Corrupted by Bella Klaus

Chapter Nine

Imust have blacked out because the next thing I knew, I was on my knees, vomiting into a toilet bowl, with a large hand rubbing gentle circles on my back and another holding my hair away from the mess. My insides would have writhed with mortification if they weren’t too busy spasming.

“You really are the most ridiculous creature,” a familiar voice said with fond exasperation. “Did you really think this housewarming could take place without my permission?”

“Hades,” I replied with a splutter. “What are you doing—” Another convulsion seized my diaphragm, and chocolate-colored liquid surged into the bowl.

“That Fire Queen is a terrible influence,” he muttered. “I’m going to have to vet your associates.”

Bile burned the back of my throat, cutting off my words, and I groaned with a mix of discomfort and disgrace. Hades stayed at my side, helping me through the ordeal with soft words and promises that I would feel better once I’d expelled all the toxins.

I slumped forward, my head resting on the toilet seat. All the while, he continued to hold my hair without uttering a word of admonishment or disgust. When my stomach finally stopped trying to punish me, he brought me a glass of something fizzy and citrusy.

“What’s that?” I rasped.

“Fizzy lemon water, to settle your stomach.” He gave the glass a little shake, reinvigorating the bubbles.

My nostrils filled with the acidic scent aggravating my sore throat. “Are you sure it will work?”

Hades lowered himself to the floor, meeting my eyes with an amused smile. “After an entire evening of drinking strange cocktails, you have the gall to ask me about the efficacy of a tried-and-tested supernatural medicine?”

I sat back on my ass and sniffed. “You’re the least trustworthy person I know.”

His smile widened. “What do you call staying at your side while you hurl your guts? Devotion or deception?”

I snatched the glass from his fingers, cringing as he roared with laughter. As I downed the drink, he continued rubbing gentle circles on my back.

“You are an endless source of amusement,” he said, his eyes shining with affection. “One night of freedom, and you fell into the clutches of the worst predator.”

“Are you talking about yourself?” I said between gulps. “Because I see no one else in this bathroom.”

His eyes narrowed. “This is the thanks I get for saving you from a lascivious reprobate?”

“Were you watching his Supernatural profile?” I asked.

Hades took my empty glass and tossed it over his shoulder, letting it vanish into the ether. “I had you under surveillance the moment your Hellcat made that ridiculous post,” he said. “Do you know how many unworthy idiots my doormen had to turn away?”

I paused, examining his features and waiting for the punchline. When he didn’t elaborate, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

“The entire building is surrounded by security demons. I also stationed dozens of them at your door and deactivated your enchanted mirror. Only those on my list of approved guests were allowed entrance tonight.” Hades rose to his feet and offered me a hand.

I drew back, my mind making rapid calculations. “If you controlled all the guests, why did you allow a lascivious reprobate like Lucifer?”

Hades’ features stilled, and the hand he stretched toward me fell by his side.

My eyes narrowed. “You sent him here?”

“What makes you think that?” he said.

“Because it’s the kind of devious maneuver you’d make to avoid apologizing for being such a liar. What was the plan?” I snapped. “Get Lucifer to act like a lecherous villain, so you could swoop in at the last minute and rescue me from his clutches?”

Hades scowled. “If you hadn’t binged on chocolate cocktails—”

“You’re ridiculous.” I scrambled to my feet. “Just when I think you could have a shred of decency, I discover that Lucifer was a set-up. Did you know I answered the door to him in my underwear?”

His nostrils flared and the ring around his irises turned to flame. “He didn’t tell me that.”

“Well, I thought it was you at the door but it was Lucifer, and he got a long look at my lingerie.”

“Which set?” Hades rasped.

“Why does that even matter?” I gave him a shove in the chest, but he didn’t stumble backward as I’d hoped.

Instead, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. “Perhaps my attempt at a romantic gesture was convoluted. Next time, I’ll do better.”

I rolled my eyes. “How about next time, you send an apology through our bond?”

Hades stared down at me for several moments, not speaking, his features not betraying a single emotion. Part of me wondered if he was considering what I’d said. Maybe he would finally explain why he had lied to me this entire time and then promise to do better, but the skeptical part of me thought the silence was for dramatic effect.

“Words are so easy to blurt and have little meaning,” he said. “Why are they so important to you?”

My brows drew together, and I leaned back, looking him full in the face. “How else will I know you’re sorry if you don’t say it?”

He mirrored my frown, seeming genuinely confused. “Why don’t I show you something that proves my esteem?”

“What?”

His grip around my waist tightened, and the world turned upside down. I blinked, and we appeared on a high rooftop, overlooking London. A cool breeze blew across the vast space, cooling my fevered skin. My breath caught—not at the magnificent view, but at the greenhouse standing to our side.

It was a perfect dome, made of hexagonal metal panes filled with glass. I couldn’t yet see its interior, but the entire structure thrummed with magic.

“This is for you,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard. “When did you have it built?”

“When I left the apartment last night,” he said. “I gathered the best magical architects in the Faction to create a structure impervious to London weather or the harsh winds from being on the two hundredth story. This even contains soil Lucifer gifted us from the Garden of Eden.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Not compared to the purity of your soul.” He guided me through to its interior, where the metallic structures glowed with pale light.

The greenhouse was larger on the inside and probably took up an area the size of the mansion’s entire plot. I tilted my head upward, finding it tall enough around the middle to accommodate the largest tree, and the glass above us filtered out the clouds and brought out the silver of the stars.

My mind buzzed, already conjuring up plans for how I would organize the space.

We walked on stepping stones above soil that was blacker and more dense than any I’d ever seen. My nostrils filled with the sweet, earthy aroma that promised years of fertility, and I exhaled a happy sigh.

Hades tucked me under his arm. “If you desire, I will send a team of wood nymphs to help you remodel the space to your specifications. Tell them what you would like to grow, and they will find the seeds.”

My throat thickened. “I don’t have any plant magic. Mother had to channel hers through me. It was the only way I could work directly with the plants.”

“But you enjoy being among them,” he murmured. “It’s part of what you are.”

I tilted my head toward him, my chest filling with hope. Was this the moment he finally saw me as a person in my own right, or would he stick to the story that I was an offshoot of his wife?

“Who do you think I am?” I asked.

Hades gazed into my eyes with a warmth and affection that made my heart soar. “I no longer care. All I see is the lightning goddess who struck me blind and fought at my side to defeat a soulkin. The same one brave enough to down a shot of concentrated magic after seeing a demon do something similar and explode.”

My chest ached with longing. Up until we went to the Devil’s Ball, I knew I was special to him. Even during the moments after, when we thought I had drunk the power too late, he had been compassionate at my failure. Now that Persephone was back, I no longer knew my place.

I tried not to deflate, and forced myself to believe that he wouldn’t have created such a beautiful greenhouse for me if he didn’t care, but the words didn’t ring true.

“The first days of my captivity you kept telling me I was Persephone. What’s happened now?”

He turned away from me, a muscle in his jaw tightening. “The influx of magic has awoken something in her.”

“You think she’s truly alive?”

“It’s hard to tell.” He turned to me, holding my face between his large hands. “Regardless of what Persephone has become, I chose you.”

“Why?” I asked.

He tilted his head to the side and frowned. “Kora?”

“Do you want me because of me or because you think I might be Persephone in a newer body?”

“Does it matter?” he asked.

“What if you’re expecting me to do all the same things as her or act like her?”

“Your personalities are similar, but there are differences.” He rubbed his chin, his eyes growing distant. “What’s this about? All I want is your happiness.”

I lowered my lashes and stared at our feet, not quite believing Hades could be so altruistic.

“Don’t you like your gift?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured.

“Then show me your appreciation.” Hades tapped the pad of his finger on his cheek.

With a giggle, I rocked forward on the balls of my feet and pressed a kiss exactly where he had pointed.

Hades swept me up in a tight hug. “You’re the most fascinating creature I’ve met in millennia. How could you possibly believe I could want anyone else?”

The butterflies in my stomach writhed and squirmed. Every time I had my doubts about Hades, he made some grand gesture to knock me off balance. “Sometimes, it’s difficult to know what you’re thinking.”

He released the hug, and took my hand, pressing gentle kisses to each knuckle. “Perhaps I’m not the best with words, especially when they’re coming straight from the heart.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Was this the moment he explained himself?

“But in the few days we’ve become close, I’ve come to consider you a formidable woman. One who has captured my heart.”

My throat thickened, and I leaned forward, hanging on his every word.

“Kora.” His deep voice resonated through my bones, setting my senses alight. “Will you do me the honor of returning to Hell and helping me capture Persephone?”

I flinched. “What?”

“Each time she attacked, it was because you were near. Something about you attracts her and her plants,” he said, his words coming out in a massive rush. “If we were to position you close, we might lure her out from her hiding place and end her riot of carnage.”

My nostrils flared. “This whole arrangement, from Lucifer, to rubbing my back, to the greenhouse… It was all to ask me to fight your battle in Hell?”

Hades raised a palm. “It was all to earn back your love and to show the depth of my penitence. Verbal apologies in Hell are worth less than tissue paper.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I beg your pardon?” He tilted his head to the side.

“Is it so I can risk my neck for her?” I growled.

“No one will get hurt. There will be no need for combat—”

“No, because you need me as bait, so your real wife can attack me with her poisonous plants.”

He reared back, his eyes widening. “What kind of monster—”

“Am I wrong?” I snapped.

“Must you put things so indelicately?” he said with a tired sigh. “Persephone is becoming more cunning with each passing moment, evading the teams I’ve sent to retrieve her. Kora, please return to Hell with me and help us apprehend this threat.”

“Your wife?”

Hades hesitated, seeming to think about his response. “You helped me with the soulkin, a creature infinitely more dangerous.”

My lips formed a tight line, and I folded my arms across my chest. “What will you do to her once she’s caught?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze darting to the side. “That all depends.”

“On what?”

Hades didn’t reply, but he looked at me with such hope, I couldn't help thinking he wanted to use the extra magic we’d gotten from the Devil’s Ball to restore her.

My throat thickened, and I swallowed hard. Maybe I was wrong. What if he was planning to stuff my soul in her body? Would I cease to exist?

“Kora—”

“Give me time,” I whispered.

“That’s a luxury neither of us have,” he growled.

Annoyance fizzled across my skin. Why was he suddenly impatient after two thousand years? “Why don’t you take back the power I collected at the Devil’s Ball and capture her yourself?” I snapped. “You don’t need me.”

Hades growled low enough to make my skin tighten. I clenched my jaw, glaring into his flaming eyes.

“I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn,” he snarled.

“And I don’t know why you’re hiding important truths,” I snapped. “Maybe if you explained—”

“Enough,” he roared, and disappeared.

My shoulders sagged. It wasn’t like I was being completely honest with him about knowing the origins of my soul, but I needed a hint that he wanted me and not her.

* * *

By the time I returned to the apartment, the guests had already left and the caterers were clearing up under Dami’s supervision. Macavity sat at her side in leopard form with his tail swishing, watching the activities the way a predator might track prey.

Murmuring a good night to them both, I trudged up the stairs and to my bedroom, which now smelled lemon fresh. Hades probably arranged for it to be cleaned while he’d taken me out on the roof.

I pulled off my clothes, slipped into a silk nightgown with a lace trim, and got under the covers. Hades’ last words rang through my ears. Why was I being so stubborn? I curled up onto my side. Now that I was free, maybe I didn’t want to get entangled in what would become a battle for his affection.

In no time, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep, letting all the tension from the party melt away. Moments later, silky feathers tickled my skin, and a hard body pressed into my back. I rolled over on the soft mattress, finding myself staring into Hades’ eyes.

“What are you doing in my bed?” I whispered.

His brows drew together. “This is the greenhouse.” He pointed up toward the ceiling. “Look.”

I shifted onto my back, luxuriating in the feel of his wings. Beyond the glass roof, stars twinkled brighter than they had earlier, illuminated by a quicksilver moon.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked.

“What would you say if I told you this was something generated by your mind?”

“I wouldn’t dream about you,” I muttered.

“Ouch.” He pressed a hand to his bare chest. “You have wounded my heart, Kora. Here I was thinking we had made a connection. Was I wrong?”

Twisting around, I observed his features with narrowed eyes. This was no dream. Dreams were fleeting and always popped like bubbles the moment I became aware of them. This had to be a vision from him.

“Is this another trick?” I asked. “You did promise to do better the next time you tried to convince me to do your bidding.”

“An excellent question,” he said, sounding genuinely intrigued. “I can tell something’s on your mind. What aren’t you telling me?”

“That I hate liars,” I said, my tongue coating with bitterness. “When I lived with Mother, I lied to her every day out of a need to shield myself from her overprotectiveness. Now it turns out that she fabricated an entire story about corporality sickness, making me believe I was dying. Even the plants acted like my time here was limited.”

“Surely you don’t begrudge a tree for sympathizing with your fake plight?”

I shook my head. “Of course not. But it just proves how far she’ll go to maintain a lie. Everyone acted like I was fragile and about to die.”

“And you wish to punish me for your mother’s sins?” he said.

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you can’t see that you’re no different from her?”

Hades inhaled a sharp breath. “You think I’m anything like that harridan?”

“Marrying someone without telling them you had a living and breathing wife? The humans call that bigamy.”

I hesitated. This was the point where he would say he only married the same person twice or something profound to make me think he was more than a simple liar. When he didn’t reply, I gave him a hard prod in the chest. “Another reason why this isn’t a dream. My mind wouldn’t create a version of Hades who stayed silent.”

“You want to know what I’m thinking?” He stared up into the starry sky.

“Yes.” I tried to keep the exasperation out of my voice, but it was a futile effort.

“That you’ve gotten me all wrong.” He turned back to press a soft kiss on my cheek. “That I’m not the wicked deceiver you have led yourself to believe.”

I placed a hand on his chest, trying to keep him at bay. “Now you’re just trying to distract me.”

He ran his tongue up and down the column of my neck. “What do you want from me, Kora?”

“The truth,” I said through clenched teeth.

Hades nipped and sucked and kissed his way down my throat, pausing at my collarbones to lavish them with attention. I squeezed my thighs together, trying to keep my head under the onslaught of pleasure, but it was as impossible as holding back the ocean.

“I think about you all the time.” He massaged my breasts with his large hands, making sure to roll my nipples between his thick thumbs. “While torturing souls, while working, while I’m supposed to be protecting the Fifth. Even as Persephone is laying villages to waste, all I can think about is you.”

“But don’t you want her back?” I clutched at his shoulders, digging my fingernails into the muscular flesh.

He engulfed my nipple in his hot mouth, making me gasp and arch my back. “I’ve been through all stages of grief,” he said as he flicked the sensitive flesh with his tongue. “Meeting you, bonding with you, and sharing your magic has taught me what it is to love a real flesh-and-blood goddess who responds to my attentions.”

I threw my head back and shivered. “But what if some of her soul regenerates?”

Hades paused and stared at me through eyes the color of molten fire. “Is that why you’re afraid? Because you think I’ll go back to my dead wife?”

“But she’s alive and on a rampage,” I said.

“And needs to be stopped.” His hands slipped down my waist, sending tendrils of pleasure across my skin. Hades kissed the space between my breasts, the space between my ribs, and the flesh leading down to my belly.

“Kora,” he whispered. “I never meant to deceive you.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Did it matter that her body was in my possession if it hadn’t moved for two thousand years?”

I didn’t have an answer for that, and Hades turned back to kissing my belly, his large hands stroking my thighs. Heat pooled between my legs, thrilling and pulsing and urgent.

“Tell me what else is on your mind?” he said between panting breaths.

“I don’t know what your plans are for me.” The words tumbled from my lips.

Hades paused. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not the sex,” I said. “When you catch Persephone, what will you do to her? To me?”

His brows drew together. “You think I’ll fall to my knees before her and profess my love?”

I gulped. That was one possibility.

His eyes flashed with recognition. “Or do you think I’ll break open your body, extract your soul, and stuff it into Persephone?”

My throat thickened, and memories from watching his throne room flooded my mind. With a few deft moments of his hand, Hades had torn the flesh off some demons and tethered their souls to their remains. If he wanted to be with Persephone badly enough, couldn’t he do the same to me?

“Kora,” he said with a long sigh.

“What?” I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “You think I’m being paranoid or dramatic?”

Hades shook his head. “Soul transfers are dangerous, dark magic—the domain of the desperate. Measures like that always go wrong.”

“They do?” I rasped.

He gave me a solemn nod. “As much as I loved Persephone, I’m ready to let her go. Even if her soul is regenerating, which is an impossibility, I would have to confine her to a facility.”

I gulped. “Like a mental hospital or an old-people’s home?”

“She’s dangerous,” he said. “Those plants she wields are for war, yet she’s doing a better job than Samael at tearing up our kingdom.”

Hades lowered his head to my chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Even if Persephone returned to sanity, I’ve fallen desperately for someone else.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Now, as the Queen of the Fifth Faction, will you please safeguard the integrity of our realm?”

“And my apology?” I asked.

He wrapped his arms around my middle and sighed. “If I see you in person, first thing tomorrow, I will prostrate myself at your feet.”

I stared down at the top of his head. “No cheap tricks?”

“No more games, seduction or chicanery,” he murmured. “I am ready to concede defeat.”