Page 70 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Chapter 34

Ember

The sharp pain in my heart came suddenly as I gripped my chest. My other handheld tightly to the white cushion. If my nails were any longer, then I was sure to pierce the skin. Hades stood frozen, and his eyes softened as he looked back at me sitting on the couch.

"Truth," the voice began to whisper over and over. The voice in my head was unreasonable. Hades could never do such a thing, to reject the idea that his mate could be found as just a baby. "Hades?" I whispered quietly, daring not to let go of the couch. My body might have floated away and mixed with the horrible sound of Zeus' words if I had. Hades' silence only confirmed that Zeus had spoken the truth and the voice in my head was indeed correct. A fire burned my eyes as Hades rushed to my side.

"Ember, let me explain…" he started, but I just moved my knees away from his kneeling form. Hades had the chance to know who I was when I was born, and he rejected the idea?

"Then explain." I dared not look at him. I would lose all my composure if I had. I'd run back into his arms and tell him it was all right and forgive him on the spot. I gave him so many times to come clean and told him his sins were okay. That I would forgive him. Not once did he bring this up. The guilt still lingered on his heart from just earlier today; he could have spilled onto me, and I would have still given him my heart.

This, I had to learn that THIS was the last bit of the guilt that sat on him. The burden I would have overlooked if he had just told me himself. But no, he hid this from me. Now he is slowly leaking all his regrets and sorrows. Time after time, I forgave him. Time after time, I showed that I was understanding.

I would rather live in the club for another five years than deal with the pain I felt inside me. The blood that flowed through my arteries around my heart even hurt; could that be such a thing? Each passing platelet felt tight, flowing through my body.

Many feel physical pain is the worst kind of pain, but that is far from the truth. This emotional pain of rejection felt far worse. The fact that he hid this instead of telling me was far, far worse than anything I felt at the club. I could live with the bruises on my skin; however, the bruises that now lay on my heart were another matter.

"Selene came to me, the day you were born." Hades' throat bobbed as he pulled at his tie. "She gave me an option to see you, but I rejected her." Hades' breath was heaving, but I remained still, not going to comfort the soulmate that I was to love unconditionally.

"I said I didn't need a mate and that I didn't want her help. I made her leave, and I never saw you. I swear, if I looked at you, I would have jumped at the chance…"

"But you didn't," I interrupted. "You didn't even give me a chance. But that isn't what I'm so mad about, Hades. I mean, you wouldn't tell me. When did you ever think I would reject you after all the things you have confessed to me?" I held in a sob. "Sure, this was a big deal, hell it should be a reason I should walk out those palace doors if I was anyone else, but I'm not." Hades took a step towards me, but I got up and stepped back. Defeated was the only word I could describe him. His shoulders were slumped over, and his eyes glassy.

"I've been really understanding; it's an insult and downright hurtful for you to think I wouldn't forgive you." My heart ached as I heard howling in my head. The waterworks could no longer be held as the once burning eyes filled to the brim with a gushing waterfall. I wanted to scratch my chest and my head at the same time until it bled.

The pain came in waves as my knees fell to the floor. There were hushed and hurried whispers around me, but the scream in my head was far louder. A gentle hand that was not of Hades pulled me to their side and rushed me out the door.

My legs pulled me along as the arm around me held me tightly, whispering encouraging words of, "We are almost there, keep walking. We will fix you right up." A warm tapping on my shoulder was felt on the opposite side of me, nuzzling my cheek. Looking past the tears, Blaze chittered, and his voice became clear.

"It will be all right, Ember. It will be all right; the pain will subside.”

Not only do I feel my own despair, hurt, and disappointment but the guilt, depression, and sadness from Hades weighed on me as well. Doubling these intense emotions pushed me further and further to the ground until I collapsed.

“Michael, pick her up, bring her here.” A set of muscular arms lifted me into the air and placed me gently on something I could only, in short, be described as a cloud.

“Pasithea, can you help?” My eyes still closed, I felt a wave of calm work its way from my toes up to my neck.

"I can only help so much; she has a strong empath ability." The lulling deep feminine voice soothed my raging headache as I felt Blaze nuzzle into my ear on the pillow under me.

"An animal," he whispered. "There is a spirit animal attached to you. I just don't know what." Blaze continued to chitter something in my ear as his voice faded away. The overwhelming emotions lifted as I barely felt my own.

"There she is," the first voice that had taken me out of the living space spoke as I slowly opened my eyes. Her face became familiar, and realization struck me. Hera. "You gave quite a scare back there. You held your own in front of two gods and gave one a personal beating; you did well.” Hera chuckled as she petted my forehead with a white cloth. The other woman on the opposite side of the bed must have been Pasithea. She continued to wave her hands over my body and mostly my heart.

“Did you know you were an empath, Ember?” I shook my head as she smiled. “I’m the goddess of relaxation, calmness, and meditation. I hope it is all right, I put your body in a meditative state. I let your mind alone because it is too strong for me. Which I find odd." Pasithea pondered as her hand left my chest. "As I was trying to calm you, I felt many emotions in your body and mind that were not your own. There were two others you were feeling inside of you, causing me not to calm you as well. One I assume to be Hades, and the other, I'm not sure. You are an empath though, very rare to be a true empath for a human."

Hera's eyes narrowed as she heard Pasithea speak. "What do you mean? You said you felt two in her body?"

"Yes," Pasithea confirmed. “Her body radiated sadness, and other emotions that did not line up with her body. There was guilt, depression, and regret, along with another entity inside her. Rage and vulnerability. She was, in a sense, holding three entities’ emotions in her body. Something that no human or even god should want or be able to handle."

Blaze started chittering at me again and nodded his head. "Just a few moments ago," I pointed to Blaze. "He told me there was an animal inside me." Hera looked at Blaze while thinking.

"A Phantomtail. They help the animal spirits cross over." Hera let out a sigh and dampened another cloth on my head. "Who are your parents? Do you know?" I shook my head, only for a few tears to fall.

"Someone cast a spell on me, and I don't remember anything before I was sent to a terrible place." I sniffed while Pasithea gave me a tissue. "I just found out my real name not long ago, and memories are slowly coming back, but it is a process. Hecate said she couldn't take any spells off because they were intertwined so much it would hurt me in the long run."I wiped my nose.

"This is becoming more complicated, and Hades has certainly made a mess of it," Hera grunted as she sat back in her chair.Taking in the room, it was much more of a homelier room than that of the palace. It had beautiful tan walls, with paintings of men or women doing various activities like reading or swimming. The bookshelves were lined with ancient books, couches, and seating areas littered the room for a lot of company.

As much as I wanted to think about what was wrong with me, my mind and heart drifted to Hades. My emotions may be in check for a moment, but my heart still wanted him. My mind not so much. I should be exceedingly angry and upset. I spent most of my life locked away, and he could have prevented it all. However, I was angrier he didn't tell me. In a way, the hardships I had gone through shaped me into who I was today after the little time I have spent away from the club.

---