Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

2019 Christmas Special

I roll my eyes, unable to stop the small smile from blossoming over my lips. "Everything you would have picked would have been black."

"What's wrong with that?" Eric shrugs. "Black is an underrated colour in decor these days."

I shake my head, playfully shoving him away. I turn back to my sea of decorations. "Have you decided to be helpful now?"

Eric wriggles his eyebrows at me. Before I can even blink, he's grabbed a piece of tinsel off the floor and wound it around me, so tightly that I can't move. He yanks me forward.

"Is this being helpful?"

I scowl at him. "No."

Eric pulls me closer. He bops me on the nose. "How about now?"

"No."

He smirks. I'm tugged stumbling into his chest. I look up at him, opening my mouth to berate him, but before a single word can escape he captures my lips with his own. All the fight saps from my limbs. I lean into him, kissing him back. My arms drop to my sides.

Eric pulls away to wink at me. "How about now?"

"Uh..." I stare at him, my thoughts cloudier than a shaken snowglobe. "What?"

He chuckles, tweaking my nose. "Come on. Let's go get that Christmas tree of yours."

"What?" I blink at him. Eric hauls me after him. "Wah!"

"You really are like a baby deer, aren't you?" Eric chuckles. "You're even clumsier than—"

He pauses. His hand smacks me in the face in his hastened attempt to cover my eyes.

"Bambi. Don't look. You don't want to see this."

"See what?" I rip his hand away. I gasp. "Where's my Christmas tree?!"

"You know, that is an excellent question." Eric strokes his short beard. "Maybe it grew legs and just walked away?"

"Eric!" I smack his shoulder. "This is not funny!"

"No." Eric smooths his expression out. His eyebrow twitches. "It's hilarious."

"Eric!" I smack him once, twice, three times. "It's not! Everyone is supposed to be here in less than three hours and our tree has disappeared! How are we expected to get ready in time if our tree has dematerialized?!"

"It's not a big deal, Ellie. We'll just find another one."

"We can't 'just find another one'!" I exclaim, staring at him in horror. "We must ask the permission of the tree's nymph before we even think about cutting down any trees! If we do not ask for permission then we might as well be cutting off their own limb—"

"Ellie!"

I drop to the ground, my eyes rolling to the back of my head as one of my suicide visions takes hold of me.

— — —

— E V I E —

"Hades!"

Rapid, loud footsteps echo down the stone hallways. Hades bursts through the door, almost toppling over himself in his haste to get to me.

"Evie! Are you alright?!"

"Of course I'm alright, I was only—" I pause, staring at him. "Why do you look like you just swallowed your tongue?"