CHAPTER 188

CHAPTER 188
The gates loomed ahead, twisted iron reaching impossibly high. About twenty Thonicks stood guard, their grey scales gleaming, muscles rippling beneath stone-like skin.

"Damn," Ixion whispered. "He's really upped security since we last hung out.”

I chuckled at his choice of words but the humour fizzled out of me quickly.

I straightened my spine and walked forward, the Tamzyns flanking us. My heart was hammering rapidly, but I kept my face calm.

We started walking toward the gates, staying low in the forest, using the trees for cover.

"We need to find another way in," I whispered. "The front gates are too exposed."

"There's a section of wall on the eastern side," Ixion said quietly. "It's older, more crumbled. We can climb it."

We moved through the forest, careful to avoid open spaces. Every sound made my heart race. A branch snapping. Leaves rustling. The distant voices of Thonicks on patrol.

"Down!" Reya hissed.

We dropped behind a fallen log. Through the trees, I saw two Thonicks walking past, their grey scales catching the dim light. They were talking, laughing about something.

We waited until they disappeared before moving again.

"The Tamzyns need to stay hidden," I said through the bond. "Find cover and wait for our signal."

"We'll be ready," Nala replied.

We reached the eastern wall. Ixion was right. Parts of it had crumbled, creating gaps and handholds.

"Up we go," he whispered.

We climbed carefully, testing each stone before putting our weight on it. My leg still ached from the crocodile bite and every movement sent pain shooting through me.

We reached the top and peered over.

The village spread out below. Quiet. Almost too quiet.

"Something's wrong," Reya breathed.

"We have to keep moving," I said. "Stick to the plan."

We dropped down on the other side, landing in a narrow alley between two buildings. The stone was cold beneath my feet and shadows pressed in from all sides.

"Hia palace is that way," Ixion pointed.

We moved through the alleys, keeping to the darkness. Once, we had to press ourselves against a wall as a group of Thonicks passed by, so close I could have reached out and touched them.

Finally, we reached the palace.

A side entrance. Small. Unguarded.

"This feels too easy," Reya muttered.

"Maybe we got lucky," I said, not believing it myself.

“Or maybe we are walking into a trap. Exciting,” Ixion chuckled as he pushed the door open and we slipped inside.

Shit, it's the maze.

Ocean-themed walls stretched before us, sea creatures trapped in stone. The corridor split in three directions.

And from somewhere deep in the palace, I heard it.

Music.

"He's throwing a party," I whispered.

"Good," Ixion said. "Means he doesn't know we're here yet."

"So we split up now," Reya said. "You go to the ballroom. We find Claire."

I nodded. "The second you have her, get out. Don't wait for me."

"Celeste..."

"Don't wait for me Reya. Get Claire out. That's the mission. Remember?"

Reya's jaw tightened but she nodded.

“Just to be clear, if you spend too long in there, I'm coming to get you.”

“That won't be necessary. Go on now, okay?”

They disappeared down the eastern corridor.

I turned toward the music and started walking, my heart pounding.

The maze shifted as I moved through it. Corridors appeared and disappeared. Walls rippled. Hades was playing with the space itself.

I pushed through the fire section, heat pressing against my skin, and finally reached the ballroom doors.

I took a deep breath.

This was it.

I pushed them open.

The ballroom was massive, full of gods and demons and humans I didn't recognise, all laughing and drinking like the world wasn't falling apart outside these walls.

And there he was.

Hades.

On his throne, his back to me, deep in conversation with someone beside him.

My pulse spiked.

This was my chance, if I could hit him once and for all, we can fight on even ground until Mother and Pelagius comes to help.

So I channelled everything quietly, keeping the power contained so it didn't announce itself, and moved toward him with careful, deliberate steps.

‘Almost there,’ I whispered to myself from behind the thick curtains I was walking behind and then I stepped towards the tiny, concealed opening in between.

Then I raised my hand, ready to offload the immense power I'd pooled into my palm.

But then, something stopped me right in my tracks. A blinding light flooded my entire being, centering me.

I froze.

I looked up to a smirking Hades and slowly, the room began lighting up for me to see more clearly.

All around me, Thonicks stepped out of the shadows. Dozens of them, weapons drawn and pointed directly at me. From every corner, every doorway, every angle.

Hades began to clap, slow, deliberate, each sound rocking into my core and weakening my confidence. Not that I had much to begin with.

He hadn't even stood up.

He was smiling.

And gosh, the entire room was watching me with amused smiles. Gods and demons all staring like I was the evening's entertainment. Cups still in hand, not even slightly alarmed that danger was suddenly in their midst.

Suddenly it clicked in my head, a shocking realisation that came from the lack of surprise on anyone's expression.

They'd been waiting for me.

"I almost let you get closer," Hades said, tilting his head. "But I didn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone."

My stomach turned to ice.

"How," I breathed. “What…”

"How?" He stood now, unhurried, descending from the platform. "You mean how did I know you were coming? What time you'd arrive? Which wall you'd climb? Which corridor you'd take through my maze?"

He stopped in front of me, close enough that I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Your friend Ayo," he said softly, "has been very helpful."

"That's not true, he'd never do that to me."

"You're right, he wouldn't but he didn't need to. Human technology makes things so damn easy,” he chuckled as he snapped his fingers.

A projection lit up the air beside him and my voice filled the ballroom.

"We're leaving tonight..."

"Pelagius will wait at the convergence point..."

"We weaken Hades enough to signal..."

Every plan. Every detail. Every word I'd spoken in what I thought was safety.

"He didn't even know he was helping me," Hades continued. "The phone was bugged long before you ever trusted him with anything. Every conversation you had, every plan you whispered, every moment you felt safe enough to speak freely." He smiled. "I heard all of it."

The air left my lungs.

Ayo hadn't betrayed me. Not intentionally.

But the result was the same.

"You never stood a chance," Hades said simply. "Not from the moment you decided to come here."

The Thonicks pressed closer, weapons gleaming.

From the eastern corridor, I heard fighting.

Reya and Ixion.

They'd walked into a trap too.