Page 116 of Hades' Shadow
If the shell is there, the rest of the stuff could be too. It might be the only break we’ve had since the damn golem showed up.
My hands are covered in remnants of the golem but the more I dig, the less I care about what I’m coated in.
“I think I have something,” Raven says and then curses. “It’s broken, dammit.”
She pulls a piece of the glass bottle from the rubble and I groan.
“So much for having medical supplies.” I shake my head. “We may as well give up. Any food or clothing we find will be tainted by the medicine and I have already had too much in a short period of time.”
Jayden stands and holds a hand out to me to help me up. “At least we have the shell in case of an emergency.”
I take his hand and let him pull me up. “Let’s get the fuck away from here. Like I said before, I’m not a fan of Elysium.”
“We can’t be far from the Asphodel meadows. I say when we get to the border, we make camp and rest.” Jayden runs a dusty hand over his hair, streaking it with dirt.
How the hell are we supposed to get this off?
I peer down at my ripped and blood-soaked shirt and grimace. I look like a murder victim.
“All my clothes are gone.”
Jayden pulls his backpack off and digs through it before handing me a black T-shirt. I take it gratefully and walk behind a boulder that looks suspiciously like the dead golem’s head.
I wince as I rip my shirt off. The skin at my stomach is still healing. It’s tight like I’m about to pop a stitch.
“Raven, can you help me?” I call out from behind the boulder.
Hands much larger than Raven’s grip the shirt, taking it from me.
“Jayden, what are you doing?” I ask as I glance over my shoulder.
Jayden places his hands on my arms and gently turns me so I’m facing him. His fingers brush the small pink scar on my stomach and goose bumps erupt all over me.
“You said you needed help, right?” he asks with a flirty grin.
“I need help putting clothes on, not taking them off.” I roll my eyes and reach for the shirt.
“Yes, there will be plenty of time for that when we aren’t on a mission to stop the Titans,” he agrees.
Jayden bats my hand away and pulls the shirt over my head. His fingers trail over my shoulders and down my arms until his hand wraps around my wrist and tugs it through the armhole gently.
“You should have told us you were still in pain,” he says as he repeats the process on the other arm.
When his task is complete, his hands land on my hips and he pulls me into his chest.
“I think I strained myself while I was trying to kill the golem.” I shrug. “You know acrobatics like that can be hard on the body.”
Jayden smiles that panty-dropping smile that should be illegal as he leans down and kisses my forehead gently.
It’s a sweet gesture but when he’s touching me like this, I want his lips on mine and our bodies pressed together.
Stop it, Beth. You’re only supposed to be friends, remember?
I shake my head to clear it of my lustful thoughts and grab his hand in mine, pulling him back to the others.
“Thank the gods. If I started hearing moaning, I was going to leave you assholes behind,” Raven says, crossing her arms.
“Fuck off, Raven,” I say and elbow her in the side as I pass.
