Page 39

Haden

T here was something odd lingering in the air as I headed from the main floor to the bottom story.

I dragged Thea and Cassius along with my star mist. I hated being in this fucking place.

Now that I had been out of here for so long, I could feel the way the walls, the air, everything here sucked the life from me.

It was suffocating and reminded me of a life I never wanted to remember ever again—one filled with loneliness and misery.

The castle walls were bare—no decor, rugs, or tapestries anywhere.

I don’t think I had ever really noticed how unpleasant this home was until I lived with Penelope and Henry. They knew how to make anywhere feel like home, but even they would not have know how to bring life to this dead, black castle. I paused when I heard my siblings talking.

I descended the black marble stairs, noting the shift in the warm air, which now felt frigid.

Gods, it felt like winter down here. I paused, taking a moment to make my eyes red and slide my arrogance into place.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I had to squint through the blindingly white lights at the end of the hallway.

There were four doors on each side of me, but I didn’t go into any of them.

Instead, I followed the faint murmuring at the end of the hallway.

Della and Ezra would be sneaking down after me, going into those rooms where I was sure the gods and their mates were at. I swallowed hard as I stepped forward.

“Miss me?” I smiled at my siblings when they jumped back. I saw Avesh strapped to a table, unconscious, and a small woman next to him with bright blonde hair.

“Haden,” Daya said, confused.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Elra hissed.

I looked at her and gave her a pointed look. “You really thought I wouldn’t notice the gods and goddesses going missing with their mates? I’m pretty quick to piece things together.” I glanced at Sydra. “It’s not like I am a sloth. I can do things in a timely manner.”

“Fuck you,” she hissed.

I looked over my brother and his ridiculous outfit, making sure to give him a look full of disgust.

“What?” Gareth snapped.

“Oh, nothing,” I lied. I focused back on Elra, who looked like she was worried that I was here. "Were you planning to steal the gods’ power and magic for yourselves—and leave me out?"

“No, of course not,” Elra scoffed.

“Lying is a sin, Elra.”

Her jaw clenched, and she narrowed her gaze on me. “So is fornicating with a heavenly god.”

I smiled.

“Della is close to falling from the grace of the stars, just like I promised. But now I’m wondering if I should just stop her since you all have your own thing happening.” I waved vaguely at the scene before me.

“We were just getting everything ready for when the curse breaks. We were going to steal a couple for you too.” Elra was such a lying bitch.

“No need. I brought my own.”

I yanked Thea and Cassius forward, and they stared at me like I had lost my mind. My siblings looked at Thea, whose eyes burned red with fake anger.

“I think I will take them as my own.” Elra smiled.

“Fuck you.” I immediately stepped toward her. “I got them; they are mine.”

Elra’s eyes stared into mine in a way that let me know something was wrong about all of this. Her evil smile widened as she looked at me.

“Are you trying to figure out what lie of yours I figured out?” she teased.

“No, I am trying to figure out which one of you I will kill first. Should I go from my least favorite to favorite sibling or the other way around?”

Her face paled for only a moment.

“You don’t need Cassius and Thea when you are mated to a fucking goddess,” Daya hissed. “You think we wouldn’t notice that we killed you and you did not come back to Hell so we could have our turn? She marked you and made it so you would always come back to her.”

I smiled at them. “Gods, it took you long enough. Wait…” I turned to Sydra. “Were you in charge of finding this out?”

She threw a knife at me, missing.

“Did all of you turn into sloths while I was out and about?”

“You are such an asshole.” Mateo ground out.

“You were going to leave us here while you lived with that stupid whore,” Elra hissed.

“You know I don’t appreciate you calling her that.” My eyes burned with my wrath. “That is my wife you are talking about.”

All of them stared at me like I had lost my fucking mind. But it didn’t matter. I released Thea and Cassius, knowing we were about to do some killing. I glanced around the room and hesitated before counting my siblings again. Lana was missing. Mateo smiled smugly at me.

“You just realized one of us is not here.”

I turned when I heard Della groan in pain behind me. Lana came in, dragging Della behind her with a busted lip. Where the fuck was Ezra?

“Give her to me right fucking now,” I demanded. “If you do not let her go this second, I promise I will fucking tear you all to shreds.”

“We won’t be doing that.” Lana smiled. “Say goodbye to your wife.”

“It’s a shame, Lana, that you will be the first sibling I have to kill,” I said.

Lana made the mistake of standing too close to where I was.

She looked up at me, ready to say something, but I had already moved toward her.

I smiled as I grabbed her by the throat, picked her up, and slammed her onto the marble floor, which cracked and splintered across the room.

Lana was still thrashing around. I just stared at her as her fear circled around us.

“Please…” she choked out.

“I told you I would fucking kill every single one of you if you didn’t let her go.

I do not give out second chances when it comes to Storm.

And I keep my fucking promises.” I smiled as I squeezed her neck so hard it snapped in my hand, the sound of her bones breaking echoing in the space around us.

It was now silent besides my labored breathing.

I stood up, my frost magic clinging to me, twisting around me in fury.

“Don’t move, or we will just kill her and let you live.” Mateo was gripping Della’s arm. That only fueled the wrath inside of me. How fucking dare he touch her? “I fucking swear, I will gut her right now.”

I instantly stopped moving. “That’s what I thought,” he said smugly.

But I hadn’t stopped because of his threat. I stopped because Thea and Cassius were not moving. I glanced around, and Elra was smiling at me.

“It looks like Thea and Cassius aren’t immune to dark magic.” Her gaze turned toward them. “Come.” She called them, and they immediately walked to her. I stepped forward but stopped when I heard Della cry out in pain.

“Such a hard decision,” Elra mocked. “Do you try to stop me or save your mate?”

I glared at her, but I paused when I saw Death appear for only a brief moment behind Thea and Cassius.

“I will always choose Della.”

“You know, I really wonder what the heavens will think when they realize they let their precious Della mate with an abomination. The heavens will always question your loyalty, and you still give it to them instead of family?”

“My loyalty is not to the fucking stars. My loyalty will always be to Della above all else. She is the only one I answer to. She is the one I will bow to. She is the one I will pray to. She is the only thing that holds power over me. And you are not my family; they are.” I pointed to Thea and Cassius, who were now strapped to tables.

What the fuck?

“Let's show you how this is going to work.” Daya grinned. “If you interfere, we will be forced to just kill them.”

Thea and Cassius both lay there with vacant eyes. Elra being able to use dark magic was a worst-case scenario. I was at a disadvantage here. I had no idea what the extent of her abilities was with that damn book.

“Don’t worry, Haden, it doesn’t kill them.” Daya stared at me. Before I could understand what that meant, Gareth started reciting words I did not understand.

I watched in horror as Thea's and Cassius’ chests glowed dark green—their souls.

The glow slowly floated away from their chests and down to the foot of the table, where it moved through a strand of golden magic down to a small glass box.

Once they were there, they slammed into each other and intertwined until it was difficult to tell which soul was Thea’s and which one belonged to Cassius.

“What are you doing?” I demanded an answer.

They ignored me as Gareth stopped reciting the words.

Thea and Cassius’ souls were now locked up in the box, trying to get out.

Then I noticed the rest of the boxes, all stacked neatly on the table.

They had all the gods they needed. They were doing this right now.

“Unfortunately, Della no longer possesses a soul, so we will just take yours.” Elra smiled. “Since she gave you part of hers so long ago, we may as well put it to good use. How much power is pulsing inside of you?”

“You are stupid if you think any of you will be making it out of this alive.”

“If it brings you comfort, you two will be attached for eternity like you were always meant to be, just inside of me.”

“That brings me no joy, you psycho bitch,” I yelled so violently that the walls shook. I looked at Thea and Cassius, who were passed out but breathing. Then I looked at Della, who smiled at me. She nodded at me like I needed encouragement.

“Spill their blood, Haden.” Her eyes flashed red as she yanked her arm out of Lana’s grip and fell to the ground. Before anybody could stop her, she grabbed the knife Sydra threw at me earlier, stabbing Mateo in the thigh. He cried out in pain as I smiled at Storm.