Captured (Shadow Guild Hades & Persephone #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,59

Hundreds of ice demons threw themselves at the temple, but our allies held them back.

Zeus continued to attack Chronos with lightning, but his blasts rarely made contact. Chronos could no longer draw strength from the Earth he had frozen, but he used his ability to slow time to dodge the blasts. Poseidon continued to hurl huge gouts of water at him. They moved so fast that they plowed right through stone, leaving holes in their wake. Chronos dodged those, too.

I’d have to get ahold of him and not let go.

The crevasse appeared endless now, and I could feel the magic welling up from deep inside Tartarus. It made my stomach turn with memories, but there was no time for cowardice.

Seraphia was bent over the vines that she’d withered. Her strength appeared to be flagging, but she continued to suck the life from the small island, using the power to create the pit. The grass surrounding the temple was dying, spreading out in a wilting circle that reached the sea.

She’d taken all she could.

Would it be enough?

It had to be.

The only life left to take was that of her friends, and she couldn't do that.

I flew lower, trying to sense if the portal was there.

It was.

Thank fates.

When my brothers had first arrived at the Haunted Hound, we’d made a plan. It was time.

“Now,” I shouted.

As they directed their magic in a way that would drive Chronos closer to the pit, I flew higher into the sky. I could feel Seraphia’s gaze on me, her confusion, but I ignored it. This was the only way. Our magic couldn’t drive him into the pit, but I could. There was a risk of me being stuck in Tartarus again, but it was worth it.

I soared higher until the temple was but a speck below me. Turning, I plunged downward. The sea surrounding the island was freezing. Ice floes drifted in the Mediterranean, eerily out of place.

The wind whipped past as I charged Chronos. He was nearly to the pit. I angled my descent and plowed into him, driving him over the edge and into the blackness.

I followed, forcing him deeper and deeper.

The dark magic of Tartarus roiled up, making my stomach turn, but I kept flying, pushing him downward. He beat at my back, his mammoth fists breaking my wings. Agony flared, but I ignored it, the force of our descent carrying us deeper.

Memories of torture flashed in my mind, but they weren’t enough to stop me.

Just a little farther.

I could feel it now. The portal to Tartarus was close. I’d shove him in and pray I had the strength to fly away.

“Hades,” he roared, his voice so loud that I swore I felt blood leak from my ears.

Finally, we reached the portal. I shoved him in and tried to veer away, but my wings were too weak. Chronos got a fist around my leg, yanking me after him.

Tartarus reached for me, the cold grip dragging me toward the portal to torment. I forced my broken wings upward, trying to get the momentum to break his hold. Blackness threatened my vision, but I pushed harder.

I couldn’t be dragged into Tartarus. Seraphia would follow me…try to rescue me. We’d barely made it out the first time. I couldn't risk her again.

The thought gave me the last bit of strength I needed. My wings surged, and my ankle slipped from Chronos’s grasp. The portal sucked him away, and his magic abruptly disappeared.

I shot upward. Flying was agony, and I nearly passed out from the pain. I kept going, blinded and weak. But it was so far. So impossibly far. I could smell the sea as I neared the surface, but I wasn’t going to make it. I was too weak. Chronos had done too much damage.

I was nearly unconscious when the vines wrapped around me.

Seraphia

I pulled Hades from the pit with my vines. He was unconscious, his golden wings a broken mess at his back.

I laid him on the ground and fell to my knees, my heart near to bursting with grief and worry. I pressed my hands to his chest. “Please be alive. Please.”

I felt the faintest heartbeat, and hope surged through me. Panting, I pushed my healing life force into him.

“You need to close the pit,” Zeus shouted. “Before Chronos comes back through the portal!”

“Just a moment!” Panic made my heart race and my mind spin. All around, the sound of fighting had faded. But with the pit still open and Hades nearly dead