Page 90 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

H ade grabs my hand firmly, leaving Hesti behind with my mother while we barrel down the endless hallways. Pure chaos erupts around us, screams of fear, bewilderment, and excitement at their resurfaced memories.

It dawns on me that they will be looking for their queen to lead them, to answer their burning questions.

They need someone to look to for guidance, and seeing as my mother is no longer with us, that role now falls on my shoulders.

I feel the weight of it settle heavy over me, its roots wrapping around my legs and dragging me under.

I will need to gather them and explain everything, make them trust in me even if I don’t fully trust in myself for the job.

I have to fuse the gap between Fallout and Lunaria and create a better society for us all.

There’s also the issue of Aire, who, by now, has to be aware of my reappearance, magic buzzing back to life around us .

I follow dutifully behind Hade, making a mental note to address my people first thing after this little excursion. Dodging citizens left and right, we make it to the castle’s front doors and continue through them to gods knows where.

Especially not this god .

“ Where we are going is a place I have kept hidden for years. ” Hade’s deep timber pushes at the walls of my head through the bond.

“ Four years, to be exact? ”

“ Smart girl. ” His dominating personality reflects authentically in my head, and it’s an overwhelming experience to get used to again.

“ The queen—your mother, when she was first cursed, came to me, made me make her a promise. Ever since then, I have done everything in my power to uphold that promise for this very day. I did not know at the time what it was all for, but now, it all makes sense. She was preparing for war. She was preparing for you. ”

We blend into the madness taking over the streets, walking for what seems like ages before making it almost to the very edge of Lunaria. I haven’t visited this area before, seeing as it mostly looks rundown and abandoned at the edge of civilization.

I’m about to question Hade if he’s feeling okay, to ask what the heck is going on, when he waves his hand in front of us. A ripple glitters in the air, and my eyes threaten to stay permanently wide when the glamour vanishes, revealing a small, makeshift camp.

“ They’ve been waiting for you, dream .”

Hissing through my teeth, I try to keep the sob inching up my throat from spilling over. “ Rayah ?” My voice cracks. “Is it really you?”

“Flowers! Are you trying to steal my colored hair, Nyxi?” she teases.

I rush forward, scooping her into my arms and holding tight, afraid to let go, only to see her vanish again.

“How is this possible?” I whisper into her bright pink hair .

Do you trust me? Hade’s words from that day rush back to me. He kept telling me everything would be okay, to trust him. He kept her safe. Looking around and spotting Sierra and Yazi, I realize he’s saved them all .

Hudson’s small body disintegrating to a pile of ash pushes against my memories, and I’m struck harshly with the reality that not all of us were saved.

I distinctly remember Hade strangling these two with his shadows until they went limp in front of me, so I’m not sure how they are currently pushing oxygen through their supposed burst lungs.

As I pull away from Rayah, a warm embrace saddles up to my back, towering over me. Looking over my shoulder, I find Hade studying me. Whether he’s waiting for me to either snap, or break down, I’m not sure. The others decide to dismiss themselves, giving us a moment alone.

“I have tried to save as many of them as I could over the past four years. When your mother was fully lucid, she showed me this abandoned war camp. We fixed it up, and she asked me to save as many as possible. I had no idea why, seeing as my memories were wiped as well, but I never asked questions. I think, deep down in my gut, I knew.”

His hand moves then, landing lightly on my shoulders and spinning me to face him.

“I couldn’t save them all for you, and for that, I am sorry.

I did everything in my power to build you an army.

Not everyone wanted to be saved or was worthy of a life fighting for you.

Those who were, I saved and brought here.

Some of the Vanquishes I trust come here daily to help train them and bring supplies, weapons, and food. ”

Pointing to Yazi and Sierra, he states, “I never killed them. I had to make it look like I did, but I only cut off their airways long enough to make them pass out so I could move them. Once they woke, I gave them a choice: to live and fight, or die a coward. ”

I stroke my thumb lightly across the scar dissecting his discolored eye. “What happened?” I whisper on a jagged breath.

He tries to turn his face to hide, but my hand is faster, and I grip the side of his cheek to face me again. Taking a deep sigh, he presses his warm cheek further into my palm.

“Airestol is what happened. I couldn’t save him.

” His face breaks at the same time my brain puts the pieces together.

He chokes. “Gods, Nyxi, I tried so hard to save him, but I failed you. I will never forgive myself for being the reason you no longer have a father. Because of me, you no longer have a family. I wear this scar as a reminder of that failure, so I may never forget the wreckage I’ve brought you. ”

Eyes watery, I smile softly. “I have you . You are my family, Hade. You are enough. You have always been enough.” He tries to shake his head, rejecting my plea, but I look him dead in the eyes so he can see the truth in my words.

My voice never wavers. “There is no me without you. There is no life beyond you. There is no plan in my head that doesn’t involve you beside me.

A life without you is a tragedy greater than the loss of magic, because I cannot live on with only the memory of you.

You are more than family to me—you are the very life that runs under my skin. ”

A single beat of silence crackles between us before Hade’s giant hands engulf my face and he crashes his lips to mine.

It’s an answer. A plea for forever. A sealing of a declaration stronger than the magic holding Lunaria in the sky.

It’s an unbreakable bond between two souls so intertwined, you cannot find one without discovering the other.

“I hate to be the one to break up this sweet little family reunion.”

Hade rips his lips away a deathly low growl of warning leaving his throat. He instinctively grips my hand while trying to drag me behind him. I hold my ground, preparing to fight this battle by his side.

“Aire.” Hade’s voice is more a warning than a statement.

“No need to stop all the fun on my account. Please, do continue. I was loving the sweet declarations.” He turns to look at me. “Except you forgot something—one of you will vastly outlive the other. Isn’t that right, Nyxi? ”

I grit my teeth, vibrating with the need to attack, but Hade squeezes my hand tightly. “What do you want?” I spit each word like venom.

Splaying his arms out wide, he smiles condescendingly. “Now, now, little ghost. Is that any way to speak to a god?”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip to refrain from spewing a slew of hateful words. This man is no god to me.

“You are no ghost, though, are you? Imagine my surprise when I discover the missing heir to the throne has been hiding under my nose the entire time. You really went and fucked everything up, didn’t you? That’s okay, though—you’re going to fix it for me.”

Hearing enough of his bullshit, I take a step towards him, slipping my hand from Hade’s. “The only thing I’m going to fix is removing your presence from my kingdom.”

In a flash, wind whips me in the face as Aire appears behind Hade, pressing a single finger to his temple.

Volts of electricity skitter through Hade’s body, making him seize.

His other hand lashes out, creating a vortex bubble, keeping us isolated.

I swivel on my feet, flexing my hand to bring my own magic to the surface when his words halt me in my tracks.

“Take one more step, and his eye color won’t be the only thing plucked from his body.”

I hold my hands up in surrender, pleading with him to stop while trying to come up with a plan.

Hade’s body continues to shake from the magic frying him from the inside out, and I break a little.

His eyes plead with me to stay strong, but I can’t live seeing him like this.

He won’t last much longer with the amount of magic coursing through him.

It’s simply unbearable to watch, and I would do anything to make it stop.

Hade must read the surrender on my face, because his choppy words stream down the bond. “ Please don’t do this. I will not survive losing you a second time. My heart cannot take it. ”

Turning my head to the side, I try to ignore his words full of so much heartbreak, it’s almost too much to bear.

Hade grunts loudly in pain, and my eyes shoot to where Aire’s finger presses harder against his flesh, shoving an impossible amount of magic into him.

Hade can’t even use any of his own magic to protect himself.

“I think I’m having a case of déjà vu,” Aire says comically.

“Okay, enough!” I scream.

Aire’s wicked smile sends shivers down my spine. “ Beg me to save his pathetic life.”

“Please, stop. Please spare his life in exchange for mine. It’s me you want, and if you kill him, you will kill any chance of me ever working with you.”

“ Nyxi, please .” Hade’s words are a whisper down the bond, his energy almost fully drained. He’s fading fast, and it’s killing me.

Aire shoves his finger one more time harshly against Hade’s temple, making him gasp for air he can’t find, and I lose all control. Both my hands whip out, black and red magic sitting ready in each of my palms.

“I said ENOUGH! You have my attention now, so what do you want?”

Looking between my hands as I harness two types of magic, he smiles, satisfied. “I want you. It seems the rumors were true. Of course, each new god will be born of magic stronger than the last. That is the magic of evolution. But two powers? Well that is unheard of. ”

My hands twitch, the magic dancing wildly while Hade’s body trembles, though a bit softer now that Aire has let up a fraction. “I thought you wanted me dead?”

Shrugging, he states, “Plans change, my little goddess. Now that I’ve seen what you can do, I want you for myself. The strongest god to date, born of two powers, in my back pocket? I would be unstoppable. We would be unstoppable.”

“ I’m sorry. Please forgive me. You must live on without me, or this will all be for nothing.

Live that beautiful life we talked about.

Promise me. ” I send the words down the bond to a barely coherent Hade before locking Aire in an intense gaze.

“Let him go. Let them all go. Promise you will not harm them, and I will give myself to you.”

“Deal!” His words feel thick and sticky across my skin, making me uncomfortable, but I keep my face blank and devoid of any emotions until I know Hade is safe. “I have big plans for us in Ouranos.”

In another flash, Hade falls to the ground, and Aire appears by my side, gripping my hand possessively. I try to pull away, but his grip tightens painfully, making me hiss.

Hade screams a guttural sound that shatters my heart.

He blinks heavily, trying to stay awake as he, inch by inch, tries to drag his limp body to crawl to me.

“You c-cannot have h-her.” He does not stop.

He does not waver. Determination flames across his face as he desperately grasps the remaining light slowly fading from him.

Every place his trembling fingertips touch the grass below him, his Death magic weakly seeps out, draining the ground of life.

“ I told you, dream. My heart only beats for you. Without you, there is no me. I will not face a life without you in it. My life was gray before you brought the color. I will not go back to a life of black and white when I can have the whole damn rainbow .”

As he lifts one trembling hand, black shadows snake down his arm. Pointing one threatening finger at Aire, he looks me painfully in the eyes. I feel every aspect of his next words as he says down the bond, “ I love you, Nyxi .”

Before Hade’s magic gets a chance to blast towards us, Aire zaps a single bolt of electricity right at Hade’s battered body, hitting him directly in the chest. With a scream, I jolt forward, but Aire wraps his arms around me from behind, restraining me as Hade crumples to the ground.

Hade’s lifeless body is the last thing I see before clouds envelop us, and we slam through time and space at a nauseating speed.

I don’t react when my feet hit the ground once again, or when a new land I don’t recognize comes into view.

I don’t react when Aire announces, “Welcome to Ouranos, your new home.”

I don’t react because all I can think is, if Hade is truly dead, then so am I. And if he’s not, I will tear every realm apart until I have him again. I am a demon disguised as a god, ready to destroy her enemy from behind territory lines.

My love does not live on without you, Hade.

A new god is in town, and this time, she’s getting her vengeance.

To be continued…