Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,143

the light called them here, drawing them to us.

A shiver of unease rushed through me as a familiar scent of magic drifted over my exposed flesh. Blinking, I tried to see past the blurring of my vision. Panic crawled up my spine, clawing its way into my mind as I remained alert but unable to communicate coherently.

“Just breathe, Lena. In and out, you’re not leaving me now,” Lucian stated firmly, his tone holding the authority and calmness of his position. “Hades is here,” he announced, and as I watched, a blinding blue light ignited in the room, swallowing the shadows.

“You rang?” Hades asked, his violet-blue gaze sliding over me before his chest rose and fell with a labored breath. “Lucian, no, no fucking way. You can’t do this. You know it is forbidden.”

“What will they do, Hades? Fight me? They can fucking try. I have never asked for anything from any of them. I am asking for this. I am demanding this one thing be done. I will not lose her again. They can do this one thing for me.”

“They’ll have to fight me too, Hades,” Spyder said, and then more voices echoed his words.

Hades’ stare held mine, his dark head shaking before he scrubbed his hand over his mouth. “Have you asked her if she wants this?”

“Don’t fucking do that,” Lucian warned, his anger palpable in his tone. “Lena doesn’t get to die here. You understand? She’s going to accept what is about to happen.”

“I didn’t ask if you wanted this, Lucian. I asked if she did, or if you’ve talked to her, and if this is what she wants,” Hades returned, unbothered by the tone of Lucian’s voice.

“I want to live,” I whispered weakly, fighting to remain coherent enough to understand what was happening around me.

Hades’s eyes remained locked with mine, watching for any sign that I wasn’t able to decide my fate. He slowly blew the air from his lungs, fighting whatever war was happening inside his mind.

Prying his gaze from mine, he looked over my prone form to where Lucian stood, glaring murderously at him.

Pain assaulted me, rendering my mind useless with how thickly it wrapped around me, consuming my thoughts. I slid my attention to Lucian, who watched me with anguish burning in his stare. His hair was messy, sticking up every which way from running his fingers through it, pulling on it while he waited for Hades and the others.

“You heard her,” Lucian interrupted, sliding between Hades and me, obstructing my view. “Call them, now. Call her, now.”

“Persephone doesn’t come for me, pun intended,” he snorted. “I’ll call for them, and they will reach out to her. What is it you intend to offer them for Lena, Lucian?” His words held a grim undertone. “Their price will be steep, and I’m not sure you’re prepared to pay it.”

“I will deal with that when the time comes to give them what they want. Call them, now, Hades. I cannot hold her here indefinitely from Death,” Lucian growled.

A deep, soothing chuckle sounded in the room, and everyone turned toward Thanatos, who leaned against the wall, holding his scythe over his shoulder.

“No, you cannot. I’m guessing that isn’t what you called me here to deal with, though. You want her soul back. Right?” Thanatos stated firmly.

“I will get it from you, Thanatos. You will give it to me or die. You owe me, and I am collecting the debt now,” Lucian hissed, his armor slowly wrapping around him, while Thanatos stared with a calculated look.

“I want Spyder to call his favor in, too. After all, I heard he’s rather fond of the female also,” Thanatos returned, pushing off the wall as his scythe vanished into a puff of black smoke. “Her soul has frayed after all, and you’re going to need someone to sew it back into place. Choose because you’re out of time, and I’m about to reap what little is left of her soul.”

“Not yet,” Lucian growled thickly. “Lena, hold on for me.”

I coughed, sending blood splattering over his armor-clad chest. Spyder’s hold on my hand tightened and I whimpered. The dagger was barely visible through my chest now, as the pain jackhammered through me endlessly. The blade was steadily sinking into me, as if seeking an escape through my back.

“That looks painful,” Nyx’s honey-laced voice announced to the room. A sliver of darkness drifted over me, and then her face became visible. Her hand shot out, curling long fingers around my jaw. “Poor, sweet