Chapter 15 Maliki
Maliki
A Few Minutes Earlier
“While I understand the importance of your cloak, Fleur does not. So if you want her to stop attacking you, you’re going to have to lose the robe,” I tell Pip as he scurries across the bedroom with wide eyes. “Or take this game into the living area. I’m trying to get dressed.”
Which is a difficult feat considering the state of my body right now. I’m healing, but Styx, it hurts to move.
And the shower I just finished taking didn’t help a bit.
Bloody Reaper, I think as Fleur flies right in front of me, her black wings making my towel billow around my damp legs.
My familiar showed up at the end of my sparring match with the psychotic Death Fae. Not to help me, though.
No, Fleur came to judge me.
After giving me a look that implied I was dead to her—which was entirely unfair, as I more than held my own against Reaper—she followed me back to Hades’s room in the cavern.
And became instantly acquainted with Pip.
Unfortunately, the infatuation appears to be one-sided.
The nightstand crashes, causing me to sigh as Pip goes spinning across the floor.
“And you expressed disappointment in my sparring performance,” I mutter, talking to Fleur as she pounces on the withering soul. “You realize he can kill you, yeah?”
She appears to be unfazed.
Probably because she’ll simply regenerate.
Shaking my head—a movement I instantly regret—I start toward the bathroom again to raid Hades’s closet.
It’ll take some effort to find a shirt and jeans, as the attire is one Hades rarely wears. However, I know he has some casual clothes hidden in the back for the rare occasion when he wants to blend in with the mortals of this realm.
Granted, Hades looks like a God in everything he wears. So it’s really a wasted effort on his—
I jump as Pip comes flying through the closet wall to halt right in front of me.
Sighing again, I say, “Look, I like you. But I’m not going to protect you from Fleur. It’s better that you two figure this…” I trail off when he vibrates in front of me, going in and out of focus. “What are you doing?”
He spins, his expression full of panic.
I arch a brow. “I assure you that move will only entice Fleur more because of your cloak.”
A meow sounds from behind me. Only, it’s not a sound of agreement, but one of alarm.
Frowning, I glance back at my sphinx just as she flies into the room with a growl. She nudges me toward Pip, who is wildly gesturing at me now.
My brow furrows.
These two are no longer playing. They’re trying to tell me something instead.
A quick mental link to my familiar tells me danger is coming.
And a glance down at Pip confirms it. “Where’s Sera?” I demand, instantly on alert.
He vanishes through the wall, causing me to growl his name.
“I can shadow, but I—”
He returns, interrupting my comment, and gestures downward.
“I don’t understand.”
He points downward with an emphatic motion.
“Are you saying she’s in the caves?”
He nods.
“Where in the caves?” And what in the Styx caused her to go down there?
He starts to move his arms in a strange frog-like motion, then bobs his head up—
“Oh.” I don’t say anything else. I just shadow to the lagoon because it’s clear Pip was trying to mime swimming as an action. That makes some sense, I suppose. She must have gone from the beach down to a safer area to play in the water with…
My gaze widens as I materialize.
I expected to find her swimming with Alina.
But that’s not what I see at all.
She’s naked.
In the water.
With an equally unclothed Morpheus.
Glancing to my right, I take in Hades’s fuming form and realize what set Pip off.
The Alphas are about to duel.
And Sera is about to be in the middle of their possessive madness.
Fuck.
I shadow to her in the water, and she instantly clings to me. “Don’t let them do this,” she begs.
But there isn’t time for me to stop what’s about to happen.
Morpheus and Hades need to figure this shit out. All I know is that Sera won’t be here to watch them rip each other apart.
It’s my job to protect her, and protect her, I fucking will.
I wrap my arms around her and shadow to the only place I can think of that’ll offer us mutual protection—the Hell Fae Kingdom. It’s technically close to the Netherworld Kingdom since they’re all part of the Hell Fae Realm, but the heart of the Hell Fae world has a lot of power.
And my brother just so happens to be mated to the Hell Fae King.
Unfortunately, it’s not my brother standing in his suite when I arrive with Sera. It’s one of his other mates—a Midnight Fae named Ajax.
“I need a towel,” I tell him, not at all interested in small talk or trivial greetings.
“Seems to me you’re already wearing one,” he replies as his wand appears in his hand. “But all right.” He whispers a spell and creates a large fluffy towel that I grab from him to wrap around Sera’s shocked form.
Her eyes are wandering the room, and I’m sure the fiery walls are what have her gaping at our surroundings.
This kingdom lives up to its name.
“Where’s Az?” I ask, hoping my brother is nearby. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’s on his way,” Ajax replies, glancing from me to Sera. “Can I get you anything? A coffee? A hot chocolate? Or, I don’t know, a name, perhaps? Maybe even a purpose for randomly appearing in my room?”
I grunt at that. “It’s Az’s room.”
“It’s our room,” Ajax returns.
I roll my eyes. “Fine.”
“Even if it were his room, I’m sure he, too, would like a reason for your unexpected visit. I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the Alphas hunting Hades’s Omega?” He looks at Sera again. “Should I assume that’s you?”
“Are you okay?” I ask, ignoring Ajax and giving her a means to ignore him as well.
She swallows. “They’re going to fight.”
“Maybe,” I hedge. “Or maybe they’ll talk.”
Her eyes finally leave the walls and lock on me. “Where are we?”
I smile, amused by her abrupt change in topic. And also pleased that I have a way to distract her from whatever Hades and Morpheus are doing to each other right now. “The Hell Fae Kingdom.”
She stares at me for a beat, then she nods like she expected that response. “Oh.”
“Specifically, you’re in the royal suite of the Hell Fae Palace,” Ajax inserts. “A place where visitors are never welcome.”
I meet his gaze, note the way the thin ring of blue resembles fire around his otherwise black irises, and say, “Clearly, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t an emergency.”
“Hmm” is all he says in reply.
I blow out a breath and drag my fingers through my still-damp hair. “Sera—”
“Thorns, what happened to you?” she demands, her focus suddenly on my torso.
I glance down. “Oh. That. Yeah, uh, Reaper plays rough.”
Ajax snorts.
I ignore him again, which is an easy feat when Sera begins to touch me. She’s gentle, her nails skimming my abs before heading up to my chest. “Are you okay?” she asks, her voice soft.
“Yeah, trouble. I’m already healing.” What I don’t tell her is that those fading bruises are from stab wounds.
Fucking Reaper.
I was a bloody mess before my shower.
My only point of pride was that I left Reaper equally as bloody. Perhaps even more so. Though, the lunatic was positively beaming with pleasure in response to my violence. Such a masochist.
“You look like you were mauled by a Minotaur,” my brother says as he appears. “Who did you piss off?”
“Why do you assume I pissed off anyone?” I counter. “Maybe this is from a violent sparring match.”
Which it is.
But I won’t do him the honor of confirming that detail for him.
Instead, I change the subject with “Can I have a pair of pants? And can Sera borrow something from your mate?” I look at Ajax. “Or maybe you could conjure up some clothes?”
Ajax snorts again. “Not likely.”
He’s never cared for me. Likely because I haven’t really tried to get to know him. Or maybe he’s still annoyed about the whole portal thing from last year.
Regardless, I probably deserve his irritation. It’s not like I’ve been a great brother to Az.
Although, I haven’t exactly been a bad brother either. More neutral.
Az disappears rather than answers, his shadowing skills similar to my own. Except he’s also part fiery bird, our familial relation on our father’s side only. His mom was a purebred Phoenix Fae, while mine is a Corpse Fae Royal.
I explain this to Sera, more so that she understands where we are and why I shadowed us here.
“So he’s your half brother?” she says.
I nod. “Yep. And this unhelpful asshole is his mate Ajax.”
“This unhelpful asshole magicked up a towel, which I can undo, if you prefer,” he drawls.
“Please don’t,” Sera murmurs. “Thank you for the towel.”
He smiles. “You are way too good for Maliki.”
I grunt at that. He’s right, so I’m not about to correct him.
However, Sera says, “He’s just grumpy because Hades and Morpheus are probably trying to kill each other right now.” She frowns. “They can’t die, though, right?”
She’s aware of the answer to that, but she clearly needs confirmation of what she already knows. So I give it to her with a nod and reply, “Yes. Mythos Fae are immortal.”
Except the Omegas somehow disappeared.
So there’s that mystery to solve.
But not right now.
Az materializes and hands me a pair of jeans. Given that our heights and statures are nearly identical, I’m not surprised when the pants fit perfectly. “Thank you,” I tell him.
He nods. “Typhos says he’ll bring something over for Sera.”
Ugh. This should go well. The Hell Fae King nearly killed me last year. Of course, I fucked with his realm by opening a portal to another dimension—for Hades—and therefore deserved Typhos’s wrath.
But that doesn’t mean I fancy seeing him again.
He’ll probably have a few choice words about me shadowing directly into his personal wing.
However, it was the safest place I could think of for Sera. Thus, I’ll take whatever punishment he wants to deal out, so long as he lets Sera stay.
In true form, Typhos Lucifer arrives in a cloud of fiery embers, the demonstration of power not lost on me.
Yet Sera appears unfazed, as though she sees these sorts of parlor tricks every day.
She stares at him and says, “I assume you’re Typhos?”
His eyebrow arches as he meets her gaze. “I am.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he echoes.
“I’m a little overwhelmed right now and just trying to make sure I know everyone’s names.”
“I take that to mean you have no idea who I am, then,” he says slowly.
She frowns. “You just confirmed you’re Typhos.”
“Yes. Typhos Lucifer.”
Her brow furrows. “As in the Hell Fae King, right?”
“Oh, so you do know who I am,” he drawls.
She exhales loudly. “Yes, I do. But to be completely honest, I already have enough arrogant Gods in my life. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to just talk to you like an ordinary fae.”
“But I’m not an ordinary fae,” he points out.
“And I respect that, Your Majesty. I’m also sorry for teleporting…” She glances at me. “What’s the right term?”
“Shadowing,” I tell her.
She nods. “Thank you.” Her focus returns to Typhos. “I’m sorry for shadowing in unannounced, but Morpheus and Hades are trying to kill each other. So I assume Maliki brought me here to keep me safe. In which case, I think that says a lot about what he thinks of you, so… I think highly of you, too.”
Typhos stares down at her. “You remind me of my mate,” he says, then holds out a pair of jeans and a tank top.
Sera grimaces at the sight but accepts the items.
“You can change in there,” Az says.
He didn’t offer me the same place to put on my pants, but I just slipped them up under my towel. Sera might have a harder time with that.
She thanks him and mutters the same words to Typhos, then leaves to get dressed.
“What’s her name?” he asks.
“Serapina,” Hades answers as he materializes beside me. “And no, you can’t have her.”
Typhos huffs a laugh. “I don’t think Camillia would be open to the notion of a fifth member in our circle. And aside from that, I’m not interested.”
“I wasn’t referring to you wanting her as a mate, but as some other lucrative means, Typhos.” Hades gives him a meaningful look. “She’s mine.”
“Ours,” Morpheus corrects as he appears on my opposite side.
I sigh. “Haven’t you two worked this out yet?”
“No,” they both reply in unison.
“Great,” I mutter.
“A trio of Alphas followed me back from your realm to the human world,” Hades says, changing the subject and focusing on Typhos. “I don’t know how that happened, but I ensured it won’t happen again.”
“We ensured,” Morpheus corrects him.
“Wait, is that why Pip told me to grab Sera?” I interject. “Because of the other Alphas?”
Hades glances at me. “What other reason could there have been?”
“Because you two were apparently trying to kill each other,” Ajax drawls, just as Sera steps out in the clothing Typhos provided.
She takes one look at Hades and scowls. “You.” But when she sees Morpheus on my other side, her eyes widen and she repeats, “You,” in a very different tone. One filled with relief. “You’re okay,” she adds, starting toward him.
“We have to go,” Hades says, stepping between them and blocking Sera’s path. When she tries to skirt around him, he mists to her and pulls her into his arms.
“Go where?” Morpheus demands at the same time I say, “Now, hold on a second…”
“You know there’s only one place I can keep her safe,” Hades replies, his gaze on Morpheus.
“I don’t—”
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Hades interjects, cutting off Morpheus’s protest before he can finish speaking.
Then Hades and Sera disappear.
I growl. “Where did he take her?”
Morpheus heaves a loud exhale and shakes his head. “His underworld,” he mutters, his eyes meeting mine.
“You mean the Netherworld?” I ask. Because there’s no way Hades took her to the death world. And I have no idea what else the “underworld” could mean.
“Not quite.” Morpheus’s uneasy expression tells me I’m really not going to like whatever he’s about to add.
“His underworld is the maze he made for Persephone’s heat.
And it’s so heavily warded that neither you nor I can enter.
Because the only power that can combat his hold over that creation comes from Persephone herself. ”
Styx…
Yeah, I definitely don’t like that.
Not one fucking bit.