Page 60 of Underworld

Then, there’s a knife to Jace’s throat, and I see him flinch as it presses hard into his skin. I start fighting against my restraints, as do my other guys. The leader laughs with glee and says, “There we go! So much fight! That’s what I wanted.”

A click sounds next to my ear, and I instantly stop fighting. This fucker just pulled the hammer back. My guys immediately look in my direction. Their eyes are wide at realizing just how bad our situation is. The leader starts to pace in front of us.

He smiles. “So, who should go first? Your Queen? Or your King?”

My eyes meet Jace’s, and he gives me a sad smile as he whispers, “I will see you soon, My Queen.”

I shake my head frantically. Fuck that! Fuck this shit. “No! You are not fucking leaving us. You fight! You fight till the end!”

Jace’s eyes flare with anger. “There’s a gun to your fucking head and a knife to my throat! What would you have me do, Persephone?!”

I don’t know! I . . . I don’t know. I look at my other men. Howe is growling like an animal but doesn’t try to fight. He won’t with a gun ready to shoot me dead. Next, my gaze shifts to Alec. He’s looking at me with a sad smile. “It will be okay, Seph,” he whispers.

My eyes burn as they shift to my last man. “Zane,” my voice breaks on his name.

I can see the war in his eyes. The need to protect. He can’t, though. He’s incapable of protecting his family, and it's killing him. His voice sounds gruff as he says, “If we fall into the depths of the Underworld, may we fall together.”

My vision blurs as my eyes meet Jace’s once more. With a sad smile still on his face, he says, “May our souls be reunited in the Meadows of Asphodel. And if the Gods and Goddesses find us worthy, may we enter the Elysian Fields.”

I choke on a sob as I watch the knife dig deeper into his skin. I begin to thrash against the men holding me, not caring about the gun to my head. I scream against their hold as I pray to anyone who can hear me. Someone fucking help us!

As if the Gods and Goddesses themselves answered my prayer, the man holding a knife to Jace’s throat explodes in a spray of red. My eyes widen as I watch an arrow shoot right through his head. Holy fucking shit!

Before anyone can even react, another arrow shoots through the neck of the man restraining Jace. He stands quickly with a smile that I have to admit would make me pee myself in fright if it were directed at me.

Then suddenly, several arrows follow the first two, taking down the men holding Howe, Alec, Zane, and me. I look around, trying to figure out where the fuck the arrows are coming from. What the fuck am I doing? A sane person would drop to the floor, ensuring they didn’t get hit.

I look around in the darkness and see dark figures emerging from behind the curve of the cave. My eyes widen when I see it’s Blair and her guys. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

“Nice of you to show up, Arty,” Howe says with a grunt as he stands from the ground brushing off the dirt.

“Am I not usually late to the party, Cerby?” She snickers as she makes her way over to us, bow in hand, currently aimed at the gang leader.

Jace laughs roughly and says, “I was hoping you would show up, Artemis.”

She just shrugs as her guys fan out beside her. “You know how these three are.”

Knox snorts and replies, “You should know by now I can never pick just one weapon.”

Blair rolls her eyes. “Yes, well, you should know by now which are your favorites, so just pick those.”

He shrugs. “I’m the God of War; what do you expect?”

She huffs out a sigh as if this is an argument they regularly have. “Just pick a fucking weapon, Ares! It isn’t that fucking hard!”

Cade walks in between the two and claps his hands together. “Okay, you two get it together. We have bad guys to fight.”

Tony finally speaks up, “I agree with Theseus.”

Cade smiles up at Tony. “Thanks, Hephaestus.”

Tony grunts as he looks over at me. Then, arching a brow, he asks, “You good, Persephone?”

I shake off my surprise and nod. “Um . . . I think so.” What the fuck just happened?

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Jane

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