Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 271

Hades

I didn't remember moving.

One second, I was turning from Eve. The next I was sprinting past stunned Gammas, her screams echoing behind me like ghosts clawing at my ears.

"Pull the feed from the east quarter now!" I barked into my comm. "I want the locked room on live stream. Do it now—"

"Signal's scrambled for now due to the lock down," came the grim response. "Control team's tied down containing Subject E. All left wing feeds rerouted. We're locked out."

I swore violently and shoved past the techs in the hall, boots slamming the floor with every step. I could hear the elevator stuttering open behind me. I didn't care. I took the stairs.

Three floors up, Kael was already there, shoulder braced against the reinforced door.

"I've tried everything," he said without turning, sweat glinting on his temple. "Door's not budging."

"Override it."

"I did. It didn't work. Control's locked out. I tried hacking through right-wing access since the left's completely down due to the containment breach, but…"

He trailed off and kicked the wall. The sound was ugly. Desperate.

"I got here when I saw the alerts from Eve's cell," Kael continued, voice low. "But then I saw Felicia running. I thought she was panicking, but something about the way she said Elliot's name—something felt off. I checked and tried to access feed—nothing. Ordered control to unlock the door. They confirmed it. But when I tried it again…"

He slammed a fist against it. "It won't move."

A thick silence spread.

The flux hissed in my mind.

>"Burn it down. Use your strength. Tear through it." If you want to.

>"And what?" I snapped back mentally. "What if he's right behind it?"

He couldn't tell me.

Not through the door.

He couldn't tell us anything.

Because he couldn't speak.

Because he was still inside.

Alone.

And we didn't know what the hell waited on the other side.

>"You're the reason this happened," the flux taunted. "All of it. He watched you cage the one he trusted. He watched you break what he believed in. And now—now he pays the price for your choices." The flux seemed to want me to spiral.

"Shut up," I growled aloud.

Kael turned to me. "What?"

"I said shut up."

I didn't explain.

Couldn't.

Felicia appeared seconds later, dragging her father beside her. Montegue looked pale—too pale—supported by two Gammas flanking him like they were holding a corpse upright.

"You shouldn't be here," I bit out. My eyes cut toward Montegue. "If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay out of my way."

Felicia bristled. "He's not even the issue right now—"

"Isn't he?" I hissed. "He nearly got her killed. And if you think I won't break his mind like I did Morrison's, you're wrong."

That shut her up.

The air was thick with tension, electricity crawling over every breath.

Kael moved toward the wall panel, hands flying across the auxiliary keypad. "I'm rerouting power from the west hallway. See if I can force a link."

My pulse roared behind my eyes.

Seconds passed.

Then the tablet buzzed to life.

The screen flickered once. Twice.

Then stabilized.

And my heart stopped.

There was no hostage.

No captor.

No signs of struggle.

Just Elliot.

Alone.

Sitting in the centre of the room, knees tucked to his chest.

And around his throat—

A bomb.

Cables twisted like metal vines against his small frame. The timer on the chest plate blinked in violent red.

4:59.

4:58.

Kael staggered back. "Is that a—"

His voice failed.

Felicia screamed.

I couldn't move.

My body locked.

Like every muscle knew that if I even breathed wrong, he'd explode.

Kael's voice cracked through the silence. "Is that a detonator in his hand?"

And it was.

Small.

Clutched tight in his trembling fingers.

Elliot's eyes met the camera.

Wide.

Afraid.

And yet—

Resolved.

Like he thought he had to do this.

Like someone convinced him, it was the only way.

"I fucking knew it!" Felicia screamed. "Her trying to escape was a diversion. This was her real card, she made him do this."

I shrugged her off trying to get my wits about myself.

I calmed my raging nerves, telling myself that I needed to get my shit in order if Elliot would survive this again.

I looked down at the tablet watching the time tick off on the bomb. It was the same bomb that had been around his neck the first time around.

My heart stopped.

Fuck. What the hell was this?

"Distatch the bombsquad," I ordered Kael.

"I already on it," he was shaking slightly as he spoke.

Hades

I slammed my fists into the door.

"Elliot!" I barked, hoping—praying—he could hear me. "It's me."

On the screen, his small shoulders jumped. The bang had startled him. His eyes flicked toward the camera again, wide, glassy.

Kael flinched beside me. "Careful. If he panics—"

I already knew.

I stepped back from the door, chest heaving.

Felicia moved in next, pressing her face toward the steel and shouting, "Elliot, baby! It's me—open the door, okay? Just let us in!"

On the screen, he flinched again.

Harder.

Retreated slightly toward the corner.

"No," I growled. "Move."

I stepped forward again, lowering my voice.

He looked back at the camera.

"I can see you," I asked. "Can you hear me?"

He nodded. Small, but sure.

"Are you okay?" Another nod. Hesitant.

"I need you to open the door," I said softly.

He shook his head.

Vigorously.

My throat tightened.

"Kael?"

"The bomb squad's almost here," he replied, watching the countdown tick into the threes. "3:41… 3:40…"

I glanced toward the Gammas stationed around Montegue.

"Survey the perimeter. Sweep every hall, every vent. I want to know how this happened and who got in."

They moved instantly, dragging Montegue back as he muttered under his breath.

Felicia started crying beside me.

"This isn't happening," she kept saying. "It was her. I told you—Eve did this. She manipulated him. Made him—"

"Enough!" I snapped, and the boy on the screen jumped again.

I turned back to the feed. Forced calm into my voice.

"Elliot… did you do this alone?" The question left my mouth like stone.

He nodded again.