Before you proceed: Like I said, from this chapter onwards the book gets darker. Sure there still would be fluff and light romance in future chapters but again this is a dark romance novel. And if you find anything offensive in this book, may it be to your culture, your religion, your belief, yourself, anythingggg... Then I am greatly and terribly sorry. It would never be my intention to upset and offend anyone. This is a work of fiction and this is in no way romanticizing killers. I got bored, I saw a video about my all time favorite OTP (Hades and Persephone) and got inspired to write a modern retelling about them. Death is only fun in fiction, don't take this book TOO seriously to the point where you harass one another, the characters or me in the comments and I want anyone to put that in their minds before commenting bad things. If you're reading under my account then it's a duty to spread love! Also, I used google translate so sentences from other languages may not be accurate.
No warnings will be put up every other chapter. THIS IS YOUR WARNING! There will be sexual content, violence, blood and gore and if you don't like any of those then please do not read further. I'm warning you, this book gets REALLY bloody, like HARDCORE bloody, and if you don't want to read that then please skip or better yet just DON'T READ THE BOOK ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING RELEVANT TO SAY. Thank you. But if you don't mind all of those craziness, then please, enjoy! 😉
P.S. : Play the song. Like imagine that intro with Aidoneus walking with the intent to kill *winks in penguin*
🌙 f o u r t e e n
♚
He hadn't been this careless before. Anywhere he goes his gun was tucked on the waistband of his pants, cool and hard, waiting to find another head to shoot at. And now he was paying up for his carelessness.
He was still on top of Aiyana and it was not the same thing that his mind had wanted to happen. He didn't know how she managed not to scream from fright but she looked positively collected, her arms tightly wounded around his waist as he picked them both up to crouch. The alarm was still ringing all though out the building and where before there was a single red light now there were too many of them.
Sharpshooters. The adrenaline in his veins kept him up, managing to avoid gun shots as he timed his feet to walk when the gun shots ceased. His hand gripped hers as he moved away from the windows, his other hand toppled the bed over giving them cover as they crouched down.
A gasp sounded right beside him and he feared she'd been shot. His eyes immediately seek hers, "Love? Are you okay?"
"How did you do that?" Confused, he stared momentarily at her, forgetting that there were probably an army of armed men after them.
"What?" He blinked.
"You're so strong." Her voice sounded amazed as her eyes went to his arms. Aidoneus was surprised. His Aiyana wasn't scared, not at all.
Immediately, his men came throwing the door open, swarming the room. He'd given them clear instructions to go to Aiyana's room first and make sure she's safe in case something like this happened. And now he was beyond livid that this happened.
"Take them all out." Was his command, his voice and posture the calm before the storm. He led them both, Aiyana and him, towards the door as he let his men deal with whoever's on the other side of the building. His whole being itched for blood.
They went to his room first. Cautiously, he took his gun, the gold one, from the drawer and loaded it quickly. "Come love." Aiyana was silent all through out and he was grateful. He led them towards the stairs, they couldn't risk using the elevator. It was a precaution. Right now, he wanted to keep her safe and away from danger. Within minutes they reached the basement and he was glad Aiyana was still silent, because her silence means she trusted him to keep her safe. His love felt safe with him and that's what he's going to do; keep her safe no matter the cost.
They walked a narrow hallway and reached a silver heavy metal door. He punched the code in and the heavy metal let out a low groan as it opened for them. He led them inside and as they stepped into it the heavy doors closed.
The white room was filled with all kinds of guns and ammos, bullets, katanas, bombs...
He let her sit on a couch beside the wall as he paced the floor. His hand went to his head and he almost yanked out his hair from gripping it too tightly. He was agitated. He wanted to do something. He wanted release. He wanted to kill. He wanted blood. But he couldn't leave her.
"Aidoneus, are you okay?" Those were the first words she spoke after she praised him of his strength when he toppled the bed with one hand and her first words was about his well being.
He stopped his pacing and kneeled down in front of her, his left hand caressed her face while his other hand held hers. She looked worried and he knew she was worried for him. This girl didn't show an emotion when they'd been gunned by men but here she was worriedly staring at him like he was worth the emotion.
"I'm fine love." He assured her.
"Do you want to do something?" Their eyes held some sort of communication. The question was her polite way of asking if he wanted to go after the men, kill them. He nodded. "Then go."
Surprised, he didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected that to come out from her. "If you're worried about leaving me then don't. I'll be fine here. If they get here then I could use some guns displayed here, right? Or maybe that katana, the katana looks good." Her eyes drifted away from him to the weapons on the wall, she seemed distracted by it and then her eyes fell on him, "Uhm maybe I'll just stick to guns. You'll give me the permission to use it, right?"
He closed his eyes and groaned, not liking the idea of leaving her alone and not knowing if she was serious. "Baby this is serious."
"I'm bloody serious too Aidoneus." Once again, he was surprised. He looked at her perplexed but he couldn't help but feel proud of her display of bravery. "Go. I'll be fine. Don't keep me waiting here for too long. Go now."
And in that moment he knew, if he wasn't in love with her before then he was certain he'd fallen hopelessly in love with her that moment. He leaned up and kissed her with all he got. It was a hot kiss and it ended right before it got too hot, afraid she'll burn him and miss his chance to disembowel the bastards who ruined his time with her.
"I'll be back love. I promise." She smiled and pecked his lips once, "I know." This caused a smile to break out from his lips. He kissed her forehead once and then his feet took him to the door. He saw her smiling at him right before the door closed. And when it did, gone was the love struck Aidoneus, it was time for someone to die.
He walked straight ahead, his face devoid of any emotion, his eyes a fathomless ocean of darkness and his heart had somehow stopped beating, unfeeling.
Death was coming and he was striding gracefully in his white button up shirt and black pants.
The first floor was a chaos of guests, staffs and his undercover men but he paid no attention to it all. He wanted blood and blood he shall have.
He was outside of the building when one of his men came to him, "Lord, they're at the Underground waiting for you.", his eyes downcast not wanting to see Aidoneus' eyes. And who would? It was the coldest and most uninteresting of black. One would not bother distinguishing him from the dead, his eyes looked dead and looked even colder than corpses. Aiyana however seemed not to share the same thoughts as him, she was the only one who gazed up at his eyes without fear, learning his orbs as if it was the most beautiful of colors when it was bleak and grim. The thought of her only fueled his want to kill. She had been in danger and those men would pay.
"Take me there."
He rode in one of his cars, his driver taking them where hell were. Once the car stopped, he went out straight for the south facade. The gargoyles perched atop the towers looked down upon him, their eyes seemed to burn his skull and follow his every move. Their grotesque visage reminded Aidoneus of the demons he'll inevitably encounter in hell.
The Underground like it's name is located underground. Genius. Only, it wasn't just anywhere. He went inside and saw a few people scattered, kneeling, praying with their eyes closed with rosaries gripped in their hands. Those with their eyes opened paid no attention to him like they were used to him coming here. Only, Aidoneus didn't regularly came to Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris to pray, but to chasten.
They reached passed medieval looking walls with double doors and with carved, sculpted Jews adorning them whose name Aidonueus had forgotten but he was positive it was named after a saint followed by the word portal. A priest was walking with his head bowed from reading presumably the bible what with its thick volume and hard leather bound format and upon lifting his head he stopped to smile and greet Aidoneus.
"Seigneur Nicolaou, ça fait longtemps! Vous avez eu la gentillesse de donner suffisamment d'argent pour élever l'église après le malheureux incendie. Merci beaucoup Seigneur. Voulez-vous que j'annonce aux gens le bien que vous avez fait? Je l'ai déjà annoncé au Seigneur." The old man looked happy as he stared up at Aidoneus expectantly. How could this good man not see the evil in him? Perhaps he had turn a blind eye on it like all the other priests had.
Lord Nicolaou, it has been a long time! You have been kind to donate enough money to lift the church up after the unfortunate fire. Thank you very much Lord. Do you want me to announce to the people the good that you've done? I already announced it to the Lord.
He looked at the priest his face hard and impassive and managed out a simple, "Non, merci."
No, thank you.
And then he left, walked where no ears and eyes could lurk around and came to the end of the edifice, narrow, dark and bleak, no one was allowed here, not even the archbishop and certainly not the Pope.
There, a pariah of old and broken sculptures lay. Some standing, others completely broken. Most of them were gargoyles, others had cobwebs laying still broken beyond repair as if satan himself had punished them not to ever be seen, only hidden, away from judging eyes casting a look and throwing disgusted glares their hideous ways. One gargoyle in particular was clean, complete and intact, it was perched beside a candle holder right on the wall. Its head was of a dragon but the body of a lion's. The dragon's mouth was gaping open. Aidoneus reached out and placed his thumb on the gaping mouth of the dragon. A red laser scanned his thumb and then the eyes of the dragon lit up turning green, a sign much more than just granting them access, it was a sign of acknowledgement. A groan was heard from the old structure followed by the unmistakable sound of concrete rubbing against concrete before the wall before them parted acting as a door slowly opening until it left a gaping dark hole for them. He could feel his men peering towards the darkness as if expecting demons to come out.
Nascentes morimur
The latin phrase stared back at him on the stone arc. It was carved intricately and he couldn't help but feel the rush of adrenaline that overflowed his senses.
From the moment we are born, we begin to die.
They walked the path and came to a winding stair case that led them down. His feet stomped, going down multiple steps at a time, wanting to end this as quickly as possible and return to his love.
His hand reached out towards his gun from the waistband of his pants, caressing the cold and unforgiving object like his own personal stress ball. They finally reached the end of the stair case and from thereon, they walked the dimly lit narrow hall. He stopped at a rusty and old door. One of his men opened it up for him and when it opened he was immediately hit by the strong stench of blood and gore. He heard the door closed and a few of his men stood guard outside, silently praying for him to show mercy. There were three men, all strapped into a metal chair. The strong stench of blood didn't came from them, the scent was days old, his canvases' skin were untouched. Good. His men left all the fun part to him.
He stood there in the center, looking at each of the shooters' faces. They were all looking murderously at him but behind the strong facade lies the unmistakable smell of fear and Aidoneus could smell it from them. Good.
"The other one got away Lord. Forgive us, we couldn't catch him." He heard his men say to him as he bowed his head. He supressed a growl from coming out of his throat.
So there were four of them. He thought.
Without saying a word, he went to the table from his right. He eyed the tools laying, waiting to be of use to him. Their silver skin glinting against the dim light. He perused through the objects, his eyes glinting with malice. His eyes fell upon a small scalpel. He picked it out.
"Ty, blyad'!"
You fucker!
Ah. So they talk. And in Russian. His eyes went to them as he played with the tool in his hand. He walked silently, one would mistake him of a wraith, a ghost, until he stood directly in front of the tied men.
"Otpusti nas!" Let us go!
The one in the center yelled as he struggled with his restraints.
"Pochemu ya dolzhen?"
Why should I? Aidoneus asked back, he wanted to get some answers from these men and he will get it one way or another. "Dazhe ne otvechay."
Don't even answer that. He leveled them all with a hard look and one of his men came to give him a chair. He took a seat and now he was looking at them at their level. "Kto tebya poslal?"
Who sent you? It was not a question but a command.
"We don't speak of names." The one on the left spat, his words hung heavy with his Russian accent.
Aidoneus nodded, his face grim, a mask of death and chaos. "Very well." He stood up. "Do you peer through the lens through your left eye?" The men stared at each other, confused but he could see the confusion was more of a question pertaining to his knowledge of their abilities. "I'll take that as a yes. I guess I'll start with you then."
The men hadn't even had their next breath when Aidoneus went for the man in the center, his hand gripping the scalpel as he stabbed it through the man's left eye. He let out a blood curdling scream. Aidoneus yanked his eye ball out, strings of veins followed the movement and the man's hollowed eyes gushed out an endless stream of blood. His left eye looked like a bloody empty crater. The man kept on crying and it irritated Aidoneus.
"You fucking demon! Die you fucker---" Before the man on the left could even speak his next words Aidoneus had his scalpel outline the seams of the bastard's lips. He could feel his tears as it fall on his bloodied hands. His face was emotionless as it sliced through the man's lips and when he was done, he threw the freshly cut flesh on the floor the man still sobbing.
"You talk too much." Aidoneus shook his head as if he was shaking out the voice in his ears. "And you. A sharpshooter is as good as dead without an eye. As for you," He moved towards the guy on his right, he could see his pants darken, the fucker pissed himself, "if you don't want to end up like them both then answer me."
"Y-yes." He had started to cry. Who sent this men? They were a bunch of cowards.
"Good." Aidoneus went for the sink attached to the far left of the room. He washed his hands off of blood and one of his men had a white towel ready for his hands to dry. He dried his hands and strode to his chair, taking a seat and looking at the men. He wasn't even starting yet. He lift his chin to gesture the man to speak.
"Someone sent us to kill you. We don't know who the man is. W-when we chatted with him his face is covered with a mask and his voice is distorted and we only chatted once. I-I promise, we were just sent. W-we don't know who they are who's after you." By the time the man was done he had turned into a sobbing mess.
Aidoneus' remained impassive but his body wanted to kill. His love had been in danger because someone wanted him dead. He moved to stand and went for the man, his scalpel was inches away from the sobbing turd's eyes.
"W-wait! Please spare m-me." Gah. The dramatics. Aidoneus' scalpel was dancing on the man's lids as he waited for his next words, he was not a patient man, just one soft jab and this man's eyes would leave him. "I-I think it was a woman." Aidoneus listened. A woman? "We tried to warp back the voice and we heard a woman's v-voice. And when she sent us the money there was a c-card inside with the initial D. S-she also said not to hurt the girl." Aidoneus remained quiet, his brain overworking. Finally, he regarded the man with a look.
"What's your name?" Aidoneus asked. He could feel his men looking at each other, silently asking if perhaps he would finally show mercy.
"Aleksei S-sir."
"Good job Aleksei." He patted the head of the trembling man before looking straight into his eyes and perhaps he'd seen the soulless look Aidoneus possessed that he pleaded, his eyes crying and begging. "But you see, that's not how you should address me." His hand jabbed the scalpel down, earning a scream of torture from the man. Seconds later, another eye fell to the floor.
"I gave you answers! W-what is wrong with you fucker?! She'll come for you! She'll take her! She will take your precious g---" Before he could wail further, Aidoneus' hands move to his lips, carving the flesh out and throwing it off. But he couldn't help but be disturbed by what the man said. His Aiyana. Who would want his Aiyana away from him?
Aidoneus stepped back and admired his blooded painting on their skin. The men were shaking, their limbs exhaustedly hung off the chair. They were not speaking. "Ah. Peace and quiet."
The torture went on for hours. He had ripped their skin open, sliced their ears off and even took their tongue out. His blood was rushing and all his being was murderous as he thought about Aiyana being in danger and these men were the cause of it. He bad to find this D and whoever they are, they would face a much much worse torture than the men they sent.
Two hours had passed and by the time Aidoneus was finished his white shirt had turned red, the three men were hanging lifeless by their restraints. All missing their tongues and ears, their eyes and lips carved out and their mouth stitched together. They looked even horrifying than the gargoyles outside.
The ground became a pool of blood that everytime he or his men walks, a squelching sound reverberated throughout the silent walls.
He looked at his watch and only then did he realize the time. It was three in the morning and his love had said not to keep her waiting for long. He cursed himself and hurriedly went out after barking orders for his men to clean up and find the other shooter.
He went out and immediately went to another room. There, he showered thoroughly and changed. He washed off the blood and slime off his body but the water could never wash off his twisted and sick thoughts.
He went out of the Underground in his sweatpants, a white v-neck and a pair of leather gloves. He hurried to his car and ordered his driver to take him to the hotel. The ride felt like years and when the car stopped, his feet immediately sprung taking him to her.
The hotel was quiet when he got back. Everything resumed like nothing has happened.
Now, he stood outside the heavy metal door, his hand clenching and unclenching beside him. She'd feel sick of him, disgusted if she knew what he did. He heaved out a sigh and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, opened the door and strode in.
There, he found Aiyana laying on the couch. What surprised him was the gun she held close to her stomach. She had plucked out a gun displayed on the wall. Aiyana surprised him too much today. He moved closer until he kneeled in front of her sleeping form. He sighed as he let his gaze rake all over her.
Calm down Aidoneus. She's alright. He repeated the thought in his head.
His fingers had a mind of its own as it went to play with her hair. He watched her sleeping and he couldn't believe that he was seeing her so close. Just months ago he was staring at her from afar and now she was so close to him. His gloved fingers went to touch her cheek and the moment he did, Aiyana's eyes opened, and then she suddenly sat up. It all happened so quickly Aidoneus didn't have time to blink. She managed to flip him off, his back on the couch and now a gun was directly aimed at his head and her small form was straddling his chest.
Realization dawned on her face when she looked at him. Her look was lethal but when she realized who he was it turned into an apologetic gaze. "Aidoneus. I'm so sorry. I-I thought you were..." But Aidoneus was too surprised to even register what she was saying. "A-are you okay?" He groaned and not because he was hurt by the fall she'd effortlessly threw him into, both literally and figuratively, but because of the amount of skin displayed right in front of him. She had leaned down to see his face and Aidoneus' sinful eyes went to her breasts. He immediately got up to sit but he wasn't letting go of Aiyana just yet. She straddled him as his arms went around her. She kept on apologizing but he was still too surprised and her breasts were practically urging him to touch them.
"I'm fine love." He assured her once more as his eyes finally went to her face.
"A-are you sure?" She cupped his face into her dainty hands, her gun forgotten as it laid on the ground.
"Yes, I am sure. How did you do that?" His eyes sparkle with curiousity and pride.
"Uhm," She paused, not seeming to know what to say. "Instinct? Reflex?" Aidoneus believed her and it was frightening, he never believed anyone before especially this fast.
"The gun." He eyed the gun laying still on the floor. "Do you know how to use one love?"
"I learned how to." Aidoneus even grew confused.
"What do you mean?"
"My Mom has two guns and I would often see her load both during the night when she thought I was sleeping. I watched her load the magazines until I learned how to do it. She never pulled the trigger but I just figured out how." He was shocked by her honest answer and his face showed it all. He never was big to expressions but this girl managed to get any expression out from him.
"Why does your mother need two guns love?" His hands gripped her hips, touching the barely clothed skin gently, his hand relaxing her.
"A form of defense. Some men would come to our house. It started when I was six. I thought they stopped coming after years of not barging into our house but when I was twenty-two they came and trashed our home." Aidoneus listened intently, not liking the thought of her with armed men that could harm her and it only happened last year. "My Mom tried to hide me but I wanted to be with her, I was big enough to handle them, I mean I was twenty-two. I didn't know what they were talking about, they were talking in a foreign language all I could make out was the word mat'," Mother. Russian. Aidoneus had somehow pieced a puzzle. "and I didn't know what that meant. But my mother begged them and I think they told her to shut up but my mother continued to beg and I think they got annoyed, the man pulled the trigger, three times, all a warning to be quiet, and I saw him do it. I saw his fingers grip then release and somehow I just learned to use a gun. I never used it on anyone though."
Aidoneus sat there, looking at her, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say. Perhaps if he'd meet her sooner, she wouldn't have to go through the terrors she faced. But looking at her, she seemed like she's not terrorized. Instead she looked stronger.
"How were you love?"
"I was fine. I'm fine." She peered up at him and softly she asked, "Are you?" This girl who surprises him everyday is concerned about his well being.
"I'm fine my love, don't worry. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I should've--"
"It's fine. I'm fine, you're fine. That's what matters. But uhm," she looked at him through her lashes and he knew she wanted to ask something and he was more than glad to give her anything, hell he's a heart beat away from carving his heart out and giving it to her if that's what she wanted. But what she said next made him even fall in love a little deeper for his sweet girl, "I'm hungry, can we please eat something?"
He stared at the girl straddling his lap, once again surprised. She seemed to erase and chose to forgot what had transpired. And Aidoneus admired her for it. The Aiyana today just proved how great she would be when she would rule by his side. He will make her his queen. She would be a great queen. And with her, with her beauty and courage, he knew they'll rule both heaven and hell.