Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 253

Hades

Montegue left Kael's punishment up to me, but I could see his patience waning. I couldn't be blind to the fact that he had been gracious despite the gravity of the incidents and actions perpetrated.

Then again, the vow that I made was that I would bring the head of the beast—not Montegue. It was the final promise to Danielle.

Kael was deflated as he was taken, flanked by two men, still bound, his eyes dim. My fingers twitched at my sides as I watched him that way. He didn't look me in the eye as he was led away to wherever I would order him to be placed.

>"Lock him up," the flux commanded, slithering into my mind. I froze slightly. "I know you want to," it growled.

The flux was complex, born out of the essence of a vampire who had been unjustly killed after watching his mate die. It had been left behind—a convoluted mass of nothing but rage and decay.

It hadn't spread fully yet. It took longer than a few hours to corrupt me—especially considering that I was better equipped to fight off its more… insidious effects.

My lineage. My training. My bond with Cerberus.

All of it made me more resistant to its pull—but not immune. Never immune.

It was like ink dropped in water. Slow. Spreading. Staining.

And I could feel the stain spreading now.

Every heartbeat echoed like a drum in a war I hadn't meant to start. Every breath felt heavier. Not from exhaustion—but because the part of me that once knew how to feel regret was dimming.

>"Lock him up," the flux repeated again, softer now. More coaxing than commanding. "He doubted you. Betrayed you. Broke the order. And for what? A traitor's tears?"

I shook my head. Just once. Enough to quiet the whisper.

Not silence it.

Never silence it.

The guards paused at the end of the hall, waiting for my verdict.

Kael's head remained lowered, blood crusting at the corner of his mouth. His body was slumped—not in defeat, but in disappointment.

>"He thought he did the right thing," I countered, the voice too loud to ignore. "He's on my side."

>"Like our mate was?" it mocked.

My stomach twisted violently at the mention of the woman I was trying to keep out of my mind. My heart rate surged until I had to fight the urge to clutch my chest.

"You will always love her. You should have simply claimed her like I wanted. But no, you had to give her your non-existent heart. Pathetic." The entity cackled. "Did you really think injecting me into your veins would dull the treacherous emotions?"

Its voice slithered through me like rot through old wood—quiet now, but cruelly intimate.

>"You're a coward. But that could change…"

I closed my eyes.

Just for a second.

Not to escape—but to anchor myself.

To remember who I was before the flux began its whispering campaign in my bones.

But there was no memory clean enough to hold onto.

Not anymore.

The hallway was too quiet.

The guards waited.

Kael waited.

And the flux?

It laughed—low and guttural—like something buried beneath a thousand years of broken promises.

>"You could've broken her in the cell, ripped the truth from her mind. You could've drained the blood from her neck and pulled the marker raw."

It hissed with hunger.

"But no. You hesitated. Just like you are now."

I shoved down the echo of the voice that had grown too loud.

"Take him to the holding wing," I said finally. My voice was cold, clipped. "Solitary. Reinforced warding. No outside contact."

The guards bowed and moved.

Kael didn't protest.

Didn't plead. _{freёwebnovel.com}

Didn't beg.