It wasn't like those times when your mom told you that it was time to sleep and then turned the lights out. This was pitch black. I couldn't see anything, not even my own hands.

That was what made me realize that I wasn't going to make it this time. Missing a bullet once was lucky, but twice was impossible.

I've never thought that death would be so quiet and peaceful and again, I've never thought I'd be dead either.

There were several things I'd never thought were possible until it happened and the world proved me wrong. I've never thought I was one of the Pure Royal, let alone the ancient —and supposedly extinct one which made me hunted by several people who wanted this clan to stay extinct. That brought me to my current state right now: dead from a gunshot.

At least that was what I thought until I saw a crack of light from afar. The crack went wider and wider until I realized that it was a door being swung open by someone.

I heard a click before the whole room was blasted by light. I had to squeeze my eyes shut as I felt the light irritate my eyes.

"You can open your eyes now." I heard a voice of a woman that I didn't recognize and when I opened my eyes a beautiful lady stood in front of me. Her eyes were molten gold just like her hair, though only a shade darker. She wore a long silver dress that clung to her body perfectly.

As I took more of my surroundings, I realized that I was sitting on a chair. Carefully, I put my feet firmly on the floor and stood. I lost my balance in split seconds but she caught my hands before I fall flat on the floor.

"Oh, dear, you're weaker than I thought. Perhaps you should sit still and I'll bring you some water." She helped me settle down on the chair and went to a table that I didn't realize was there. It looked like everything popped out all of a sudden.

She poured water from a pitcher and walked back to me with a glass of water in her hand. I took it and muttered my thanks. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I drank a whole glass of water in one shot.

"Feeling better?" She gave a small smile and took the glass. "Wait here. I'll go and tell him that you're awake."

She walked towards the door and I realized that the glass was gone. Just like magic. One second it was in her hand and the next it was gone. But what intrigued me more wasn't the glass but who she was going to tell.

Who was he?

I didn't realize I said that out loud until she turned around and looked at me with her brows raised. "Well, Lord of the Underworld, of course. You're at his house."

Hades.

would look as scary as he was in most movies that I've watched, or that at least he would suit the description that I've read in books and novels. Never would I imagine him as a good-looking man in his late thirties, with dark eyes and darker hair.

He walked into the chamber and all the candles suddenly lit up as if they too noticed the presence of a more extraordinary being. After all, he was the Lord of the Underworld. He didn't wear those old traditional Greek clothes that most gods wore in the pictures in my history book, nor did he wear the rockstar clothes as we've seen in Percy Jackson. He was wearing a black suit with a plain white shirt underneath. His Italian leather shoes caressed the floor slowly as he walked with confidence and grace.

When he saw me, his eyes lit up and a smile formed on his lips. "Isabella, you're back." He stopped three feet away from me with open arms as if he was waiting for me to run into his embrace. However, I didn't and his smile faltered a little.

I took a deep calming breath. "My Lord," I raised from my chair before falling to my knees on the floor. I had no idea how to greet a god but I'd be damned if I didn't try.

I looked down at the floor, afraid to do anything else. He was one of the three strongest gods of Olympus. He only needed to flick his finger and I'd vanish into nothing. I felt his hands on my arms before he pulled me up until I stood on my two feet. There was amusement in his eyes. "Isabella, you've changed." Sadness laced his voice before it turned to anger. "What have they done to you this time?"

"My Lord," I braced myself. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm not Isabella. My name is Camilla Stavros."

Hades looked deeply into my eyes, looking like they were searching for something. At last, he gave me a rueful smile. "You've lost your memory, my dear." He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them, his iris turned red. And not just any red, it was blood red. "You shall regain your memory." A red light in a shape of a circle came through his eyes and went straight ahead into mine.

All at once, I felt the heat all over my body. It was so damn painful that I started to scream and scream. I felt suffocated and my heart ached from the constant pain. That was when I realized, the pain wasn't physical. The agony, heartache, and suffocation were all coming from my heart and my mind.

At last, I saw nothing but darkness for a few seconds until I finally regained my sight back. A pair of dark eyes watching me with so much intensity, however, I felt no fear any longer. Because now I knew who he was and I knew who I was. A smile crept across my lips as I threw my arms around him. I hugged him tight and I could feel him hugging me back. With happy tears running down my cheeks, I was finally able to greet him right.

"Bampá, eímai spíti." ( = "Papa, I'm home.")