Hades: Blood Angel Chronicles, #6

By Jennifer Field

HADES
Cast out from the heavens, the ruler of the Underworld will do whatever it takes to get back his one true love, the daughter of Themis, Aradia.
The only problem is that the Goddess has cursed them into a vicious cycle of love and loss.
Aradia is damned to a human existence only to fall for the one man she can never have. Once her heart is given to him, their time together can be counted in moments.

After thousands of years, has Themis' curse finally started to falter, or will a new evil take its place?

And with no memory of her past, how can Aradia help Hades fight for their future?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer Field
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223944287

Book preview

HADES

Photographer: Golden Czermak @FuriousFotog

Cover Model: Daniel Rengering @ DanielRengering.com

Edited By: Carolyn Depew @WriteRightEdits

Cover Designer: Golden Czermak  @FuriousFotog

Interior Formatting: Andres Miles Rhodes @AMRAuthorPromotions

Interior Formatting: JM Walker @justwritecreations

Beta Team: Tricia Welzyn, Barbara Bouchard, Lizz Marzano, Lenore Renee Chouinard, Deborah Pannone,

This book is dedicated to my best friend Tricia

You are my ride or die, my forever bitch.

I’ll have your back forever.

Thank you for always being by my side for this crazy ride.

PROLOGUE

HADES

Grabbing a few pebbles from the ground, none big enough to break glass but large enough to wake my sleeping beauty, I toss up one then the next, hitting Aradia’s window each time. It only takes a few moments for her to fling open the shutters and peer down at me. She has a scowl on her face, one I can tell isn’t real as she looks me over.

What are you doing here? she whispers as she leans out the window too far for my liking and her safety. She looks left and right, presumably searching for her parents’ guards, none of whom will be awake anytime soon.

What do you think I’m doing here? I had to see you, I confess.

Shush, you’ll wake everyone, she chastises.

Then come down, so I don’t have to yell! I shout louder, knowing no one will hear me, but the action will bring her down into the courtyard. I could yell all night! I shout again as I spin around, my voice carrying in every direction.

This woman makes me the fool, and I love her even more for it.

Shhhh, she says, putting her finger to her lips. Fine. Just stop yelling! she hollers down, and I watch as she quickly covers her mouth with her hand and looks behind her.

Aradia’s side of the palace is empty aside from a few maids and possibly a rogue cook or two. But I was careful to pay off every guard, and those who would not take the bribe will wake sometime tomorrow with the mother of all headaches.

I would have preferred to kill them, but the penalty for killing a palace guard is death and banishment to the Underworld, which is not where I want to be. Although, I’m reasonably sure that the penalty for having deflowered Themis’ daughter would be the same, if not worse.

When she’s gone from her window, I approach the door and lean against the stone wall to wait for her to emerge. It only takes a few minutes before the door swings open, and she steps through.

Without a second thought, I grab her by the waist, spin her around and pull her to me. I’m leaning against the wall, making my height much more manageable for her petite frame. She squeals as I tighten my grip and hold her against my chest.

You’re half naked, practically indecent, I scold as I run my hands along her nearly nude backside, the short night dress she has on leaving almost nothing to the imagination but awakening my memory. 

This is my sleeping attire, and you shouldn’t be here, Hades, she admonishes yet does not attempt to pull away. Instead, she caresses her hands up my chest until she can wrap her arms around my neck. Even with my lowered height, she has to stand on her tippy toes to place a feather-light kiss on my lips.

I couldn’t stay away. It’s been three days, I remind her as I run my fingers through her long, chestnut hair.

Yes, and I said I would come to you when I could. I have been unable to escape, and my mother suspects something is happening between us, she adds as she presses her body against mine. I let out a low growl at the feel of her curves.

Her mother has every right to suspect something between the two of us. Until a few weeks ago, we never thought there was a reason to hide our relationship. However, we didn’t flaunt it. My status in the heavens isn’t what most would consider pure. And not what the daughter of Themis would be expected to entertain.

My mother, Rhea, though noble in her own right, has never disclosed publicly who my father is. Though most suspect since I am not an Arc, that my paternal parent isn’t of angelic origins. That, alone, should have been enough to have had me killed as an infant. If it weren’t for my mother’s older and therefore more powerful lineage, I would have been.

Yet even that lineage isn’t enough for Themis’ only daughter. 

Come away with me. We’ll go anywhere you wish, or maybe we’ll go back upstairs, I tease, pressing her body against mine so she can feel how hard she’s making me just standing here. No one will know. I’ll be gone by sunrise, I promise.

It only takes her a moment of contemplation before I see her intoxicating smile and the sparkle in her emerald eyes. You have to promise you’ll be gone before anyone wakes.

Cross my heart and hope to die. The childhood rhyme is out of my mouth before I can think better. I watch as Aradia’s face pales, the statement reminding her of the risk we’re taking. I’m sorry, nothing will happen.

She gives me a coy smile before pulling back and grabbing my hand. I love the feel of her tiny, delicate fingers wrapped around mine as she pulls me toward the door and through the palace. She is overly cautious, peeking around each corner. I don’t have the heart to tell her no one is here. I made sure of it, and I love watching her skulk through the halls with me in tow.

I pull her toward me the moment we enter her chamber, capturing her lips with mine, the need to kiss her consuming me. Why am I so drawn to you? I would go to the ends of time just for a kiss.

Only a kiss? Aradia teases as she toys with the toggle on my leather pants.

Wrapping my hands around her tiny waist, I lift her until she can wrap her legs around my midsection. I can feel the heat of her bare flesh and her wetness through my shirt. There is no need to question that she needs my touch as much as I need hers.

In three long strides, I’m across the room and kneeling on her oversized bed, laying her down as gently as possible. The moment her back hits the plush mattress, her legs fall from my waist, revealing her sodden silk panties pressed against her damp flesh. The outline of her pussy beneath has my cock straining against my leathers.

Aren’t you a naughty girl, I say as I run my fingers over her wet panties, making Aradia squirm beneath me as I add the slightest pressure over her clit. Her slight moans of pleasure have me ripping her wisp of a sleeping gown from her body and kissing my way down her flesh. 

I’ve missed you, she breathes.

Her words warm my heart, and I stop at her navel and glance up at her. How much? How much have you missed me? I tease before I nip her side, and she squeals. I’m thankful that no one is on her side of the palace. I intend to make her scream my name in pleasure all night before I convince her to come away with me.

Mmm... more than you could ever know, she purrs as she lifts her hips as much as she can with my weight upon her. Please, Hades, don’t tease me.

I can’t resist her pleading. Never could. She’s been my weakness for as long as I’ve known her, probably longer. 

Without further taunting, I dip my head and run my tongue over the damp material covering her pussy. Her feminine taste explodes across my tongue, and I let out a primal growl of wanton pleasure.

It only takes me a moment to slip her panties down her legs and toss them aside, leaving her bare before me. Her pink flesh is parted and wet, leaving me the perfect view of her swollen clit peeking through.

Tell me what you want, I demand as I blow a gentle puff of air across her clit. Her body shivers with need, and I do it again.

You know what I want, Aradia pleads as she rocks her hips.

I do, but I want to hear you say it. I taunt her with another hot breath across her damp skin. Tell me what you want, like a good girl.

I want...

Her hips buck again, Aradia’s slick pussy missing my lips only because I pull back. I have all night, princess, I tease again. What. Do. You. Want?

She lets out a shy giggle, and I put a little pressure on her hips to keep them in place. My little angel still has a shy side despite our many times together. But I love hearing her tell me all the dirty things she wants me to do to her.

I want you to lick my pussy... and then fuck me. I can hear the hesitation in her voice at having to tell me what she wants, and it gives fuel to my fire.

Good girl, I praise as I loosen my grip on her thighs and run my tongue through her wetness until I circle and suck at her clit. She gives me a long, drawn-out moan of pleasure. My cock is so hard that I feel as if I may explode before I even have her body wrapped around mine.

Her arousal flows along my tongue, coating my lips and chin as she grinds against my face, chasing her orgasm. I can feel her getting close, and just as she’s about to topple over the edge of ecstasy, I slide two fingers into her. Aradia’s back arches as I curl my fingers, hitting that spot deep inside.

I know her body so well, I can play it like the finest instruments, strumming out the most beautiful sounds.

Please, Hades, she moans as I add a third finger into her tight pussy and suck her clit between my lips.

When her hands come down and snake through my hair, pulling the strands and forcing my head closer, I remove my fingers and flick her clit with my tongue.

She lets out a squeal of frustration as I smile up at her.

Why do you tease me?

I smile as I crawl up her body, peppering her skin with kisses. Because I love feeling you come around my cock, I admit. Grabbing her around the waist, I roll so she’s straddling my body, smiling down at me. Her legs are wide, giving me the perfect view of her glistening slit.

My cock is still straining behind my leathers, until she reaches behind me and unties the laces holding me in. I don’t have to instruct her. We are clawing for the same thing—my cock, buried deep inside her.

When she slides down, I lift my hips enough to shimmy my pants down my legs. The moment her soft, wet skin brushes against the head of my cock, I have to hold back from thrusting forward and impaling her.  It’s torture, and I’m sure a little payback as she rocks herself along the rugged ridge of my dick.

I want to close my eyes and get lost in the erotic sensation but watching her is much more powerful. She is beauty personified. Her shiny, onyx locks cascade over her breasts, almost covering them completely except for her hardened nipples that peek through the veil of her hair.

Staring into my eyes, her emerald-green gaze never falters as she sheaths my cock deep inside her.

Fuck, I love you, I breathe out as I grip her hips when she starts to rock back and forth. There is no way my fingers aren’t going to leave marks, but I want everyone to know this woman is mine, inside and out.

We are so lost in each other that neither hears anyone enter her room. It isn’t until I feel my body being thrown across the room that I realize Themis is standing at the foot of Aradia’s bed.

Fury and fire emanate from the goddess of Justice as she stares at me while using her rage to hold me naked against the stone wall while Aradia’s arousal still drips from my cock. The pain of hitting the stone radiates from my body, but I can still hear Aradia pleading with her mother not to kill me.

Death would be too good for both of you! Themis bellows as I watch her push her only daughter away as if she were nothing.

I struggle and try to speak, yet no sound comes from my lips as I profess my love for Aradia. Without warning, I’m released from Themis’ hold and drop to my knees. But when I look up, I am no longer naked, and we are no longer in Aradia’s bedroom but in Themis’ judgment chamber.

Aradia rushes to my side, flinging her arms around me as she pleads with her mother to spare me. Again, I try to speak but no sound comes. Cupping Aradia’s face, I smile down at her before kissing her softly. If this is to be my final moment, I want to take her memory with me for all eternity.

Silently I mouth, I love you, as I wipe away her tears with my thumb.

Themis sits on her golden throne, seething as she looks down at us. I’ve never been in the judgment chamber before. It is breathtaking, with its polished marble and sweeping views of the Heavens. Had I ever thought about it, I would have envisioned more of a torture chamber of death, but this is far more terrifying.

Protectively I hold onto Aradia as her mother slowly rises from her throne and glides toward us. Themis’ gaze feels like a physical knife going through me. The phrase, if looks could kill comes to mind.

With a flick of her wrist, I can feel my voice returning. I know if I speak now, she’ll hear.

Spare Aradia, I plead.

I will spare no one! Themis snaps before I can continue.

Her voice echoes off the walls, causing the chamber to shake. The marble floor before us dissolves away, and I instinctively push Aradia behind me. Blue skies with fluffy white clouds pass beneath us.

Aradia, come forth, Themis demands.

Aradia makes to move from behind me, but I hold her back. She does not deserve your wrath. I love her and am willing to sacrifice my life for hers.

No! Aradia cries from behind me as she struggles to come forward. I don’t want to live without you. 

Themis gives her daughter a cackling laugh. If I could, I would kill her just for trivializing her daughter’s pain with laughter.

Spinning on my heel, I grab onto Aradia’s shoulders. No matter what happens, I will always love you and find you again, I assure her. But I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me. She can’t kill me unless I willingly give her my life for yours.

Tears stream down Aradia’s cheeks, and even my voice hitches as I fight back my tears at seeing her pain. 

Enough! Themis yells. I have made my decision, and it is final.

Aradia, your memory has been wiped from the Heavens. You are no longer a daughter or a sister.

Mother! Aradia cries out.

Themis ignores her and continues, For consorting with the son of Rhea, you will live as a human with no memory of this place or Hades. Your life will be eternal, but you will never walk in the Heavens again. This judgment is mine and mine alone, and I shall bear its weight forever.

Before Aradia can plead with her mother, she disappears from my arms as if she were never there.

Aradia! I call out as the first trickle of wetness escapes my eyes. Seething, I turn to face Themis. You would disown your flesh and blood so easily, her only crime, loving me?

She will have many lives, none of them with you, Themis mocks as she walks around the gaping hole in the floor until she stands before me. And the answer to your question is yes. I will disown my daughter if it means she will never be with you. 

You can’t kill me, so what’s to stop me from consorting with human Aradia?

My question brings an evil smile to Themis’ face. Aside from me casting you out of the Heavens to reside in the Underworld with the remainder of your family? Nothing, except if you step foot in the human world, you’ll be drawn to her like a moth to the flame. 

Her words confuse me until she continues.

You will choke on her happiness without you, lifetime after lifetime, until you can’t stand to watch it. Her smile and laughter will make you bitter.

If you think knowing Aradia is happy will destroy me, then you don’t know what love is. 

Oh, and if she ever sees you, you’ll become nothing but a ghost to her. A figment of her imagination, a memory she just wants to escape. 

CHAPTER ONE

ARADIA

Fuck me harder!

The sound of a woman about to have an amazing O is drowned out by my heartbeat as I walk further into my apartment, or rather, our apartment. Hades looks up at me from his spot on the couch with a confused look in his big, chocolate-brown eyes. I brush my fingers over his head as I pass on my way to the bedroom, and he immediately follows me.

My hand is shaking so much that I have difficulty turning the knob, but at this point, what choice do I have? Pushing open the door, I stand watching the scene unfold in slow motion like a car wreck—two naked bodies undulating as they peak. 

Fuck, I love you, Devon moans as he thrusts forward one last time before he collapses on top of the woman. Hades, with perfect timing, leaps onto the bed. I don’t even have the wherewithal to stop him. I’m frozen at seeing my fiancé fucking another woman in our bed. 

What the fuck! Devon yells as he kicks Hades, knocking him to the ground. Hades yelps before returning to my side. Only then does Devon notice me standing in the doorway to our bedroom.

Shit, he breathes out as he sits up. Only then do I get a good look at the mystery woman.

Carley?

My heart breaks even more when I realize that my best friend for the past six years is fucking my fiancé.

Without another word, I turn around and walk back into the living room with Hades by my side. I’m proud of myself for remaining as calm as I am. I wonder if that should tell me something about the state of my relationship with Devon. At this moment, I’m much more hurt by Carley than by him.

I think back to the last conversation Carley and I had over drinks. She talked about a guy she was head over heels for, and I was happy for her. I even gave her advice because she was afraid he wasn’t ready to commit to her. 

Devon only takes a few minutes to emerge from the bedroom. He looks disheveled and a bit distraught as he sits beside me on the couch. I scoot over a few inches, putting a good few feet between us.

Say something, he urges, as if I have some explaining to do.

I’m a ball of mixed emotions as I look over at the man with whom I was ready to spend the rest of my life. Only then do I realize that I’ve been sitting here twisting my engagement ring around my finger. Without a word, I remove it and place it on the table. The room is so silent that even a tiny piece of gold placed gently on the table seems to echo through the apartment. 

Aradia, don’t, Devon says more as a reflex of what he thinks I want to hear than him pleading for me to stay.

I’m not sure what I would do if he sounded sincere. Stay? Doubtful.

Carley picks that moment to slink out of the bedroom, fully dressed and a bit more put together than Devon. She rushes by us without a word or even an attempt at eye contact.

Did you grab everything? I wouldn’t want you to forget anything in my bedroom, I sneer as if I’d forgotten that Devon’s dick was inside her only moments ago.

Dropping her head even lower, she chooses not to say a word and heads for the front door.

A wise move.

When I hear the snick of the door closing behind her, I take a deep breath and look at Devon. He still doesn’t appear to be even the slightest bit remorseful about what I walked in on. If I had to put emotion to the look on his face, I’d have to say he appears angry. 

Aren’t you even going to say something? he barks at me when I remain silent.

My best friend? Could you be any more cliché? 

It only takes me a few minutes to decide whether to stay in this apartment, city, or even the fricken state. I’ll be out of here in a few hours, I finally say with no inflection. I want to scream, but not at him. At myself for being so blind.

Devon and I have only been living together for six months. I guess that’s a good thing, considering the state of our relationship. I was hesitant to move in, but I did, and then a few months later, he proposed.

And a few months after that... whelp, here we are.

That’s it? Don’t you even want to know why or for how long? Don’t you even give a shit that I was fucking your best friend? he snarls as if I were the one who pushed him into the arms of another woman.

I feel the metaphorical knife twist in my chest a little deeper at the mention of him fucking Carley. But, like the rest of my life and everyone in it, friends come and go. So often, I’ve seen those groups of women out together, tight-knit friend groups. Girlfriends that would rather die than see each other hurt. I, however, have never been able to keep friends for very long. Still, Carley lasted almost six years, and I expected better.

A small laugh escapes me when Devon clears his throat, waiting for my answer. Why? Any reason you’ll give me will only be for your peace of mind. So, no, I don’t need to know any of those things. Your reasons are your own.

Devon abruptly stands, and the sudden movement has Hades taking a protective stance in front of me with a show of his teeth. I rest my hand on his massive head and give him a scratch behind the ears.

Fucking irritating mutt, Devon grumbles under his breath as he pushes past us and heads for the bedroom.

I should have taken the hint when I got Hades from the shelter, and he didn’t like Devon immediately. He’s an Akita-Shepherd mix, probably where he gets his protective side from, or maybe he’s just a better judge of character than I am. Either way, it’s him and me now.

You know you’re fucking insane, right? Devon yells as he heads to the bedroom. Constantly talking about past lives and trying to figure out what every little thing in your fucked-up dreams mean. They mean nothing, Aradia. They’re just fucking dreams. Everyone has them.

I can hear him grabbing items and slamming drawers. It only takes him a few minutes to return, holding a duffle bag overflowing with clothes.

Let me know when you’ve moved out, he says as he grabs my engagement ring from the table. And I do suggest you get some professional help.

Unlike Carley when she left, Devon slams the door behind him, making Hades and me jump. Without missing a beat, Hades leaps on the couch and rests his head on my lap.

Well, where do we want to go? I ask my trusty K9 companion, who just huffs and rubs his head against my hand.

I agree. It should be someplace far. Ohhh, we could go to Paris. Would you like to go to Paris and meet a nice French Bulldog? Hades gives me a huff. Or not. How about London? I ask, and he shuts his eyes in response. Continental US, it is.

Grabbing my phone, I type in a quick search for the furthest cities in the US from Sacramento, CA. I hit the first Google page and read: The farthest domestic city from Sacramento, CA, is Boston, MA...

Whelp, my friend, it looks like we’re heading to Boston, I inform him as I scratch behind his ears. Hades looks up at me with his big, brown eyes, and I can almost see a smile on his face. He’s game for an adventure. 

~

It only takes me a day to pack up everything I own from our... Devon’s apartment. The fact that I don’t own a piece of furniture here is quite telling. Everything in it belongs to Devon. Every spoon, bowl, and even the toothbrush holder is his, and was here when I moved in. 

Everything I own has been in storage for six months. He had everything, so there was no point in mixing our things. In retrospect, that really should have been the second clue that the relationship wouldn’t work out.

Luckily, the storage facility I’ve been using offers shipping, so once I’m settled in as an east coast girl, I’ll send for my things.

I walk around the apartment for one last time