Page 15 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘Are you sure about that?’ His eyes narrowed on me. I was irked, but more thrilled… and extremely pissed off at the thrilled part.
‘Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Hades.’ He gave a slight bow, and I inhaled sharply.
Thiswas Hades?
‘You’re Hades?’ I squeak-whispered. He frowned and smiled at me, as if he couldn’t believe I was a fully functioning human. ‘Oh.’ All words shrivelled in my throat as I took him in, my eyes darting down his body. His black shirt stretched tight across massive shoulders, rolled up to the elbows, showcasing ridiculously appealing muscular forearms. When did forearms become sexy? The shirt was open at the neck, revealing a smooth chest, and, with faded, ripped jeans hugging his enormous legs, he was beyond beautiful. His full lips were parted slightly as he gazed at me.
Shit! I wasoglingthe god of the dead. I was flowing with heat, embarrassment, and something else that pulsated. Holy crap. I wastotallyturned on. Dammit. Mystupidbody. That pulsating heat coiled low in my core as my gaze met his again.
‘Anyway, I have much to do, so I shall take my leave.’ His cheeks heated. Hades was blushing—well, who knew gods blushed? ‘But I wanted to introduce myself.’
‘Thank you.’ I gave a small curtsey, which made his mouth twitch. I cringed and pictured punching myself in the face. Hard. Repeatedly.
I was incapable of being coherent; all known words in my vocabulary somehow escaped me. I knew my eyes were wide, and the heat in my face burned my cheeks. I made a concerted effort to focus on his nose—not his annoyingly beautiful face or that ridiculous body, which caused the beat of my heart to skip and then speed up.
As Hades vanished with a pop and swirl of dark shadows, I slumped to the floor and cradled my head in my hands. Why hadn’t I kicked him in the balls or yelled at him for kidnapping me? But when my eyes met those swirling pools of blue and gold, every word in me had frozen.
You were supposedly married to him once.How was that even possible? He was the god of death and shadows, and inhis true form, he was terrifying. My despicable mind flashed to what sex with him would be like. I shut the thought down immediately. Nope, not happening—but I was drawn to him. No one had ever elicited lust-filled feelings in me like he had, and that was just in hispresence. I needed to ignore my pounding hormones. He may have been ludicrously attractive, but he was still a god… and as a witch, he was my enemy.
But, hellfire, this was going to be alongthree months.
Teeand I walked down a labyrinth of hallways to the training rooms. I wore leather trousers, which clung to the curve of my hips, paired with a matching halter neck top that I’d eventually managed to squeeze my breasts into. With lightweight boots and my hair scraped into a high, messy bun, I felt as ready as I could be. I was still missing my divine blade, though, which left me feeling vulnerable.
‘You’re worryingly quiet, Sephy.’ Tee side-eyed me, and I exhaled sharply.
‘Hades visited me.’ Tee stopped, her brows inching up her forehead.
‘Oh. He did, did he? I thought he was letting you settle in before coming to see you.’ Tee narrowed her eyes in thought, then resumed walking. ‘So, what do you think of him?’
‘He’s the guy that freaked me out the other night,’ I muttered.
‘When you were battling the Lamia?’
I came to an abrupt halt, my throat squeezing with dread as icy horror drenched my veins. ‘How…?’ Oh, fuck. Of course they’d know. They’d know everything—that I was a demon hunter. And probably a witch.
‘Come on, Sephy. Let’s do some fight training.’ She pushed open a door and walked through, leaving me in the hallway, my mind in tatters. I let out a long breath and followed her through the door into the training hall. It was vast, glowing with the same magical daylight as my room—looking up at the ceiling felt like gazing at a sun-filled day. Columns lined the room, giving distinct Grecian vibes, which made sense, and the walls were adorned with shelves and hooks holding all sorts of weapons. The floor was covered in a soft material that my feet sank into as I walked.
‘We’ll warm up first,’ Tee said, smirking at me.
We faced off, both adopting an attack stance. I was well-trained in various fighting techniques: grappling, martial arts, jiu-jitsu, and Muay Thai,to name a few, alongside weapon training. However, the only weapon I truly needed was my divine blade. I felt naked without it, but I clenched my teeth and inhaled deeply through my nose.
Tee moved as swiftly as a cobra striking, but I was ready for her. I bent my knees and pushed off the ground, somersaulting over her head and seizing her in a rear-naked chokehold. Tee twisted behind me and fell backwards, taking me down with her. Quick as a shadow, she pinned me in a mount position, straddling my abdomen, and when she grinned, my temper simmered.
I planted both hands on her chest, drew my feet up towards my bottom, and lifted my hips forcefully, pushing forward to force her hands down above my head. Hooking one arm around hers, I used the other to push and roll us over. I sprang up in one fluid motion before she could grapple me again.
She was up in a flash and came at me. I threw a hook kick, which she dodged with ease. She was quick and agile. Then she executed a roundhouse kick that would have knocked outteeth and cracked bones had the floor not been so forgiving. Nevertheless, I still fell hard onto my butt.
I groaned and rose fluidly to my feet, refusing to wince at the pain in my ass.
‘Right, let's do some moreinterestingtraining,’ Tee said as she turned away, then tossed me a fighting stick, which I caught easily. It was a simple, long, slender, wooden gun staff—the grandfather of all weapons. We both stood with our feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. I held my stick in my right hand, over my shoulder, and my hand close to my ear. Eyeing Tee with caution, I wondered if she’d try to kill me—then gave myself a mental slap. She was my best friend. I loved her like a sister.
Damn, this was so messed up.
Tee pounced with a spring semi-forward step. We were evenly matched, both struggling to get too close to inflict any real damage. I swung my stick in an uppercut, and Tee hissed as I clouted her wrist. I stifled a squeal of triumph until she thwacked me good on my side. We remained silent throughout the sparring. I used the time to quiet my mind, avoid dwelling on my precarious predicament, and burn off some pent-up energy.
Eventually, Tee stopped and set down her stick, crossing her arms and adopting a more relaxed stance. I wondered whether she was contemplating knocking me on my ass again or wounding me with the vast array of stabby things lining the walls. Instead, she declared we’d done enough, thank the gods. My muscles ached, and my backside and ribs were bruised.
‘Let’s go back, Sephy.’ Tee took my hand, and there was a loud pop as I was blinded by bright, white light. My stomach dropped off the deep end—I felt like I was flying downhill on a rollercoaster until we were finally back in my room.
