“Don’tlie to me.”Theypushed me back against the wall, their forearm pressed into my collarbone. “Tellme what you know.”
“Takeit somewhere else!”Torishouted.BothAvlynandIturned to look atJun.Hewas heaving great sobs, barely able to breathe as panic set in.Tearsstreamed from his eyes as he doubled over, trying to claw beneath the covers.Hewas speaking incoherently, andTorikept mumbling, “You’resafe.You’resafe.You’resafe.”
Shelooked at me with pleading eyes. “WhatdoIdo?”IfeltAvlyn’sgrip loosen, andIwent toJun. “WhatdoIdo,Pallas?”
Ididn’t have the words to tell her there was nothing she could do.
[Author’sNote:Thisnext scene contains on pageSA.Pleaseprotect your mental health and do not read if you aren’t comfortable.Skipto the next chapter break]
Hadeonhadn’t even waited until the evening ofJun’sarrival to destroy him.Aservant summoned me toHadeon’sbedchamber.Iwalked in to see him pressingJun’sface down into the pillows as he mercilessly thrust into him from behind.Ihad walked into similar scenes many times, but never before had bile risen in my throat.Ihad to use every ounce of my defenses to hide it.Thepillows muffledJun’ssoft wails, and my nails cut into the palm of my hands.
“Pallas, my love, would you help me make our guest more comfortable?”Thatcharming smile he wore so well was all teeth, and he grabbed the bun on the back ofJun’shead to lift him out of the pillows to make space for me underneath him.
Jun’sface was a mess of tears and spit.Idid allIcould not to look asIslid my dress off and climbed onto the bed.AsIdrew closer,Isaw his back was covered in fresh burns that fractured out like veins from whenHadeonhad inflicted another type of pain.Howsimilar they were to the scars on my back, but mine had always healed over.Hadeonhad known better than to leave permanent marks.
Hedidn’t show the same caution with his new prize.Thescars that would remain would beHadeon’sunique, permanent fingerprint onJun, forever.
Islid myself underneath his body.Internally,Idebated sliding in stomach down so thatIwouldn’t have to look at him, but the crack in my heart didn’t let me.Ifaced him and gently wrapped my legs around his hips.Junwas hard, but it wasn’t of his own volition; it was just a reaction to the electric stimulationHadeonloved to administer.
Igently grasped his wet face, but he refused to look at me.Iheard him mumble, “I’msorry,I’msorry.”Repeatedly.Myheart cracked open even more.Noneof this was his fault, and yet, this was the first apologyIhad heard in centuries.
Iknew better than to try and comfort him with empty words, soIkissed the trails of tears under his eyes, hoping he would understand that he wasn’t hurting me.ButHadeongrewimpatient and shifted his hips forward, forcingJuninto me.Hewhimpered pathetically.
Iparticipated in countless debaucheries withHadeonthroughout my life, butInever felt as vile asIdid at that moment.Icontinued to kissJun’sface, hoping he knew it would be over soon.
“Comenow,Pallas, you can do better than that.”BeforeIcould stop myself,Ilooked atHadeon.Thecontempt must have shown on my face because, for a moment, that perfect charming grin faltered and turned ugly.Hesaid nothing; just let his power snake overJun’sbody.Violetlight flashed until it arched into me.Junscreamed and gritted his teeth.Icould feel him shaking even more violently as new tears streamed down his cheeks.
Iwas damned either way, but one path at least would end this torment.Imoved my hips in time withHadeon, the two of us violatingJunin tandem.Mymaster grinned again and picked up his pace, slamming down as hard as he could.Itforced all ofJun'sweight onto my body, butIdid allIcould to keep moving.
“I’msorry…”Junwas sobbing into my ear. “Idon’t want to but…”Ifelt his body tense.Ineeded him to stop apologizing, soIgently snared his lips with mine.Hisbody quaked, andHadeongroaned asJunsqueezed around him.Wecontinued to kiss asHadeonfound his satisfaction and released us both.
Hecrawled off the bed and left without another word, leavingJunsobbing on top of me.Igently rolled him onto his side and extracted myself to find a bowl of warm water and a few clothes.Icleaned between my legs before soaking another towel in the warm water and approaching the shivering man on the bed.
Itouched the cloth gently to his lower back, and he flinched away with a violent force.
“It’salright.I’mnot going to hurt you.Ipromise.”Already,Ilied.Iwas sureIwould hurt him again.Buthe let me run thewarm towel over his skin, cleaning up the blood and everything else that coated his legs.
“I’msorry.I’msorry…I’venever…”Icould barely understand him as his chest heaved with sobs.
“Iknow.Iknow.It’salright.”Ifound the salveIstashed in almost every one ofHadeon’schambers and worked it between my fingers until it was pliant and rubbed it on the burns. “It’sgoing to be alright.”Sucha fucking liar.
“Pallas, what doIdo?”
Toriwas looking at me with grey eyes brimming with tears, just likeJunhad.LikeIhad any power what’s-so-fucking-ever to do anything.Thatferal, cornered beast inside me lashed out, trying to survive the pain that cut straight through my heart.
“Youshould have fucking been there,Princess!Youshould have saved him.Youshould have protected him becauseIcouldn’t!”
Iexpected her to lash out at me.Iwanted her to.Ideserved it, every piece of her ire and each punishment she could ever bestow on me.Ideserved it and so much more.Instead,Isaw the tears fall from her eyes as she looked away.Ifelt the hum of her power again, and she wrappedJunin it.Shegave a piece of herself to him, and it only reinforced how patheticIwas.Ihad stood by and done nothing for him, worse than nothing.Ihad inflicted pain on him to avoid my own, like a coward.Iwished she would just end this all.
“Timeto go, my lady.”IfeltAvlyngently grab my shoulder and steer me out of the room.Ilet my feet shuffle on the floor but didn’t fight it.Finally,I’dget locked in the dungeons, just likeIdeserved.Finally,Icould stop pretending likeIhad any worth.Itfilled me with vacant relief.
Aftera few minutes of silence,Avlynled me into not a dungeon cell but a small room with a table at the center, likely used for meetings.Theysat me in a chair and pulled another out to straddle it, arms crossed over the back, facing me.
“Howdid he get into the castle?”
Iblinked at them. “What?”
Avlynlifted one hand and rubbed their eyebrows with their thumb and forefinger. “Pallas, please, don’t make this difficult.HowdidLuxosget into the castle?”Theypaused, then added, “Andhow did he get out?”
