Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 406

Chapter 406: The Wielder

Hades

Her words landed like a quiet verdict—the kind that didn’t need to be shouted to carry weight. For a moment, I could only hear the steady hum of the light overhead, the faint creak of the cell’s old hinges, the measured rhythm of her breathing.

Ellen’s gaze held me in place, the air between us thick with something I couldn’t quite name—recognition, maybe... or resignation.

"She loved you," she repeated, softer this time, almost to herself, before straightening. "How many months, by your calculations, before the Bloodmoon?" she asked.

Of course she would know about it—but I didn’t know why the question settled in my chest like a stone. Maybe it was the way she asked it, as if the answer would weigh more than the asking.

My voice came out low. "Why are you asking me that? You promised information, not that you’d take more of it from me."

From his place near the doorway, Kael spoke, his tone sharpened with suspicion. "You and your father would know. You’d be monitoring it as much as we are. So why do you need our calculations? Or is this so you can slip a nice little update to Daddy dearest?" His words dripped venom, and I knew exactly why—the things he knew Ellen had done to Eve were enough to stain his every syllable.

Ellen turned her head toward him, her expression unreadable. "You hate me."

Kael didn’t flinch. "Yes."

"Not more than I can hate myself," she said. No theatrics. No self-pity. Just a plain truth laid out in a voice that was too level to dismiss.

Whatever he saw in her then made him close his mouth and say nothing more.

Her gaze returned to me, unblinking. "How many months, Hades?"

I held her eyes and lied. "Sixteen."

In my head, the real number rang loud—thirteen.

Her eyes narrowed, a small curl of knowing tugging at her mouth. "You’re lying. An Alpha with a pack like yours doesn’t miscalculate. And the current timeline you’re working with..." Her voice thinned into something that carried both certainty and warning. "...is thirteen months."

The air in the space tightened—the kind of quiet that wasn’t empty but brimming, like the moment before a wire snaps.

I took a step closer, my voice low. "If you already know, why did you ask?"

Her answer came without hesitation. "Because calculating the moves of an enemy is what my father does best." She leaned back slightly, but her gaze never wavered. "And manipulating those enemies once he’s predicted their steps? That’s his art form."

She paused, letting the words settle before continuing, her tone as precise as a blade. "He lets them think they’ve taken the lead... that they’ve outpaced him in the race. But the path they’re running is one he’s already mapped, and just before the finish line, there’s a hole waiting for them to fall through. One they never see coming."

Her lips curved—not in amusement, but in grim acknowledgment. "If I know the exact number of months you’ve been working with, I can know exactly where in the race you think you are. And if I can know that... so can he."

The heat in the space rose as I assessed her. "What is the information you have, Ellen? I passed your test."

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