Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

"What?!" I choke out, my eyes bugging out of my face; whether it be because of the lack of oxygen, or my shock, I'm not sure.

"Don't act surprised." Josh snarls, his grip tightening on my throat so much that it feels like he's about to snap my neck in half. "I know you killed her!"

Unable to get another word out, I try harder to pry his hands away from my neck, but his grip is just too strong. So, internally steeling myself, I bring my knees up to my chest and kick out as hard as I can. The force of my kick is so strong that sends him flying backwards several meters, ripping his hand away from my throat in the process. I drop to the ground, violent gasps tearing through my body as I desperately try to suck in as much air as I possibly can as quickly as I possibly can. Josh jumps back to his feet with a growl and starts storming back over to me, clenching his fists at his sides. The air starts crackling around him, and before I have time to react, another large lightning bolt rockets through the air towards me. I only just manage to throw my arms up and summon up a wall of my power before it reaches me. It hits the wall of dark smoke with a loud clap that echoes all around us like a gunshot, and the blast sends me skidding back towards the cliff again.

"Josh!" Eric yells, jumping in front of me before Josh can fire off another bolt of lightning. "What the hell is your problem?"

"She killed her!" Josh roars, hurling another bolt at me over Eric's shoulder. I yelp and throw up another wall of smoke, and this time the resulting thunderclap is so loud that it completely deafens me for several numbing seconds.

When my hearing returns again, Eric is in the middle of threatening Josh. "—will reach down your throat and rip out your spine if you don't calm down right now."

"Eric, stop." I finally manage to speak up, wincing at the rawness of my voice. I push myself up to my feet, trying to ignore how that one simple action causes agony to pulse through every cell in my body Who knew that getting attacked by a son of Zeus hurt so damn much? "Violence is not going to solve anything."

"Fine." Eric grits his teeth. "Josh. Explain. In a calm and lightning-less manner. And maybe then I won't rip out your spine."

If Josh registers Eric's pathetic attempt at disguising his threat, he doesn't react to it. He stalks forward several steps until he's standing just in front of Eric, and points a finger at me. When he speaks, his voice shakes. "Otti is dead. And your little bitch of a demon girlfriend murdered her."

Even though it's the fourth time he's now said Otti is dead, only now do his words truly resonates with me. All the breath is knocked from my body, and my chest tightens painfully as I stare at him. No. She can't be. Otti can't be dead.

Then a horrible, gut-wrenching world-changing realisation hits me, and it takes all the strength I have left in me to keep standing. My blackmailer. This was their killer present.

They killed Otti.

"What?" Another voice pipes up from behind Josh, and when he moves to the side to glance over his shoulder, I see Jasmine, Ria, Alex, and the rest of the partygoers standing at the edge of the clearing. Jasmine stares at Josh, horror creeping into her eyes. "What did you just say?"

Josh swallows when he meets her fearful gaze, and his shoulders slump as all the fight leaves him all at once. "Otti's dead." He whispers brokenly, his head hanging low. "She's gone."

A deafening silence settles over the clearing like a suffocating blanket following his heartbreaking announcement. I catch several of the supers staring at me, their expressions hardening when I meet their gaze. After a few seconds of engaged several of them in a silent stare-off I duck my head and wrap my arms around myself defensively, squalming the urge to surround myself with the protective familiarity of my invisibility; even I know that would only make me look more suspicious.