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(Hazel's POV)
The next morning came with no sunrise—only a dark, brooding sky that seemed to bleed into the towers of Shadow-Haven. The air carried a faint metallic tang, as though lightning still haunted it. From the balcony of our guest chamber, I could see the black lake below—its surface smooth as glass, reflecting the crimson lanterns that floated like restless spirits.
A sense of unease had settled into my chest since last night's council meeting. I couldn't shake the feeling that the storm was no accident… and that whatever caused it was far from over.
Hades was by the window, half-dressed in his dark trousers, his back bare and gleaming faintly beneath the dim light, hell my husband is so hot, it felt like a sin to stare. The muscles along his shoulders flexed as he fastened his arm guards. He looked every bit the king he was—controlled, powerful, and impossibly composed.
But I knew better.
The silence between us wasn't peaceful. It was coiled tension—his restraint, his fury, his protectiveness—all barely contained beneath that calm exterior.
When he finally turned to me, his eyes were dark as midnight flame. "Ares has summoned his Seer," he said. "She claims she saw something in the ruins of an ancient village."
"What kind of something?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.
He paused, gaze heavy on mine. "A ritual site."
My heart skipped. "A summoning?"
Hades gave a single nod. "They don't know what it was meant to call… but the residual energy reeks of old magic." His jaw tightened. "Serpent magic."
I went still. The name wasn't spoken, but we both knew who it pointed to.
Velia.
That serpent demon's venom had already scarred my past. I'd felt her hatred like a curse even before Hades confirmed her involvement. Now, hearing it again—it was like the air thinned around me.
Before I could respond, a soft knock echoed at the door.
"Enter," Hades commanded.
Ares' second-in-command—a petite vampire girl, with ink-black hair named Razi—stepped inside. Her voice was as crisp as frost. "My King, the Seer is ready for you both."
I blinked. "Both?"
Hades' hand brushed mine, a fleeting touch that steadied me. "You're coming with me," he said, tone final. "You're part of this now, Hazel."
Part of this.
The words settled in my chest with both warmth and weight.
We followed Razi through the marble corridors of the Shadow-Haven. The Seer's chamber was located beneath the east wing—a sanctum carved into the rock itself. The scent of incense and blood hung in the air, mingling with candle smoke.
The Seer stood in the center, draped in crimson veils that shimmered faintly under the flame. Her eyes, pale and blind-looking, flickered when we entered.
"Your Majesty," she murmured, bowing to Hades, then to Ares, who was already waiting by the obsidian altar. "And the Queen of the Citadel."
Ares' gaze lingered on me longer than it should have, something unspoken flickering in his eyes. I quickly looked away.
"What did you find?" Hades asked, voice echoing through the chamber.
The Seer extended her hand, and the surface of the altar began to glow faintly. Smoke rose, forming shimmering images—a circular mark scorched into the ground, surrounded by runes that pulsed like veins.
"It was not a storm," she whispered. "It was a summoning. Someone tried to awaken a force buried deep beneath the Underworld's veins. The ritual failed—but not completely."
A chill ran through me.
Ares folded his arms, tone dangerously calm. "Failed how?"
"The offering was incomplete," the Seer said. "Whoever performed it didn't have the right vessel. But they were close."
Her blind eyes turned toward me. "Very close."
The air shifted. Hades' aura spiked instantly—cold and suffocating. He stepped forward, voice like thunder. "What do you mean?"
The Seer bowed her head. "I can only read echoes. But I sense heat… divine heat. It emanates from the Queen herself."
All eyes turned to me. My skin prickled beneath their stares.
Hades' expression hardened, every muscle in his body drawn tight. "Could this be Velia's doing?"
"I have no idea," She replied.
"You will not speak of this outside this room," he warned, his tone leaving no space for argument.
Ares' eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
Then the Seer added, almost trembling, "If the summoning continues—whatever they're calling will plunge this world in even more darkness than it's already in."
I didn't realize I'd stepped back until Hades' arm came around my waist, steadying me.
"We're done here," he said sharply.
But as we turned to leave, the Seer whispered one last thing. "The heat… it's already begun."
And gods, she was right.
The moment we stepped out of the sanctum, the world tilted. My knees buckled as a sudden rush of fire spread through my veins.
"Hades—" I gasped, clutching his arm. "It's burning—"
He caught me before I fell, his face flashing from fury to alarm. "Hazel!"
Flames licked through my skin from the inside—my chest, my back, my hands. It was as if my very blood was boiling. My breath came out ragged.
"Get her to the chamber!" Ares shouted, already moving.
I felt Hades lift me effortlessly into his arms, his grip fierce and trembling with fear. "Hold on," he whispered, voice breaking.
Everything blurred—the corridors, the marble, the faces. I only felt heat. Too much of it.
By the time Hades laid me on the silken bed in the private chamber, my vision had gone hazy. Sweat slicked my skin; the sheets beneath me were damp and steaming.
"Her temperature—!" Hades snarled. "It's not natural!"
The vampire healer, a small man with brown eyes, rushed in and pressed a hand to my forehead. He recoiled immediately, as though burned.
"She's overheating from within," the healer said breathlessly. "Her body's rejecting its balance. She'll burn alive if it continues."
Hades' voice cracked. "Then fix it!"
"I can't," He said helplessly. "I don't know how—it's not demonic nor mortal. The only way to stabilize her is through temperature regulation. She needs to absorb cold essence—prolonged exposure to a cold-blooded source."
A cold-blooded source.
The healer turned to Ares. "Vampires. Only your kind can provide it."
The silence that followed was brutal.
Hades' fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white. "No."
"Hades—" Ares started.
"I said no!"
"Hades," I whispered weakly, reaching for him, "please…"
He looked down at me, and the storm in his eyes shattered. He knelt beside me, cupping my face with trembling hands. "You'll be fine," he murmured. "I'll find another way—"
"There isn't another way," Ares said softly.
The healer stepped forward, his tone firm. "If we delay, she could die within the hour."
The air in the room went still.
Hades' jaw worked. I saw the war inside him—the love, the rage, the jealousy that flared like a living thing. But then he looked at me again—sweat-drenched, shaking, my skin glowing faintly with gold.
He exhaled shakily. "Do it," he said at last, his voice broken. "But if you cross a line, Ares… I will end your immortal life where you stand."
Ares nodded once, his expression unreadable.
"Everyone out," Hades commanded, standing abruptly.
The elites obeyed, though Darius lingered a second longer, clearly unwilling. One look from Hades, and he was gone.
The healer dimmed the room's candles until only faint crimson light remained.
Ares removed his cloak, then his shirt. His skin was pale, marked faintly by veins that shimmered beneath the light. His eyes, red and haunting, met mine with concern that felt almost painful.
"I'll be careful," he said quietly.
Hades didn't move far. He stood near the wall—arms crossed, jaw tight, his aura vibrating with restrained fury.
Ares climbed onto the bed, lying behind me. The sheets hissed faintly when his cold skin met mine. I gasped, the sudden chill slicing through the heat like relief.
He placed one arm around my waist, pressing closer until his chest met my back. His cold breath fanned against my neck.
"Breathe," he murmured.
I did. The fire inside me dulled—slowly, agonizingly—until the pain softened into a strange ache. My muscles stopped trembling.
But my mind didn't rest.
Because across the room, Hades was watching.
His eyes burned brighter than any flame I'd ever seen. His fists were still clenched, his breathing uneven. Every second that Ares' skin touched mine seemed to chip away at his control.
I fell asleep for what felt like hours and when I opened my eyes again, I found Ares' gaze on me—tender, but haunted, he was still cuddling me.
And then I saw Hades move.
In a blur, he was at the bed, yanking Ares back by the shoulder.
"That's enough!" he snarled.
Ares met his fury with a calm too sharp to be peace. "You wanted her alive. I'm keeping her that way."
"I'll keep her alive," Hades snapped. "Not you."
The air between them crackled, dark energy clashing against crimson.
"Hades—please—" I tried to sit up, but my limbs were weak.
He turned to me, instantly softening. His hand brushed my cheek, fingers trembling. "You're safe now," he whispered. "You don't need him."
The healer's voice broke the tension. "She's stable… for now. But the heat will return if her body reacts again."
Hades glared at Ares, his voice low and lethal. "If this is Velia's doing—if this is her curse—I'll destroy her not even her ashes will remain."
I ran my fingers through my hair. I knew the burning sensation I felt wasn't Velia, I had felt it before. Only this time it felt like a spontaneous combustion. This was Hazel, she was something different, she definitely wasn't a mortal.
Ares, still half-shirtless, and also extremely hot met his gaze grimly. "Then we'd better find her before she finishes what she started."
And as their eyes locked, I realized something deeper than fear had begun—something that would change everything.
Because the storm outside was no longer just in the sky.
It was in this room.
And I was the fire at its center, and with that I collapsed on the bed once more, the darkness pulling me into an internal abyss.