She nearly spat her next words at him. “When you finally die it will be a good day for the world!”
For a long moment he didn’t speak, merely stared back into her blazing eyes and met her fire with cold impassion. Then he moved closer, and she fought the urge to back away as he advanced, the faintest glimmer of emotion in his eyes as he held her gaze.
He whispered, but she could hear him all too well. “When death finds me… it will not be a good day.
“I have lived centuries, defying death. I have cheated my enemies both mortal and not, denying them every satisfaction that my demise would bring. I have toyed with death, mocking the natural order of the world.”
He moved even closer then, until she could feel the heat of him standing so close to her, and his voice lowered even more.
“When I walk through the gates of the underworld I will be smiling. I will be walking into the source of my power and I will be burning with it. All the host of that dark place will tremble and arm themselves for war, because I will rule them or be destroyed.
“This world will feel the echo of the battle there, and grown men will wake screaming in the night for generations after. The underworld will convulse and its filth will spill into all the corners of the world. Whether I will wear the bloody crown of the underworld or suffer in endless torment after my defeat makes no difference, for a new nightmare will be born.”
He paused again, holding her gaze, his own eyes burning now. She wasn’t sure if it was eagerness or madness she saw there, but she became aware that she had stopped breathing. Not wanting to move, she drew in a breath as slowly and shallowly as she could. The tone of his voice when he spoke again made her shiver.
“So no… it will not be a good day.”