Tempting the Fates

Chapter 49

I blasted both traitors backward, where they hit the wall with incredible force. They slumped onto the ground, unconscious. I shuttered myself in an instant to Hades and threw my body over his. I didn't care what I had to do; I would not let him die. There was no other way for this world to continue, for me or everyone else. They needed Hades, and I had to sacrifice myself for the greater good.

I heard the crack of lightning a millisecond before it hit me. The bolt landed in the center of my back, and I screamed as the heat and electricity burned at my body. For a moment I thought I was dying. But I didn't die as I clung to the man I loved. In fact, the energy flowing into me made me feel more alive.

Every cell in my body lit up as I funneled the power and electricity into me. I'd already become the most powerful god in the universe when I'd taken Zeus' power. But now... it felt like something older, something stronger had inhabited me all the way down to my soul. It was a hundred times more powerful than what I'd taken from Zeus. If felt like nothing in the universe could kill me ever again.

When the lightning stopped, I took a few shallow and broken breaths. My entire body was shaking with intensity as I crawled onto my feet and looked down at Hades. I waved my hands and freed him from the chains. He slumped over onto his back, his icy blue eyes staring up at me. He did not move.

"Hades?" I whispered. Adrenaline jolted in me and my heart dropped. Was he dead? Had I not protected him? I reached forward to embrace him.

And then he blinked. He shook his head as if he were clearing something out of his mind. He looked up at me and... smiled. He was alive, and the spell was broken.

"Callie." He laughed. "You did it. You're amazing."

So my simple act of love, rather than my powers, had broken the spell. My husband had returned to me.

"Are you okay?" I lifted Hades slowly to his feet, checking him up and down for any visible injuries. He shook his head.

"I'm fine. Are you okay? You just got hit by lightning!" His lifted my chin to meet my gaze. I nodded, reveling in the sight of him.

Over the last several weeks I had convinced myself that I was trapped. I had lost everything I loved, and I believed I would never get it back. But as I looked up at Hades and he held me, I knew I was free.

I heard Persephone and Hermes waking up where they had landed. Hades let go of my face, but took my hand. My skin sizzled with electricity and power where we touched.

"Your powers," Hades looked me up and down. "They've improved."

"Infinitely." I nodded. "But I'll tell you about that later. For now, let's take care of this." I glanced over at my ex-friend and Hades' ex-wife.

"My powers are weak." He said, gripping my hand tighter. "Every day you were gone, I felt them slipping away more and more."

"I'm not going anywhere ever again." Before I lost my nerve, I pulled him into a kiss. As our lips touched, I felt my body passing some of its strength into Hades' body. He pulled away, his eyes wide.

"What was that?" he wondered aloud.

"I think I can share what I have... with you, at least." I kissed him again, letting him have even more of the power within me.

"You bitch." Persephone groaned, her body at last upright. "You ruined everything!"

I pulled away from Hades, my blood boiling. "I am so sick of you. You've got to be one of the most selfish people I've ever met. I risked my life to save you, knowing what you'd done to my husband. You couldn't even say thank you before you abandoned me on Earth." I paused, a terrible thought popping into my head. "I wonder how you'd fare in Tartarus."