Seventh Deadly Sin (Book Two in Angels, Gods & Demons series)

31.

The blinding light forced my eyelids flutter closed for a few short moments as we stepped outside the stone walls, tiredly pressing my forehead against the gladiator's armor-clad chest as he carefully carried me cradled in his bulky arms.

Oh yay...Respect for the god blood...even though I was being carried towards my impending execution...

Numbly raising my sight to look up at him, I noticed how his stoic gaze remained trained ahead throughout the entire walk, intently holding his breath, a small bead of sweat already making its way down the side of his face.

Gods...it is already affecting him too...

I quickly lowered my head back down, nervously biting my lip, already feeling even more scared than ever, rendering completely still in his arms as I now felt so afraid that this current situation could turn into something far more worse than my sole demise.

So when he finally lowered me on the heated sand of the arena, we both exhaled almost in unison, relieved to finally be able to get as far as possible away from each other. Well, mostly him, since I couldn't exactly go anywhere else.

So with a heavy sigh, I lowered my gaze on the rough metal currently binding my poor reddened wrists together, defeatedly waiting for whatever was about to happen when a thunderous masculine voice suddenly boomed throughout the entire arena, instantly drawing my attention.

"Princess of the Underworld, Daughter of the Moon,"

"I am not her child," I seethed between gritted teeth, instantly stopping him, utterly bothered by the mere sound of that second title, casting a cold, blatantly disrespecting glare to the very King of Olympus currently sitting on the stone-built throne among other several deities, right across from where I stood.

I am going to die here today anyway. So, to Hell with pleasantries.

His bushy brow rose, those two glowing orbs now watching me with such curiosity as he uttered,
"Pardon me?"

"I said, I am not her child. I do not recognise this female," I repeated, my hateful glower darting to the very deity we were currently talking about as I coldly added that last sentence, all those hurtful words she said to me during our last encounter now repeating themselves over and over again in my mind.

I watched her uncomfortably shifting in her seat, quickly averting her gaze to my dear brother sitting right next to her, his azure gems intently watching me this whole time, refusing to even spare her a single glance, seeming rather disgusted as he pried off her hovering hand above his, that unusual reaction earning a curious stare from me.

"Did she not give birth to you?" The King of Olympus then asked, drawing my attention back to him, that specific question rendering me completely silent as it felt utterly useless to try argue with him again since the answer was pretty obvious.

So with a small, tired sigh I lowered my gaze back to my bare feet half-burried in the hot sand, my lack of response obviously being enough of an answer for him as he then continued,

"Child of the Moon, are you aware as to why you are present here, on this very day?"

My features instantly contorted into a frown at his blatant attempt to anger me even more, struggling to ignore once again that title as I ever so calmly answered,

"No. I do not understand why do you wish so badly to execute me. I did not do anything wrong."

"That is true. You did not.

Yet we cannot afford to have a creature such as yourself live among us. It is against law and nature," He curtly explained, his tone ever so calm and calculated like my existence was such a trivial matter. I fought back the tears threatening to fall all over my cheeks as once again I felt so lonely and loathed.

"I frankly do not even understand why Gaia allowed you to be born and exist in the first place.

Procreation between an archangel and a god it is utterly forbidden. Especially fallen archangels.

That is why I also brought your mother here today. To have her watch her offspring being destroyed.
I believe it is enough of a punishment. For now."

Too bad she doesn't even care,

Was what I truly wished to say, yet kept my mouth shut, taking one last glance at the ones who were supposed to be my family, ultimately noticing how Rem became even more and more agitated with each passing moment, earning another confused frown from me.

"So, shall we commence?" Zeus' truly thundering voice boomed throughout the entire arena once again, almost startling the soul out of me, my pulse quickening as I desperately gazed around at the several deities staring right back at me from their comfortable seats, some of them displaying pity and empathy on their carved features -my godfather, Apollo of course being one of them- while others coldly gazed upon me, emotionless.

"Hades, will you do the honors?" The King's voice once again rang in my ears, my breath instantly stopping in my throat at the mere sound of that sentence, frantically looking around for any signs of incoming danger when a tall, titan-like creature suddenly rose from its seat, its ember eyes intently boring into mine even from that relatively large distance, nothing but pure malice glinting inside them as he leisurely answered,

"Gladly."

Watching Hades take the first step towards me, I stood completely still, my entire body already trembling as I balled my still shackled hands into fists, forcing myself to remain impassive, even though on the inside I felt already so frightened, screaming for help.

My instincts kept telling me to run, or even try fight him, but unfortunately I knew all these actions would be utterly futile, so instead, I simply watched him, waiting for my imminent cease of existence.

I wish my father was here...

I numbly thought, wondering if he would've allowed this to happen, tears falling down my cheeks at the sole memory I had of him, feeling so thankful that at least I got to meet him, even if it was for a single time.

Thank you, Raphael.

I mentally whispered, letting a small smile grace my lips, also remembering every moment we spent together, good or bad, finally accepting what was about to come, when the frightening sound of a menacing growl reached my ears, instantly snapping me out of my trance-like state.

Turning my head to the source, I ultimately noticed a large beast darting in the air right towards me, watching in utter astonishment how it gracefully landed right in front of me.

Pure white, thick furr coated its abnormally large body, just as beautiful as the snow falling in the human realm, the mark of a crescent blue moon centered on its forehead, fiercely glowing, just like those two azure eyes now intently watching me, seconds before it swiftly turned to Hades who was now standing so close, baring its glistening sharp white teeth to him, a loud, thundering growl escaping its throat.

"Rem?"

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Hey guys, new chapter y'all
I hope you enjoyed this one and it was worth the wait (since once again, it took me so long to update :(

Aanyway, I've been reading comments from the past chapters and it kinda got me wondering, is my writing too hard for you to follow or understand? Bc there have been a few readers who kept asking me questions related to the story and it kinda got me worried :( Should I change my writing style or expressions?

I'll be waiting for your answers my lovelies ;)

Until next time,
Yours truly,
xoxo, Lala