Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Samantha's POV

It was a cool day. Dense clouds, which promised a storm, moved towards us over the distant mountains and covered the sky in a gray veil of mist. It was as if Mother Earth was telling us that today was not a happy day and dearest , she was right. The long silver sword lay heavy on my waist and - like the other sharp daggers also attached to the leather belt - did not allow me to forget for a second why we were all staring and waiting at the endless field and the hill beyond.

Wait. Waiting for the war.

Meanwhile, I went through all the steps of our war strategy again in my head. Arami's plan was good. In fact, he was very good . The majority formed the middle, which consisted of the upper ranks of the pack hierarchy - i.e. the best soldiers. The left and right flanks of the army would encircle our opponents, encircling the demons, and the last ranks consisted of arch supports intended to weaken the infernal warriors while the rest went on the offensive. And defeated them once and for all.

I glanced again at the newly sharpened blades around my waist. The steel shimmered dull and dull in the dim light, but the glow of the incorporated crystals could not be overlooked. Forged and crafted with the magical crystals of the Goddesses, all of our weapons denied any immunity to death. No creature was safe from this metal, not even Hades himself.

The demons didn't stand a chance, they would fall through our thousand blades and arrows before they realized what was happening to them.

"Whatever happens, you stay with me."

I turned to the deep voice and looked into my mate's otherwise good-natured face, which now showed no emotion. I gently placed my hand on his cheek.

Isahia wasn't usually that assertive, and when he was, he got my claws on him - which, oddly enough, usually ended up in our bed. But today wasn't like any other day, and it was driving him crazy that I was right here beside him. At the forefront. "Naturally."

A silent storm raged in his gray eyes as he looked me straight in the eye. Not only did I see his feelings as clearly as if they were my own, but I knew the exact reason for them, we were so familiar and close - determination to win the battle, anger that I hadn't stayed home with the Silverstorm Pack and fear that he might not be able to protect me.

"They're coming," he said just as I felt the tremor beneath my feet too. Hissing cold wind hit me as I narrowed my eyes and stared at the horizon.

And!

Small, so small as if they were nothing more than harmless meerkats, a long line of dark shapes appeared on the mound, only the harmless meerkats never stopped growing.

So saw an army of a hundred thousand men - or should I say demons? - out of. My heart stopped, only to continue beating twice as fast. I clenched my fists and raised my head. Not even the devil himself would make me feel defeated and scared.

Precisely! , my wolf growled in agreement. The woman and the wolf agreed one hundred percent. We didn't shy away from fighting, especially when it came to protecting our family - the Pack.

"If I could, I would spare you any suffering." I turned my head to him again and saw the hard gray in his eyes soften. It wasn't our first battle together, but the fear of losing him never would no matter how many more times I watched him stand like that. Tenderly, he tucked a strand of my fallen hair, which was blowing wildly in the wind, into my bun. "I love you."

After all the years together, the magic of our love had not evaporated a bit. On the contrary, it had even risen and was now tingling in my whole body, in my whole soul. This man was my everything and I loved him more than I ever thought possible. "My heart follows your lover, in this life and in every life beyond."

"Then let's walk this path together." His hand then closed around my neck and he pulled me into a wild and deeply passionate kiss.

***

Aramis POV

Blood. It was everywhere. The smell that hung in the cold, muggy air. The sound of it spurting out of an organ. The sticky feeling of sticking to your body and slowly hardening. I was so fed up with all these things, but it seemed like they kept coming back to me no matter how hard I tried to push them away.

To our surprise, we weren't the only ones who had the idea of using guns. Normally demons only cared about being able to feed themselves and not consistently slaughtering us, that their food was our light was a sad fact. But today they weren't here in their interest, but entirely in Hades' and Serda's will.

Crooked swords of black metal were the deadly friends of the warriors of hell who just now offered us stiff competition. However, how lethal the swords really were for Ares and I, I didn't know and I fervently hoped it would stay that way. I was very happy to be spared this lovely encounter.

However, the Demon in front of me had a different opinion on the matter. Hissing and sword raised, he rushed at me. I clicked my tongue dismissively, easily ducking under his punch. He thrust his weapon at me again, aimed squarely at my neck as, without hesitation, I stopped his sword with mine and instead rammed it into his heart in one quick, clean motion. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, filling me with an intoxicating long-forgotten feeling.

Then my blade began to glow brightly as I drove it deeper into his heart, and the warrior dissolved as if he had never been.

But this illusion did not last long, as the next demon emerged from the prevailing carnage and wanted to hunt me down. Our blades clattered together, and I saw too late the flying dagger, whirling aimed at my chest. I quickly sidestepped, but couldn't stop the knife from grazing me, making a deep gash down my upper arm. Meanwhile, the demon took advantage of the fact that I was briefly distracted.

" Teeruk! Damn it!", cursing, I parried the sword blow that almost split me in two.

Damn Demons .

"Somebody's been suffering from all the years that've passed, huh? Can you hear your old bones creaking already?" Reah shouted over the din of clanging swords and moans of battle, thrusting her spear, the tip of which was made of the same material as my swords, straight into a demon's heart.

"You mean, like yours?" I roared as I pulled my sword straight from the black being's chest and already stabbed it into a new one. None of my cells in me felt guilty, nor did they have sympathy. "No, mine are as smooth as runny honey."

Deftly fending off another demon's attack, she spun her lance around and dispatched it with a loud "Take that, you ugly beast!" Then she grinned at me. "I bet I know the reason why you're still so fit are you."

They were like starving beasts that had sighted prey and threw themselves on it. My wolf growled so loudly that I let it escape through my vocal cords. Baring my teeth, I threw off my mental bonds and pulled the hearts out of the chests of every demon around me and crushed them with my opaque hands. They tumbled to the ground, smacking their lips, "And I bet you're bored worrying about my health."

She ignored my taunt and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I'll just say one thing - sleepless nights."

Then everything happened very quickly. The demon appeared out of nowhere behind Reah, raised his sword and brought it down on her in a flash before my mental bonds could steady the weapon. But before the gleaming metal sliced through Reah's neck, the blade and Hell Warrior dissolved and crumbled to dust.

Carelessly, Xenos tossed the slimy dark heart aside and raised a brow meaningfully. Too much talk, too little action.

Reah was already opening her mouth when Ares' roar reached us.

" Puraasus! fools! What are you standing there for?" he growled, swinging his sword eagerly and roaring loudly, shredding our enemies to dust in milliseconds. His face wasn't grim or serious, but glowing with passion. It's been a long time since he fought a battle the last time on earth and I had almost forgotten that he was a war god. But just one look was enough to be reminded. "Come on! What are you waiting for?"

As if waiting for his words, we jumped into the fray and leveled the demons with iron will and fiery willingness. More and more infernal warriors fell as our forces invaded the field of war. Perhaps they outnumbered them, their army twice the size of ours, nevertheless we were stronger.

And that's what worried me.

Serda's POV

"Now! I want him now!"

"No, not yet." Hard and unyielding.

"I want him now!" I yelled, almost unable to look at his face without scratching it. If he forbade me to get Aramis one more time, then he could say goodbye to his blond hair, 'Cause I'd burn them cleanly, if I came to think of it, maybe I burned his face with it.

"No," Hades said again, and his calm expression only made me more angry. My fists were on fire. "First let him see that he never had a chance."

"Yes!" the fire in my hands dying as my voice cracked with excitement. This was a lot better than killing him outright. First I wanted him to realize how powerful I am. He should see that all his friends would die and he had led his own pathetic army to their deaths.

Oh me!

The orb, floating in the otherwise dark room, lit up as it showed us what was happening on the surface of the earth, allowing us to follow closely how the battle was unfolding. Of course it didn't go any differently than we wanted, there was no other option. It wasn't my fault that those stupid earthlings just didn't have enough brain cells to notice. What were they thinking? That they seriously stood a chance against me and Hades?

i grinned

"Show us Aramis," Hades commanded the sphere, which immediately countered his command.

I dug my nails into my palm as I fixed my gaze on the sphere and almost lost control. I would have preferred to hit something.

NO NO NO!

Fire shot through my veins and reached my fingertips as I saw many demons Aramis slay. I hated him with all my heart.

I hated him, I hated him, I hated him!

Soon he would kneel before me and beg me for mercy. My knife would sink into his skin, cut after cut, one cut deeper than the next, while his screams echoed off the cold walls. I took a deep breath and the fire slowly faded. Aramis would end, and by me.

Then Hades raised his arm and stretched out his index finger, which was sticking out from under the heavy red sleeve of his cloak, towards the bullet. Except for his scrawny fingers, the cloak completely covered his body, hiding the rest of the lean bones. Mother and Luna had weakened Hades so much that he could not even walk, let alone use a strong spell to get free. I didn't mind, I've never felt sorry for Uncle Hades. The only reason I even helped this weakling uncle was that he still had enough knowledge to give me what I want - power. In return, I helped him escape from this ugly, lava-filled underworld by killing Aramis.

Aramis was another pole of power, alongside Mother and Luna - and of course me - holding the rift together and making it impossible for Hades to penetrate through the torrent of spells.

But soon even this problem would be solved.

As the murmured words left Hades' mouth, his fingernail dragged across the battlefield, leaving a dark trail in his wake. Out of sheer impatience I jumped from one foot to the other. I couldn't wait to see the look on Arami's face when he realizes how screwed he is.

In no less than a few hours he would be mine, along with everyone else. I didn't even try to suppress my grin.

Oh yes, this day would end gloriously!