CHAPTER 140: HMMM

Hanna sat on the wooden stool by the small mirror in her quarters, running a worn-out brush through her wet, tangled hair. The scent of soap still clung to her skin from her recent bath. Her reflection stared back at her with hollow eyes, and the dim candlelight flickered across the cracked mirror.

She had just reached for her green dress, draped over the bedpost, when the door slammed open with a violent crash. It rebounded off the wall, nearly unhinged from the force.

Two palace guards stormed into the room, their faces hard as stone.

"Hanna," barked the taller one. "You are to come with us. Now."

She froze, the brush slipping from her fingers and clattering softly against the floor. "Wh-what? Why? What did I do?"

"No questions," the second guard snapped. "The prince has summoned you to the courtroom."

Fear knotted in her stomach like a fist. Her legs felt like iron as she stumbled to her feet, hastily tightening the sash of her robe. "Please... can I at least change—"

"No. Move. Now."

The guards flanked her, one at either side, leaving her no choice but to walk between them. As they led her through the corridors of the palace, she stole quick glances at their faces, looking for clues, some sign of what was happening. But their expressions remained blank and cold. She could tell something was wrong, deeply wrong.

In all her years working at the palace, she had never once been summoned to the courtroom by the prince. Her breath came in short, shallow bursts as they approached the towering doors.

The doors opened under the guards’ push, revealing the massive hall. At the far end of the room sat Hades, cloaked in the shadows. Lucian stood to his right, Viktor to his left. Both men were silent, their eyes fixed on Hanna as she walked in.

Hanna stepped forward hesitantly, bowing low. "Your Highness... you summoned me?"

Hades leaned forward in his seat. His voice was low. "You were asked before if you had anything to do with Lilith’s disappearance, weren’t you?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Hanna replied quickly, her voice trembling.

"I’ll ask you again. Do you know what happened to her?"

Hanna blinked, her mouth moving wordlessly before she finally spoke. "Lilith...? No, Your Highness. I..I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen her."

Viktor stepped forward then, holding a small bundle wrapped in cloth. He unwrapped it slowly and held it up for all to see.

It was Lilith’s scarf, stained with blood and dirt.

Hanna’s breath hitched. Her face paled as she took an involuntary step back.

"I... I’ve never seen that before," she whispered.

Viktor’s jaw clenched. "You’re lying."

"No! I would never lie to you, Your Highness. I swear it. I don’t know anything about that scarf or where she is!"

"Yet you lie still." Viktor’s tone darkened. "It was found in your belongings. You tossed it in the trash earlier today. You definitely know more than you’re saying. Start talking."

"I swear on my mother’s grave, i don’t know how it got there! Someone must’ve put it there. I’ve never seen that scarf in my life!"

The air in the courtroom shifted. It grew heavy and suffocating. The guards at the walls straightened. A thick silence fell over the room.

Then, without warning, Hades stood.

He crossed the distance between them in two swift strides. Before Hanna could react, his hand wrapped around her throat and slammed her against the cold stone wall.

Her scream choked in her throat. Her toes barely brushed the ground. Her fingers clawed at his wrist as panic flooded her face.

"Do not fuck with me, woman," Hades growled. "Where is she?"

"I...I don’t know!" she gasped, her voice shrill and hoarse. "I didn’t do anything! I swear it on the gods!"

His grip tightened. Her vision blurred as her airway constricted. "The gods won’t save you."

She choked and sobbed. Her tears fell freely now, mixing with the sweat beading on her brow. Her vision blurred.

"Please! I don’t know anything! I didn’t mean to hurt her!" Hanna cried.

Hades paused, his eyes narrowing.

"Didn’t mean to...?"

Realization struck Hanna. Her eyes widened in horror. She had slipped.

With a furious roar, Hades slammed her against the wall again, harder this time. The force cracked the stone, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Tell me what you did," he growled.

Hanna whimpered, her face twisted in pain. Then, like a switch had flipped, her expression contorted into something unhinged. Her eyes gleamed with madness.

"I pushed her! I pushed her into the well!" she screamed. "I made sure that bitch was gone! I tricked her and attacked her from behind!"

Hades released her. She crumpled at his feet, coughing and sobbing.

"What well is she talking about?" Viktor asked turning to Lucian.

"The one near the laundry room," Lucian replied, his voice grim, his eyes still locked on Hanna’s trembling form.

"Fuck! I am going to get her out," Viktor spat, spinning around. He bolted from the courtroom, his boots echoing through the marble halls as he sprinted toward the back of the castle.

Hades stepped closer. "Why did you do it?"

Hanna curled into herself on the floor, her arms wrapped around her bruised ribs. "Because I hate her!" she hissed. "She’s always so perfect, always so important when she’s just a maid, just like me. Everyone looks at her like she’s special. Like she belongs. But she’s nothing! Just a filthy witch!"

She let out a crazed laugh, blood-stained teeth flashing. "And I... I’ve been here for years. Yet I haven’t been noticed by anyone and then she shows up, and suddenly everyone is smitten by her."

Hades crouched, grabbing her chin with long fingers. He forced her to meet his gaze, his eyes burning into hers.

"Hmm, is that so?" he murmured.

Suddenly, red-black tendrils of magic slithered from his ungloved hand, wrapping around Hanna’s arms and legs like snakes. She shrieked as they burned into her skin, branding her from within. Hanna could not help it but let out a piercing scream.

"I am going to enjoy tearing you apart piece by piece," Hades whispered, "until there’s nothing left to lie."

"Wait!" she shrieked, panting.

Hades yanked her up by the hair, tearing strands from her scalp. Blood stained her tangled locks. He slammed her head into the floor once, then again.

"WAIT!" she screamed, her voice ragged. Blood gushed from her mouth and nose. One eye had swollen shut, and she whimpered through broken teeth.

"Don’t you want to know who gave me the idea... to hurt Lilith?" She whispered as she had no plans of going down alone.

Hades froze, his grip still tight in her hair. His eyes flared brighter.

"Do tell, who gave you the idea?" he demanded.

Hanna gave a pitiful chuckle, her mouth full of blood. "It was the Lady Kathryn," she whispered.

Her grin faded when she saw no change in Hades’ expression. He didn’t look surprised. And that terrified her more than his wrath.

"She’s been planning it for a while," Hanna went on, spitting blood between words. "She wanted me to lure Lilith outside the palace... have her shipped far, far away. But I could tell Lilith was suspicious of me. There was no way she’d follow me willingly."

She coughed violently. "So... when I saw her near the laundry room... I got the brilliant idea to push her into the old well. Have her disappear forever. No body and no questions."

The room fell into heavy silence.

The only sound was Hanna’s labored, gurgling breath.

Hades slowly loosened his grip, letting her head fall to the floor. Then he stood and stepped back, his chest heaving, eyes still locked on the woman before him.

"Find Kathryn," he commanded coldly. "Bring her to me."

Lucian bowed silently, already moving toward the exit. He gestured for one of the guards to follow, and together they vanished into the corridor.

Hades turned toward the arched window, his eyes glowed a furious red and black veins crawled up his neck, pulsing beneath the skin, rising to his jaw and his ears.