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The air reeked of smoke and iron. Screams echoed through the once-luminous corridors of the Rune Coven — screams of witches, of rogues, of things not entirely human. The white marbled floors, once gleaming with ethereal light, were now stained crimson.
Hades arrived just as the last echo of destruction shuddered through the walls. The scent hit him first — blood, burnt flesh, and a faint trace of her. His pupils contracted, and his jaw clenched so tight his teeth cracked.
Too late.
He appeared in the grand hall, and there she was — Alyssa, lying amid shattered glass and smoldering embers, her silvery robes soaked in blood. Ares was already at her side, pressing his hand against the wound on her shoulder while Lycan knelt beside her, his eyes flickering between gold and crimson.
Hades' boots echoed as he walked forward. The sound was unnervingly calm amidst the chaos. The witches froze as they caught sight of him — their King of the Underworld, cloaked in obsidian fury. His aura pressed against their chests, heavy, suffocating.
"Where is she?"
His voice was quiet, but it silenced everything. Alyssa looked up weakly, her face pale. "H–Hades…"
"Where is my wife?" The second time, his voice broke through the air like the crack of a whip.
A male witch obviously an ally ran up to them, his usually steady expression shaken. "We found her trail leading to the west hall. Then… it just vanished."
Hades' eyes, sharp as blades, locked onto Alyssa again. "You were supposed to protect her." His tone was low, deadly. "You — and this entire Coven — were supposed to be her shield. And yet…" He gestured around, voice deepening, "…I return to find blood and ashes."
Alyssa flinched as the raw power in his voice made the ground tremble. "I did everything I could," she said, voice cracking. "She was with me! I—I thought she made it to you. I swear I thought she—"
Hades' hand shot out, grabbing her by the front of her robe. The witches gasped, and Lycan rose instantly, growling. "Put her down Hades!"
"You thought?" Hades hissed, ignoring Lycan's snarl, his eyes glowing like molten gold. "You thought the Queen — my wife — would somehow find her way to me in the middle of this massacre?!" His fury was suffocating. Shadows twisted behind him, alive with his rage. "The Rune Coven was supposed to be a sanctuary, Alyssa. How was it breached?"
Alyssa's voice trembled. "I don't know. I cast every barrier I knew — nothing should have gotten through! There's dark magic at work, something older than the coven itself!"
Hades' nostrils flared. For a moment, he said nothing, his chest rising and falling sharply. The silence was unbearable — too still, too heavy.
Then Lycan stepped forward, his expression hard. "Velia isn't alone," he said grimly. "She's never acted this boldly before. She must have help — powerful help. Those Rogues out there… We all know Rogues don't work together. They fight like they've been conditioned."
Ares' gaze flicked toward him. "Minions," he murmured darkly. "Or worse."
Thunder rolled outside, though the skies above the Coven were clear. The sound wasn't from nature — it was from him. His wrath was shaking the realm.
Ares rose from Alyssa's side, his sword already drawn, dripping with blood. "Then we hunt," he said, his voice firm but eyes wary of Hades' growing rage. "We end this before she gets further."
"No," Hades said softly — too softly. "We don't hunt." His head tilted slightly, eyes now glowing crimson with flames. "We obliterate."
The torches along the walls flared black. The air thickened as a tremor rippled through the floor. The witches who were conscious fell to their knees instinctively.
Alyssa looked up, voice breaking. "Hades, please—she wouldn't want you to—"
He turned his head, slowly, eerily. "Do not tell me what my wife would want."
For a moment, the silence returned, broken only by the distant roars and clash of battle. Then, without warning, he released Alyssa, turning toward the door. His long cloak of shadows flared as he strode forward.
"Mobilize every fighter left standing," he said to Ares without turning back. "No survivors. No mercy."
Ares nodded once and followed. Lycan gave one last look at Alyssa, then shifted — bones cracking, muscles expanding until a massive black-furred wolf with molten eyes replaced him. With a guttural snarl, he lunged forward and vanished through the shattered gate.
---
Outside, the Rune Coven was chaos. The snow that once glistened like crystal now ran red. The storm clouds churned above, though no rain fell — just the soft, deadly glow of hellfire seeping into the sky.
Hades moved through the battlefield like a god of vengeance. His blade — forged from the pieces of fallen stars — shimmered in his hand, leaving trails of black fire wherever it struck.
A rogue lunged at him from behind, a twisted hybrid of his demon form. Without turning, Hades impaled him through the throat. "Where," he said calmly as blood spilled across his boots, "is my wife?"
The creature choked, snarled, and spat at him. "You'll never—"
Hades' hand moved. The head rolled before the sentence finished.
Ares, beside him, drove his sword through another demon's chest. "He's gone feral," he muttered under his breath, glancing sideways at Hades.
Lycan's growl echoed across the snow, shaking the air. 'Let him,' his mind-voice thundered. 'She's gone. He needs the rage.'
Rogues poured out from the shadows, dozens of them, their eyes glowing green with Velia's curse. But it didn't matter. Hades tore through them like paper. Ares followed in rhythm, cutting down anything that came close.
For every body that fell, the King of the Underworld grew quieter. Not calmer — quieter. The kind of silence that made the air itself recoil.
He moved with supernatural precision, his senses heightened, searching for even the faintest trace of her scent. Every time he thought he caught it — jasmine, smoke, a whisper of warmth — it vanished again.
When he finally caught a rogue alive, he slammed him against a shattered pillar. "Where is she?"
The rogue sneered, blood dripping from his mouth. "She's already gone, your Majesty. Your little Queen will be used to raise the eclip—"
The rest was lost in a scream. Hades' claws sliced through his jaw, silencing him forever.
Ares' voice broke through the chaos, sharp and commanding. "We need to regroup! If Velia's leading this, there's a larger plan—"
"She took my wife!" Hades roared. The power in his voice shattered nearby stone. "There will be no regrouping until I rip her apart with my bare hands!"
The very air warped around him. His power was leaking — raw, untamed, endless. Even the ground beneath his feet scorched black.
Lycan landed beside him in wolf form, muzzle drenched in blood. He looked up at Hades, and for a moment, the monstrous fury in the King's eyes faltered.
He saw it — the raw grief, the desperate terror hiding behind his rage.
"She's alive," Lycan said through the bond. You'd feel it if she wasn't.
Hades' fists clenched. He didn't respond. He didn't trust himself to.
Hours passed, though to Hades it felt like seconds — or centuries. The Rune Coven's perimeter was littered with the corpses of witches and rogues. The witches had rallied, their spells illuminating the night sky in bursts of silver and blue. But the losses were heavy.
And Hazel was still gone.
Ares approached quietly. His armor was cracked, blood smeared across his jaw. "We've cleared most of them. Velia's forces are retreating. My men are tracking them now."
Hades didn't answer. He was kneeling — his gloved hand pressed against the snow, eyes half-closed. He was feeling for her through the bond that once tethered them.
Nothing. Just faint warmth. Then silence.
He opened his eyes again, and they were red — glowing with fury and something else. Guilt.
I should have been faster.
I should have sensed it.
I should never have left her side. It happened again. And this time when I get my hands on Velia and Gavriel. I will destroy them limb from limb.
The wind howled through the broken ruins, carrying faint voices — witches calling for aid from their ancestors, the dying whispering prayers. But to Hades, they were distant. Unimportant. His mind was already racing ahead.
Velia.
She wanted Hazel. Needed her. For something big. He didn't know what yet — but he would.
And when he found out, the world would burn.
Ares stopped beside him. "We'll find her. You have my word."
Hades stood slowly, eyes still fixed on the horizon. "No," he said, his voice a low growl. "I'll find her."
Ares frowned. "You can't do this alone."
"I can," Hades said, and the air trembled with the force of his certainty.
Lycan shifted back into his human form, stepping forward. "She's not dead. I can still feel her through the mate bond."
Hades turned to him sharply. "You feel her?"
Lycan nodded once. "Faintly. But it's there. It's like she's… asleep. Not unconscious — something else."
That made Hades' breath hitch. Sleep? No. Bound.
"She's being sealed," he muttered. "Or bound."
Ares cursed under his breath. "That means Velia's already started whatever ritual she planned."
Hades looked up, his expression pure steel. "Then she just made her last mistake."
As dawn broke over the battered coven, the once-white towers now painted in ash and blood, Hades stood at the edge of the battlefield — alone for a brief moment.
He looked down at the snow beneath his boots, where faint traces of Hazel's energy still lingered. Warm. Soft. Human.
He closed his eyes, remembering her laughter. Her defiance. The way her hand fit perfectly into his.
A rare sound escaped him — quiet, broken, almost human. Then his voice, a whisper lost in the wind:
"I swear to you, Hazel… I'll find you."
The sky above him split with thunder.
Ares and Lycan followed — burning with the same grim determination.
The war had begun.
And this time, the King of the Underworld wasn't just fighting to reclaim his realm.
He was fighting for his heart.