Page 14 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

I’d been struggling with living for a while, but maybe I just needed something to focus on. No, not something, but someone.

Chapter Eight

Raevyn

Holy fucking shitballs. I was about to meet the King of Hell and he was gorgeous. Like painfully so. I couldn’t even look at him. His gaze made my insides squirm, like he was judging me and finding me wanting. There was something off about him but that might be to do with the fact that his power was stifling. It was like oil, sticky and heavy, trying to drag me down to my knees. To be fair, the guy was old, and I shouldn’t be surprised that his power reflected that. The guy was ancient, and his magic smelt like death and the decimation of worlds. But, unlike Hawk and the other guys, I didn’t find the scent appealing.

Hades loomed over me when I reached him. He wore a dark grey three-piece suit, and it was clearly a custom. The material fit his large frame like a second skin, hugging each muscle tightly. His jaw was square and smooth, his full lips curled in a sneer, but his eyes were absolutely fascinating. They were completely black, with no white at all, but it wasn’t just a simple black. They seemed to swirl like a vortex, dragging my gaze deeper into a place I didn’t want to go. A place of nightmares and the unknown, where all my fears would come to life and try to destroy me. I wanted to look away, but I was captivated. Enthralled.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my realm?” he asked, his voice a commanding rumble.

“I’m Raevyn but I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know how I got here.”

He glanced above my head. “Korbin. Explain.”

I didn’t dare look away from Hades, but I could tell when Korbin came to stand near me. There was a brush of something against my hand, almost like he was trying to let me know I wasn’t in this on my own. I appreciated the gesture, it was sweet.

“She’s from the Raathmore coven, your majesty. She was sacrificed to us by the coven mistress in return for a power boon.”

“Did you grant it?” Hades asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“No. There was no pull from the topside. There was a disturbance in the normal ritual we do, and there she was.” Korbin’s voice became breathy as he spoke to Hades, the tone raspier and it was doing wonderful things to my insides. It made think about the soft growl he’d make when he came. I wanted to hear that and shit, where did that thought come from?

“And you,” Hades said, his discerning gaze finding mine again. “How the fuck did you bring this creature back to the plane of existence?”

Hawk growled at the word ‘creature’ clearly pissed at being labelled that. For some reason, it annoyed me too. Although I didn’t have time to analyse that little morsel, not with the King of Hell staring at me like he was debating the best way to gauge out my eyes.

“I was trying to see if I was a Necromancer. Looks like I might be if I brought Hawk back from the dead.”

Hades’ eyes flashed with an authentic curiosity. “A Necromancer? From the Raathmore coven no less. That is intriguing.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, little witch. I might have a task for you.”

I had the feeling that a task from Hades, wasn’t something you refused. Or possibly even survived.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What kind of task?”

His sneer curled into a wicked grin. “One you might need your newfound connection to the Revenants to complete.” He tapped his chin. “Yes, you might be perfect for the job.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I’ll do it if I can have Hawk, too.”

Hades’ eyebrows lifted dangerously high. I didn’t care if I was pissing him off. I wanted Hawk. He was mine.

“Why should I do that? By rights, he belongs in the Depths. That makes him mine.”

A snarl left my lips before I could temper it. “He does not belong to you.”

He took a step closer, his power wrapping around me in warning. “Be careful, little witch. You overstep.”

I could feel the tension rolling off the guys, but I’d had enough of bullies. It was because of bullies that I was in this place. I wasn’t going to be cowed by this guy because he wore a crown and had some poncey fucking title.

Electricity jumped between my fingertips as I squared off with the King. “What are you going to do about it?”

He gave a dark laugh and that was the only warning I got before I felt the full force of a God’s magic.

He slammed his hands either side of my face and images rapidly flashed through my mind, all of them cold and stark. My family. My death. But he was there for all of them. Hades inserted himself into my memories, warping them until they dripped with blood and violence. Blood was pouring from the sky, coating me in the thick, gloopy substance. I could feel it sliding over my skin, seeping beneath my clothes, drowning me.

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