Page 128 of A Kiss From Death
Hudson’s small body disintegrating to a pile of ash pushes against my memories, and I’m struck harshly with the reality that not all of us were saved. I distinctly remember Hade strangling these two with his shadows until they went limp in front of me, so I’m not sure how they are currently pushing oxygen through their supposed burst lungs.
As I pull away from Rayah, a warm embrace saddles up to my back, towering over me. Looking over my shoulder, I find Hade studying me. Whether he’s waiting for me to either snap, or break down, I’m not sure. The others decide to dismiss themselves, giving us a moment alone.
“I have tried to save as many of them as I could over the past four years. When your mother was fully lucid, she showed me this abandoned war camp. We fixed it up, and she asked me to save as many as possible. I had no idea why, seeing as my memories were wiped as well, but I never asked questions. I think, deep down in my gut, I knew.”
His hand moves then, landing lightly on my shoulders and spinning me to face him. “I couldn’t save them all for you, and for that, I am sorry. I did everything in my power to build you an army. Not everyone wanted to be saved or was worthy of a life fighting for you. Those who were, I saved and brought here. Some of the Vanquishes I trust come here daily to help train them and bring supplies, weapons, and food.”
Pointing to Yazi and Sierra, he states, “I never killed them. I had to make it look like I did, but I only cut off their airways long enough to make them pass out so I could move them. Once they woke, I gave them a choice: to live and fight, or die a coward.”
I stroke my thumb lightly across the scar dissecting his discolored eye. “What happened?” I whisper on a jagged breath.
He tries to turn his face to hide, but my hand is faster, and I grip the side of his cheek to face me again. Taking a deep sigh, he presses his warm cheek further into my palm.
“Airestol is what happened. I couldn’t save him.” His face breaks at the same time my brain puts the pieces together. He chokes. “Gods, Nyxi, I tried so hard to save him, but I failed you. I will never forgive myself for being the reason you no longer have a father. Because of me, you no longer have a family. I wear this scar as a reminder of that failure, so I may never forget the wreckage I’ve brought you.”
Eyes watery, I smile softly. “I haveyou. You are my family, Hade.Youare enough. You have always been enough.” He tries to shake his head, rejecting my plea, but I look him dead in the eyes so he can see the truth in my words.
My voice never wavers. “There is no me without you. There is no life beyond you. There is no plan in my head that doesn’t involve you beside me. A life without you is a tragedy greater than the loss of magic, becauseIcannot live on with only the memory of you. You are more than family to me—you are the very life that runs under my skin.”
A single beat of silence crackles between us before Hade’s giant hands engulf my face and he crashes his lips to mine. It’s an answer. A plea for forever. A sealing of a declaration stronger than the magic holding Lunaria in the sky. It’s an unbreakable bond between two souls so intertwined, you cannot find one without discovering the other.
“I hate to be the one to break up this sweet little family reunion.”
Hade rips his lips away a deathly low growl of warning leaving his throat. He instinctively grips my hand while trying to drag mebehind him. I hold my ground, preparing to fight this battle by his side.
“Aire.” Hade’s voice is more a warning than a statement.
“No need to stop all the fun on my account. Please, do continue. I was loving the sweet declarations.” He turns to look at me. “Except you forgot something—one of you will vastly outlive the other. Isn’t that right,Nyxi?”
I grit my teeth, vibrating with the need to attack, but Hade squeezes my hand tightly. “What do you want?” I spit each word like venom.
Splaying his arms out wide, he smiles condescendingly. “Now, now, little ghost. Is that any way to speak to a god?”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip to refrain from spewing a slew of hateful words. This man is no god to me.
“You are no ghost, though, are you? Imagine my surprise when I discover the missing heir to the throne has been hiding under my nose the entire time. You really went and fucked everything up, didn’t you? That’s okay, though—you’re going to fix it for me.”
Hearing enough of his bullshit, I take a step towards him, slipping my hand from Hade’s. “The only thing I’m going to fix is removing your presence frommykingdom.”
In a flash, wind whips me in the face as Aire appears behind Hade, pressing a single finger to his temple. Volts of electricity skitter through Hade’s body, making him seize. His other hand lashes out, creating a vortex bubble, keeping us isolated. I swivel on my feet, flexing my hand to bring my own magic to the surface when his words halt me in my tracks.
“Take one more step, and his eye color won’t be the only thing plucked from his body.”
I hold my hands up in surrender, pleading with him to stop while trying to come up with a plan. Hade’s body continues to shake from the magic frying him from the inside out, and I breaka little. His eyes plead with me to stay strong, but I can’t live seeing him like this. He won’t last much longer with the amount of magic coursing through him. It’s simply unbearable to watch, and I would do anything to make it stop.
Hade must read the surrender on my face, because his choppy words stream down the bond. “Please don’t do this. I will not survive losing you a second time. My heart cannot take it.”
Turning my head to the side, I try to ignore his words full of so much heartbreak, it’s almost too much to bear. Hade grunts loudly in pain, and my eyes shoot to where Aire’s finger presses harder against his flesh, shoving an impossible amount of magic into him. Hade can’t even use any of his own magic to protect himself.
“I think I’m having a case of déjà vu,” Aire says comically.
“Okay, enough!” I scream.
Aire’s wicked smile sends shivers down my spine. “Begmeto save his pathetic life.”
“Please, stop. Please spare his life in exchange for mine. It’s me you want, and if you kill him, you will kill any chance of me ever working with you.”
“Nyxi, please.” Hade’s words are a whisper down the bond, his energy almost fully drained. He’s fading fast, and it’s killing me.
