Chapter 2
DEMKE
T he Goddess looked beautiful, the warmth of her light spreading through my bones, rejuvenating me once more. Her dark hair was like the softest curtain of silk. “My Demke, I miss you,” she whispered to me, her lips not moving as she looked down at me lovingly.
“I miss you too, my Goddess,” I breathed, turning my face to her palm. “It has been cold and barren without you.”
She stroked my hair from my face. I tried to look past her, but there was nothing but light. “That’s never what I wanted for you. I regret that I couldn’t stay for you, for your brothers, but the sadness was too much for me to bear.”
I shuddered at the echo of pain that tried to break through the happiness she was surrounding us both with. Shaking my head, I smiled softly at her. “I understood. Their loss was too much. I felt that ache too.” There’d been so many more of us when the great battle happened. Brothers, lovers, friends. All dead at the hands of greedy new Gods.
Even as the bitterness built in my chest, it was swept away like debris in a warm breeze. “You were always so much stronger than I, Demke. So steadfast, so protective. You loved your subjects enough to stay, and I’ll always be thankful for that strength.”
Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye?
“The wheel is turning, my Goddess. You could return?” We could try again, be together again, but even as I thought it, something niggled at the back of my brain. A part of me rebelled at the idea. I couldn’t remember why, though…
The sweet tinkling laugh I knew in my soul surrounded us. “Oh, Demke. My time has passed. But yours is just starting again. She is what you need going forward. She will give you a new life. A happy life, if you let yourself grasp the joy she hands out so freely.”
Who?
“No, Goddess, I’ve only ever been devoted to you.”
She was shaking her head, her smile sweet and sad. “You were the most devoted follower, the most steadfast lover, but our time is done. You must let yourself feel again.” Gently, she gripped my chin until I was forced to look into the deep amber of her eyes. “Your soul isn’t mine anymore, Demke. I know you’re scared; I can see it casting shadows on your soul, but you need to be brave once more. She is your future. Be her strength, because she will need it.”
I wanted to ask her again why she doubted my devotion, but as I parted my lips, only one word slipped past. “ Wren. ”
I woke to chaos. There was a Hellmouth in my courtyard, small fires burning everywhere, a loud argument, and the God of the Underworld himself standing above me.
Hades raised an eyebrow. “You are in so much trouble, my friend,” he said with a laugh, obviously amused by whatever was going on around us.
What the fuck was Hades doing here?
I sat up, and it took me only a split second to realize a battle had taken place while I’d been dead. I should have known they’d strike on the Solstice. I’d hoped we had more time, and none of my sources had even suggested they’d been launching an attack.
Stupid. So fucking stupid.
I took a quick head count. Milo was still in his shifted form, raging like the bull he was at that moment. He was shouting at Teron, who was holding his hands out, like he could appease the beast when he had his blood up like this.
Tryp had a huge gash across his chest that Erus was tending to, but they both seemed okay. Cy was there, talking to Persephone, but I couldn’t see Wren anywhere.
There was no Néit either, and I frowned. Had she been taken?
“Wren!”
Everyone stopped to look at me, surprise quickly turning to annoyance. Even Erus and Tryp looked pissed. What the hell happened?
Hades was still chuckling. Surely he wouldn’t be laughing if something had happened to her, right? “Where’s Wren?” I demanded, mustering every ounce of authority I had.
Milo slowly turned his bull head toward me, and trepidation skittered down my spine. If Erus and Tryp looked pissed, then Milo looked livid.
Teron answered, “She’s in her room.”
“She’s okay?”
Milo charged toward me, and I scrambled to my feet. He grabbed me by the lapels of my shirt, lifting me into the air. Not an easy feat; I wasn’t a small man.
“She is, but no thanks to you.” He shook me a little, and I almost laughed. There was a time that Milo had worshiped me, bowed at my very feet, and now he was throwing me around like a rag doll. “She found you in stasis, and she almost died, ” he roared. “She was almost murdered by fucking Ekhidna and Typhon, because you thought it was best to hide the fact you die once a year.” He let go, and I dropped easily to my feet. “She almost died, because of your secrets. And now she refuses to speak to any of us.”
He stomped away, and I watched him go. I’d mend fences with him later, but first, I needed to know exactly what had happened. Squeezing the bridge of my nose, I looked at Teron. “Tell me.”
Teron recounted the call from Clio, which led to the discovery that monsters had breached the island’s wards. He explained why they’d put Néit in charge while I was indisposed, and about the Valkyries just arriving at the compound as if the wards didn’t matter. I got more and more tense as they told me about the battle that included some of the oldest and most feared monsters in our history, Ekhidna and Typhon. If nothing else, this told me that the Moirai were serious about keeping their places.
And I’d been dead through it all.
Cy stepped toward me, and I held back the growl I wanted to throw in his direction. Despite the years of amicable cohabitation of the island, a part of me would always see him as the enemy. He was in his human form, which I knew was probably bad news in itself.
“I found her crying over your body, conversing with Ekhidna. Apparently, when the Moirai freed Typhon and Ekhidna, they promised to resurrect their children if they managed to kill Wren and the babies.”
Hades whistled. “Those are some big promises.”
Glaring at him, I couldn’t help but snarl, “Why are you even here?”
His grin was sharp, and his eyes promised violence. “Watch yourself. I’m only tolerant of your belligerence because Sephy feels some kind of kinship with you, being both seasonal Gods, or whatever.” He curled his top lip, baring his teeth. “But if you don’t check your tone, we’ll see if the world really needs you at all.”
Persephone appeared at his side, stroking a hand down his spine. “Teron called for help, and we answered. What you should be saying is ‘thank you’ because if we hadn’t shown up when we did, you would’ve damned us all to another turn of the wheel under the Moirai. And I would not be happy.” Her face turned to that of a skeleton, proof that she really was angry.
I bowed at the waist. “Apologies, Persephone, Hades. I appreciate the assistance, of course.”
Teron shot me a warning look that told me to get my head out of my ass. “We are all thankful you answered our call of distress,” he said softly. “Without you, Wren would be dead. She would have been consumed by Ekhidna.” His words hammered home just how close we’d come. He looked back at Cy. “Please, continue.”
“Ekhidna was lunging at Wren, and she was fighting her off with your sacred blade when the hounds and I turned up. Hades had impeccable timing, as always, and we managed to herd Ekhidna back into the Hell pit. We lost a few in the process.” Cy’s eyes were downcast, and I knew he felt the loss of his battle dogs as keenly as I’d feel the loss of one of my own.
Persephone rested a hand on his shoulder. “They’ll run through the Elysian Fields with Cerberus.”
That made him smile, and if he had his tail, he’d probably have wagged it. “Is he coming up?”
Hades rolled his eyes. “No, he has to stay and guard the Underworld. We were coming to a battle, not a puppy playdate.”
Cy pouted, and as much as it pained me, I slapped him softly on the shoulder. “I appreciate you protecting her when I couldn’t.”
He smirked. “I saw her first. She’s mine to protect, as much as she is yours.”
My eyes narrowed at his words, but now was not the time to get into that. Instead, I tried to process everything they’d told me, all the things that I seemed to have missed.
I turned to Hades and Persephone. “Please, come inside and rest for a little. I’ll get us a drink.”
Erus and Tryp eyed me warily, and rightly so—this was the first time I’d ever let any of the Greek Mythics inside our home. Even Cy wasn’t allowed past the walls… normally.
“You too, Cy. Bring in the rest of the pack also; let them be safe and rest. If there are any injuries we need to look at, we’re happy to offer assistance. Right, Teron?”
He nodded. “I’ve got it, Demke.”
I ushered us all through my quarters, gritting my teeth at the very idea of having foreign Mythics in my space, and led us out into the kitchens. The place was a mess. The battle had made it all the way inside the walls, and I once again was slapped in the face by how lucky we’d been. And how woefully underprepared.
Erus poured the rakí for everyone, and Persephone downed hers like it didn’t burn at all. “You’re fucking this up, Demke.”
I winced. She was never one to mince words. “It would appear so.”
She shook her head at me, as if I was disappointing her again. “We can take her, keep her safe until the babies are born. Wren and I have a lot in common, with the whole mystical fruit thing,” she said softly. I’d kind of forgotten about the pomegranate seeds and their effect on her life.
The visceral reaction I had at the thought of my Wren in Hades’s domain was instant. She was life and light, and she wouldn’t survive down there. I was already shaking my head. “Thank you for your offer, but she’s safer here.”
Hades lazily pointed at the broken furniture with his rakí glass. “Evidence would suggest otherwise.”
I met his gaze. “I will make it so.” I let him see the determination in my eyes, the vehemence to keep her safe. He would know the feeling; he’d burn down the whole world for Persephone. “We would be grateful for any assistance you could offer topside, however.”
He raised his glass. “Consider it done. It is time for the reign of those old bitches to end, and I’ll be more than happy to be the one snipping their strings.”
He’d have to beat me to it. The Moirai were on borrowed time, and their own fates were coming for them now.