Page 59 of Guided by the Stars (Creating Destiny #1)

Determined to do right by her, I stand and unstrap a few of my weapons. The undead rarely cause problems, and my abilities are strong enough on their own, but I hold on to a few knives just in case.

“So what’s the plan? ”

“You know the deal, man. I can’t give many details, but I think we’ll be fine. Plus, apparently you can choke anyone with those fucking shadows, so we’re good,” he says, rubbing his throat.

I wince. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll try not to get so pissed off at you in the future, as long as you aren’t acting like a tool, deal?

” He chuckles and I can tell he isn’t holding it against me so I press on.

“So where exactly is the helmet? I can’t see him leaving it out, and he sure as shit never shared the location with me. ”

I try to pick apart different places in the palace that he might have hidden it. In the armory, perhaps? That would make sense, but that seems too easy. Honestly, it’s probably beside his bed so he can kiss it goodnight, fucking psycho that he is.

“Actually,” Jax says. “It’s in one of Persephone’s rooms, the one that overlooks the garden.”

Of fucking course that’s where it is. Knowing her, she probably likes to feel it’s power while she watches me get whipped. But she’s gone now, spending time with her mother, so it’s one less threat we have to look out for.

“Let’s go,” I say, and we file out of my room and down the hallway. Her rooms are on the opposite side of the palace than mine, but I know she’d have us closer if she could.

The silence is eerie as we make our way down the hall toward her chambers.

It’s strange walking through the palace without guards standing watch, even though I never understood why Hades insisted on having so much protection.

He may not be as powerful as Zeus or Poseidon, but that didn’t mean he was weak.

We stand on either side of the door, and I bring the shadows in to cloak us in case anyone comes down the hall. I lean forward to press an ear to the door, listening for any sign of life inside, but all I hear is the sound of my heart pumping.

Jax and I avoid this section of the palace as much as possible, so we have no clue what we’re up against.

After checking for sound himself, Jax nods and reaches for the doorknob, but I intercept his hand and shake my head.

Mount Olympus will freeze over before I let him go in first. He may be bound to protect me, but there’s no way I’ll let him get hurt.

Not on my behalf. Adriane may be in danger because of me, but I’m trying to fix it, and by the gods I won’t let anyone else be destroyed.

I put every ounce of stubborn defiance in my gaze, letting him know I’m not budging on this, and he makes room for me. With a deep breath, I push the door in slowly, being as quiet as possible as we sneak into the outer rooms of Persephone’s chambers.

Nothing seems out of place as we move on silent feet, scanning each area as we go.

There’s a large doorway up ahead that leads to the sitting room and we head toward it.

Sweat trickles down my spine with the knowledge that I can’t fail.

It’s imperative that we find this helmet, I won’t fail her again.

In the corner of the room there’s an ornate shelf made entirely of obsidian, with bright red rubies on each knob of the glass doors.

They gleam in the light shining from the large patio doors.

Inside is the helmet, a garish piece of armor that turns the wearer invisible.

As long as it sits atop your head, no one can see or hear you.

What I don’t understand though, is why it has to be so ugly.

If I’m hidden from view and no god can sense my presence, there’s no reason for it to be so offensive.

I pull more shadows around us while we head toward the shelf when I hear the slightest sound. A faint, rhythmic clacking. Jax hears it too and we stand motionless, listening as it gets louder.

The smell hits me first, wafting in from the door on our right a few seconds before the massive hellhound steps through.

Its blood-red eyes pass over us both, and a thick line of slobber dangles from its jaws.

Hellhounds are vicious creatures, able to travel through shadows and jump from one place to the next without being seen.

I raise my hands, controlling the shadows, pulling them away from Jax first and then myself as I force them to the corner of the room.

Searing pain shoots through my right thigh, and I realize I wasn’t quick enough.

The dagger-like claw tears through my pants and flesh with ease, warm blood is already soaking my clothes as I press the last of the shadows into the corner.

This only bought us a bit of time. These bastards are hard to control and even harder to kill.

It took months of training to get Cerberus under control, and this one would be equally as trained to protect Persephone, I just have to hope my practice will pay off now.

I concentrate and speak the word, “Ypnos.” Sleep.

A deep growl leaves the hound, almost as if he knows what I was trying to do, and he rushes toward me. I barely manage to dodge and keep a tight hold of the shadows. Jax is beside me, taking a knife from my holster and attacking the beast.

He ducks left and right to avoid being hit with its massive paws, only inches from having his wrist caught in its jaws. I watch as he lands a solid hit to the hound; the force throwing it through the air and slamming into the wall.

I reach down to grab a knife of my own, prepared to slay the creature if it won’t back down, but the sight in front of me halts my progress.

I must be hallucinating, because in front of me stands two versions of Jax.

One beside me, and the other is stalking toward the fallen hound.

The one closest to me grabs my arm and shakes his head.

The animal stirs, a black puddle of blood growing beneath it.

Quicker than expected, the hound is up and targeting the second Jax who’s waving a knife around.

My best chance of asserting control is when the hound is preoccupied.

It snarls, a fierce sound that shakes the glass doors of the cabinet, and prepares to pounce.

I loosen my grip on the shadows and take a deep breath in, closing my eyes to focus. Its claws scratch the floor as it’s hind legs propel it through the air toward us. “Ypnos!” I shout, the deep timber of my voice booming through the small space, followed by a thud.

I open my eyes as the second Jax disappears into thin air, like smoke drifting out an open window.

The real Jax is at my side, wiping the bloody knife on his black jeans before putting it away.

Unfazed by the second version of himself that just disappeared, he leans down to check my wound and seems content that the bleeding has stopped.

“It appears we have a few things to discuss,” I say, my voice steady despite the torrent of questions flowing through me.

He smiles, his usual tactic for tense situations, and heads toward the cabinet.

“Let’s take this ugly-ass thing before we have any more visitors,” he says, opening the glass doors.

“By the gods, we’re lucky it worked. That was one of the strongest I’ve encountered, what the fuck is Persephone using to train them? ”

There’s a heaviness in me, weighing me down.

I can’t focus on what Persephone might have done to have such powerful creatures at her side.

My soul is more burdened than ever before, and now I find out he’s kept secrets from me.

The black pit of despair beckons me in, tempting me into its warm, comforting embrace.

Without conscious thought, I reach past him and grab the helmet off the shelf. “I’m more concerned with how you made a replica of yourself. That’s fucking new.”

“Well, the short version is that I can kind of…project an image of myself. It takes an insane amount of energy and I can’t hold it for too long, but it works in a pinch,” he says with a smile, winking at me before taking the helmet and putting it on.

It’s forced though, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.

He knows I need more than that flimsy explanation, but now’s not the time.

With the helmet in place on his head, I can no longer see him or detect his power signature, as if he’s vanished, just like the second version of himself.

“I’m gonna need you to explain why you kept this from me, but that can wait,” I say, my pulse racing with hope at the thought that Adriane might be waiting for us. “Let’s go find my girl.”