image [https://i.imgur.com/ns6F4fz.jpeg]

Hades adjusted his costume—a black suit with silver skull cufflinks—and glanced down at Cerberus, who was currently fidgeting in a angel costume complete with a set of fluffy wings and three halos hanging precariously above his heads.

“Now remember,” Hades said, pointing a finger. “Best behavior, alright? No scaring the mortals, no barking, and absolutely no eating anything off the tables.”

Cerberus whimpered, all six eyes fixed longingly on the dessert spread glittering under the party lights. There was cake, cookies, and a mountain of snacks piled high and waiting, it seemed, just for him.

“Good boy,” Hades patted his side as they made their way into the party, leaving Cerberus to his dilemma.

Cerberus tried to focus on anything else. There were guests in costumes of skeletons, ghosts, and even a few claiming to be “Creepy Creatures of the Underworld” (he side-eyed them all, thinking none of them looked remotely as terrifying as the real thing). But no matter how much he tried, his gaze kept drifting back to the dessert table. A slice of chocolate cake sat there, calling his name—or rather, all three of his names.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The left head started whining softly, “It’s just one bite. Master won’t even notice.”

But the middle head growled. “No! We promised to be good.”

“Think of all that chocolate,” the right head added wistfully. “So rich, so forbidden…”

The left head snapped its teeth, drooling. “It’s right there! We can grab it and no one would even notice.”

But the middle head stood firm, growling. “If we’re good tonight, maybe Master will let us come next time.”

As Cerberus wrestled with himself, Hades turned just in time to catch the angel costume tilting dangerously as each head tried to pull the body in a different direction.

“Ah—Cerberus!” Hades called, raising an eyebrow.

Three sets of eyes snapped up to meet his, and Cerberus straightened, looking like a guilty pup caught chewing the furniture. With a sigh, he lowered his heads, angel wings slightly drooping.

Hades shook his head, laughing. “Alright, alright. Tell you what—you’ve been good, so just this once…”

He snapped his fingers, and a dog-friendly chocolate-free cupcake appeared on the floor before Cerberus, decorated with a tiny halo of its own. All three heads perked up, delighted as they dug in with tails wagging furiously.

“Good boy,” Hades muttered, smiling. As the three heads munched happily, they knew they'd made the right choice—and it tasted even better than that cake ever could.