Chapter 9
“Hades,” Ares growled.
A vampire with glowing red eyes and handsome features stepped through the darkness a moment later, but the power emanating from him suggested that he was so much more than just a vampire.
Because he was one of the only male muses to change himself into something else, but destiny wouldn’t let him go that easily.
He reminded me of Xavier, my mother’s mate, by the sharp lines of his jaw and the harsh expression. As if he could kill an entire city and not feel a thing afterward.
Xavier was just charming like that.
I was sure that Hades wasn’t much better. I would go so far as to wonder if Hades had been the one to turn Xavier. It would explain why he was such a powerful mate worthy of my mother in the first place.
Hades, though, held a presence about him that seemed to put everyone on edge.
Including the Incubus King. The stiffening of his spine and the flex of his jaw was the first time I’d seen any reaction from him.
Was he… afraid?
“I thought I killed you,” Hades said, the question laced with boredom directed at my father.
Ah, well that explained a few things.
“I have friends in low places,” my father retorted, that charming smile making a reappearance.
He meant my mother, no doubt.
Resurrection wasn’t impossible when it came to supernaturals, but the fact that my mother had saved the Incubus King from Hell brought more questions to mind than answers.
Questions that weren’t going to matter in about point-five seconds, because Hades turned his attention on me.
“Why do you protect her?” he asked, and I assumed the question was for his brother.
“Because you’re wrong about this, Hades.” Ares walked in a slow circle around us, working his way between Hades and the rest of us. “Destiny does not make mistakes. She was chosen for a reason.”
“Oh?” Hades asked, his vampiric gaze flaring with power. “Girl. You look strained.” He gave me a wicked smile, one that promised blood and death. “Kneel.”
My limbs quivered and even though I tried to resist, my body fell to one knee, making my teeth grind.
Hades was just that powerful.
Cole’s rage burned through our bond and I knew the second he got the chance, he’d try to kill the bastard.
Which would likely result in his own death, so I gave him my best wide-eyed “don’t you even think about it!” look.
Although, it was disconcerting that Ares and Hades had come in and worked us all like puppets for their own games.
It made me wonder why destiny had chosen me at all if a muse could simply command me to do whatever he wanted. If such a powerful creature existed, why didn’t these muses just tell Lucifer to go lay down and die?
“Just give her a few moments,” Ares said, his glowing eyes turning to rake over me. “It took Lucifer a full twenty-four hours to figure out how to overcome a muse’s command. I imagine it won’t take the Princess of Hell even that long.”
Well, that answered that question.
Hades frowned as his vampires slowly surrounded us. Their presence was icy and suffocating, making me want to flare my wings and shoot into the sky.
Vampires couldn’t fly, right?
I wasn’t entirely sure.
If memory served, some could definitely levitate or some shit.
Damn, I should have paid better attention in monster studies.
Forcing myself to focus, I noted the way that Hades’s magic laced through my mind. He’d ordered me to kneel, and Ares had ordered me to stop, which could be interpreted in a few different ways. The spell that held me in place accepted my decision that it meant to stop my attack on Cole.
There was a pattern to the commands, one different from how Logan’s claim on me worked.
Perhaps there was a loophole to free me from Logan’s orders, even when his mark burned on me, but that power came directly through our mate-bond. That was too powerfully interconnected with my soul and my psyche to simply be undone.
Hades, however, was controlling me by sheer force of will.
The secret to a muse’s gifts had to be rooted within a powerful emotion or conduit.
Wolves derived their gifts from the moon, a celestial object with divine power.
Demigods worked much the same way, except their divine gifts were hereditary and within their blood.
Witches were clever, gaining their power through learned magic that manipulated the elements, and over time their magic became part of their bloodline.
Dark Mages devoured their own soul, and otherwise operated on pain of themselves or others, one of the most powerful forces in the universe because there were few things more powerful than sacrifice.
It made them terrifyingly strong, but this male muse held exponential power.
So what source did Hades derive his magic from? What made him so strong?
There were so many supernaturals I’d come to learn about, and all of them were so different.
But they also all had one thing in common.
They were bound by rules and they each had a weakness.
Which meant that even the most powerful supernatural must have a weakness, too.
Hades studied me as I ran through my thoughts, as if daring me to make the connection.
“Your willpower is not stronger than mine, no matter who or what you are,” Hades informed me.
Although, those words gave away his secret.
Will power.
“Your arrogance is truly your downfall, brother,” Ares informed him as he crossed his arms. He smiled at me as I struggled to my feet.
Because he was right. Hades had controlled me through sheer force of will. A muse’s power was one fueled by belief. He believed he could control those around him, and thus, he could.
I’d read about magic founded on raw belief. It was a form of worship magic, the same that allowed angels to do the things that they did.
Which explained how I’d been able to bond with Azrael. He believed himself worthy, and because of that, he was.
Breaking free of Hades’s control was an incredible achievement, but it only allowed me to move.
It didn’t allow me to overcome Logan’s order to kill Cole.
“Lilith, stop,” Logan snapped at me just before I dove my claws into Cole’s chest to remove his heart.
Relief swept through me.
Although it didn’t make any sense, why would Logan first order me to kill Cole, and then order me to stop?
Was he just fucking with me? Because that was a cruel and unusual game.
Hades sneered at my wolf. “Just because I can’t control your little girlfriend doesn’t mean I can’t control the rest of you.” He waved his hand, sending power rippling through the air. “All of you, fight to the death. I really don’t care who wins.”
Ares opened his mouth, I suspected to undo that order, but Hades blurred across the street and wrapped his fingers around Ares’s throat, lifting him off the ground.
Logan’s arm locked around my chest and sent me crashing down a moment later.
“Logan!” I cried, but Cole’s tail that flashed out to strike made me suck in a breath and swerve.
The sharp end of his tail was honed to a fine, deadly point. One hit in the wrong spot and it would be over.
My wolf released me, but only because Cole had taken his attention. The rage demon was the greater threat. Since Hades’s command didn’t work on me, I was the only one not trying to kill everyone around me.
I watched in horror as Dante and Hendrik locked into a brutal battle, magic and blades crashing into each other as they fought.
I’d seen them spar before, and they rarely held back, but now they were truly trying to kill one another.
They drew blood, leaving long gashes on one another as they followed through with Hades’s order.
“Stop!” I shouted, but no one listened to me.
I launched into the air, only to be slammed to the ground when Orion released a blast of light.
“I’m sorry, my star,” he bit out, slamming his fist straight into my face.
And then everything went dark.