Chapter 29
Hades
Something’s wrong.
I sense it the moment my feet touch the ground, the air all around me disturbed by an undesired presence.
Morpheus worsens that feeling when he lands beside me, his white wings a stark contrast to the obsidian rock around us. He resembles an angel descending from above, his silver hair a halo of glittering brightness, thanks to the candlelight flickering around us.
His wings beat once, the gold tips glistening like his hair, then the feathers disappear at his back. “You built a back entrance in the death pits?”
I grunt. “Not quite.”
The magic is born of my powers, which are associated with death. Thus, this is where I come to access my creations.
But I don’t explain any of that out loud.
He has his dream world to manage, and I own death. That’s simply who we are.
To showcase that, I press my palm to the black wall and watch as a dozen runes light up, just like the candles did upon my descent to the lower levels of the Netherworld Kingdom.
This layer is only ever accessed by me and the dead souls being temporarily released for an exterior jaunt around the realms.
They all return eventually.
Either by choice or by force.
The death world calls to them naturally, drawing their essences back home in waves.
Unless, of course, one is resurrected.
But that’s not why we’re here. I just need access to my power, the energy flourishing in these walls enough to give me a boost.
Except that sensation of wrongness only grows.
“Do you feel that?” I ask Morpheus.
“The icy chill of death?” he asks. “Yes, Hades. I do. I believe it’s coming from you.”
I narrow my gaze. “So much for collaborating.” Because clearly this was a waste of time.
“Collaboration typically involves communication, Cousin,” Morpheus drawls as he folds his arms across his chest. “Tell me what you’re sensing, and I can better comment.”
The muscle in my jaw ticks. It would be so much easier to ignore him. However, I would be a fool to do so right now, especially as it involves Serapina’s safety.
I may not like or want him to be involved in her life, but I can’t deny his usefulness. He’ll protect Serapina until his dying breath. Then regenerate and continue guarding her. Over and over again.
I know this because I feel the same way.
Which makes him a competitor… and, grudgingly, an ally.
“Hades?”
“Life,” I tell him before he can say anything other than my name. “I sense life.” Which shouldn’t exist down here. This is my world. My creation. My power. So why does it feel alive?
Serapina possesses Persephone’s soul, which suggests her link to a lively power. But she’s still human.
So this isn’t from her.
“Someone has been tampering with my energy,” I go on before Morpheus can comment. “And there’s only one Goddess powerful enough to do so.”
“But she’s locked up in Pandora’s Box,” Morpheus says, the words ones I was about to utter.
So I repeat them with a nod before adding, “Now tell me what you sense. Because I need to know if this is something only I’m noticing or if you feel it, too.”
He considers me for half a beat before pressing his palm to the obsidian rock. His wince is the only indication that he feels uncomfortable, but I know that touching the chill of death has to hurt him more than most. He lives in a world of fantasies, his dreamland full of aspirations and desires.
My world is where those aspirations and desires come to die.
His cheekbones protrude as he clenches his teeth, showing a bit more of a disturbance now. However, as he pulls away to look at me, I know it’s not death that upset him, but something else entirely…
“Demeter,” he says, fury in his tone. “She’s been here.”
“How is that possible?”
He shakes his head. “I would have to ask Ares. Though, I suspect he won’t be of much use. This has something to do with Serapina and whatever Demeter did to her in the Monsters Night world.”
I nod again, agreeing with him. “The timing isn’t a coincidence, either. I just checked the walls before granting Maliki entry into the maze, and I didn’t sense Demeter then. However, she somehow reached out…”
“After Serapina experienced pleasure,” Morpheus says, finishing the statement for me. “I agree. The timing isn’t coincidental.”
At any other moment, I wouldn’t appreciate how like-minded my cousin seems to be to me. But right now, I can’t deny the usefulness.
“Be quick,” Morpheus tells me, clearly aware of what I was about to say.
Thus, I don’t even bother voicing my intention to go alter the maze. We need to check on Serapina immediately, which means we don’t have another second to spare.
I have half a mind to go to her first, just to ensure she’s okay, but I focus on my task. If there was an issue, my familiar would have alerted me. I also trust in Maliki’s ability to protect our mate. He wouldn’t even attempt to handle Demeter on his own; he would simply take Serapina and shadow.
He’s not an arrogant fool. He’s resourceful and intelligent. And I know he’ll put our mate’s safety first above all else.
He’s been doing it for over a year.
Hence his challenging me at every turn.
It just took me too long to realize the intent and purpose of what he was doing, and what we had become over the centuries.
A mate-circle.
Well, I see it now.
And I’m… trying to embrace it.
Disappearing into my network of power, I visit the death world and search for the strands of energy protecting my intended’s labyrinth.
A few of them are no longer black, but tinged with strands of white. Life.
They’re not exactly visible or tangible, the roots ones I see inside my mind’s eye more than in reality. Yet I touch them anyway, my power weaving through the damaged threads to dismantle the intrusion.
The foreign energy hisses at my dominance but slowly dies, a reaction I find exceptionally appropriate.
Then I weave in a new presence—one I never expected to invite into the sacred place I made for Persephone.
But I don’t hesitate.
Mostly because I can’t. Serapina requested Morpheus’s presence, even went as far as to suggest it might be wrong to play with more than one mate. And I can’t help but feel responsible for leading her to that assumption.
I never wanted to share Persephone, and she never expressed a desire to be shared.
However, Serapina is different. Perhaps because I ensured she met Maliki first. Or maybe because her soul was always meant to be protected by a circle of mates, not a single Alpha.
Which suggests I fucked up two thousand years ago.
My stomach churns at the notion that Morpheus has been right all along.
Persephone never wanted anyone else, I think as I add his presence to my magical web. But I also never asked. Does that make me a bad Alpha? Selfish? Wrong?
I swallow, not liking this trail of ponderment.
It’s not useful.
There’s nothing I can do to change the past, only the future.
And I’m… My hand hovers over the final enchantment, my eyes closing as I push Morpheus’s presence into the wards. I’m trying to make amends.
Swallowing, I straighten my spine and turn to find my cousin standing right behind me.
His blue-green irises swirl with knowledge and understanding. “Apology accepted,” he says softly. Then disappears before I can comment.
My jaw clenches. “I didn’t apologize.”
But there isn’t time to argue the semantics. That’s something Maliki enjoys more than I do. I prefer straightforward commentary and action.
Though, I won’t shy away from the occasional riddle.
Shaking my head, I mist after Morpheus and find him standing in the middle of the maze, staring at the cabin I created for Persephone.
I anticipate his criticism, ready to accept his ridicule regarding the punishing labyrinth I designed. But rather than speak, he stares. And in a beat, I realize why.
He’s not looking at the cabin at all, but at Serapina as she wanders the garden beside the home. Pip is floating along with her, and Maliki is leaning up against one of the pillars. His golden eyes meet mine in a flash, his expression informing me that he has something to tell me.
“What is it?” I ask him, not bothering to waste time on formalities. “Demeter?”
Serapina’s head comes up, her blue eyes widening. Then her lips part upon seeing Morpheus standing beside me, and she drops whatever she was just holding—a stone flower, maybe?—and runs toward the God of Dreams.
My stomach twists when he holds out his arms and catches her in a hug, the pair of them suddenly whirling just a few feet from where I stand.
It’s alarming.
Frustrating.
Overwhelming.
Because I want to be the Alpha she runs to. The male she seeks shelter and peace from. The mate she trusts.
However, she looked at me with concern, then looked upon Morpheus with relief.
“How did you know?” Maliki asks, drawing my attention back to him as he walks toward us. He’s wearing a pair of my pants—something I know because they’re dressier than his usual preferences—and nothing else.
“We could sense her in the death pits,” Morpheus says, answering for me.
“She touched my magic,” I add, a subtle growl underlining my words. “We have no idea how. She’s in Pandora’s Box. Did you see her?”
Maliki shakes his head. “No. Sera, for lack of a better term, dreamt of her.”
Morpheus freezes. “Not possible. I would never allow Demeter into my realm, nor would I permit her to reach out to Serapina.”
Our mate is already shaking her head. “It felt like a dream at first, but then it turned… into a void.”
I frown at her. “A void?” I share a glance with Morpheus, and he takes a step backward as I approach her. “Can you describe it?”
She reaches for Morpheus, like she wants him to save her from me.
It’s a reaction that fucking burns.
But I don’t have time to correct it now.
“This is really important,” I tell Serapina, doing my best to gentle my tone. “Tell me what you mean by ‘void’… please.” The final word reluctantly leaves my mouth, the term not one I typically voice. However, it felt necessary.