Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 285

HADES

"He is asleep now," Kael said softly as he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him without a sound.

I didn't answer.

Couldn't.

As we made our way to my office, staring into a void that offered no answers. My hands, still bloodied from earlier, hung limp at my sides, fingertips stained crimson, nails cracked and blackened from the transformation that hadn't completed but had come far too close.

The hallway stretched long and empty ahead of me, lit only by the soft flicker of wall sconces. My legs didn't move.

I had no right to step forward.

No right to breathe easier.

He was asleep.

That was mercy.

That was Kael's doing.

Not mine.

I'd driven him to hide. I'd made my son crawl into the dark like an animal, fearing what his father might become. And gods, he was right to fear me.

I'd felt the Flux curling around my bones again like a second skin, whispering things I almost listened to.

Almost acted on.

The idea made my stomach twist, bile rising fast enough to sting my throat. I staggered to the wall and leaned against it, one arm braced as if the corridor itself might collapse without it. Or maybe I would.

Every breath scraped.

Every inch of air hurt.

I had nearly hurt him.

My son.

Danielle's son.

The child we had made out of something pure—something soft in a world built on teeth and power.

And I had let that be twisted, tainted by my rot, my ruin.

What kind of man almost raises a hand—no, a claw—to the only innocent thing left in his life?

The kind of man who should've died long ago.

The kind of man I'd always sworn I would never become.

But I had.

I was already there.

And the silence in the hallway only made it worse, stretching and echoing until I couldn't tell if the noise in my head was the Flux or just my own thoughts turning into knives.

A faint creak made me lift my head.

Kael had stopped halfway down the hall. He turned slowly to look back at me, his gaze unreadable.

He stood by the open door of my office, waiting.

"Get in," he said with a quiet firmness. Not a command. Not a plea. Just a step forward I hadn't yet earned.

I stared past him, not at the door but at my own hands. Blood still clung to the creases of my palms, dried now but tacky in places. I could see the curve where my claws had begun to push through the skin, now receded but not forgotten. It would be easy to pretend they weren't there. But I couldn't.

Kael followed my gaze. A sigh left him, sharp and tired. "With the way you stink, I'm surprised the boy hasn't packed up and tried to run altogether."

My lips twitched, but it wasn't a smile. Not even close.

I stepped past him, each footfall heavy, dragging guilt behind me like chains. The door shut with a soft thud as Kael entered behind me.