Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 123

Eve

"Sparring blind?" I echoed incredulously.

Hades didn’t even look at me as he retrieved cuffs and a black blindfold. "You heard me the first time, Red." He rose to his full height, entering the ring once again. "For the first challenge, you’re sparring blind." He reiterated with infuriating calm, as if he hadn’t just said the most bizarre thing known to man. So much for leveling the playing field.

I felt a migraine coming on. "I can’t believe you," I grumbled.

He raised a clueless brow. "Can’t believe what about me exactly?"

I pointed an accusatory finger at him, my voice turning acidic. "They call you the Hand of Death, and you take my sight in a bid to make me lose." After what had happened with Jules just yesterday, I couldn’t deal with more suspicions. The paranoia was eating me alive. It was a surprise I hadn’t ended up having nightmares.

"So?" he asked easily. "Are you saying you want to back out? You want to run away?" Mockery seeped into his tone.

I felt the ebbing in my head turn into pulsing. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to ward off the growing ache in my skull, but it did nothing as I stared him down. "I’m not running away, you fucking bastard," I all but growled. I stilled.

What was happening to me? I had grown so irritable and sharp-mouthed. I didn’t even have to look in a mirror to know I wouldn’t recognize myself. Training with Hades was supposed to help me defend myself—an outlet for the negative emotions slowly eating me alive. But now, it felt like it was pulling something to the surface—a part of myself I hadn’t even known existed.

I glanced at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. The smirk on his face remained unmoved, as if he wasn’t shocked by my outburst. He seemed pleased. He was doing this on purpose. This was what he wanted. In some sick, twisted way, he was molding me.

My eyes narrowed. "Was this your plan all along?"

Hades tilted his head, the faintest flicker of amusement crossing his face. "What plan, Red?"

I stepped closer, unable to keep the accusatory edge from my voice. "To twist me into… this." I gestured vaguely at myself, frustration simmering beneath my skin. "You keep pushing, provoking—like you’re waiting for something to break."

His silver eyes glinted, unreadable as they swept over me. "Maybe I am."

I felt the words like a spark to dry tinder, igniting the fire that had been burning too close to the surface these past few days. "Why?" I demanded. "Why are you trying so hard to turn me into someone else?"

Hades took a slow, deliberate step forward, and despite myself, I matched it with a step back.

His gaze pinned me in place, sharp and wholly wicked. "Because the version of you standing here now isn’t enough."

The breath punched out of me. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." His tone was calm, but the weight behind his words pressed down like iron. "I don’t need the Ellen who flinches at shadows and second-guesses herself. I need the Ellen who survives. The one who doesn’t hesitate to bite when someone pushes too hard."

I clenched my fists at my sides. "And if I don’t want to become that?"

"Then you’ll die." His voice was like a cold blade against my skin. "And I don’t plan on letting that happen."

A cold silence stretched between us, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell if the anger rolling through me was directed at him or at the truth in his words.

"You don’t get to decide who I become, Hades," I said, my voice quieter but no less sharp. "You’re not fixing me. I’m not broken."

His smirk returned, slow and predatory. "Aren’t you?"

I hated the flicker of doubt his words stirred.

Before I could respond, he dangled the blindfold in front of me, raising a brow. "Still want to spar, or should I start preparing your funeral?"

I glanced at the cuffs in his hand. "You’re taking away my ability to fight back too?" I shook my head. "Why am I not surprised?"

He shrugged before turning his back to me, the cuffs dangling from his fingers. "They’re for me, Red. Do the honors, would you?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "I’ll be blindfolded, and you’ll be…"

"Cuffed. Yes, Red."

I took the cuffs and latched them onto his wrists with a quick snap. He put some space between us before turning to face me. "Now, inject me with the inhibitor." He gestured to the bag.

Dread filled my gut as I followed his gaze, a lump forming in my throat. I opened my mouth to refuse, but when my eyes met his, I saw the warning there. His eyes had darkened to a deep, ominous gray. The threat was clear—inject him, or we’d spar without it. And I would lose.

I didn’t wait. I exited the ring and retrieved the black matte box from the bag. My hands shook as I returned, offering it to Hades.

That obnoxious brow rose. "As you can see, my hands are unavailable at the moment."

I sighed deeply, rolling my eyes as if my legs weren’t threatening to give out under the weight of the moment. I slid the box open, unveiling its sinister contents: a needle and a filled syringe.

Tremors passed through me as I took out the instrument and assembled it.

Hades’ gaze bore into me, heavy and unrelenting. "You’ve injected me before. What’s the matter now?"

I swallowed hard but didn’t answer. The action felt more daunting this time. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving only cold reality behind. I pierced his skin with the needle and pushed the contents in until the syringe was empty.