Hades' Cursed Luna

Chapter 108 - 108: The Martyr

Eve

For the first time, I wondered why I always did this, but I knew it was because no one had protected me. I refused to become the monster they painted me as. I refused to become like those who hurt me and left me to rot. I wanted to be loyal to those who showed me kindness, to those who made me feel human in a world that sought to strip me of everything. Loyalty wasn't a weakness. It was my strength because it was all I had left.

"Jules is important to me," I said firmly, meeting his piercing gaze. "And I will not apologize for protecting her."

Hades exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing as if he were scrutinizing every word, every flicker of emotion across my face.

"Important to you," he repeated, his voice a low rumble. "And where does that leave you, Red? Broken? Vulnerable? Dead?"

A lump formed in my throat as he hit the mark with an accuracy that stole the breath from my lungs.

He took a step toward me and brought his hand to my face, stroking my cheek with his knuckles. For a moment, Hades said nothing. His eyes

"Really," I affirmed.

Jules's throat worked as she swallowed. "Do you think you could feel something for him?"

My stomach lurched at the question, and it was my turn to be stunned.

"Feel something?"

Jules's expression eased up an inch, and she flashed me a sheepish grin. "You know what I mean, Ellen."

"Like—"

"Could you love him?" she asked. "Could you love the widower of the woman who your father's monster killed?" Her voice was tinged with accusation.

I froze, her words cutting through me like a blade. The air seemed to thicken around us, suffocating and heavy.

"Jules," I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "That's not... it's not something I've thought about."

Her gaze didn't waver, and the intensity of her stare made it impossible for me to look away.

"But could you?" she pressed. "Even after everything he's done? After what his kind has taken from you? After what yours have done to our kind?"

I inhaled deeply, struggling to gather my thoughts. Could I love Hades? The man who had loomed over my life like a shadow, both protector and tormentor? The man who, in rare moments, seemed almost human, almost vulnerable, but who was still the widower of a woman whose death haunted us both? And whose death was caused by a man whose blood flowed in my veins.

"I don't know," I admitted finally, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "I don't think it's about love, Jules. Not with him. Not with me."

Her expression softened. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's okay," I replied, though my chest ached with the weight of the conversation. "I just... I can't think about that. Not now. Not with everything else."

Jules nodded, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "I just want you to be happy, Ellen. You deserve that, after everything you've been through."

I forced a smile, though it felt hollow. "It's just an arranged marriage for the betterment of our two races."

"Is it only about the marriage?" The suspicion in her eyes made me want to run. My outburst had alerted her to a monumental secret.

No, not again.

"Jules—" I tried to steer the conversation away, but the words faded from my mind when she suddenly unzipped her uniform.

"I know deep-seated scars even without seeing them, Ellen." She turned her back to me, peeling the fabric away. My blood slowed to a crawl in my veins as my confusion morphed into horror. My breath caught, and I could do nothing but stare as a shudder ran through me.

On her back was a single scar that ran diagonally across, taking up most of the space. It was grotesque, the flesh puckered and uneven. It was the kind of scar that told a story—one of pain and cruelty.

My stomach twisted, and I should have looked away, but Jules's voice pulled me back.

"You don't want to share your story," she said softly. "But I'll tell you mine."