Page 76 of Guided by the Stars (Creating Destiny #1)

Kai

When Darkness Descends

The hole in my chest is gaping. My once-vital organ left with her, as if she tucked it in her pocket with that last goodbye. Blood still pumps through my veins though, and the echoes of my beating heart pounds through my ears. Boom. Boom. Boom. But it’s fractured, slow.

These feelings are unexpected, and though I tried to shut them out, it’s futile.

From the moment I met her, she trapped me like a fly in water, and now I’m drowning.

No longer will I hold her, kiss her, fuck her.

I’ll never again get to hear her sarcasm or see the sexy look she gets when she’s angry.

I bring her necklace close to my face and inhale the lingering jasmine scent before tucking it in my back pocket. My Skoteinos Angelos is gone, safer without me. Hades owns me and once he finds out I helped her leave, I’ll be fucked. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that she has Jax.

The only two people I’ve ever cared for have escaped, running far from here and my fucked-up family. I should have never brought her here. I shouldn’t have accepted Jax when he came to us. Everything is my fault, this entire fucked-up mess.

But they could have a life now, at least. Hidden from the gods, she could get back to the life she once had and find someone who deserves her. Someone who could put her first in all things and was not bound to rule the Underworld.

I’m plagued with loss as I walk back to the palace. I need time to process, time to shove these feelings deep inside and lock them away, but the pain is unbearable. My chest heaves, unable to get enough air to my lungs, and my stomach roils as I double over and let out a roar.

The last time I felt an ounce of this heartbreak was when Jax arrived.

We’d both had more pain than any being should, and we were just boys.

I was forced to watch the slave mark burned from his flesh just before Hades branded a new mark on him.

He liked to stamp his mark on everything he owned, even Persephone had one, though she wore hers proudly.

A tattoo on her inner wrist, suffused with actual shadows that coiled in her skin like serpents.

After they branded him, they moved him to a room beside mine and kept him locked up for days.

I heard him beg for nectar, the pain of withdrawal too much for a young kid to handle.

After the third night, I couldn’t take it any longer.

His pitiful voice filled my head, and even when he was silent, it was all I heard.

My control of the shadows was decent at that point, so I concealed myself and walked down the hall. I had kept some dirt in my pocket and used my abilities to fashion a key out of it to unlock the door. He sat in the corner with his arms wrapped around his knees and glared at me.

I set the tray of food down in the middle of the room, a small goblet of nectar in the center. “You haven’t eaten in days,” I said to him, but he didn’t move .

“Why the fuck would you even care?” he asked, his hands balled into fists like he was ready for a fight.

“Because I’ve been where you are,” I replied, but when I walked out of his room, someone grabbed me roughly by the neck. Hades loomed over me, disappointment seeping from every limb, and he threw me against the wall.

Jax bowed quickly, showing his hands were empty, but Hades didn’t care.

It didn’t matter that he hadn’t touched the tray, what mattered was that I showed kindness to someone beneath me.

I had to listen to his screams of pain while they punished him for my behavior.

They brought him back to the room bloody and beaten, and I knew Hades was teaching me a lesson.

Kindness was for the weak, and he would meet any act of defiance with swift consequences on whoever he wished.

I realize now that kindness is a strength and only the weak view it as anything less. But I was just a kid then, I didn’t know better. I never wanted to see someone hurt for my actions again, so I closed myself off. Affection and love weren’t for me. I only had myself to rely on or let down.

Jax didn’t care though, and from that day forward I had his trust. He didn’t care that I tried to push him away; he kept coming back. And if I’m honest, I don’t think I’d be alive without him.

But now he’s gone, just like she is. The only people I’ve ever opened my heart to left. Deep down I know they had to, death awaited them both if they stayed, and I’d gladly die to protect them.

I’m lost in thought as I approach the palace, not realizing there’s someone standing in the shadows, waiting for me to enter. Persephone leans against the wall, her black and red gown held up in one hand as she sees me.

“Darling!” she says, walking over to meet me .

I bow, hoping they haven’t noticed the two things that are missing: Adriane and the helmet.

Her icy hand touches my cheek and she motions for me to stand. “How upset I was when your father told me someone took his helmet. I was so close to grabbing the other silly girl and had to come home.”

She grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me closer, it takes everything in me not to fight back. But when she kisses my neck, I snap. I shove her away from me, trying to get some distance between myself and her disgusting lust.

“I can taste her on your skin, you know. I could smell it before you even walked through the door.”

“So? I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I reply, careful to keep my face neutral.

She smiles knowingly and reaches up to run her hand through my hair.

“A little birdy told me they saw you leave with the descendant, and yet you return empty-handed. Your father and I will have such fun hunting her down, but first we have to deal with you. I can’t wait to give you the present I made. ”

The blood drains from my face, but I don’t react. Jax and Adriane need all the time I can give them, and if someone saw us leave, then they may already be doomed. She wraps a chain around my neck and pulls me to her garden, skipping as she goes.

I grab her hand and yank her back. If I’m going down, then I might as well put her in her place before I do.

I shove her away from me, throwing my shadows at her and knocking the stupid tiara from her perfectly coiffed hair.

Before I can do anything else her hellhounds surround me, closing in. I won’t be able to fight them all.

She steadies herself and tries to fix her hair before clapping her hands.

The hellhounds back away and she approaches.

“I hope that was worth it, darling. I thought nothing could pierce that stony heart of yours, but I will so enjoy crushing her while you watch.” She yanks me by the hair to expose my neck and leans in to take a deep breath.

“Do your worst, Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Dead,” I say, resigned. I have nothing left to fight for. I’m alone, and if my last act will buy time for the people I care for, then it’s worth all the pain and suffering to come.

She kicks my legs out from under me and I fall to my knees as she tilts my head once more. Hades stands in the doorway with murder in his eyes and a scowl on his face. “Hello, Father. Enjoying a relaxing stroll tonight?” I ask with a smile, knowing it’ll rile him up.

They hoist my arms above my head and tear the shirt off my body.

Persephone runs her icy hands down my back and I want to vomit at her touch.

She made me an offer once, a trade of sorts.

She’d do her best to reduce the amount of beatings I took if I shared her bed.

I couldn’t say no fast enough and would gladly take more beatings if it meant she wouldn’t defile me this way.

Hades walks towards me as she shoves something nasty in my mouth.

I’m forced to chew and swallow the clump of herbs.

Something moves in my periphery as I glare at Hades, and it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust. Hera stands in the garden, watching as the thickest vines I’ve ever seen grow around me.

Why is she here? Did she come alone? My mind whirls with unanswered questions, but I’m quickly distracted by unbearable pain. I’m bound to the vines with a new chain. It’s covered in sharp hooks that dig into my skin, burrowing in deep and latching on.

I’m punched with the force of one thousand fists and my body burns hot as the blows keep coming. Bright spots dance in my vision, but I don’t cry out. I won’t play into their sick fantasies.

“You chose the wrong side, boy,” Hades says, his voice deep and menacing. The next blow rocks me sideways and searing pain explodes from the hooks in my skin. I bite my tongue and the taste of copper fills my mouth.

Hera watches with a gleam in her eyes, arms interlocked with Persephone as though they were friends, but I never knew they were close. Through the pain, I watch them whisper before Hera leaves, and I hope Alexius could get Nora out and back to Adriane.

I spit the blood from my mouth at Hades’ feet, grinning at him as I watch it blemish his polished shoes.

One last act of defiance, one last chance to provoke him into a rage like I’ve never seen before.

Whatever I can do to buy them more time.

Because even if it’s the last thing I do, at least I saved someone from this godforsaken place.

Hades comes closer, smirking, and unease runs through me. “You pathetic fool. I thought I had taught you better than this, boy. You and the descendant are too much alike. She didn’t scream either...at first.”

He leans in closer, but I still don’t understand his words. “After I whipped her, though, her screams were music to my ears. The pitiful sound of her voice begging me to stop plays on repeat in my head. She looks beautiful with my tattoo, don’t you think?”

The world clouds over as I realize what he just said.

I lunge for him. The chain slices deeper and blood coats my body, but I don’t care.

He will fucking pay for what he did to her.

I’ll expose the depth of my power and squash him beneath my heel like the piece of shit he is.

Why didn’t she tell me? Fuck. I can only hope she’s safe somewhere with Jax .

“No wonder my mother left you,” I say through gritted teeth. “If you didn’t trap us, we’d all leave you too. The only pathetic one I see here is you.”

He grows in size, massive fists hammering at my body until all I feel is pain. Physical pain and emotional pain too, but losing my blood doesn’t hurt as much as losing Adriane.

My knees give out, but the chain holds me up. The only thing on my mind as my vision blurs and my lungs seize is the girl who made me feel alive. She’s my fire in the darkness, and I silently pray to every god I know that she’s safe.

The darkness descends on me, dragging me down into it’s void. But it was all worth it.

For her.