Corrupted by Bella Klaus

Chapter Seventeen

Ihad one of the best nights of sleep in Hades’ arms, even if we were both covered in chocolate syrup. By the time sunlight streamed through my eyelids, and I rolled over, he was standing over me, already dressed in a black leather military outfit that accentuated his muscular frame.

“Good morning.” He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.

“Where are you going?”

The joy in his features faded. “War Council meeting. As much as I want to spend the entire day exploring you, I can’t, now that those seeds are sprouting across the Fifth Faction.”

I bolted upright. “She’s spreading those plants?”

Hades tightened his lips. “Two teams have reported villages within the Asphodel Meadows consumed by her monsters. And she has created another of those giant stalks with the body of a mountain nymph.”

“Why is she growing plants out of nymphs?” I asked.

“Their magic is more compatible with hers,” he muttered. “Namara will bring you something to eat. Make sure to teleport if you want to return to your apartment, and stay off the streets.”

I swung my legs out of bed and stood in front of him with my arms spread. “Suit me up. I’m coming with you.”

Hades stepped back and raised his palms. “Hell isn’t safe for you with Persephone—”

“We need to work together,” I said, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence. “Don’t be stubborn. We could secure the Fifth by pouring some of my magic into it—”

“Have you forgotten?” He cupped the side of my cheek. “Persephone would drain all that power in an instant with her plants.”

I jerked my head to the side. “You can’t keep me hidden like some kind of reserve battery. Maybe if I stayed by your side and deployed some of the enforcers you’ve sent to watch over my apartment, we might have better defenses over the Fifth.”

Hades stared down at me, his brow creased into a frown. “Of course.” He placed another kiss on my lips. “If you would like to attend the war council meeting and my session in the throne room, you are more than welcome.”

“Suit me up, then.”

He drew back, the corners of his lips curving into a smile. “You must love me if you feel comfortable enough to rant.”

“It’s not me who rants at people.” I glanced down at my body to find myself already wearing a set of green armor so dark that it appeared black. “And thank you.”

Hades wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his side. “Would you like something to eat before we leave for Hell?”

My stomach churned. “Actually, I think I overindulged in that chocolate.”

He shook his head. “Didn’t I warn you about mixing your drinks?”

“Chocolate is a food.”

“But chocolate syrup is a liquid. So is spunk.” He tapped me on the nose. “They both have different effects on the body, and you’ll find them both rich and creamy and utterly delicious.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I should cut down.”

“On the chocolate?” he asked.

“Maybe both.”

“I absolutely forbid it.”

Our surroundings flickered, and instead of standing within Hades’ bedroom in his St. James’s Palace office, we now stood within the stone room that he called his inner sanctuary.

Hades walked us to the fire pit and waved his finger over the flames, turning them to liquid. When a group of demons appeared, reading pamphlets, he frowned.

I turned to him and asked, “What’s this?”

“The pool usually informs me of threats brewing in my realm. If I visit it every day, I get to quash rebellions before they become problematic.”

“That’s helpful.” I turned my gaze back to the demons leafing through their reading material. “Did you make this yourself?”

He shook his head. “The water that powers this enchantment came from the tears of a powerful seer. With a bit of my magic, I enchanted it to look out for threats to the Fifth.”

I stared into the liquid, seeing nothing else but a bunch of demons crowding over pieces of paper. “Can it track Persephone?”

“Not while she’s dormant.” Hades walked us around the pool’s left and toward a door at the end of the room. “Just to be consistent with the name given to you at the Demon’s Ball, I will introduce you as Queen Hades. Any objections?”

“If everyone knows Kora means maiden, I suppose it’s for the best,” I replied with a shrug.

Hades pushed the door open, which led to a three-foot-long block of space followed by a white door suspended in mid-air.

I clung to his arm and stared down at the endless expanse of nothingness. “What’s that?”

“Security.” He opened the second door with his magic and stepped across the void. “Anyone attempting to enter or leave the inner sanctuary without my permission remains suspended in the abyss until I release them.”

“Oh.” As we entered the second door, I turned, only to find the void missing and replaced by a familiar stretch of hallway. It was the same route Captain Caria had taken me after I had burned the demon twins with my lightning.

I shook my head, marveling at his use of magic. This had to be more complicated than willing things into existence.

Hades and I stepped into the dark war room, where plate-sized fire pits on tall metal stands illuminated walls etched with detailed maps of what I now recognized to be the Fifth Faction.

The same huge table I had seen on my first day in Hell still stood in the middle of the room, with a number of demons and regular-looking people standing around it, listening to Captain Caria. As we strode through the room together, I took a better look at the table’s surface, noting how the rivers of lava flowed through land masses such as hills and mountains and valleys.

Captain Caria stopped mid-conversation and straightened. “I wasn’t expecting you, Your Majesty.”

All the people standing around the table dipped into curtseys and low bows, wishing Hades a pleasant morning.

“How is our special project?” he asked the captain.

She tightened her lips, employing a similar expression of frustration I’d seen on Hades. “Our subject has gone into hiding, but with time, I am certain she will resurface.”

My brows rose. They were talking about Persephone.

“I’m taking you off that team,” Hades said.

Captain Caria flinched. “Your Majesty?”

“We need a fresh perspective to handle this situation.” Hades strolled to the center of the table, placed both hands on its surface, and stared at a patch of land by a meadow that I was sure was the scene of last night’s battle. “One without such a close connection to the subject.”

The captain’s gaze flickered to me before landing back on Hades. “I don’t understand.”

He exhaled a long breath. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I was unable to use the full force of my magic to subdue the subject last night.”

“As you shouldn’t,” the captain snapped.

Whispers spread across the war room, making my skin tighten. After two thousand years of them all working together, I thought it would be common knowledge that Hades and the captain were father and daughter. Perhaps they were unaccustomed to her challenging him in public. The captain had never hesitated to snap at him when the demons weren’t around.

Hades rose from the table and turned to meet the captain’s eyes. The height difference between them wasn’t great—four inches at the maximum—but Hades was so broad and muscular compared to Captain Caria.

She raised her chin. “Who can you trust but me to make sure we capture her humanely?”

“The subject is as big a threat to the Fifth as the large soulkin we apprehended.”

Captain Caria’s features fell, and all the blood leached from her face.

I swallowed. In her position, I would feel the same, but my own mother was a Satan-marrying psycho I desperately wanted to electrocute.

“Who will take my place?” she asked from between clenched teeth.

“Aello,” Hades said, still staring into his daughter’s eyes.

A gray-skinned demoness with glowing white hair bowed, revealing a massive beak in the back of her head. “Your Majesty?”

“You and your harpies will capture a red-haired goddess whose power derives from plants—”

“Hades,” Captain Caria hissed.

“The goddess is not to be harmed,” Hades shouted over the sound of her voice.

Aello inclined her head. “Of course, Your Majesty. May I ask where we should begin our search for this target?”

“Captain Caria will supply you with your target’s latest whereabouts,” he replied, still glaring at his daughter.

For the next several heartbeats, Hades and the captain stood locked in a silent glare. From the stillness of their features, it looked like they had taken their conversation to the privacy of their minds.

I wrapped my arms around my middle, resisting the itch to eavesdrop. It wasn’t like I could do it in a matter that was stealthy, and if they had wanted me to join in, they would have allowed me to listen.

With a curt and sarcastic bow, the captain turned on her heels and strode around the other side of the table. All the demons standing around the war room’s table followed her with their gazes, none of them moving except for Aello.

Hades watched the two females leave, and as soon as the door clicked shut behind them, he turned to address the people standing in the room. “The Fifth is under the biggest threat it’s experienced since the Great Divide.”

A handsome blond man with tight curls raised his hand. He was one of the few who wore white robes and looked more like an angel than a demon. “Permission to speak, Your Majesty?”

Hades inclined his head. “Yes, Hermes?”

“Is this threat related to the mission you gave Aello?” He paused as Hades nodded. “I would like to suggest you employ the Furies.”

“Why them?” he asked.

“Based on your criteria for choosing Aello and her harpies, it looks like you would like your target apprehended by female warriors. The Furies are the most efficient at getting the job done.”

Hades shook his head. “We’ll use them only as a last resort. You know how those three get carried away by their hunts.”

“Sire,” said another demon, a red-skinned male with tusks larger than his horns. “If this target is indeed our largest threat—”

“No.” Hades slammed his fist on the table, upsetting the three-dimensional map. Chunks of dirt rose from its surface, and the participants of the war council stepped back.

My throat dried, and I shifted on my feet at his side, my heart pounding a steady beat. We still hadn’t discussed what might happen to me if Persephone got hurt.

“I want you all to be the first to meet my co-ruler and bride.” Hades swept out an arm and pulled me into his side. “You will address her as Your Majesty, or Queen Hades.”

For a second, nobody spoke, and the pulse in my throat fluttered. Had these people worked out what was happening behind the facade of calm? I gulped, wondering if they knew I was Persephone’s corrupted soul, stuffed in a new body, or if they thought I was one of Hades’ conquests that he had turned into a wife.

The demon with the tusks was the first dip into a low bow. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you,” I said, wishing I had something better to say.

Other people from around the table bowed and curtseyed, easing some of my tension, but not all. Two-thirds of the room’s occupants were demons, and I wasn’t sure if the others were people who knew Hades from his Underworld days, mages, or useful souls condemned to Hell.

“They’re minor deities,”Hades said into our mental link.

“You were listening to my thoughts?”I asked.

“Your emotions are as easy to read as an audiobook,” He gave my waist a gentle squeeze. “One can barely shut them out.”

For the next hour, I stood at Hades’ side, soaking up information about the room’s inhabitants and their overall purpose. The war council mostly consisted of beings who lived in the living world with access to demons affiliated with other Factions.

According to Hades, demons had a form of camaraderie when they were outside Hell, which meant that they often betrayed secrets related to their Factions. Captain Caria headed up a division of supernatural enforcers that policed the activities of all demons within the Human World, which meant she could gather important information during the interrogations of demons who had fallen afoul of the law. The War Council’s job was to gather this intelligence and report back to Hades on the activities of the other Factions.

“There has been great unrest in the Second since Samael took the throne,” said a tall demon with a hooked nose and eyes like an owl. “He has slaughtered Varaha’s former inner circle and nearly half of his lieutenants.”

“Now he’s actively recruiting demons residing in Europe, the United States, and Africa,” added a red-skinned male at his side.

Hades rubbed his chin. “That might explain the reading material that’s suddenly become popular among certain members of the Faction.”

The meeting continued for a few more minutes on the subject of Samael’s recruitment drive before someone mentioned the Third Faction. A red-eyed woman who glanced at me several times during the meeting cleared her throat with a high-pitched cough.

“Your Majesties?” She raised her hand.

Hades inclined his head. “Speak, Kimaa.”

“I have news from the Third,” she said. “Samael’s former inner circle is still in place, with his second-in-command running the Faction.”

“What about his new queen?” I asked.

Her pupils slitted, and she gave me a slow blink, reminding me a little of Dami in her cat form. “Queen Demeter hardly spends her time in the Third, and the demons don’t count her as a leader at all.”

“Because she isn’t,” Hades said. “Demeter is just a placeholder to allow him to legally occupy two Factions.”

The meeting ended soon after, with many of the members of the room strolling over to announce their congratulations. After thanking them for their well wishes, Hades and I left the table and walked toward a door that glowed with red magic.

“Where are we going next?” I turned to admire his perfect profile.

Hades preened. “It’s time to introduce you to my outer circle, who run the punishment pits, oversee the quarries and govern the villages within the Asphodel Meadows. Are you ready to sit on your throne?”

My memory skipped back to watching Hades in a huge throne room where he had torn the flesh off a quartet of demons and trapped their souls. Dread rolled through my belly along a tightrope of trepidation. How would I react to seeing Hades do something like that again? I swallowed hard, telling myself that I would force my features into a mask of calm.

Even so, my mind couldn’t help drifting to those images and every strange sensation I had experienced since sneaking out of the house that Beltane night. One of the most intense had been drinking a shot containing twenty-one centuries of power. I wasn’t sure if I could handle another surge of magic.

“Will it react to me?” I asked.

“Do you want me to enchant it so that it does?” he asked, the corners of his lips quirking upward.

“That wasn’t a request.” I placed a hand over his chest. “Just let’s make sure there are no surprises.”

“When I do enchant an inanimate object to pleasure you, it will be only after I’ve lavished every part of your body with either my cock or my tongue.”

Heat pooled between my thighs, and I shifted uncomfortably in my leather armor. I pulled at my collar, trying to lower my body temperature. “That’s good to know.”

With a flick of his fingers, Hades opened the door, which led to a stone chamber the size of our mansion’s footprint. Instead of a floor, there was a ten-story drop, and the only way to get from one side of the chamber to the other was over a floating walkway barely wide enough to accommodate two people side by side.

“Is this part of the throne room?” I asked.

“The section nobody gets to see.” He swept his gaze from the collar of my leather shirt, down my breeches, and back up to my face. “Shoulders back, breasts forward, and swing those curvaceous hips.”

I choked on a laugh. “Why?”

“Because Queen Hades is a powerful, sexy, and confident goddess, who knows exactly how to deal with lowly demons.”

“In other words, look tough?”

He inclined his head and smirked. “That’s another interpretation, although I preferred the one where you sashayed.”

Some of the trepidation rippling through my insides calmed, and I squeezed his larger hand. This would be easy. Walk down a platform, sit in a chair, and look mean. I could do this.

Hades stared down at me with his brows raised in silent question.

I offered him a sharp nod. “Ready.”

He took the first step, and I followed, making sure to practice my confident strut. There was no reason to be nervous, I told myself. With so much magic thrumming through my veins, I might be even more powerful than Mother or Samael. My magic came from Zeus himself, but the bulk of it had come directly from the Devil’s Ball for the purposes of managing Hell.

I inhaled a deep breath, filling my lungs with warm, brimstone-scented air. A forgotten part of me was Persephone, who had ruled the Underworld for thousands of years with Hades. Facing the demons in the throne room would be no different.

As we reached a stone wall at the end of the walkway, my steps faltered. “Hades?”

“It’s an illusion.” He waved a hand. “Mostly.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nobody but the rulers of this Faction may enter this part of the throne room.” Hades stepped into the stone, completely disappearing from view. A second later, he popped out his head. “Nobody can sneak up behind us while we’re addressing our subjects.”

I stretched out my arms, fumbling about the wall for signs of it being solid, but Hades took my hand and pulled me through. The air was slightly thicker than normal, reminding me of a ward.

“Did the angels make this?” I asked.

“Them or whoever smashed up the realms of the gods and broke Hell up into nine Factions.” Hades wrapped an arm around my waist as we traveled through the dark.

“They’re determined to maintain their system, aren’t they?” I asked, making sure to keep at his side.

“It’s better than having Samael in charge,” Hades muttered.

A few steps later, we strode into the throne room. The scent of brimstone was so intense, it burned the back of my throat and stung my eyes. Tears gathered in my lashes, making me blink. I swallowed hard and tried to compose myself. This was Hell. It was supposed to stink.

Chatter erupted, filling my ears with a cacophony of sound. As my vision cleared, I took in the full majesty of Hades’ throne room. It was far larger than I had imagined, stretching across a space as long as the street where I had grown up with Mother. The pool in the inner sanctum had made it appear much smaller.

A red carpet stretched from a pair of golden thrones, down a steep stone staircase that looked three stories high, and down the entire length of the throne room. The space was filled with demons of varying shapes, ranging from imps the size of my hand to twenty-foot-tall giants with horns that stretched halfway to the ceiling.

My breath hitched. Some of these demons looked like the monsters Mother had described, who would punish girls who didn’t obey. Now, we both ruled over these creatures.

“My queen?” Hades walked us around the high dais and toward the twin thrones and gestured for me to sit. Around the thrones was a stone carving of a Hellhound, its eyes and mouth and nostrils spewing flames.

Instead of scampering into my seat and staring down at my lap the way I used to do whenever Mother allowed me to take tea with the coven, I narrowed my eyes and surveyed the sea of demons staring up at us.

“You’re so stern and sexy,”he said into our bond. “All you need is a whip, and the outfit would be complete.”

Still keeping my eyes trained on the subjects, I lowered myself into the seat and placed my hands on the cold armrests. “What are you talking about?”

“You look like a dominatrix.”He walked to the edge of the high podium and stared out at the demons. “A Mistress of Pain.”

I swallowed hard, wondering what he was doing. “Should I stand?”

“Remain where you are,”he said. “Let everyone wonder why we’re not yet sitting together.”

Silence spread across the room, and I perked up in my seat. I’d always known Hades was a drama king, but a master of theatrics? I held my features in a neutral mask. Thousands of years of existence ought to have taught him more than plenty about controlling masses of people.

“I sense that some of you are unsatisfied with your positions in the Fifth, which surprises me, considering the turmoil within the other realms.” Hades’ voice projected across the room, echoing in places off the walls.

“You will note that for the first time since the beginning of the Factions, both thrones are now occupied, making the Fifth even more powerful than before.”

One demon stepped out from the lines, a burly red imp with stunted-looking wings. “Your Majesty, congratulations on your nuptials. May I ask if your new bride is the daughter of the Queen of the Third?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Hades stepped aside.

The demon walked toward the dais, only for a pair of guards to step in his path. Hades raised his hand. “Allow Gargar to approach.”

“What are you doing?” I asked into the bond.

“Demonstrating your power,”he replied through our link. “Don’t worry about this idiot. Any Hellfire he throws at you will land harmlessly on one of my wards.”

I sucked in a breath and tried not to shudder. Hades would protect me, and even if this demon slipped beneath the wards, I was strong enough to protect myself.

Gargar flew up the stairs in silence, his wings flapping faster than a hummingbird’s. When he landed on a platform beneath the dais, he plopped down with his hand on his chest.

“Are you sure he’ll attack?” I asked into our connection.

“Gargar comes from a family of idiots,” Hades muttered. “Every few centuries, I have to cull one of them for stepping out of line. They never learn their lesson for long enough for it to stick before I have to lash out at them again.”

“Why not kill the whole family?”I asked.

“They’re excellent torturers,” Hades replied. “Sometimes, the most loyal staff are the most squeamish.”

“Your Majesty the Queen.” Gargar spread his arms out to the side and dipped low into a courtly bow. “Welcome to the Fifth Faction of Hell. Would you honor me by answering my question?”

“Which was?” I drummed my fingers.

Chuckles spread across the throne room.

Scowling, Gargar spun around, looking like he was about to hurl insults at thousands of demons, but he turned back to me, his features an even mask. “Are you the daughter of Queen Demeter, Ruler of the Third Faction?”

“That’s right.” I placed a hand over my mouth, pretending to hide a yawn.

“Then I have a message from the Third.” Gargar’s wings quadrupled in size. He charged forward, his claws outstretched, but the wards kept him suspended in the air.

Hades turned to me and grinned. “Show everyone what happens to those who mess with what is mine.”

“You make me sound like I’m working for you.” I flicked my fingers at Gargar, and hit him in the chest with multiple needles.

“What you fail to understand is that I belong to you,” Hades murmured into the bond. “I was yours the moment our gazes touched.”

Warmth filled my chest, and my lips curved into a smile. “You say the sweetest things.”

Channelling my power through my fingers, I sent an extra powerful blast of power into Gargar’s chest. Lightning raced down the strings and into the demon’s body, filling it with such an intensity that sparks exploded from his every orifice, including the one beneath his tail. My magic lit up his insides, turning his misshapen skeleton into an x-ray.

“Your Majesty,” the demon screamed through clenched teeth. “Please, stop.”

I let my gaze wander around the room, where all the demons stood transfixed, their eyes locked on Gargar’s sparking form. and I pushed even more magic into the strings. This was nothing like fighting a crowd of demons, because my power had been split among them, it was also not as intense as touching the twins directly and burning them from the inside out.

“What was the message from the Third?” I asked out loud.

“To…” He hesitated. “No, please!”

Hades shook his head, his voice drifting into my skull. “From the way his magic hitched, it feels like he’s under a silencer spell. Best to give him a spectacular death so these bastards think twice about making attempts on your life.”

Gargar turned into a ball of lightning. His limbs seized, spasmed, and twitched as I pumped even more power through his chest.

As the lightning grew in mass, gasps echoed across the huge chamber. I drummed the fingers of my unoccupied hand on the armrest, acting as though turning a huge demon into freak weather was as boring as it was commonplace.

“Watching your wrath makes me hard,” Hades whispered into our bond. “The moment we leave this place, you’ll have to suck my cock.”

“Only if you suck my toes.”

Hades strolled back to the thrones and lowered himself into the seat next to mine. He took the hand that wasn’t reducing Gargar into char and brought it to his lips.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” he said out loud but quietly so his voice wouldn’t carry beyond the demon’s screams.

I tilted my head to the side, meeting his molten eyes. “Tell me again?”

“You mean more to me than my entire realm.” He pressed a kiss on my knuckles. “More to me than any other being. More to me than my own existence.”

My chest swelled, but beneath the rush of euphoria lay a tinge of guilt. Without any memories of being Persephone, I couldn’t feel for him the depth of emotions he felt for me. “Hades, I want to say the same, but I can’t—”

“No need.” He kissed my knuckles again. “Having you here by my side is enough to sustain me for centuries. I will wait patiently for your feelings to develop.”

At the unexpected tenderness in his words, my concentration slipped, and Gargar plunged into the red carpet, where he exploded into a spray of white sparks that spread across the throne room.

Thunderous applause filled the space, making my insides tremble and my heart pound loud enough to burst my eardrums. Demons clapping for me while I sat on a throne? This was better than any episode of any show on Netflix.

“A most successful entrance.” Hades placed my hand back on the armrest and turned to the crowd. “Now that we’ve established the pedigree of our new queen, I would like to make a request.”

Silence spread out across the room. I glanced at Hades out of the corner of my eye, wondering why he had phrased that sentence so politely.

“Those of you considering Samael’s offer of employment, step forward.”

Nobody moved.

Hades nodded. “Those of you clutching pamphlets advertising positions within any of the Factions under his influence, step forward.”

When the demons continued to remain still, Hades flicked his fingers again, and glowing rectangles appeared within the clothes of a dozen demons. He curled his hands, making those with the pamphlets move onto the carpet that stretched from the floor level to our dais.

Hades leaned forward on his throne. “Since I’m still technically on my honeymoon, I will declare an amnesty. Anyone wishing to join Samael’s new organization may do so without reprisal from me.”

A mouse-sized demon fluttered forward on bat wings, holding the pamphlet aloft. “I wasn’t considering it, Your Majesty.”

“Then why was it in your possession?” Hades asked, his eyes narrowed.

“Valmon gave it to me,” he said.

A giant demon stomped forward. “Only because Jizoros gave it to me.”

Arguments broke out across those holding the pamphlets, those being accused of distributing them, and everyone else in between. I turned to Hades, wondering if he was keeping track of who was saying who, but his lips tightened into a thin line.

“Enough,” he hissed.

The demons turned their gazes back to our thrones.

“As I said,” he gritted out. “Anyone who wishes to transfer from the Fifth to the Third may do so without punishment, but only if you do so in the next three seconds.”

Ten demons’ bodies glowed.

“What’s happening?” I asked into the bond.

“I’m surprised there are so few traitors,”he muttered.

My brows rose. “You did something?”

“I locked down Hell.” His voice echoed across the vast chamber, and he stretched out a hand, curling his fingers and beckoning at the demons to ascend the stairs. “Anyone in possession of or who has touched one of Samael’s pamphlets and tried to leave during my amnesty is now glowing.”

More demons flew inside as though drawn in by Hades’ magic.

I held my breath, waiting for him to reduce them to flesh and blood, but the red carpet transformed into lava.

“This stream I’ve created will transport you through the currents that run between the Factions,” Hades said, his voice bitter. “Good luck, those of you with enough magic to maintain your physical forms by the time you reach the Third. The rest of you will arrive the size of plankton.”

He released his fingers, and the demons fell screaming into the lava, which swept them through the throne room like a current.

Hades spread his arms wide. “Everyone, let’s give our departing colleagues a round of applause.”

The demons clapped, but it was a subdued sound and nothing as enthusiastic as when Gargar had exploded.

His head jerked to the side.

“What’s wrong?”I asked through our link.

“Someone of interest has died and is requesting an audience.” The corner of his lips curled into a smile.

My eyes widened. “Who?”

“Are you familiar with a butler named Pirithous?”