Captured (Shadow Guild Hades & Persephone #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,58

it was united inside of him. Balance.

And we were stronger. I could feel it.

So could Chronos.

He bellowed and snatched at the protective dome of vines.

I turned my attention to the crowns. The one to the left was sturdy and strong, a thick golden circlet.

“That’s the one, Hades,” I said. “I feel it.”

Together, we picked it up. Our gazes met as we tried to pull the crown apart. The magic in it was strong, and it resisted our efforts. Light gleamed around us, our power pulsing on the air.

The crown broke. Magic exploded and I flew backward, landing hard. Pain sang through me as Chronos tore at the dome of vines. I curled into a knot, nearly blacking out from the pain. Then Hades was there, lifting me to my feet. Poseidon joined us, his trident clutched in his hands.

Suddenly, the pain faded. I panted in relief, but only for a moment. Dark magic seethed around us, sickening in its intensity.

Chronos loomed over the temple, twenty feet tall, his chest heaving and a terrible anger glinting in his eyes. His body was formed of dark mist that swirled around him. He drew power from the Earth in waves, waves that I could feel.

He snarled when his gaze fell on the broken pieces of the Crown of Destiny. The magic had faded from it, and it was now just a bit of gold.

“You dare destroy the crown?” he roared, taking a step toward us. The marble floor cracked beneath his weight.

Zeus hit him with an enormous bolt of lightning. The blow slowed him briefly, but he kept coming.

Hades raised his bident, directing a towering wave of black mist toward Chronos. Stallions galloped within the mist, moving with reverberating force. The wave slammed into Chronos, knocking him to his knees and demolishing the boulders behind him.

He was still too strong. The Earth itself seemed to feed him. My senses had been heightened by my joining with Hades, and I could feel Chronos drawing power from the land and the people he’d frozen.

“We won’t be able to defeat him as long as the Earth is frozen.” I knelt, touching the ground. “Try to hold him off.”

Was I even capable of this?

I wouldn’t have been before my magic had been united with Hades’, but maybe I was now.

I had to be.

I took a deep breath and fed my magic into the Earth, sensing, feeling the frozen places like my own soul had turned to ice.

Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus held off Chronos while I worked. With every square mile that thawed, Chronos weakened. He stayed down longer and got up slower. It took everything I had. My head spun and my muscles burned with the effort, but I slowly melted Chronos’ icy grip on the Earth.

My strength waned, and I swayed. I wasn’t done, but my power was running dry.

But I was almost there. So close. I could feel all the people who’d come back to life, but there were some I hadn’t reached, some places I hadn’t thawed. I pushed my magic harder, trying to find them.

“Seraphia!” Concern echoed in Hades’ voice. “Are you all right?”

“I’m—”

He appeared at my side, his hand gripping my shoulder. His magic flowed into me, strengthening me. I reached for those still frozen and made contact, bringing them back.

On the other side of the temple, Chronos rose to his feet, his eyes ablaze with wrath.

20

Hades

“That’s it,” Seraphia said. “The Earth has returned to normal. Now we need to send him back.”

“Can you create another crevasse?” I asked, looking down at her.

Magic glowed from her eyes as she rose to her feet, power vibrating from her. Her hair whipped back from her face, carried by the wind.

She was magnificent.

“Yes.” She turned and ran to the vines that lay coiled against the columns. Her magic flared, and they began to shrivel.

Outside the temple, my Shadow Army continued to fight the ice demons trying to break through. Zeus and Poseidon were doing their best to keep Chronos distracted, but it wasn’t enough.

Seraphia’s magic flared brighter, and a jagged hole opened in the temple floor. Echo appeared at her side, landing on her shoulder. The chasm deepened, darkness welling up.

Seraphia’s protective dome of vines continued to wither as she used their life force to create the pit into Tartarus. I launched myself high into the air. Seraphia had united the light and the dark inside me, and flying was effortless and painless now that I no longer loathed my wings.

Below me, the battle raged.