Chapter 41
PERSEPHONE
The blinding white light and popping sound sent me reeling, falling, and twisting as nausea gripped my throat. I felt dizzy and confused, throwing a hand over my mouth, trying to swallow the bile on my tongue.
As my vision cleared, I found myself in a bedroom—a bedroom I’d never seen before—and a sharp bite of hysteria flooded my bloodstream like venom.
‘Welcome to the court of Phoenicia, Persephone.’ The familiar voice sent an extra burst of nervous energy pounding through me.
Adonis.
I turned slowly to see the god of beauty and desire standing by a window, casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The smirk on his face made me want to body-slam him into the floor.
‘What are you doing?’ I seethed.
‘Welcoming you to my court.’ His voice touched my skin like a chill wind, sending goosebumps across my flesh.
‘This is kidnapping,’ I said through my teeth.
‘No, beautiful. It’s merely taking back what’s mine,’ Adonis drawled.
I pressed my trembling lips into a straight line. I blinked. Blinked again. Then blinked some more. ‘My husband will kill you.’ The bond pulsed in my chest. My husband. Two words I’d never imagined would apply to me. Two words that I never thought would affect me so deeply.
His laughter rumbled darkly. ‘You’re not his consort, little goddess. Not yet. But you’ll be mine before the hour’s done… and no one will find you.’ Horror flooded my veins like ice.
His steely gaze locked onto mine, his jaw hard, and as his eyes slowly perused me, from the tips of my toes back to my face, I shivered in revulsion.
‘This is where you ought to be.’ He smiled wickedly.
‘You wore my favourite dress.’ He gestured to the cream dress I was wearing.
‘You did it for me. I know you did.’ His jaw clenched, his eyes flashing.
‘You were promised to me. You belong to me.’
My heart pounded against my ribcage like it was about to break bones. He was a freaking psycho.
I sprang forward, poised to deliver a roundhouse kick, but barely reached the window before I was violently yanked backwards by something around one wrist, almost dislocating my shoulder.
Landing on my butt, I cursed. Looking down, I could see the outline of a fragile, nearly invisible chain.
Adonis laughed, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
‘The chains of Ares. Quite the divine entrapment. Forged from Adamantine and suppressing all of your powers.’ He smirked at me.
‘I’ll be keeping the chain on until I can trust you, but we’ve always had a penchant for a bit of bondage and dominance, haven’t we?
’ A shiver crept up my spine like a slow-moving vine, and my mind became a whirlwind of fear.
‘I can’t wait to get my cock back into that hot, tight pussy, beautiful. I’ve missed you and that delectable body, those perfect tits. Tonight, we will consummate our union.’ I’m pretty sure my gasp was heard clear to London.
My skin prickled, the faint golden glow pulsing beneath its surface. The bond—the one tethering me to Hades—flared in protest, searing heat spiralling through my chest. Adonis’s eyes narrowed as he took in the shimmer that danced over my skin.
‘The King of Shadows might linger in your veins.’ His eyes were pure ice.
‘But, no matter. He won’t find you here.
You’re mine now. And I intend to keep you…
I’ll get you refreshments. My handmaidens will soon come to attend to preparations.
’ He gestured lazily toward the elegant gold gown hanging on the armoire, gleaming like a gilded cage.
I tried to swallow the golf ball-sized lump in my throat as I scrambled backwards on my ass. ‘Handmaidens?’
He frowned at me. ‘I’m the god of desire, Persephone. One woman is never enough. Though, you have always been my favourite.’ He gave a slight bow and strode out of the room.
‘Mother freaking hell,’ I muttered as I crawled to my feet, nursing my arm.
Gods were narcissists, sure—but Adonis was a one-man circus: part sociopath, part lunatic, all asshole.
I edged as far as I could towards the window, peering down.
Even without the chain, there was no way I’d be getting down there without getting bitten by a radioactive spider and developing suction cups on my hands or breaking my neck.
The latter was preferable to Adonis touching me.
Adonis was much bigger than I was—not as big as Hades, but to be fair, I’m about the size of Yoda in a trench coat.
If I could get close enough to him, perhaps I could strangle him with the Adamantine chain.
I needed to stay calm. Hades would find me; I knew he would.
Gods, even Poseidon would help him. I couldn’t allow a whole new level of ‘what the actual fuck’ derail me. Keep it together, Sephy.
The bond in my chest keened for Hades; it was a maelstrom of love. I needed to get back to him—back to the safety of him. The door opened again, startling me as Adonis entered carrying a plate of open sandwiches and a glass of amber liquid.
‘Nectar will ease your nerves.’ He motioned towards the glass and placed the plate on a table.
Shaking my head, I stepped backwards until my back hit the wall. ‘Nothing you offer me will pass my lips,’ I said through gritted teeth.
He sighed, placing the glass down and pressing his palms against his eyes. Lowering his hands, he studied me, his eyes boring into my face and body.
‘You never had a problem when I was fucking your mouth with my cock, and you swallowed me down.’ He gave a dark smirk, and my stomach roiled in response.
‘I want to taste you again,’ he growled softly, and panic consumed me as adrenaline flooded my system.
My thighs clenched together of their own accord—the thought of him touching me sparked disgust that twisted its gnarly talons into my gut.
‘No, don’t you dare—’
But he was on me in a flash, his hands around my face, and his mouth on mine as he forced my lips open with his tongue in a brutal kiss.
‘You’re mine.’ His breath touched my cheek like a frosty breeze.
Then his mouth was on my neck, and he bit down hard, making me yelp.
As he sucked on my blood, I started screaming; an obliterating pain tortured my every nerve ending, my skin stabbed by a million hot knives, causing the breath in my lungs to turn to ice.
Air slowly leaked from my parted lips, and I inhaled raggedly, trying to close down my mind and call on my shadow magic.
Please, please, I begged as tears ran rivers down my cheeks.
A single shadow rose from my unrestrained palm but went unnoticed by Adonis.
Thick tendrils of shadows spiralled into the room, coiling and rolling along the floor and up the walls.
Loud popping sounds caused Adonis to spring backwards, and I crumpled to the ground.
‘Hades,’ I whispered as my eyes met his god form, and those pure golden eyes locked onto mine, flashing like two lodestars when he noticed the bite on my neck.
The power emanating from him drenched the air, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from him.
Adonis attempted to teleport but didn’t notice Tee behind him, her eyes pure white.
Adonis remained motionless as she raised a hand.
She then flicked her fingers at my wrist, and the chain snapped, freeing me from the shackle.
Two more popping sounds revealed a murderous-looking Poseidon and Zeus, who both rushed to my side.
Poseidon gently lifted me into his arms, and Zeus strode to stand with Hades.
My beautiful god shifted form to the man I loved, his massive presence filling the room.
As Hades’ golden eyes regarded Adonis, deadly violence etched onto his features—a maelstrom of whirling fury.
Shadows surrounded Hades like a cloak, swirling around his legs and licking over his shoulders.
He really did look like death incarnate.
He was cold, stunning, brutal, primaeval—and he was mine.
‘You can’t harm me. Zeus forbade you from doing so,’ Adonis said, his voice steady, but his face was pale. His gaze flicked to Zeus, whose expression remained impassive.
Hades’ dark laugh was smoke and ash. ’Shut up,’ he roared as his gaze drilled into Adonis. ‘You’re a monster. You were born a monster. Yet you think I’m the monster. You haven’t seen what I’m truly capable of… But now you will, you piece of shit. I’ll see you in Tartarus.’
Adonis went to speak, but Hades’ aether shadows were on him before a sound left his lips.
They wrapped around his head and ripped him in two, straight down the middle, as if he were made of nothing more than water.
A sickening sound of popping bones and tearing muscle filled the room.
Great gods, Hades was terrifyingly beautiful.
I think there’s something wrong with me because I found it sort of arousing, and a ripple of tight shivers cascaded through me to my very core.
‘Agapi mou.’ Hades took me from Poseidon, cradling me gently, and as I buried my face into his chest, that earthy, spicy scent of him wrapped itself around me.
‘Hades,’ I whispered again, and then blackness claimed me.