Page 69 of Hades' Shadow
“No, you’re not fucking dying,” Jayden growls, squeezing me tighter.
Did I say that out loud? I don’t think I did.
Raven chuckles. “Yeah, B, you said that out loud.”
Shit.
Raven crouches in front of me but my vision blurs. My eyelids are heavy.
I just want to sleep.
My body shakes and I don’t know if it’s convulsions or someone shaking me.
“Open your mouth, Beth.” Strong hands grip my jaw and my head thrashes back and forth as I grit my teeth under the onslaught. “Beth. I need you to open your mouth. We can’t stop the pain unless you open.”
Pain. Yes, I want the fucking pain to stop.
I breathe deeply through my nose and open my mouth even as the pain spikes and I want to grit my teeth against the pain again.
“Hurry,” Jayden barks and it confuses me.
Who is he telling to hurry? I can’t do anything right now.
Something hits my tongue. It tastes like the sweetest strawberries and I groan, opening wider for more.
The fog clears from my brain and I blink against the white spots in my vision before glancing up at Jayden.
He’s going to have frown lines if he keeps looking at me like that.
Reaching up, I attempt to straighten them with my index finger.
“What are you doing, Beth?” Jayden asks on a groan, squeezing me tight to him.
“You’re frowning. You’re gonna get lines there.” I shrug but hiss in pain.
Fuck. My shoulder is still healing. Damn it. That hurts.
“It should only be a few more minutes before the elixir works,” Jayden whispers.
He tightens his arms around me as I squirm. “I’m okay, Jayden.”
I pat his arm and sit up, only wincing slightly. “We need to get to the underworld and get the helm before others are attacked with that poison.”
Orpheus stomps over and crosses his arms over his chest. “Wait just one gods damn minute. Do you really think I’m letting Zeus’ kid into the underworld?”
“We have to go.” I shoot to my feet but wobble slightly.
“You were just poisoned, sparky. A small gust of wind could blow you over right now,” Orpheus says.
He may be a millennia-old man but I really want to lash out at him with my magic.
I plant my feet and square my shoulders. I refuse to be seen as weak.
“Do you have a place she can sit and recover until the healing elixir has a chance to finish its work?” Jayden asks hopefully.
I growl at the overprotective idiots. “I’m fine.”
Raven shakes her head when I take a step forward and stumble slightly. “You were just poisoned, B. Take a minute to breathe.”
