Chapter 68
ELARA
The next morning, Elara found herself smiling before she was even fully awake.
For a moment she didn't know why.
Then she felt it.
Warmth.
Not physical warmth.
Hades.
The bond hummed softly between them, and somewhere in the palace she could feel his steady presence. Not his exact thoughts, but enough to know he was calm.
And somehow, knowing that made her feel calm too.
A smile pulled at her lips.
Gods.
She was becoming ridiculous.
She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
Two weeks ago she would have laughed if someone told her she would wake up feeling happy because she could sense the King of the Underworld existing somewhere nearby.
Now?
Now it felt completely normal.
Maybe even necessary.
Her cheeks warmed.
She quickly climbed out of bed before she could think too hard about it.
The library had become her second home.
She sat at one of the large tables later that afternoon, surrounded by books and notes.
Most of her research now focused on Bridges.
Not because she wanted answers anymore.
Because she wanted all the answers.
Especially after discovering how important the bond truly was.
The deeper she dug, the more she realized how little was actually known about the Final Bridge.
Which was frustrating.
Very frustrating.
She sighed dramatically and let her forehead fall against the table.
Immediately, warm amusement brushed through the bond.
Her head snapped up.
Across the room, Hades stood in the doorway.
Watching her.
She narrowed her eyes.
"You felt that?"
A smile threatened to form on his lips.
"Perhaps."
"Oh no."
His smile grew.
"Oh yes."
Elara groaned.
"This bond is a nightmare."
"It is very useful."
"It is not useful."
"It allowed me to know you were losing a battle against a book."
She gasped.
"I was not losing."
His eyebrow rose.
She crossed her arms.
The bond flooded with amusement.
Traitor.
Both the bond and Hades.
HADES
He had never seen her this relaxed before.
And it was becoming dangerously addictive.
Every smile.
Every laugh.
Every moment she forgot to guard herself.
He found himself memorizing them all.
The bond certainly wasn't helping.
Because now he could feel pieces of her happiness directly.
And gods help him—
He wanted to spend the rest of eternity protecting it.
His attention drifted toward the open book before her.
His expression immediately sharpened.
Ancient text.
Very ancient.
One he didn't recognize.
"Where did you find that?"
Elara blinked.
"This?"
She lifted it.
"Back shelves."
A terrible answer.
The back shelves contained some of the oldest books in the entire palace.
He stepped closer.
Immediately the bond settled again.
As if it preferred them near one another.
The realization no longer surprised him.
What surprised him was the page she had opened.
His eyes narrowed.
The language was unfamiliar.
Older than Ancient Greek.
Older than most Underworld dialects.
Almost...
Primordial.
A strange feeling moved through him.
Recognition.
Not from memory.
From instinct.
And he disliked that immediately.
"What does it say?" Elara asked.
"I don't know."
That got her attention.
"You don't know?"
Hades almost never said those words.
"It shouldn't exist."
The room grew quieter.
He reached toward the page.
The moment his fingers touched the parchment, the bond exploded.
A pulse of golden light shot through both of them.
Elara gasped.
Hades immediately grabbed the table to steady himself.
Images flashed across his vision.
Darkness.
Ancient gates.
A crown.
A voice.
Then—
Eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
The vision vanished instantly.
Elara stumbled backward.
"Hades?"
He was already moving.
Already beside her.
His hands found her shoulders.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
She looked shaken.
"But I saw something."
His stomach tightened.
"So did I."
The room suddenly felt colder.
Far colder.
And for the first time since the bond awakened, Hades felt genuine unease.
Because that vision hadn't felt like a memory.
It had felt like a warning.
ELARA'S POV
That night she couldn't stop thinking about it.
The eyes.
The feeling.
The voice she couldn't quite remember.
She sat on the edge of her bed staring into space.
The bond pulsed softly.
Concern.
Hades.
Immediately followed by movement.
He was coming.
She smiled despite herself.
The bond really was becoming ridiculous.
A few moments later, a knock sounded at her door.
She opened it before he could knock a second time.
Hades looked almost relieved.
"You felt me coming."
"You felt me worrying."
Neither denied it.
For a moment they simply stared at one another.
Then Elara quietly asked,
"You saw those eyes too, didn't you?"
His expression became serious.
"Yes."
A chill moved through her.
Because that meant it wasn't imagination.
It was real.
Whatever it was.
Hades reached for her hand.
Immediately warmth flowed through the bond.
Comfort.
Safety.
Home.
His thumb brushed across her knuckles.
"We'll figure it out."
She believed him.
She always seemed to believe him.
But as she stood there holding his hand, neither of them noticed the shadows gathering far beyond the palace.
Or the ancient figure standing at the edge of the Underworld.
Watching.
Waiting.
Smiling.
Because for the first time in centuries, the Final Bridge had revealed herself.
And now something was coming for her.