Chapter 39 #2
“You see, this is my evil father,” I said, deciding honesty was our best strategy.
I kicked the baby-shaped bundle, sending him spinning twice before he stilled.
“He was reduced to this after my sister returned all the magic and energy he stole from countless worlds. He consumed planets and ate us when we were children. Today, she sacrificed herself to trap him. Even frozen like this, he’s too dangerous for our Earth.
The only place he can’t break free from is the void. ”
After a long silence, broken only by the rustle of shifting wings, Hector turned to Marigold.
“Let’s take him off their hands,” Hector said. Despite appearing the meanest of the demigods, a flicker of something softer crossed his gaze. “We can put that evil infant in the cell next to Cronus to irritate him. It’s empty anyway.”
“And if he escapes?” Marigold asked.
“Then the wild hunt begins. Worst case, he finds his way back to the old Earth,” Hector said, pulling her close and kissing her with a passion that rivaled that between Rowan and me.
We waited patiently for them to break apart.
When they did, her other mates took their turns, kissing, savoring, and cherishing her as if they had all the time in the world.
When the marathon of affection finally ended, Marigold was flushed and glowing, her eyes radiating a faint violet light.
Damn, she was extremely powerful, even with her power muted.
“Let’s say we take that old loser off your hands,” Marigold said, her eyes sparkling. “What’s in it for us?”
Shit, now she wanted a gift. Then again, we were asking her to take our cosmic toxic waste.
“What do you want?” Killian asked, his tone bored but his gaze watchful. “If it is within our power to give, it is yours.”
Marigold turned to her mates, batting her eyelashes in a way that had all four of them looking utterly smitten all over again.
A silent conversation passed between them, a language of looks and subtle shifts in expression that spoke volumes.
“We want to visit your world, and you’ll prepare a feast for us,” Marigold declared.
“Done,” Killian agreed without hesitation.
“They’ll eat us poor,” Barbie muttered under her breath, though everyone heard her.
“Each house will take turns hosting our new friends,” Rowan said, smoothly stepping into his diplomatic role. “We will finalize the details after you take the God of Ruin off our hands.”
“What does void look like?” Cade asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Marigold flicked her wrist, and a sequence of holographic images streamed before us.
The first showed the valley of monsters—a nightmarish landscape where creatures with far too many teeth and claws prowled amid jagged rock spires.
The caption indicated these monsters specialized in eating gods like candy.
They liked magical beings like me as their snacks. The thought turned my stomach.
The second image revealed the Void Dungeon, a massive complex of three domes where the most powerful and notorious beings in existence were imprisoned. Its unbreakable architecture radiated dark menace.
The third displayed a spectacular carriage fashioned from gold and precious gems, drawn by over a hundred mythical beasts. It waited on the other side, ready to carry Marigold and her mates wherever they desired.
Show-offs.
The final image showed an ivory tower stretching impossibly high into a starless sky. In its courtyard, hundreds of stunning women lounged in various state of undress.
Barbie threw her hand over Killian’s eyes. I was cleverer, forming a ribbon of white light around my mate’s eyes. He didn’t need to see those women; he had me.
“Shit! They’re all hot!” Silas breathed, his shifter instincts going haywire.
Marigold laughed knowingly. “Can’t show you Mom, though. She values her privacy. She’s a knockout. If you saw her, you wouldn’t look at anyone else. No man has ever refused her, except my Hector. He kicked her into a pool when she tried to seduce him.”
Barbie’s jaw dropped.
“She’s single now, but she’s too busy hunting Lucifer, her ex,” Marigold added.
Silas was practically drooling.
“As King of the Kingdom of Shifters, I’ll host you first, Lady Marigold, and demigods Hector, Axel, Paxton, and Zak, along with your royal entourage,” Silas announced, his eagerness almost pathetic. “Feel free to bring all those…lovely ladies.”
Louis shot him a glare, clearly regretting he hadn’t made the offer first.
“You know what, our new friends,” Louis said, flashing his most brilliant smile with a hint of fang showing. “What if we arrange a further trade?”
“You’re a natural-born vampire!” Marigold called out with delight.
Paxton frowned. “A trade?”
“Like an international student exchange program from the mortal realm,” Louis offered. “You visit our Shades Academy, and we visit that ivory tower you showed us to meet all those lovely students.”
“They aren’t students,” Zak said with a knowing smirk. “They’re the most vicious half-siren women. Seduction is one of their primary skills.”
“Just my type!” Silas exclaimed. “The program is on!” He punched Cade on the shoulder. “Are you in, Cade? We’re the realm’s most eligible bachelors. The Brides Selection doesn’t have to end. We should expand our horizons.”
“Well.” Cade shrugged, though a spark of interest was clear in his eyes. “I’d love to visit and study the void.”
The demigods from the other side traded looks, then broke into unified grins. A bad feeling settled in my stomach like a lead weight.
“Can we now send Ra, the abomination, into the void?” Nephthys hissed, his patience clearly spent. “This foolishness has gone on long enough!”
“Do you have somewhere to be?” Silas rolled his eyes, then instantly ducked behind Louis, hands flying to protect his groin.
“Princess Marigold,” Rowan said diplomatically, “will you kindly lower the ward so we can send the package through?”
Without warning, the Living Flame surged forward like a wildfire fanned by a gale. We all jumped back instinctively as Barbie and Killian threw up a shield of dark flame and starlight.
“Chill.” Marigold grinned. “We’re just collecting your evil baby bomb, as agreed.”
The infant Ruin was suspended within the Living Flame, held aloft by the Titan princess’s power alone.
“We’ll be back!” Marigold waved, and then she and her mates vanished with the Flame.
Endless fog shrouded the other side once more.
“Now, keep your promise to us, new goddess,” Isis implored in her ancient, broken voice.
“Grant us eternal death,” Nephthys said, his tone brimming with exhaustion. “We owe you a debt we can never repay. We have nothing left to give, but take what remains of us and return it to the land and the air.”
“Rest in peace, Isis and Nephthys,” Barbie said solemnly.
She and I clasped hands. Her dark flame and my white light wove together, creating a stream of power that spiraled around the two broken deities.
“Final peace,” the earth goddess sighed in satisfaction as she began to dissolve, her pain and torment finally ending.
“Eternal rest,” the sky god echoed, and then he, too, turned to mist.