8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Raevyn

H oly fucking shitballs. I was about to meet the King of Hell and he was gorgeous. Like painfully so. I couldn't even look at him. His gaze made my insides squirm, like he was judging me and finding me wanting. There was something off about him but that might be to do with the fact that his power was stifling. It was like oil, sticky and heavy, trying to drag me down to my knees. To be fair, the guy was old, and I shouldn't be surprised that his power reflected that. The guy was ancient, and his magic smelt like death and the decimation of worlds. But, unlike Hawk and the other guys, I didn't find the scent appealing.

Hades loomed over me when I reached him. He wore a dark grey three-piece suit, and it was clearly a custom. The material fit his large frame like a second skin, hugging each muscle tightly. His jaw was square and smooth, his full lips curled in a sneer, but his eyes were absolutely fascinating. They were completely black, with no white at all, but it wasn't just a simple black. They seemed to swirl like a vortex, dragging my gaze deeper into a place I didn't want to go. A place of nightmares and the unknown, where all my fears would come to life and try to destroy me. I wanted to look away, but I was captivated. Enthralled.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my realm?" he asked, his voice a commanding rumble.

"I'm Raevyn but I don't know why I'm here. I don't know how I got here."

He glanced above my head. "Korbin. Explain."

I didn't dare look away from Hades, but I could tell when Korbin came to stand near me. There was a brush of something against my hand, almost like he was trying to let me know I wasn't in this on my own. I appreciated the gesture, it was sweet.

"She's from the Raathmore coven, your majesty. She was sacrificed to us by the coven mistress in return for a power boon."

"Did you grant it?" Hades asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"No. There was no pull from the topside. There was a disturbance in the normal ritual we do, and there she was." Korbin's voice became breathy as he spoke to Hades, the tone raspier and it was doing wonderful things to my insides. It made think about the soft growl he'd make when he came. I wanted to hear that and shit, where did that thought come from?

"And you," Hades said, his discerning gaze finding mine again. "How the fuck did you bring this creature back to the plane of existence?"

Hawk growled at the word ‘creature' clearly pissed at being labelled that. For some reason, it annoyed me too. Although I didn't have time to analyse that little morsel, not with the King of Hell staring at me like he was debating the best way to gauge out my eyes.

"I was trying to see if I was a Necromancer. Looks like I might be if I brought Hawk back from the dead."

Hades' eyes flashed with an authentic curiosity. "A Necromancer? From the Raathmore coven no less. That is intriguing."

"Is it?"

"Yes, little witch. I might have a task for you."

I had the feeling that a task from Hades, wasn't something you refused. Or possibly even survived.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What kind of task?"

His sneer curled into a wicked grin. "One you might need your newfound connection to the Revenants to complete." He tapped his chin. "Yes, you might be perfect for the job."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I'll do it if I can have Hawk, too."

Hades' eyebrows lifted dangerously high. I didn't care if I was pissing him off. I wanted Hawk. He was mine .

"Why should I do that? By rights, he belongs in the Depths. That makes him mine."

A snarl left my lips before I could temper it. "He does not belong to you."

He took a step closer, his power wrapping around me in warning. "Be careful, little witch. You overstep."

I could feel the tension rolling off the guys, but I'd had enough of bullies. It was because of bullies that I was in this place. I wasn't going to be cowed by this guy because he wore a crown and had some poncey fucking title.

Electricity jumped between my fingertips as I squared off with the King. "What are you going to do about it?"

He gave a dark laugh and that was the only warning I got before I felt the full force of a God's magic.

He slammed his hands either side of my face and images rapidly flashed through my mind, all of them cold and stark. My family. My death. But he was there for all of them. Hades inserted himself into my memories, warping them until they dripped with blood and violence. Blood was pouring from the sky, coating me in the thick, gloopy substance. I could feel it sliding over my skin, seeping beneath my clothes, drowning me.

Ravens cawed around us, devouring corpses that littered the ground, tearing organs apart and pulling flesh from bones.

I knew Hades was trying to scare me, to put me in my place, but I wanted out of this.

I dug deep into the power in my core and acted instinctively. I flooded it into the connection between the two of us and pushed him backwards from my mind. My body trembled and quaked under the sheet effort of challenging his power. I could feel blood dripping from my nose and my eyes but that wasn't going to stop me.

"Hades," I whispered and then everything shattered.

Reality came flooding back, the force of it almost pushing me to the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw Hades kneeling on the ground, his chest heaving and blood dripping down his chin.

I did that. I brought a king to his knees.

Take that, fucker.

I looked over my shoulder at the Revenants and found them watching me with a newfound awe in their eyes. I wanted to fucking bathe in that glow. I suddenly felt powerful and wanted .

Hawk gazed at me with a smile on his face. He took the opportunity whilst Hades was regaining his composure to stand and walk over to me. His golden eyes held mine with a fierce gleam and I'm not going to lie, I may have basked in that a little too.

"Well done, draguta . I knew my inima would not steer me wrong." He brought his thumb to my face and wiped the blood from under my eye. It was darker than I was expecting, almost black. Just another sign that I wasn't alive anymore. I watched as Hawk raised his hand towards his face before sucking his thumb into the warmth of his mouth. His eyes flashed red for a second as a low moan rumbled deep in his throat.

Fuck me. That's hot.

I shouldn't be turned on by watching someone lick up drops of my blood but hot damn… that was something else. I wanted to press my lips against Hawk's and taste myself as my tongue pressed against his.

"Maybe later," he mumbled softly.

Fuck. Could he hear my thoughts?

"Yes," he replied. "And I like the way you think."

Hawk stood behind me and I felt the Revenants step closer, circling me and giving me a support that I'd never had before. A warmth circled through me, and tears welled in my eyes. How had it taken me dying to find this?

"No one has ever been able to break free from my hold. No one." Hades looked at me with something like fear in his eyes.

I shivered. I didn't know what a scared King of the Underworld would do to me. I might have been able to break my mind free, but I knew he was still powerful enough to destroy me completely.

I raised my eyebrow, feeling a little bit cockier with all that power at my back. "Maybe you'll think again about being an asshat."

Hades' eyes widened before he broke out into a surprising a laugh. Stern looking Hades was gorgeous, but a laughing Hades was absolutely fucking beautiful. I had to look away, his face suddenly too perfect and painful to look at.

Hawk wrapped his arm around my waist protectively, his massive hand covering my abdomen. I could feel the connection pulsing between us, like a hum that vibrated between the air. Now that I thought about it, I could feel it between the Revenants too. Like a thread weaved us all together, binding each to the other.

When Hades finally found his composure, he eyed the six of us with curiosity. I was aware that Hades had created the Revenants, that they were his, but I needed to know what I was doing here with them. What being sacrificed to them meant and how did Hawk fit into all this?