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With every sweep of my gaze, my eyes widen more and more. The few hounds that I saw approaching moments earlier are still heading our way, but now there are easily hundreds, if not thousands, of them nearing us.
My jaw hangs loose, my body tingling with terror at the sheer number approaching us, but before I can breathe a single word about any of it, Talon grabs my shoulders and turns me to face him head on.
Worry flickers in his eyes, the rawness and realness only solidifying what’s happening here as he speaks. “I believe in you, Harmonia. Go, we’ll keep the hounds at bay.” I wet my lips as I numbly nod in response, unable to find a single word to respond with as his lips press into mine like he’s trying to relay every moment he’s ever loved me in that single second. When he leans back, there’s a fire in his eyes now as he grips my chin. “I love you.”
He just said what now?
Before I can melt into a pool of love and completeness at his words, Malik is filling his spot in the next breath, his back to the oncoming enemy as the world blends into the darkness around me. My fingers reach for his red hair as he kisses my forehead. “I love you more.”
I can’t be in Hell, definitely not. Not when the men I have longed for all of my life are professing their love for me. That’s something that can only happen in Heaven, surely.
I’m left speechless as Malik is shoved to the side and Alexi sweeps me up into his arms, nestling his face in the crook of my neck as he squeezes me tightly. I almost struggle to take a breath because he's clinging that hard, but then he brings his lips to my ear and murmurs against my skin.
“I love you the most.”
Yep. I’m dead. A goner. There’s no coming back from this. Ever.
My feet hit the ground again as Alexi leans back, tucking a loose tendril of hair back off my face as he offers me a small smile. My heart soars for the three of them, and I suddenly don’t have a single word to say.
“Now go. We’ve got this end taken care of, but remember, anything you wish is possible. You’re a Fury now. Your powers are limitless, your soul is guarded by us, and you can overcome every obstacle that lies before you.” His jaw tightens with every word, like he knows that I can handle whatever awaits, but he doesn’t want me to have to face it without them.
“I’ll go with her.” I turn to my right to see the determined face of my best friend as she eyes Alexi, Malik, and Talon, daring them to tell her no, but to my surprise Alexi physically relaxes in front of me.
“Perfect, but hurry.”
Rhea simply nods in response as she laces her fingers with mine and when I glance back to look at my three crazy assholes, I see the swarm of hounds drawing nearer and I know the longer I stand around here, the more of a distraction I become.
Taking a step back with my best friend at my side, I look each of them in the eyes before repeating those same words back to them. “I love you, infinity.”
Without a backward glance, I hightail it in the direction Hades pointed with Rhea squeezing my hand in silent support. As we near the wall marked in the exact same black and navy blue, I hear a battle cry from behind us as the onslaught from the hounds attempts to overpower both the Elites and the Furies. I falter, desperate to remain with them, but it’s Rhea who brings me back to the task at hand.
“Let’s go, Harm. The quicker we get in, the quicker we get out, and the quicker it’s all over.”
I nod at her words, nibbling on my bottom lip for a second before I finally start to move again, surprised when I realize there is an opening in the rocks. Our steps slow as we try to gather our bearings.
“It appears to be a tunnel system,” I murmur after a moment, pointing to the right where it seems to lead. Rhea pulls me in that direction without hesitation, the two of us falling into step as we make our way through the darkness. We have to be realistic, this is Hell, and not all is as it seems as we’ve learned.
Thank the gods for the sky-blue swirls dotted throughout the rocks, offering a glimmer of light in an otherwise minefield of total nothingness. With no actual sense of which direction we are supposed to be heading in, I feel overwhelmed, but I force myself to continue, even when I hear the murmur of voices up ahead.
Rhea pulls me to the side with her, our backs hitting the wall with a slight grunt as she brings her finger to her lips. The murmurs slowly get louder, but I have no idea what it is they’re actually saying. It’s like an entirely different language.
“Anything you wish is possible… your powers are limitless…”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, feeling my magic flutter in my stomach as I think about what it is I want to do. After a few seconds nothing seems to change and I start to doubt Alexi’s words, but in the next moment, I can understand the murmurs completely.
“They’re here for her, we can’t allow it. The hounds are handling those outside, but Mita confirmed two managed to slip inside. We need to find them and kill them quickly. They can’t be allowed to get close to Styx.”
My heart thrums like crazy in my chest as I lean in close to Rhea, pressing her fingers to my temple as I repeat their words to her. I watch as her eyes widen for a second before determination takes over her features.
This girl is as crazy as they come, and I’m ready to face whatever is around this corner with her by my side.
“No barriers.”
With Alexi’s words repeating in my head, I roll my shoulders back and step out into the tunnel, hands poised and ready to attack as I take quiet steps toward them. I can barely make out the direction the path takes at the end of the tunnel, but watching the two hounds turn the corner from the left, directly toward us, I get my answer.
It takes a second for them to even realize we’re there, and I use that moment to get a good look at them. Their eyes are like mine and Rhea’s, but their bodies are covered in fur from head to toe, and not the soft kind. It almost looks like it’s been dipped in hair gel and set on fire, but most of it is covered by the layers of clothing they’re wearing.
“There they are!”
