Chapter 67
ELARA
Something woke her.
At first, Elara didn't know what it was.
The room was dark and quiet, moonlight spilling softly across the sheets tangled around her legs. For one disoriented moment, she thought she had imagined it—that strange pull in her chest.
Then it hit her again.
Sharp.
Not pain.
Emotion.
Her breath caught as warmth suddenly twisted into something heavier, darker. Unease. Tension. Anger held under brutal control.
Not hers.
Hades.
She sat upright immediately, her heart beginning to race.
The bond pulsed hard beneath her skin, brighter than she had ever felt it before. It was almost overwhelming now, the connection between them no longer a soft thread but something vivid and alive.
And right now—
Something was wrong.
"Hades..." she whispered.
The moment his name left her lips, another wave crashed into her.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
For her.
Elara threw the blankets aside and climbed out of bed instantly, the cold floor barely registering beneath her feet. The bond tugged at her like instinct, guiding her through the quiet palace halls before she could even think to question it.
The deeper into the palace she moved, the stronger it became.
His emotions wrapped around her chest so intensely now that she could hardly separate them from her own.
Tension.
Protectiveness.
Anger.
And beneath all of it—
Relief.
Because he could feel her coming too.
By the time she reached his office doors, they swung open before she could touch them.
Hades stood there already waiting.
His dark shirt hung slightly open at the throat, shadows curling around him unnaturally as if responding to his emotions. His eyes found her instantly—and the second they did, the crushing pressure inside her chest eased.
Just like that.
Both of them froze.
The realization hit at the exact same time.
The bond had deepened.
Significantly.
"Elara," he breathed.
She crossed the distance between them before she could stop herself.
And the moment he touched her—
Everything quieted.
Warmth flooded through her body so suddenly she almost stumbled from the relief of it. Hades caught her immediately, one arm wrapping around her waist as the other settled against the back of her neck.
The tension inside him eased too.
She felt it happen through the bond.
His anger dissolved into calm so quickly it startled both of them.
They stared at each other.
"What was that?" she whispered.
Hades looked shaken for the first time in days.
"The bond," he said quietly. "It's growing faster than I expected."
His thumb brushed gently against her neck, almost absentmindedly, like he needed the contact now that he had it.
"I felt you," she admitted softly. "All the way from my room."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"What did you feel?"
She hesitated.
Then quietly: "You were afraid."
Something vulnerable flickered across his face.
Not denial.
Not embarrassment.
Just truth.
"I couldn't sense you for a moment," he admitted. "The bond... went silent."
Her chest tightened instantly at the memory of what she had felt from him.
Fear.
Real fear.
"You thought something happened to me."
It wasn't a question.
Hades looked at her for a long moment before answering.
"Yes."
The honesty in his voice made her heart ache.
She stepped closer without thinking, her hands resting lightly against his chest. Immediately warmth spread through the bond again—steady, soothing, alive.
Gods.
It was becoming impossible to tell where she ended and he began sometimes.
Hades exhaled slowly, his forehead lowering briefly to hers.
"You calm it," he murmured.
"What?"
"The bond." His voice dropped lower. "When you're near me, it settles."
Elara felt it too.
The shadows around the room had quieted completely now, no longer restless or sharp. The coldness she'd felt walking through the palace had disappeared entirely beneath the warmth radiating between them.
It was like their souls instinctively reached for one another.
Neither of them knew how to handle that yet.
And yet neither wanted to let go.
?
HADES
This was not normal.
The bond should not have intensified this quickly.
Hades knew enough about soul bonds to understand that what they were experiencing was... unusual.
Dangerously unusual.
And yet when Elara stood in front of him, hands against his chest, eyes still soft with concern—
He found it impossible to care.
Because the moment she touched him, everything inside him quieted.
The rage.
The fear.
The restless energy that had been building beneath his skin for the past hour.
Gone.
Only warmth remained.
Only her.
He brushed his fingers carefully through her hair, watching the way her eyes fluttered slightly at the touch. The bond brightened immediately in response, almost eager.
Alive.
Gods.
He could feel her now in ways he hadn't before.
Not just emotions.
Presence.
Comfort.
The soft lingering affection she felt every time she looked at him.
That realization nearly brought him to his knees.
"Elara," he said quietly, "tell me if it becomes too much."
Her brows pulled together slightly. "What do you mean?"
"This connection." His hand settled against her cheek. "If it overwhelms you."
She looked at him for a moment before something softer crossed her face.
"It does overwhelm me sometimes," she admitted honestly.
His chest tightened instantly.
But then she smiled faintly.
"In a good way."
The bond nearly glowed at the warmth behind her words.
Hades stared at her helplessly for a moment.
He was so utterly gone for her it was becoming embarrassing.
And judging by the way her cheeks warmed suddenly—
She felt that too.
Elara groaned softly and covered her face. "Stop doing that."
His brows lifted slightly. "Doing what?"
"Feeling things so intensely."
A quiet laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
Her eyes widened slightly at the sound.
"You laugh more now," she said softly.
The observation caught him off guard.
He stared at her.
Then realized she was right.
And somehow... she looked pleased by it.
That warmth in his chest deepened painfully.
He slid his hand gently around hers, intertwining their fingers before leading her further into the office. The moment she crossed fully into his space, the bond pulsed again.
And this time—
Power stirred with it.
The candles lining the walls flickered gold.
Shadows bent strangely toward them.
Elara stopped abruptly. "Did I do that?"
Hades frowned slightly.
"No," he murmured.
Another pulse moved through the bond.
Stronger this time.
The air itself seemed warmer around them now, charged with something ancient and awake.
And when Elara instinctively stepped closer to him—
The energy settled immediately.
Silence filled the room.
Then slowly, Hades understood.
"The prophecy was right," he said quietly.
Elara looked up at him. "About what?"
His gaze held hers.
"We're stronger near each other."
The words lingered heavily between them.
Not just emotionally.
Literally.
The bond amplified them.
Stabilized them.
Completed something unfinished in both of them.
Elara's fingers tightened around his.
And for a moment neither of them spoke.
They simply stood there in the quiet warmth of the office, connected so deeply now that distance itself already felt wrong.
Outside the palace, the Underworld remained still.
But deep beneath it—
Something ancient stirred once more.
Closer now.
Listening.
Waiting.