Chapter 28 Hades
HADES
Humans often said that there were moments when their entire life flashed in front of their eyes, when they were certain they would die. When there was nothing left to do but surrender to fate.
Yet here I stood.
This might be the last time I would get to hold her, because even before she took a step toward me, I knew how this story ended.
Our love wasn't the one authors spent hours and hours writing, leading to that happy ending, because this wasn't a romantic story with an eternity waiting for us and our love. This was a tragedy.
A tragedy of our own making.
My steps felt sure as I slowly crossed the meadow, heading toward her, and the closer I got, the more I could see the dark vines spreading over her throat, toward her temples, and reaching her eyes.
The scent of rotten flowers bloomed in the air, only increasing the closer I got, and there was only one other Goddess who carried the smell as if it were the perfect perfume.
Hera.
I knew even before I saw her eyes clearly, even before the tears cascaded down her cheeks, that Kaira was no longer in charge.
It wasn't her staring back at me, but the woman who had once vowed she would destroy me and everything I held dear, including anyone I dared to love.
Because I refused her. Because I dared to look at her and see the decay underneath the perfect skin and pretty face, refusing to have anything with someone like that.
Someone who would stop at nothing to get the power she felt was owed to her.
"Kaira—"
"Don't come any closer!" she thundered, her voice cracking as she took one shaky step forward.
"Please!" Pain laced every word, erupting all over her face as she pulled herself backwards, fighting with her own body and her own mind, trying to stop the inevitable.
"Get out of here, Hades!" But I couldn't.
I wouldn't.
I would follow her, even in death, even in pain and the destruction of the world.
I would follow her till the ends of the earth, and into the unknown pits hidden from the human eye.
I would follow her everywhere, but I would never allow her to be in pain because of me.
I would never forgive myself if the woman I loved, the woman I was created for, would stand and fight the pain because she was terrified of hurting me.
Her lips trembled as her body pulled her forward, toward me. I looked down and saw her tight fist and the dagger being held in her right hand—the dagger we had spent years looking for.
The dagger of death. The same one Thanatos used after Hera got inside his head, forcing his hand. The dagger that had miraculously disappeared, but was obviously always just hidden from the rest of us. We suspected it was with Zeus, but could never know for sure.
For one to be able to wield it, they had to be the messengers of Death, Gods, or otherwise, and there was not a single being on this island strong enough to withstand its power. Not until Kaira.
"It's okay—"
"No!" she bellowed, her tears running freely now as she pushed toward me, coming closer than before.
But I didn't stop. "Please, I'm begging you," she croaked.
"Stop. Stop, Hades. I can't," she sobbed.
"I can't stop it. I c-can't." The dark veins in her neck darkened, becoming wider, pressing against her, and I saw the moment they squeezed tighter.
Her body swayed, those eternal eyes I could get lost in closing as the pain of Hera's influence pressed against her.
I knew the cost of that touch. I felt it on my own skin once upon a time, and the more I fought, the greater the pain became. My mind, my body, they were being split in two, yet I could do nothing as I watched like a spectator while my body did things I didn't want it to do.
"Stop fighting it, Kaira."
"No!" she cried, those silver eyes spearing through me as she opened them again. "T-they want me to kill you," she whimpered. "They want your power, Hades. T-they—" Her body collapsed on the ground, and I ran.
I ran like a man possessed, knowing the danger I was in.
But I didn't care. Not anymore.
My body skidded to a stop as manic laughter spilled through her lips and as she looked up at me, there was no longer a trace of silver in her eyes.
"You're so fucking predictable," the woman I despised said, using the voice of the woman I loved. "Rushing after her like a little knight, thinking you could save her." Kaira stood up, her body no longer shaking, no longer her own, now owned by the demon holding her in its clutches.
"I'd say it's nice to see you, Hera, but I'd be lying. Besides, this is so much like you—sending somebody else to do your dirty work."
Kaira took a step toward me, lifting the dagger toward her other palm and slicing through. My heart crashed against my rib cage as the dark rivulets of blood rushed from Kaira's palm onto the ground.
"You need to let her go," I gritted out, unable to look away from the cut on her palm. Had she been anyone else, that one cut with that blade could've killed her. "I'm here. Show yourself and let Kaira go."
Kaira tilted her head, scanning me from head to toe. "Now, where's the fun in that?"
She ran toward me with a roar accompanied by the thunder slicing the skies, holding the dagger up in her hand as she slammed into me, sending me flying toward the edge of the meadow, right where the forest started.
Birds flew up into the skies as her elbow slammed into my gut, depriving me from breath for a moment.
I blocked her arm as she raised her dagger, ready to slam it into me, sending it flying to the ground.
Kaira's eyes shone with unshed tears, but it was the malice of Hera's influence and the darkness swirling there that had me pushing her away from me.
Too fast for the human eye to follow, she jumped back and picked up the dagger, breathing heavily while she observed me.
"You know," she cackled, throwing the dagger up in the air and catching it again, "it's been a while since I last had someone like this in my clutches." She bent her knees, those eyes slicing through me with the promise of pain. "Someone this powerful and this fucking clueless."
Her body slammed into me, pressing me against the tree behind me, and as that dagger rose again, I wrapped my hands around her neck and pulled her closer.
"Fight her, Kaira," I bit out, waiting for the pain to come.
Waiting for the end of me to happen. "Fight her, please.
" But the pain never came, and instead of seeing the darkness swirling in her eyes, that silver I craved so fucking much started pushing through.
The hand holding the dagger started shaking, stopping her assault, giving me hope to push.
She was still there. Inside. Trapped in her own mind.
"The first time I saw you, my heart lodged inside my throat, telling me we were finally where we were supposed to be.
Telling me we have finally found the other half of our soul.
We found you." Her eyes filled with tears, letting them spill over as her teeth bit into her lower lip.
"The first time you touched me I thought I would die, because nothing has ever felt as good as your hand in mine," I continued, uncaring where this led.
If it was my demise or just being able to free her from Hera.
"I c-can't," Kaira sobbed, her voice crystalizing, telling me she was still there. She was still fighting.
"Yes, you can." I tightened my hold on her, pressing my forehead to hers.
"The first time you kissed me, I finally understood what love meant.
I finally understood why humans went to wars just to be with the one they loved.
Why they dared to go against the wishes of the Gods, because I knew I would never want to be alive if you weren't by my side. "
My lips landed on her forehead next, while my mind played every single scene, every single touch, everything we ever were and everything we could've been.
"You told me once that stars weren't just objects in the night sky, but the souls of loved ones watching over those that were left behind. So each night, for over five millennia, I looked at the sky, pretending you were somewhere up there, watching over me, waiting for the day we would be united."
"Please." She trembled, her hands landing on my chest. "Please get away from here. Please, Hades."
But I wouldn't leave her. I would never leave her, no matter what.
"I begged the Fates and the forces that existed beyond my power to just let me see you one more time. To let me hold you even if it is the last thing I would ever do." I looked into her eyes, seeing the woman that was made for me. Seeing her soul mending itself.
She would be okay without me. Our bond was strong, but it was still incomplete, frayed at the edges and drowning in the darkness and decay that existed in my own soul.
"And the Fates listened, Kaira. They listened when I thought there was no more hope.
They fucking listened when I was ready to just disappear and let the darkness consume me, pulling me completely away from you.
" Our noses touched, her lips just a breath away from mine.
"You're one of the strongest people I know. Fight her!"
Kaira closed her eyes, her entire body going lax and making me relax for the first time since I came to the meadow. But I shouldn't have relaxed. I should've known this wouldn't have the perfect ending I was hoping for.
Kaira's eyes flew open, filled with Hera's darkness and a wicked smile on her lips. "That's very touching, Hades," she mocked. "But not enough!"
Her hand disappeared between us and before I could move or block her, the dagger pushed through my chest, piercing through flesh and right into my heart. Pain pierced through my body with vengeance as a painful roar tore from Kaira's chest, bleeding into every pore of my body.
My back slammed into the trunk of the tree from the force of the pain, of despair, because I knew this was it. This was where I ended.
"No!" She fell toward me, her hands clutching the handle of the dagger that wouldn't move. I knew it wouldn't; that was its power. The power to spread the poison of death through an Ancient's body. The power to destroy us from the inside out. "No, no, please," Kaira begged. "I'll save you. I'll—"
"Kaira," I croaked, feeling blood slowly fill my mouth, mixed with the sweet taste of poison dripping from the blade inside my body. "Stop."
Her hands ran over my body, over my shoulders, wrapping around my neck gently, while she cried for me. Her eyes were clear now, no longer burdened with Hera's malice, but she was still there. Still in the background.
"Please," she begged, wrapping her hand around the handle of the dagger. "Please, don't go. Don't go without me. Please."
But I couldn't stay. Not anymore.
"I'm sorry, Kore," I mumbled, pulling her to me, holding my hand behind her neck. "I'm sorry for the pain."
"No!" She shook her head, looking up at me with tearstained eyes. "I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough. Please," she broke, her body shaking.
"You were always the most important person to me," I whispered as my power drained. "You were always the one for me, Kaira. It doesn't matter which life you've lived. It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but you were made for me, and I was made for you."
"I know!" she cried, her free hand wrapping around my neck.
"I believe you. And I…" She gulped, looking at me with eyes that could bring men to their knees.
With eyes filled with memories and love and all the other things I had craved all these years.
"I remember you. I remember you, Hades. I remember your eyes.
Please." Her eyebrows drew together, her own despair filling the air. "I can't do this without you."
"You can," I murmured. "You're stronger than you think. You were born for this."
"I can call Elandra," she said, her eyes shining with a hope that had no place being here right now. "She would know what to do. I can take you to them. Tell me how to teleport. Tell me how to—"
"No." I stopped her rambling. "You already know it's too late, darling."
Her jaw tightened, her face scrunching up as if she was finally coming to the realization herself. As if the truth was finally slamming into her with full force. My fingers trembled as strength started leaving my body.
"Don't cry for me, Kaira," I said, bringing our faces closer. "Don't mourn me. I am not a man worthy of mourning."
"No." She broke, her tears falling like waterfalls down her cheeks.
"Don't break for me, Kaira. Fight for me. I need you to fight with everything you have and I need you to destroy everything and everyone who has harmed you. Burn the fucking world if need be," I bit out, "but fight. Fight for yourself and for those that had no one to fight for them."
She peered at me with a devotion I didn't deserve, and as my soul started leaving its nest, I pressed my lips to hers, tasting the saltiness of her tears coating our kiss. Her lips parted, allowing me access, rejuvenating what little life I had left in me.
She tasted like eternity, like sunshine on my skin and the rain in my hair. She tasted like the perfect fucking song and those endless days when things were so much better. Her tongue touched mine while her entire body shook, holding on to me as if she was unable to let go.
My knees gave out and as I crashed to the ground, she followed, holding my head in her embrace, crying for everything we could have been. Hera was no longer in those silver eyes. She was nowhere to be found, but only the rage shining in those silver depths, swallowing me whole.
"I-I will always love you," I murmured, tasting her on my lips. Storing the memory of her in the deepest parts of me. "In this life and in the next, Kaira."
"Please don't leave me. Just stay with me. Keep your eyes open."
I looked up at her one more time.
Just one last time to last until the darkness took hold of me. My finger dragged over her destroyed braid, feeling the silkiness of her hair. If this was the end, I wouldn't want it any other way.
"I'll find you," I mumbled, closing my eyes. "I'll find you again."