Hades

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Evie?" Hades touches my elbow, attempting to pull me forward. I don't budge.

"No." I stare straight ahead, wide-eyed in horror. Pure ice pulses through my veins, freezing me to the spot and eradicating all semblance of movement from my muscles.

"Evie." My name is said a second time, this time by a different person. The sound of my name tumbling off their lips is like a stab in the back. I stagger, my knees struggling to keep me standing.

I lick my lips several times and point a quivering hand at them. "No. No. This isn't happening. Please tell me this isn't happening."

Not a single one of them says a word, guilt clear on their faces. Selene. Axel. Minnie. Olly. Spencer. Even Leia stands behind Spencer. Every single person I've ever known, or come to love, since the death of my family stands right before me, in a situation that I'm not sure I want to believe. All of a sudden the floor feels like it's being pulled out from underneath me, slowly dissipating into thin air and dropping me screaming into an abyss of oblivion. Stumbling back, I grab onto the nearest thing to me — which just so happens to be Hades — and stare at them, my heart thudding against my ribcage.

No.

"You." I point at Spencer. "You—you're dead. How are you here? You can't be here. You're dead."

"Evie..." He steps forward, his face twisted with remorse. I step back, and pain flashes through his eyes. "E, please, I can explain."

"No. Stop it. Just stop it." I shake my head, my mind refusing to let itself accept the facts being presented to it. "Why are you here?"

"Evie." Hades finally speaks up, forcing me to look at him. He gives me a pointed look. "Who did I say we were meeting?"

"You—your family. The other gods." I shake my head again, feeling like it's full of cotton wool. "But that would mean... no. No. That's not right. It can't be right. That means that—" I look back at Spencer, my family, and my heart sinks. "No."

"Evie—" Spencer tries again.

"No. Stop it." Shaking my head repetitively now, I cross my arms over my chest. My breathing intensifies. My whole body starts shaking uncontrollably, my head spinning as the world tilts on its axis. "This doesn't make any sense. You were dead, Spencer. You died. How are you standing in front of me?"

"You know why Evie." He says quietly. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, I really am. I told him you weren't ready, but unfortunately he," He glares hotly at Hades. "Didn't listen to me."

Hades narrows his eyes slightly at Spencer. The temperature in the room drops.

"But you died." I say weakly, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. "I watched you die."

"You watched my mortal body die." Spencer explains, his words twisted with bitterness. "But not my true form. I can't die that easily in my true form. You know that."

I swallow and shakily glance over at my foster family. They all meet my gaze with expressions that vary in degrees of solemnity. Selene even has the audacity to look apologetic. But they still remain silent.

"So you're all gods." I state. Silence. I nod several times, my arms tightening across my chest. It feels like that's my only protection against the swarm of lies surrounding me. "Who are you really, then? Hades prefers his Greek name, and I bet you all do too. So stop standing there saying nothing and tell me."

"Artemis." Selene says, shooting me a remorseful smile.

"Apollo." Axel adds on. I laugh sardonically. Of course. How did I not realise?