by Bella Klaus
Corrupted
Bella Klaus
Copyright © 2021 by Bella Klaus.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.
www.BellaKlaus.com
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Also by Bella Klaus
Chapter One
I stood with my back against the bedroom wall, my heart slamming itself against the back of my throat, trying to escape. Escape from the plants pouring into the room, escape from Hades’ deception.
Vines spread across the space, knocking aside the furniture, tearing across the four-poster bed. The quicker Hades reduced the plants to ash with his Hellfire, the quicker they piled through the door.
Another tulip-shaped flowerhead stuck its maw through the door, this one taking up the entire space. Its buds parted, revealing pointed teeth as long as my legs, and a tongue that unrolled itself across the marble floor.
Smaller vines squeezed through the gaps in the doorway, wrapping themselves around Hades’ legs, and knocking him to the ground. He fell onto his back with a hard crack, but the slimy wet tongue raced toward the wall where I stood.
A spasm squeezed my chest. Whoever was behind these plants wanted us dead.
“Kora.” Hades slid across the floor toward the plant’s hungry maw. “Run.”
My throat dried, and my teeth ground so hard it felt like the enamel would crack. I reached out a hand, summoned Hades’ bident, and pointed it at the flowerhead. Thick bolts of lightning erupted from its twin prongs, hitting the flower, and making it explode into a spray of seeds.
“Shit.” Hades scrambled to his feet. “For once, will you please do as I say.”
“You lied to me,” I hissed from between clenched teeth.
A tangle of green tentacles streamed in through the door. Hades raised his arms and burned them to ashes. He turned to me, his eyes wild. “The situation is more complicated. You see—”
A scream pierced the air, and a pale hand shot through the fire. Hades staggered back, withdrawing the flames.
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to teleport. To use the skill Captain Caria had taught me to leave this bedroom, leave this castle in Hell, and leave Hades, but blank terror kept me rooted to the spot.
The owner of the hand stood in the doorway—a woman the same height and build as Captain Caria, with long, red hair that spilled beyond her waist. Her eyes were a forest green, heavy lidded, and her lips full and sensual.
She reminded me of a work of art—Botticelli ’s Birth of Venus, except she wasn’t posing on a giant clam within a canvas behind a television screen. She was in the same room, naked, gorgeous and in command of killer plants.
And Hades had led me to believe Persephone no longer existed.
Bile rose to the back of my throat, bitter and thick with betrayal.
This was the woman who had appeared in my mind when I had connected magic with Hades. The same woman who lay on a bed with her hair fanning from her beautiful face like spilled blood, telling him to fuck her. The same woman he had pinned against the wall in that memory, the one he had writhed against to a climax.
“Persephone,” I hissed.
Her head turned in my direction, but she stared at me through unfocussed eyes.
“She was alive all this time?” I asked through ragged breaths. “You married me and blackmailed me into taking her power, when you could have placed her on the throne?”
“This isn’t what you think,” he said.
“What the hell do you call this?”
Persephone drifted forward, graceful and slender, as though still caught in a dream. As she moved toward me, Hades placed his palms on her shoulder, trying to calm the woman down, but the twist in her features and the hatred burning in her irises like green flames said she was livid.
I couldn’t blame her.
In her position, I would want to kill me. After I’d dealt with my two-timing bigamist of a husband.
“Easy now, my love,” he said in a voice meant to calm a feral dog.
I snorted. “After thousands of years of marriage, you seduced a younger woman, abducted her, and crowned her your queen. How else is she supposed to react?”
His gaze snapped to me. “You’re not helping.”
Persephone screeched, and plants flew out from her hands, wrapping around Hades’ entire body like a cocoon. One of them lashed out like a whip and wrapped around my throat.
I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on the only place I knew within this Hell that was even remotely safe, and the vine around my neck disappeared.
My nostrils filled with the sweet scent of flowers and ripe fruit. The air was humid and thick and welcoming. Tiny footsteps rushed toward me, accompanied by soft giggles.
I opened my eyes again, and a wave of dizziness rushed over my senses. My breath caught. My vision blurred. My heart clattered a frantic beat that was so fast, I had to place my hand on my chest and bend over double to stop myself from toppling over.
Blinking over and over, I tried to clear my vision and found myself standing on the edge of the garden’s pool. Light shone down from above, mimicking the effect of the sun, illuminating the dryads’ childlike features.
They paused before rushing over, and a little hand stroked my bare arm, seeming to ask if I was alright.
“Let me catch my breath for a bit,” I said between desperate pants.
The other dryad rubbed my back, her soothing touches calming my nerves. This place was a sanctuary. It was filled with beautiful plants, serene water, and two gentle and kind beings. But it belonged to someone else.
Straightening, I stepped back and stared down to meet their huge eyes.
They were so sweet and innocent-looking, each offering me welcoming smiles. The taller one with the green skin wore chamomile flowers around her lemongrass hair. She raised a hand in a tentative wave before pulling it back.
Her smaller companion also offered me a shy wave. A gentle breeze rustled the autumn leaves that made up her hair.
My throat thickened. Had they also lied to me by omission? If they worked full-time in Persephone’s garden, they had to know she was still alive. Maybe the entire place was powered by Persephone’s life-force.
“Did you know Persephone was alive and in Hell?” I asked.
Both nymphs stilled, their little mouths tightening, which was answer enough. They shuffled back, huddling together with their bodies pressed close for mutual support. If Persephone was as harsh and as violent as Mother, she had probably terrorized the little creatures. Now they were afraid to talk.
Bitterness rose to the back of my throat. “If you knew, why didn’t you say something?”
The dryads exchanged glances, each looking as shamefaced as the other.
Guilt squeezed at my heart, but I forced myself to remember that these creatures had probably been in existence since before the Great Divide, even if they looked like little children.
I inhaled a s
harp breath. “You must have seen what Hades and I were doing here. How could you act like everything was normal, when you knew he was still married to Persephone?”
“Kora,” the taller dryad said in a soft voice.
Hearing the nymph say my name was a slap in the face.
“So, you can talk?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Why did you let me believe I was Persephone?”
She dipped her head, her shoulders rising to her ears. “We were lonely and wanted to play with someone new.”
“You knew all along we were different people?”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t know.”
“Why did you pretend you couldn’t speak?”
The dryad turned to her friend before replying, “I don’t know.”
“Never mind.” Clenching my teeth, I turned on my heel and stalked away from the dryads.
Everyone had participated in this deception, from Hades to Captain Caria to Minthe, who was supposed to be the queen’s maid. Bloody hell. Couldn’t they have dropped me at least a hint that Persephone was here in Hell?
A little hand reached for mine. “Kora?”
“No.” I snatched my arm away, focused on the living world, and teleported out of the greenhouse.
I stood at the bank of the lake, staring out at the classical white structure of Buckingham Palace. This could only be St. James’s Park, the section of London Hades ruled, and I was staring out at the Supernatural Council’s headquarters.
The sun dipped behind the horizon, coloring the sky the color of liquid fire and the clouds a deep mauve. The water looked like diluted lava with the trees around its edge cast in shadow.
Right now, I couldn’t appreciate the beautiful vista. In the space of a few hours, I had gone to a pocket dimension in Heaven, consumed twenty-one centuries’ worth of magic, and watched Mother consort with a creature more wretched and disgusting than Hades.
“What do you expect from Kings of Hell?” I muttered to myself. “The whole lot of them are scheming bastards.”
I hurried along the lakeside, looking for somewhere to go. Up ahead was Duck Island, the restaurant Hades had taken me to present his proposal for earning my freedom.
Well, I had done as he had asked: collected Persephone’s back pay, and now it was time for me to collect what he owed me and start my new life. That was if he survived Persephone. I snorted. He’d probably already sweet-talked her into bed.
Curling my hands into fists, I headed toward the white cottage. People streamed out of the buildings on my left, gaping at my outfit. I shot them sharp glares. Masquerades were pretty commonplace. Hadn’t they ever seen someone dressed as a Demon Queen?
I needed a plan.
First, I would ask the man at the door if I could use his phone. Then, I would call Queen Mera, and tell her everything. From the way she had spoken about Hades, it looked like he had convinced her that he was a widower. I stared down at my sandals and frowned. If she or any of the other monarchs had known he was still married, Hades would never have won his trial at the Supernatural Council.
A dagger of betrayal pierced my heart. Why had he lied? Why had he tried so hard to make me believe I was her? Had he made everything up just so he could collect that power?
I walked toward the restaurant, not knowing where else to go. The clouds thickened, obscuring the fading sunlight and darkening the water’s surface. A cool breeze rustled through the trees, and my skin tightened into goosebumps.
“Miss Kora?” said a deep voice from behind me.
Clenching my fists, I whirled around to meet the black eyes of our butler. He stood as tall as sapling in his black tailcoat and matching pants. His necktie hung a little further down his starched collar, making me wonder if he had injured himself when Hades had beset him and the coven with Hellsteeds.
“Don’t you have a broomstick to ride?” I asked with a sneer.
“Very droll.” He held his hands behind his back and rocked forward on his feet. “Mistress Ceres demands your immediate return to the mansion.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “So she can turn me into a prisoner? Force poison down my throat to make me forget?” My gaze drifted to the small crowd of gawkers who had paused behind him to watch our confrontation. “I’m surprised you came here alone. Where’s the rest of the coven?”
“Will you come with me willingly, or will I have to use force?” he said, his brow furrowing with feigned reluctance.
“Bugger off.” I turned on my heel and headed toward the restaurant, waiting for him to lay a hand on my body. If Mother’s bastard minion so much as touched me…
“You have given me no choice.” With an exasperated huff, he grabbed my arm.
I whirled around, my teeth bared, and slammed my palm into his chest. “Maybe it’s time you stopped following the orders of a madwoman.”
Electricity pulsed from my hand, making him stiffen. He clenched his teeth, his grip tightening, and stared down at me with bulging eyes. His black hair stood on end, making him look like a well-dressed scarecrow.
Excited chatter spread across the crowd, which now became about seven or eight people deep. I curled my lip, daring anyone to stop me. Mother and Pirithous had kept me imprisoned my entire life. Now that I had some real power, I wasn’t about to return to complete my sentence.
My nostrils filled with the scent of burning hair and seared flesh, but Pirithous continued clutching at my arm. “Let go of me, you idiot.”
“I… cannot,” he said from between clenched teeth.
“Your electricity has caused his muscles to seize,” said a female voice.
Out of the corner of my eye, Captain Caria pushed her way through the crowd and stood to our side with her hands on her hips. “Withdraw your power, and he’ll release your arm.”
Heat burned across my cheeks. This was the sort of thing a user of lightning should know. As soon as I pulled back my magic, Pirithous dropped his hand and staggered toward the nearest tree. His hair continued to stand on up, and his pasty face glistened with sweat.
Turning around, I headed toward Duck Island, but the crowd refused to part.
“I’m terribly sorry, Miss,” Pirithous said through ragged breaths. He placed a hand on the tree trunk and leaned the rest of his thin body against its bulk. “But your mother is heartbroken and frantic with worry. I’m under orders to bring her only child home.”
The people crowding around us broke into chatter, and worms of shame burrowed through my insides, making me shift on my feet. Despite everything—losing my virginity, training my magic, becoming the Queen of the Fifth Faction of Hell—these bastards all saw me as a little girl.
A quick burst of anger reduced those feelings to dust. Bugger them and their preconceived notions. I was a grown woman, capable of taking care of myself. And I could back it up with my immense power.
Curling my lip, I looked the butler straight in his black eyes. “Tell Mother I decline. If she or her filthy new husband comes after me, I’ll be ready.”
He stared down at me, his brows creasing into a frown. “Where will you go, Miss? Your knowledge of the Supernatural World is limited. Who will protect you from all its dangerous predators?”
I strode to the edge of the crowd, letting my hands spark with enough electricity to make the onlookers think twice about keeping me trapped. As they parted to let me through, I turned to Pirithous and scowled. “You forget that I married the worst predator of them all.”
Quickening my steps, I put as much distance as I could between myself and the crowd, but one person continued to walk alongside me. My lips tightened with annoyance. Those training sessions we had shared had been great, and I’d started to think of her as a friend.
Captain Caria cleared her throat. “Your Majesty, King Hades asked me to—”
“I’m not your anything,” I hissed. “If Hades wants to see me, why doesn’t he come himself?”
The taller woman placed her hand ove
r her mouth, the way people do when they’re trying to conceal an embarrassing lie. “He is rather occupied at the moment with urgent business.”
“Yes, he is,” I hissed. “Your mother is a real handful, isn’t she?”
Captain Caria had the decency to cough. “The situation with Persephone is not how it appears.”
“Did he tell you to say that?” I asked.
She flinched. Hades was probably delivering orders to her through their mental link, while ours remained silent. And here I thought womanizers weren’t capable of multitasking.
The captain’s eyes softened. “If you could come with me—”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “We spent so much time together, yet you acted like you didn’t know.”
“It’s complicated,” she murmured. “If you could remain calm and wait for His Majesty to finish his current task—”
“You mean subdue his wife?” I snapped.
A branch coiled around my waist, pulling me toward a tree trunk. I turned to find a knot opening within one of the holes, and rolled my eyes. Did they really think enchanted trees would keep me restrained?
Wrapping my fingers around the woody limb, I pushed my lightning into its bark, letting the magic travel toward the trunk. The limb restraining me stilled, turning brittle until it snapped off the tree.
“Pity.” I broke the branch in half and tossed it at an exhausted-looking Pirithous, feeling more sympathy for the tarnished trees than for the beleaguered butler. “But my power can counter anything you send at me.”
I turned back to Captain Caria, fixing her with my most ferocious glower. “Tell Hades he owes me an apartment, an income, and all the other things he promised me for fulfilling my end of the bargain.”
