Page 49 of Hades' Shadow
It’s not the first time I have had these thoughts, but it’s the first time someone else has voiced them, and it hurts to think that the gods are weakening and all the Hermes students were kidnapped because of me.
Jayden growls, “Don’t you dare put this all on her shoulders. She didn’t have a good choice. Either come here or run from monsters the rest of her life? That’s a pretty fucked-up choice.”
“It’s weird though, right? No one was ever sent on crazy missions before she got here. I was never chased by monsters before coming here.” Dax crosses his arms over his chest.
Raven smirks. “I was chased by a big ugly lizard creature.”
“Those bastards are creepy as fuck.” I shiver, remembering when I met Jayden for the first time. The night Rebecca told me about this place.
He saved me from it, but he was a complete asshole about it. I found out later that he had been watching over me for a couple weeks. Monsters were constantly trying to attack me on my walk home from work and I never knew it.
Jayden chuckles. “You weren’t attacked before coming here? You know what that means, right?”
“Jayden,” I say sharply but I’m ignored.
He’s goading Dax into a fight if he says it and he knows it.
“It means you are weak.”
Fuck, he had to say it, didn’t he?
Dax roars and shoves Jayden. I jump back just in time so I don’t get trampled as Dax rushes him. The two guys land on the floor with an oof. Jayden rolls them and I am shocked he’s able to. Dax is a huge bulky guy and Jayden is lean but muscled in his own way.
“Motherfucker, stop it,” I yell. I turn panicked eyes on Raven, but she’s watching the whole thing with a huge grin on her face. “Raven, help me stop them.”
“Why? This is entertaining as hell,” she cackles.
“Adrian?” I ask him. He turns wide eyes on me and shrugs.
“What am I supposed to do?” he asks like getting into the middle of the two of them is the last thing he wants to do, and I can’t really say that I blame him.
“I’m going to zap both of you if you don’t stop,” I shout over the grunts, but they either don’t hear me or ignore me.
Dax gets in a shot at Jayden’s face and the shock of it gives Dax the leverage to flip them again. He pulls his fist back again and I lunge forward with my electricity and wrap my fingers around his wrist.
Dax jerks and my body goes flying until I crash into the wall. Pain explodes in my head and back.
Raven screams, “Beth. You fucking idiots.”
Raven and Adrian rush over to where I’m in a heap on the marble floor.
“Are you okay?” Adrian asks as he holds out a hand to help me up.
“Yeah,” I croak, shaking the fuzziness from my brain. “It just rang my bell a bit when I hit the wall.”
Jayden’s eyes blaze. His shadows are swirling erratically. “What the fuck were you thinking getting in the middle of that?”
“He was about to hit you again. He’s a child of Ares; I don’t know how many hits you could take before you got knocked out.”
“We are already in enough danger most of the time. You don’t need to get in the middle of a fight and put yourself in more,” Jayden roars but his hands roam my head and back as he pulls me into a hug.
What the fuck is he doing? Is this a friend thing or a scared I’m injured thing?
“I’m fine, Jayden.” I pat his back.
Raven taps me on the shoulder. “You aren’t fine, Beth. Your head is bleeding.”
Jayden grasps my shoulders and spins me so my back is to them. “Fuck, you need a healer. Fuck.”
