Page 54 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

M y nerves are shot, the number of us left in the Crucible dwindling to a staggering five. One would think making it this far should reassure me, but with only two more rounds, the chances of myself being the last one standing seems daunting.

I’m standing back in the Bubble next to Rayah and our remaining competitors while we wait for the Empress to announce the next game.

I got next to no sleep last night, too hyped up on adrenaline and nerves while trying to think about what today’s trial might entail or skills it will test. A million possibilities ran through my mind as I pondered previous Crucibles.

I know, at some point, alliances will be tested, so maybe today’s game will play into that.

I’m not exactly sure how that will work, since we are down an extra competitor than we should be, but I wouldn’t put it past the Empress to carry on as if nothing changed.

I’m not blind to the whispers of my competitors asking where Aeron is, gossiping things like, “I bet he’s warming the Empress’ bed and slept in,” or “Maybe his big mouth finally got the best of him.” I, too, wonder where Aeron is, but for a very different reason.

A commotion draws my attention to the entrance of the Bubble, the tension palpable as the air shifts around us. The Empress strides in wearing a glimmering, black, floor-length dress with a sweetheart neckline, mimicking the mood around us.

She gracefully saunters through the sand to stand before us, a stoic look plastered on her face. She turns to look back at the entrance, waving her arm. “Bring him in.”

My stomach drops like an anchor, souring on the spot.

My palms turn sticky, and I feel slightly light headed all the sudden.

If the “him” she’s referring to is the person I was hoping to never see again, then I think my breakfast might make a reappearance.

My body starts to tremble, and Ray must notice, because she slides her hand into mine without looking over at me, making sure not to create a scene.

It instantly calms my nerves, centering me.

I’m not alone, and he can’t hurt me anymore.

I hear stomping in the sand to my right and slowly drag my eyes over until they land on death himself.

The Cardinal marches in like he’s taking off to the front lines for battle, his face set with deep lines from scowling so hard.

Floating behind him like a shadow is… No that can’t be right. Can it?

A black mass of wispy magic tornadoes around a body hovering above the ground behind Hade. He pulls it along by a rope of black magic like an animal on a leash. As they near, my heart stops, the scene sharpening.

Aeron floats behind Hade, wearing the same outfit I last saw him in.

It’s dirty and tattered and smells of piss.

Looking down, I notice a wet path down the front of his pants, where it looks like he’s repeatedly soiled himself.

His eyes are wide open and unblinking, like he’s frozen in shock and fearful for his life.

His mouth is so agape, his jaw almost looks broken, as if he’s screaming, but his voice is long gone.

He looks exactly how he did the last time I saw him, minus the eerie screams, and that was…

days ago. A chill runs up my spine. If my insights are correct, then Hade has kept him in this loop of seeing his impending death play out in his head for multiple days now, to the point that he’s lost his voice and pissed himself.

Death Reaper indeed.

Hade stands in front of us and clears his throat, Aeron floating behind him. I hold my breath for whatever chaos is about to unfold, something deep in my gut telling me it won’t be pretty.

“Be this a reminder and a warning .” His deep voice rings out clear as day, demanding to be heard.

“If you so much as lay a single unwanted finger on another competitor outside of the confines of this game, it will be seen as a direct act of disrespect against the Empress and will be dealt with accordingly.” He looks down the line to each of my competitors, making direct eye contact.

“I do not tire of teaching lessons, so let it be known here and now what the consequences of stepping out of line will entail.”

He turns to face a silently screaming Aeron, and his voice turns lethally low.

“It seems your competitor…” He pauses for a moment, pretending to forget his name.

“Allen—no, that’s not right. Ah, Aeron here decided to volunteer as a demonstration to what happens if you don’t follow the rules your Empress has given you. ”

He slides his hand through the swirling magic and pats Aeron’s shoulder. Aeron’s expression remains the same, like he isn’t even aware of what’s happening.

“So, shall we proceed?” Hade taunts with a wicked gleam in his eyes and a devious smirk tipping his lips. “Aeron here put his grimy fingers where they don’t belong. He touched something that was not his to touch, and he’s been paying the price ever since. ”

With a flick of his wrist, the black magic swirling around Aeron’s body dissipates from his face.

He remains floating above the ground, but the trance-like state he was in vanishes.

He starts to shake, looking around aimlessly for help.

He starts to hyperventilate, thrashing in the air as his pants grow wet again.

He shakes his head back and forth, pleading for mercy, trying to speak, but no sound comes out.

Smiling, Hade takes a step closer and hooks his finger under Aeron’s trembling chin, drawing it up to look at him. “I think you know exactly what comes next.”

I have yet to see this side of Hade. He’s honed like a weapon, harsh at every curve and dangerously dead inside.

He bears no morals in this moment, emotions carried away by the wind, never to be seen again.

He is death itself and will stop at nothing, sacrificing his soul included, to show everybody exactly what he was created to do.

Reaching forward, he grips Aeron’s hand and pulls it in front of him. Reaching into his belt, he plucks out a sharp dagger and flips it in his hand. He’s playing with his prey, and it’s working—Aeron looks like he’s on the verge of dying, seeming to know exactly what comes next.

“What do you think is a fair price?” Hade asks, flipping Aeron’s hand back and forth. “A digit for each minute you had your hands where they didn’t belong?” After a moment, he adds, “Seems fair to me.”

Bringing the dagger down, he grips Aeron’s thumb, holding it steady as he slowly draws the dagger back and forth over his skin, fileting him like a piece of meat.

He saws through the bone, taking his time as Aeron chokes on his sobs with breathy screams. I hear a final crunch, and I try to hold the contents of my stomach down as Hade drops the detached thumb to the sand. “One.”

He grabs the next finger and repeats the process as Aeron grows pale, on the verge of passing out.

Sweat coats his skin, and his head starts to bob.

Hade’s magic reaches out of its own accord and holds Aeron’s head up, making sure he stays awake for his punishment.

“Two,” he states plainly, dropping the finger next to the thumb in the red-stained sand.

He continues cutting off each finger of his left hand and then reaches for his right.

Aeron lets out a loud sob, trying to pull away, but Hade has a death grip.

“What, you thought we were done? Oh, but the fun is just getting started, my friend.” He peers down with a questioning look.

“I seem to have forgotten what number we were on. I never really was good with numbers, so I guess I will just have to take them all.”

I turn my head as Hade methodically cuts each finger from Aeron’s hand, my stomach not strong enough to handle the gore.

“There. Much better,” I hear Hade state, and I turn back around to face the chaos again.

Blood drips from both Aeron and Hade’s hands, the sand a deep crimson.

I almost see a look of defeat in Aeron’s eyes, but it morphs into something seeming like relief, which seems odd.

He closes his eyes with a soft smile on his face, prepared for whatever comes next.

“Let this be a lesson you may never forget,” Hade threatens each of us, avoiding my gaze.

Looking back at a smiling Aeron, he adds, “Your participation in this lesson has seemed to run its course, and you are no longer of use to me.” Hade reaches out, and black tendrils stream from his palm, snaking into Aeron’s ears, mouth, and nose.

I catch Aeron take one last deep breath of submission as Hade turns his head, making direct eye contact with me.

Holding my gaze with his arm outstretched, he forcefully closes his fist, and Aeron’s head explodes, shattering into a million pieces and coating the side of Hade’s face in blood.

Aeron’s headless body falls to the sand with a loud thump, and Hade steps over his lifeless body to trot out of the Bubble, a few of the other Vanquishers moving to clean up his mess .

I should be a wreck, fearing for my life, disgusted even.

I will admit, I’m definitely more than shaken up, but the only thing truly running through my mind is if the same gory blood bath would have played out if Aeron had touched someone else.

My head is telling me yes, but my heart is telling me I might just be something special.

I’m not sure how to process that, but I don’t think I’m as opposed to the idea as much as I should be.

I think his darkness has slithered beneath my skin and dug its claws in so deep, I can’t tell where his ends and mine begins.