Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 76

Eve~

As I stepped into the hidden room, a strange mixture of awe and trepidation settled over me. The smell of paint and charcoal hung thick in the air, intermingled with something raw and earthy, almost like damp stone. It was the unmistakable scent of a space frequently used, though the silence here felt heavy and watchful, as if the walls themselves held secrets.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached out, trailing them along the edge of a wooden table laden with brushes, jars of pigment, and sketchbooks, each object arranged with meticulous care. Easels stood around the room, all shrouded in dustless tarps, their forms shadowed and solemn like silent guardians. There was no dust anywhere—on the floor, not even on the shelves filled with art supplies. Someone—Hades, I guessed—visited this space often enough to keep it pristine, untouched by neglect.

Every instinct urged me to turn back, to leave before I uncovered something I wasn’t meant to see. But a deeper pull—a relentless curiosity—kept me rooted in place, almost daring me to peel back the layers of mystery that cloaked this room.

Gingerly, I approached one of the covered easels, my heartbeat loud in my ears. My hand hovered over the tarp, hesitating for a brief moment. I came closer to revealing what it hid, but I realized what I was about to do. I had no right.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose, an electric prickling sensation that sparked every nerve into alertness. My heart gave a jarring sputter, its rhythm stuttering in a warning I’d ignored too long. Too late, I realized I wasn’t alone.

A soft, almost inaudible breath whispered from somewhere behind me, and before I could turn, a shadow moved with blinding speed, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Silver eyes flashed in the dim light—cold, unblinking, inhuman.

I stumbled back, breath hitching as I met that relentless gaze, feeling its intensity like a weight against my chest. There was no warmth in those eyes, only a glint of something ancient and unfathomable, like a being that had existed long before this place, this world, perhaps even before light itself.

Hades.

Suddenly, I felt his large hands around my throat just before I was slammed into the wall with a painful thud. Pain coursed like a current through my still-recuperating body. My breath fractured as I caught some of my bearings and looked up.

Hades’ piercing silver gaze matched the pale moonlight as he stared down at me, his brows drawn into a deep scowl. "Who gave you the right?" he drawled, his voice as smooth and dangerous as a dagger wrapped in silk, each word sharpened with barely restrained fury.

My back throbbed against the cold stone wall, the impact leaving a dull ache that pulsed through my body. I tried to steady my breathing, but the closeness of his face, the sheer force of his gaze, froze every thought and movement.

"I—I was just…" My voice faltered, swallowed up by the oppressive silence that settled between us. I couldn’t seem to string the words together, couldn’t form an excuse that would appease him. Not with his hands still around my throat, his grip tight enough to hold me in place yet light enough to leave no marks. A controlled strength that made me realize just how easy it would be for him to snap his fingers and end me, and just as easily choose not to.

"You were just…?" he echoed, voice dropping to a dangerous murmur as he leaned in closer. His breath, warm and faintly scented with something darkly sweet, ghosted over my skin, sending shivers down my spine. "What were you hoping to find here?"

The weight of his gaze bore down on me, silver eyes unyielding, piercing through every flimsy defense I might have conjured. I could see it in his expression—he knew I had no answers. He’d caught me trespassing, prying into a part of his life he’d clearly kept hidden. Protected.