"No," I shot back, but my voice trembled. Hades' noticed this too.
"I'm afraid I'm not giving you a choice in this matter, Serena," he responded curtly, coming to a stop a few metres from me. "This exercise will be a good way for me to assess how much you've learnt in your time here, since you'll no doubt have a physical assessment for one of the trials."
"I said no."
Ignoring me, Hades continued, "As a show of good faith, I'll even let you use one of my guard's swords. I'll attack you bare-handed. That should even the odds slightly."
It was all happening so fast, I didn't have time to get my thoughts in order. One second after Hades mentioned a weapon, a guard approached me and thrust a sword into my hands. I grappled with the hilt as they forced me to grab hold. Surprised by its weight, I almost lost my grip and let it fall to the floor.
I'd never held a sword in my hands before. Hell, Alek hadn't even let me anywhere near his, so the most I'd seen of sword fighting was from Alek's brief fights and the movies. Somehow, I didn't think sword fighting in the movies would be anywhere near an accurate experience. My breathing was shallow as I looked up at Hades, forcing myself to meet his challenging gaze.
"I'm not going to fight you, and you're going to let Kadyn go." My voice was soft, almost inaudible. I was barely holding it together.
Off on the side-lines, Kadyn was thrashing to escape the guards' grip.
"Let me take Serena's place," Kadyn argued. "This is my fight, not hers."
A small and cowardly part of me wanted to agree, knowing that Kadyn was far more experienced in the sword-fighting department than I was. But the bigger part of me knew that no matter what, neither of us would be able to defeat Hades.
Hades didn't even turn his gaze on Kadyn when he replied, "You will get your fight – once I am done with Serena."
For a moment, I truly thought I might pass out. I cast a quick glance around the Throne Room, my heart pounding in my chest. There was nothing in the room that I could use to my advantage. There was certainly no sign of plant life or anything that I could use with my powers. My healing powers weren't going to be effective during battle, either. I realised with horror that I was utterly trapped and with nowhere to go and nothing that I could properly use to defend Kadyn. Based off Hades' sinister smile, that was exactly why he'd asked me to come here. He really was wanting to use this time to test how far I'd progressed in my physical training – all powers aside.
The sword weighed in my hand heavily. From how I saw it, I had two options. Firstly, I could use the sword in the fight and pray to God that it didn't end up being used against me. Since I didn't have any experience with sword fighting, the possibility of that happening was high. But then again, if used correctly, it could hold Hades at bay. My second option was to throw the sword off to the side of the room so that the threat of it being used against me was entirely eliminated.
I had just tightened my grip on the sword, resolved to use it, when Hades' face darkened and he exploded. He launched forwards with his right fist slicing to strike to my face. Adrenaline pumping through me, I sidestepped his attack by ducking under his arm and bouncing back up again. He'd used enough force to generate a soft wind, which tugged at the stray hairs framing my face. That hit alone would have knocked me out flat.
I whirled into a defensive stance and held the sword up between us, forming a protective barrier. I quickly ran overe my training with Persephone, but we hadn't worked much on sparring. Persephone had been adamant that I build up my general fitness before we dived into that wormhole, and I was now regretting not having pushed her on the matter. Running on the treadmill and throwing weights around was no substitute for the high-risk, cut-throat, adrenaline-rushed breathlessness that was combat fighting.
If I was going to stand a chance at Hades, I had to be quick to have the element of surprise.
Hades twisted and jumped forwards. For someone so large and muscular, he sure was fast. I swiped at him with the sword, but I did no more than simply graze his arm as he grabbed my sword-fighting arm, and with a flick of his wrist, sent my sword clattering to the floor. He pressed my arm flush against his body as he scowled at me.
"Pathetic," he growled.
Rage burst from me. With a battle cry, I stomped onto his closest foot with as much force as I could muster. The impact sent a vibration up my entire leg, but the only sign he had felt it was the slight scrunching of his nose. With one of my arms now caught in his grip, I used my free hand to curl it into a fist and aim for his face. But my punch was clumsy, and Hades avoided it, an even angrier scowl on his face.
I had about a half-second where I realised I'd left my stance wide open. Still holding onto both my hands, Hades thrust a knee upwards and struck me in the chest, winding me. All of the air left my body as a pain so intense bloomed from the spot he'd hit. I couldn't recover by the time Hades spun in a massive display of prowess and kicked me in the centre of my stomach.
Then, I was flying.
Hades' kick had sent me soaring across the room. I collided with the ground ten feet away, rolling across the marble floor and colliding with the far wall. My head took the impact and stars formed over my vision. Kadyn's shouting grew louder and more urgent, letting me know I'd landed somewhere near him.
I coughed as the air rushed back into my lungs. My head was pounding from where it had struck the wall. I released a groan and tried to gain my bearings. My entire body begged for me to rest, but from the corner of my vision I saw Hades striding towards Kadyn.
Panic bloomed in my chest as I watched Kadyn wrench one of his arms free from the guards and hit them backhanded. Kadyn was about to attack the remaining guard by his side when two more seemed to take the injured guard's place. I screamed as they used the flat edges of their sword to hit the back of Kadyn's legs and forced him onto his knees. His teeth clattered together as he fell to the floor and he shot each of his captors a glare, promising vengeance.
As if in slow motion, dark intent formed in Hades' eyes as he advanced upon my only friend.
My heart stopped beating. A deep part of my mind whispered to me; this is it.
"No!" I screamed, my chest cleaving open.
Hades clicked his tongue. "I admire your perseverance, Serena, but sometimes strength requires you to admit when you've lost."
I bared my teeth at him. "You're not going to hurt him."
Silently, he tilted his head to one side and shot Kadyn a calculating look. "My shadows tell me otherwise."
Not a moment later, the shadows swirling in Hades' midst shot out, heading straight towards Kadyn.
But with the distance between them, there was still time for me to stop it.
It took all of my effort as I braced myself on all fours and propelled myself forward, ignoring the twinging pain from one of my ribs and the thudding in my skull. I sprinted for Kadyn and skidded to a stop in front of him, acting as a barrier between him and Hades. The pitch-black darkness swirled forwards, its colour so intense that it was impossible to see anything else. I held my breath as it shot straight for me.
Everything turned dark as the darkness surrounded me, enveloping me in coldness and causing the base of my spine to tingle. I'd been expecting to feel pain unlike anything else, so was surprised to discover the shadows seemed to vibrate around me, as though there was some force preventing them from taking me over completely. My headache worsened to the point of a migraine. It didn't help that I likely already had a concussion.
It took me a few seconds to realise the shadows weren't killing me. They travelled along my skin, taking their time to explore and taunt, rather than move with quick purpose. When I reigned in my panic, I noticed the shadows brought with them near-silent whispers from hundreds of different voices, each one too indistinguishable to make out on their own. The voices left a sour-taste in my mouth and a layer of frostiness on my skin.
Slowly, the shadows dissipated, my surroundings began to take form again and the whispering died down. Warmth returned to my skin and I exhaled in relief. Hades stood before me; a look of open shock plastered on his expression as he stared at me. I blinked once, then twice, and tried to put some explanation to what had just happened.
My thoughts were cut off by blood-curling screams.
I spun around, my heart in my throat, and gasped when I noticed the shadows hadn't disappeared – they'd only moved away from me and towards Kadyn. The guards who had held him had backed off, giving us a wide berth as the darkness swirled with the chaos of a cyclone. I was unable to see anything of Kadyn beneath its black surface.
His screams were the only indication that he was alive – but I didn't know for how long.
"Kadyn!" I called out, trying to claw my way through the blackness. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I reached haphazardly in the dark, desperate to reach him. This time, the shadows seemed to recognise me and skirted past my touch. I wasn't sure how I knew, but they wouldn't be able to hurt me. Couldn't hurt me. But they could hurt Kadyn, who was only human.
Suddenly his screaming stopped bouncing off the walls and my heart lurched, not knowing whether that was a good sign. I ran into something hard and tall and knew instantly that it was him. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight, trying to ward off the darkness, but I stumbled under his weight and we fell onto the floor in a heap. I gasped as he took the brunt of our fall. Luckily, my body covered his and the shadows hissed, moving away from us since they no longer had anywhere to attack him that wasn't already protected by me.
Light once again surrounded us and I blinked as the aftermath of Hades' cruelty appeared before me. Kadyn, stone cold to the touch, stared vacantly into nothing. His lips were frosted with a blue tinge, as if the cold had penetrated deep within him and left an indelible mark. There was no colour on his face, no sign of life. I shook his shoulder, hoping to get a reaction but receiving none.
"What did you do?" I screamed at Hades, glaring at him with enough hate to fuel a fire. "Tell me what you did to him!"
I placed a hand on his torso, waiting for the steady rise and fall of my hand. It didn't come – he wasn't breathing. He wasn't living.
He was dead.
Hades had resumed his cool expression; any trace of his prior surprise was long gone. "I did exactly as I promised I would do. Your ally is dead."
"My friend," I spat out. "He was my friend."
Hades rolled his head on his shoulders, acting as if this was a typical day at work. Then, glancing sparingly at his guards, he ordered, "Take the body away."
"No!"
Instinctively, I shot up to my feet as four guards surrounded me. Without even thinking, I aimed a punch for the first guard, but he was the tallest and strongest looking of them all. Within a second, he had my back pressed flush against his chest and his sword at my throat. I stopped struggling as its sharp edge grazed along my skin, threatening to pierce and spill blood.
"Don't touch him," I snarled as the remaining guards leaned over Kadyn's body, but my captor tightened his grip on me and reminded me once again of what would happen if I didn't stay silent. I bit my lip as I watched them pick up Kadyn and remove him from the room. I tried to stop myself from sobbing in front of Hades.
Even with the knife at my throat, I was able to see Hades' expression of indifference as they left the room. I gritted my teeth and glared at him, all of my rage and grief making me see red. "I swear, I will kill you," I growled, feeling my promise reverberate through my entire body. I was almost thrumming with vengeance, and Hades' eyes widened only slightly at the emotion behind my words.
This time, I truly meant it.
I wanted to take the sword glistening at my throat and drive it through his deadbeat heart.
Hades cleared his throat and made eye contact with the guard holding his weapon to my throat, and something indistinguishable passed between them. Hades nodded slightly and retreated back to his throne, lounging lazily. Then I was being pushed by the guard towards the open door, my back still flush with his chest. Just as we exited, I breathed in a large gulp of air as the cold feel of the sword against my throat disappeared. Himeros and Erica stood before me, standing straight in alert. I'd forgotten they'd followed me here.
Before I could turn around and charge at Hades, a foot met my lower back and kicked me forwards. I stumbled to catch myself and spun too late, hearing the door to the Throne Room slam shut. In my frustration, I ran back up to it and pounded against the door. Tears flowed rapidly down my cheeks.
"Damn you, Hades! Persephone won't forgive you for this!"
"Serena?" Himeros softly asked, his voice as light as a feather compared to mine. He didn't dare approach me. "What happened? We saw them carry out one of the servants."
The throat tightened and I was unable to answer him. Anger curled hot and unrelenting in my gut, like a burning inferno threatening to burst from me in a nasty display of uncontrolled violence. I took a few deep breaths, but it did nothing to calm the raging fire.
Suppressing the urge to throw something, I paused to think for a moment and ran my hands through my hair, which was tangled and messy.
There was only one way I could channel my anger. Without mentioning anything to Himeros or Erica, I sprinted off down the corridor. Himeros' shouts followed me, but they passed through my mind with the ease of a ghost. Either of them could follow me if they wanted, but I suspected they knew I needed to be alone.
I raced down the steps towards the forest, taking them two at a time, and wrenched the door open. The green, lush environment that once soothed me did little to settle my raging anger. I'd never felt such unbridled emotion before and stepped into the forest line with my fists curled. Here, in the forest, I was not the trapped, flightless bird that had been stuck in the Throne Room with Hades.
I had power here.
I drew my hands up by my sides and channelled all of my anger and grief outward. My power rose onto its hind legs and roared in response, practically charging from my hands. Before my very eyes, the flowers at the feet of the trees grew spikes. Leaves curled on branches and then turned brown and dropped to the floor. Vines grew longer, searching the canopy of the forest for any threats but finding none. What I was doing wasn't natural, but it was cathartic. With every breath, my powers purified my body from anger and seemed to project it outwards.
Exhaustion eventually filled the part of my heart that had been blackened by anger. When I no longer felt anything in me but fatigue and sadness, I dropped to the floor and tucked my legs under me, content to stay there forever.