**Gina's POV**
He nodded and sat with me on the floor.
We sat in silence for a while until someone rushed into the room.
“What the hell Derek? Have you no respect for…”
“King Hades has just given up the ghost,” said Derek. The way he said it was accusatory in nature and it felt like he was blaming me for it because he was looking at me.
“What?” I could hear the shock in Lucian's voice. The King of Hades had passed away? How was that even possible?
“I thought you would want to know,” said Derek before leaving the room. I looked at Lucian with confusion matting on my face. Was the king's death good or bad news? Was I to feel sorry for Lucian?
“We need to go,” he said, offering me his hand so I could stand up.
“Wait. What happens to me now? Do I?” I wanted to know what that meant for me. Did Hades' death mean that I get to live?
“You get to live. For now,” he said with a warm smile.
“I'm sorry… I just don't know what to say,” I said which was true.
“It's alright. King Hades should not be dead now but no one can really predict these things. Even the king of death is not aware of when his time will be up.
“Do you become King then?” I asked Lucian.
“No. The second phase of the battle for the throne has just begun,” came his response.
“What about me? I'm your mate which doesn't make sense because I have a mate already but … will people know when they see us?” I asked him.
“Not really and the moment you came here your bond with your mate was severed,” I thought about this for a while. I never had a bond with Dagen. We were mates and we had consummated our relationship but then Dagen had not created a bond with me. At that time I knew Nydia would not have allowed it and back then Dagen did not love me anyway.
“So I do not have a mate even if I go back to…”
“It's your choice really. If you go back you can decide to return to your former mate,” he said.
We walked out of the room after this and he led the way to the throne room where Prince Aegan and his mother were already present. I saw the Fae queen too and although she looked like a nice person, the way she looked at me made me feel uncomfortable. It was as though she knew something about me that I did not know and she did not like It. I could not help feeling that she knew that I was Lucian's mate. I tried not to look at her and focused my attention on the other people in the throne room.
“I just want to make it very clear that Prince Aegan has a right to the throne. Rightfully, it is his and everyone knows that,” Princess Eris, mother of Aegan was saying. She was someone I wanted to avoid. I did not want to see her and now that she was worried about her son's future I hoped that meant she had no time for me.
“Rightfully? Hades promoted two of his sons to the senior court. You do not get to decide who is rightfully the heir,” returned the Fae queen in a graceful voice.
Princess Eris scoffed in response to the Fae queen and said, “For starters, I would like my maid back. Prince Lucian, I believe the maid is no longer in the employ of Hades.”
I shivered with fear when she looked at me with a smile full of mischief. Lucian placed a comforting hand on my wrist and said to her, “I have news. She is my mate and I intend to keep her.”
“I knew it. You killed Hades because of a woman,” everybody turned to look at Prince Aegan who had made such a bold accusation. It was also a wild accusation to make because it was impossible to kill Hades.
“It would make more sense if you did it. Hades did sentence you to seven days with Belzaaba which would mean that you would have been gone forever,” came Lucian's calm response. He had also not stopped holding my hand so everyone was looking at me. The attention made me feel uneasy but his hand on mine made me feel strangely secure.
“Why did you not speak up sooner? You knew about your mate earlier and you only speak now when Hades is dead?” accused Prince Aegan.
“Marilyn is my woman and nobody touches her. I believe I have made myself clear to all,” Lucian's voice resounded through the entire room. I looked up at him and smiled, he smiled back too.
“A mere maid is…”
“You fool. Do you not see? She is the reincarnation of the princess of the hybrid king. Why do you think Hades put her in his service?” the hall was silent, I was too. I was too stupefied to say a word. I was a reincarnation of what? How come Lucian had not told me this before now?
“Then she killed Hades and we must cast away her soul now,” said Prince Aegan.
“No such thing will be happening. She was with me when Hades passed. She is in no way remotely responsible for what happened to Hades.”
“You are just defending her because she's your woman,” Prince Aegan was very angry.
“My woman, I do like to hear it when you say it like that. It would not have been as sweet if Princess Eris had been my woman,” Lucian had a mischievous smile on his face when he said this.
His words however caused a lot of commotion. Princess Eris looked like she was going to faint from embarrassment while her son leapt through the air to throw a punch at Lucian's face. Lucian was quick though, he sidestepped and Prince Aegan fell hard on the floor.