Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 517

Chapter 517: 10 Hours Left

Eve

The darkness around me was not ominous. Peace was a constant. I navigated the space like I had walked its halls all my life. I had been walking for a while, just content in feeling out the serenity.

The silence hummed like a song, the air possessing no temperature: neither hot nor cold.

I reached for things I could not see, them reaching out and caressing my fingers in return.

The emptiness echoed in my mind, it too being blank in a way that did not bother me. My soul sang a strange tune that I found myself humming along to.

I lulled my head from side to side, my body pulling toward a point I did not know. The light tugs at my chest were not unpleasant—more like a tickle.

I continued to hum, filling the quiet with a melody I did not know how I remembered.

Suddenly, the melody snapped and dropped.

And just like that, the timeless and formless space I found myself in began to press against me with a pressure that was physical. It went deeper and far more eerie than that.

The dread did not pulse constantly like a beating heart, nor did it ebb.

No, it cleaved through the calmness I had once experienced, shattering the harmony and leaving something writhing through my skin, screaming in my head.

I clapped my hands over my ears and tried to will the tranquility back into existence.

The screaming voice was disembodied—a chaotic chorus of which I could not understand.

Then it ceased, like the abrupt end to a haunting song.

Then the humming returned—not from me. In the distance, someone else made the sound.

I was not alone.

So as the panic receded, I took the lead of the stranger and hummed the tune that he knew as much as me. I followed the melody to the voice.

The darkness pulled away, slowly at first, then in larger sheets. The light that was a result did not make me squint.

Then I saw the source of the tune, the stranger—but his back was turned to me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

And before I braced, it turned around.

Half his skull was gone.

---

10:43:16

Dawnstrike

Eve’s eyes snapped open.

She gasped—a raw, violent sound—her whole body jerking.

Pain exploded through her back, her ribs, her abdomen. Everything screamed.

But she was awake.

Alive.

"Eve!" A voice. Close. Panicked. "She’s awake! Get the Deltas—now!"

Hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

Eve’s vision swam, trying to focus. The tent. Medical equipment. Deltas moving around her.

And beside her—

A gamma. One of Hades’s soldiers. His face pale with relief.

"Luna," he breathed. "You’re—you’re back."

Eve stared at him, her chest heaving.

Then she felt it.

The pull.

Deep in her chest. Insistent. Painful.

The Fenrir’s Chain.

It was pulling at her. Hard. Desperate.

Like something—someone—was yanking on it from the other end.

Hades.

"Where—" Eve’s voice cracked. She swallowed, tried again. "Where is Hades?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The gamma’s expression shifted. Hesitation. Fear.

"Luna—"

"Where is he?"

The gamma’s face crumpled. "Frostfang. He went to Frostfang to help with the prime ferals. There was—" He stopped. Swallowed hard. "There was a bomb. He—"

Eve’s heart stopped.

"Is he alive?"

Silence.

"IS HE ALIVE?"

"Yes," the gamma said quickly. "Yes, Luna. He’s alive. The Deltas are working on him. But—" His voice broke. "It’s bad. The reports say it’s really bad."

Eve stared at him.

Then she looked down at herself.

Her body was healed—mostly. The gaping wound in her back was closed, tissue regenerated, ribs rebuilt. But she was weak. So weak.

"Help me up," Eve said, her voice hoarse.

The gamma hesitated. "Luna—"

"Help me up."

He reached for her arms, steadying her as she tried to sit.

Her legs trembled. Gave out.

She collapsed back onto the cot, gasping.

"Luna, you’re too weak—" the gamma started.

"Then I’ll crawl," Eve snarled, trying again.

The tent flap burst open.

Gallinti and Victoriana rushed in, faces tight with alarm.

"What the hell is going on?" Victoriana demanded, eyes sweeping over Eve. Then, to the gamma: "Why is she awake and trying to move?"

The gamma flinched. "She—she asked about the Alpha. I just—"

"You told her?" Gallinti’s voice was sharp, cutting. "In her state?"

The gamma’s face went pale. "I didn’t think—"

"Clearly," Gallinti snapped.

"Don’t," Eve said, her voice quiet but firm. She looked at Gallinti, then Victoriana. "I already knew."

They both froze.

"What?" Victoriana said slowly.

"I knew," Eve repeated. Her hand pressed against her chest, over the bond. "I felt it. The pull. Something’s wrong with him." Her eyes locked on Gallinti. "What happened to his face?"

Gallinti’s expression shuttered.

Victoriana’s jaw tightened.

They exchanged a loaded glance.

"Eve—" Victoriana started.

"What happened to his face?" Eve’s voice rose, panic threading through.

"A bomb," Gallinti said quietly. "Strapped to one of the prime ferals. Hades broke the compulsion and—" He stopped. "It detonated. Point-blank."

Eve’s breath caught.

"His face—" Gallinti’s voice was rough. "The left side is—gone. Part of his skull. The Deltas are working on him but—"

Eve moved.

Or tried to.

She swung her legs over the side of the cot, tried to stand—

Her legs gave out again. She hit the ground hard, gasping.

"EVE!" Victoriana lunged forward, catching her before she could collapse completely. "Stop! You can’t—"

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