Annabelle yawned, her eyes drooping. “That’s very sad.”
She didn’t hear his reply, she was tired now. She had done everything Grammy Annie had asked her to do. She felt a hand stroke down her hair and she smiled. It would be nice to have a new family.
Wrath's Patience (Seven Deadly Sins Book 3) Page 36