Inescapably Hellbound

by Cassandra Lawson

  “He deserved it,” I muttered.

  “I totally agree,” Lucy said around her laughter. “Still, I’m having a hard time picturing you cursing the man’s junk.”

  “My daughter can be vicious when provoked,” was my mom’s proud reply. “She is a powerful witch.”

  “I can hold my own when I have to,” I agreed.

  Lucy nodded. “I know you can take care of yourself, even if the curse surprised me. A lot of people think you’re too sweet for Hades, but I think you’re good for him.”

  “He didn’t even try to kidnap her when they went to Olympus.” My mom still sounded amazed.

  A giggle escaped my lips.

  “What’s so funny?” Beatrice asked.

  “I was thinking how insane this conversation is. I would never have expected to hear my mom praise someone for not kidnapping me.” My life had become that crazy.

  Chapter 26

  Hades

  Beating the hell out of each other did a lot to relieve the tension between us. I didn’t hate Azrael nearly as much, and I was able to think more clearly. We’d agreed in advance that no weapons would be used, so no one had been too badly injured in the fight.

  Azrael had just chugged down a bottle of water and was leaning against the counter in Lucifer’s kitchen.

  “I can’t believe I have a great-granddaughter named Persephone,” Azrael muttered. “Why would the Fates pull this kind of crap?”

  “Because they’re bitches,” was my honest response. “How the fuck did this happen?”

  Azrael regarded me with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not going to explain this to you. You’re old enough to know how a child is conceived. If not, you can ask Lucifer to explain it to you.”

  “Asshole,” I shot back. “I know how babies are made. Angels don’t usually procreate. I also can’t imagine you having sex.”

  “You have no idea how relieved I am that you’re not having sexual fantasies about me.” His lips twitched. Who would have guessed Azrael had a sense of humor? Probably the same people who would have guessed I had one.

  “Moving on to a topic that doesn’t paint pictures of your pasty goth ass in my mind, I still think you should wait to meet Persephone and Demira. At least, give them more notice.”

  “We’ve already discussed this,” Azrael snapped. “I’m not waiting. You’re not in charge of me, fallen angel.”

  “I never claimed to be in charge of you, asshole,” I spat out. “Waiting might make it easier for your granddaughters.”

  Azrael considered what I’d said before turning his back to me and letting out a sigh. “I need to know if this is the truth. If it’s true, I need to offer them my protection. When I first heard I had a granddaughter, I was surprised by how much I cared. Hearing that she’d been killed by Poseidon filled me with rage and a strange sense of loss. I haven’t cared about anyone in a very long time. I’d forgotten what it feels like.”

  “They should be back soon. I’ll warn them you’re here,” I told him. While I still didn’t think it was a good idea, I suddenly felt a strange connection to Azrael. I, too, had gone a very long time without caring for anyone. Now that I’d found Persephone, the feelings were too much at times, but I couldn’t shut them off. Even if I could, I didn’t want to.

  Chapter 27

  Persephone

  We were finishing up our dessert when my phone buzzed in my purse. I was surprised I had cell service. While the service was good closer to Lucifer’s home, it was notoriously unreliable in other parts of the demon realm. Pulling out my phone, I found a text.

  Hades: Someone told Azrael he has a granddaughter.

  Persephone: Who?

  Hades: Hermes. He didn’t have the details exactly right, but Azrael knows everything now and wants to meet you and your mom.

  “Are you okay?” Lucy asked.

  I nodded as I continued to stare at my phone, not sure what to say to Hades. “Azrael found out about us, Mom. Hades says he wants to meet with us.”

  No one spoke. They were probably all trying to process this new information. My mom was likely trying to figure out if she should grab me and run somewhere to hide. Even though she knew that wouldn’t work, it was in her nature to hide me from danger. It’s what she’d been doing most of my life. In the end, I had to ask myself if I wanted Hades to fight the angel of death because I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to him yet.

  I was going to talk to Azrael. Eventually, my curiosity would get the better of me.

  “Maybe I can meet him without you,” I told my mom.

  She shook her head. “I’m not going to send my only daughter to talk to the angel of death alone.”

  I nodded and began to type out my reply to Hades.

  Persephone: When does he want to meet?

  Hades: He’s here now. I suggested he wait, but he won’t listen. Should I be more forceful in my attempts to get rid of him?

  Persephone: No. I’ll talk to him. We just finished lunch. We’ll be back soon.

  Hades: Are you okay?

  Persephone: I’m fine. My mom isn’t even freaking out.

  Hades: I meant what I said about encouraging him to delay this meeting. I can always stab him with a black lightning bolt if you want to see him another day.

  His offer gave me pause. I’d never seen a black lightning bolt. It sounded fascinating. Focus! I told myself.

  “Hades asked if he should stab Azrael with a black lightning bolt so we don’t have to see him today,” I announced to the others at the table. The offer was too interesting to not share.

  Lucy frowned. “Azrael wouldn’t like that.”

  Beatrice snorted. “I seriously doubt anyone likes being stabbed with a lightning bolt, black or otherwise. It is sweet that Hades offered.”

  “Sweet but foolish,” was my mom’s response. “If Azrael knows, we’ll have to talk to him, eventually. We may as well get it over with.”

  Persephone: I think you should hold off on stabbing anyone.

  Hades: What if he really pisses me off?

  Persephone: If you stabbed everyone who made you angry, you’d end up stabbing almost everyone you ever met.

  Hades: Except you. You never make me angry.

  Persephone: I promise that, if you spend more time with me, I’ll make you angry.

  Chapter 28

  Persephone

  Azrael looked like he’d climbed out of a dumpster. Okay, my description wasn’t completely fair. He appeared clean and well-groomed, but his clothing should have been thrown away. No, it should have been burned. Azrael had multiple piercings, and he didn’t look anything like me or my mom. We couldn’t be related. There had to be some sort of mistake.

  I decided to speak my thoughts out loud so my mom and Azrael could agree. “We can’t be related. This must be a mistake.”

  “We’re related.” Azrael sounded confident, but he seemed uneasy about the situation.

  I took comfort in knowing I wasn’t the only one who was nervous. “What makes you think we’re related?” I asked.

  “I can sense my blood in both of you,” Azrael explained. “It’s part of why I wanted to meet you. I knew I’d sense the truth immediately.”

  “We’ve met,” was my curt response. It annoyed me that he didn’t even remember seeing me before. Granted, we hadn’t technically been introduced, but that didn’t make me any less annoyed that he didn’t remember me.

  He shook his head. “I saw you in Lucifer’s kitchen, but we were never introduced. Lucifer thought I might be plotting against him at the time.”

  “I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out you were,” Hades muttered from my side.

  “If I’d been plotting against Lucifer, I could have done a better job than Michael.” Azrael sounded offended.

  “Well, it still proves you didn’t recognize our relationship at first sight,” I argued with my arms crossed in front of my chest. “I’m not convinced you recognize it now.”

  “I wasn’t paying mu
ch attention to you,” he admitted. “Don’t take it personally. My social skills often leave something to be desired.”

  And then the awkward silence happened. We all stood there and waited for someone to speak. My mom was staring at Azrael. She had her database of angels, but Azrael looked much different in her database. He looked much more angelic in the photos she had of him. Of course, her shock at his appearance only accounted for part of her reaction. There was also her strong aversion to angels. I giggled.

  Beatrice leaned into my side to ask, “What’s so funny?”

  I giggled again. “I’ll tell you later.”

  My mom suddenly started laughing. “This is funny! I’ve been telling you to stay away from anyone with angel blood, but we have angel blood.” My mom laughed harder.

  “I was thinking the same thing!” I told her.

  And then Beatrice laughed.

  Hades and Azrael regarded us like we’d lost our minds. I was used to people looking at me that way, so it didn’t bother me. As far as I was concerned, they were the ones who were crazy for failing to appreciate the humor.

  Azrael shook his head and mused, “These are my granddaughters.”

  “You aren’t going to expect us to call you grandpa, are you?” I asked. “That would be weird.”

  “Because I don’t age?” Azrael asked.

  My mom was the one who responded to his question. “It’s not that. Persephone’s been around really old witches. Witches age extremely slowly, so it’s not so much your looks.”

  “The goth teen look throws me off some,” I admitted.

  My mom nodded her agreement. “It is a little jarring, but that’s not it either. It’s just that you’re the angel of death.”

  Azrael waited for more of an explanation, but there wasn’t one.

  “Maybe, if we’d known you before, it might not seem so strange.” It was the only explanation I could think of. I honestly didn’t think of Azrael as my great-grandfather. How could I when I didn’t know him? That might change, but it seemed unlikely considering how unfriendly he was. “I’m sorry. That probably sounds harsh.”

  He shook his head as he responded. “Not harsh at all. You’re just being honest. I have a hard time thinking of you as my granddaughters. I never planned to have children. As a general rule, most angels don’t have children. We certainly don’t start families like some fallen angels do.” His gaze moved to my mom. “I remember your grandmother. You resemble her. She was spirited and curious. I’m not sure what she saw in me, but we had a brief affair before she bonded with a warlock she couldn’t stand.”

  My mother smiled. “They grew to love each other, or so I’m told. Both died before I was born.”

  Azrael cleared his throat. “While I wanted to meet you, I’m not sure we should get to know each other. Any relationship with me might cause you more problems. You don’t want a bunch of white-winged assholes coming around.”

  I had to bite back a laugh since I was certain that Azrael’s wings were also white.

  I flashed him a bright smile. “Well, then it was nice meeting you.

  Azrael pulled two cards from the pocket of his trench coat. “If either of you needs me, call. Even if we don’t get to know each other, we are family. I’m certain that anyone who tries to hurt you will be slaughtered by Hades before I can get here, but I promise to make sure their soul spends an eternity enduring the most excruciating pain.”

  Hades grinned. “I’m beginning to like you, Azrael.”

  “Lucky me,” Azrael muttered.

  After I took the cards and handed one to my mom, Azrael nodded and left without another word.

  Beatrice summed up my impression of Azrael perfectly. “The angel of death wasn’t nearly as much of a dick this time.”

  Chapter 29

  Hades

  I was having trouble wrapping my mind around how complex everything had become with Persephone. When we’d first met, I’d wanted her. That attraction had only grown stronger the more time I spent with her. Her innocence and eagerness to learn about the world fascinated me. I often longed to see the world through her eyes. I was jaded and rarely saw the good in anything.

  It was hard to believe Persephone was Azrael’s granddaughter. Her angel blood was diluted, but now that I knew it was there, I sensed it and wondered how I’d missed it before.

  “When you mentioned wanting to talk, I expected you to actually speak.” Persephone’s voice interrupted my thoughts, reminding me that I had been staring at her without saying a word. I was the one who’d insisted I needed to talk to her alone, yet I’d said nothing after getting her alone.

  “I was trying to figure out how I failed to realize you’re part angel,” I admitted.

  “It’s not that easy to detect,” was her explanation. “It’s also possible a spell was used to hide that part of my heritage. I’ll have to ask my mom.”

  I nodded. She was right. Her family had done their best to not only hide her from me, but to hide their heritage from the world. “Despite all the effort to keep us from ever meeting, here we are.”

  Persephone laughed at my musings. “Are you about to tell me how fate brought us together?”

  When she put it that way, I had to laugh. “That did sound overly romantic. You strike me as the romantic type, so maybe I should continue talking this way.”

  “I am a bit of a hopeless romantic.” She made that confession with a wistful smile. “Happily-ever-after can happen. It doesn’t happen for everyone, but it’s still possible.” Her hand settled on my arm as she continued. “I don’t want you to be someone you’re not. Obviously, you aren’t the romantic type, and that’s fine. I like you just the way you are.”

  I let out a bark of laughter. It was rude, but I couldn’t help myself. “You only say that because you don’t truly know me yet. I’m not a good person.”

  She smacked my chest and then walked across the room to check out Lucifer’s liquor cabinet as she spoke. “While there is something to be said about a tragic hero with a brooding soul, when you keep telling me you aren’t good enough, it starts to come off as whiny. Sorry, that came out sounding really mean, and I’m not trying to be mean. I feel defensive when you or others tell me you’re a bad person, that we aren’t a good match.”

  “Who else says we shouldn’t be together?” I asked.

  She waved off my question. “It’s not important who said it. Things aren’t that simple. I’m not always a good person, and you aren’t always a bad person.”

  This time, I let out a booming laugh.

  Persephone’s scowl only made me laugh harder. When she walked over and went to swat my chest, I caught her wrist and pulled her against me. She looked up at me with wide, curious eyes, and I could no longer resist the urge to taste her.

  Chapter 30

  Persephone

  I let out a gasp of surprise when Hades’s lips claimed mine. My gasp quickly turned to a moan when he drew me closer, until our bodies molded together. His heat moved along my skin as his tongue slipped past my lips. I sucked on his tongue, savoring his taste and causing him to growl low in his throat. Everything felt so good, so right.

  My hands slid under the edge of his shirt, gliding along the hard planes of his back. When they moved up to the place where his wings would emerge, he hissed and kissed me harder. I was ready to beg for more.

  “Please,” was all I could manage as I lifted one of my legs to try to get even closer. I needed relief. After months of aching for his touch, I was ready to explode from one kiss. Hades pressed his hard thigh between my legs and broke the kiss to look into my wide eyes as I began to rock against his thigh, putting delicious pressure on my clit.

  “Yes,” he rasped out. “Just like that. You’re so fucking sexy when you do that.”

  Gripping his hair, I pulled his head down to mine for another kiss as I continued to ride his thigh toward my release. It was insane how needy I felt. Hades’s tongue began to thrust into my mouth, like I wanted his d
ick thrusting into me. The mewling sounds coming from the back of my throat grew louder as I moved faster against his thigh.

  My body tightened with my impending orgasm until I screamed into his mouth. Each spasm pulsed through my body. When they finally eased, Hades slowed his kiss until he released my mouth.

  “You look so beautiful.” His voice was rough.

  “We should go up to my room,” I told him, my own voice still breathy.

  I saw his struggle. He clearly wanted to say yes, but instead, he released me and took several steps back.

  “I should go.” His words sounded regretful.

  “You don’t have to go,” I argued. “I want you to stay.”

  The indecision in his eyes was obvious. For several heartbeats, he stared at me. In the end, he shook his head and stepped back. “I really do need to go.”

  On those words, the irritating fallen angel hurried out of the room.

  Chapter 31

  Hades

  My dick was pulsing against the zipper of my jeans as I rushed out of Lucifer’s home. I had to get away from Persephone while I still had some self-control. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to lose control that way. Quickly stripping out of my shirt, I dropped it onto the ground and brought out my wings. I’d been aching to have them out since Persephone’s hands had glided along my back.

  I took flight, soaring over the homes and across the detention areas. It was already getting dark, so I wouldn’t go far, but I needed to relieve some stress and put more distance between me and Persephone. She was a temptation like none I’d ever known.

  I recognized how absurd my reaction to our kiss was. This was the woman who could break my curse. Everyone had to be wondering why I hadn’t pushed her to take our relationship to the next level. I was wondering the same.