Chapter Ten #2
Hades’ eyes found mine, a knowing gleam glinting in their dark depths. I smiled back at him and tried my hardest to ignore the way the others were flicking their gaze between us.
“So,” Magnus said, drawing out the syllable and breaking the little loving look between Hades and me. “Are we going to address the elephant in the room?”
“Which one?” Atticus snorted. “The Primordial lurking in the corner over there or the summoning from Zeus?”
My stomach dropped. We needed to come up with something that would ensure we would survive tomorrow.
I didn’t know what Zeus would do, and I wanted to make sure the others stayed together.
If I had to sacrifice myself so the others could live, then I’d take the blame in a heartbeat.
At least Erebus was keeping his word and hadn’t taken it upon himself to run away.
He must really love Nyx. Either that or he was blinded by obsession.
I wasn’t sure which yet, but I could at least put some stock in either of those things keeping him close to me. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Hades scoffed and leant forwards, bracing his elbows on his knees. “It could be anything from a slap on the wrist to an eternal punishment.”
“And the likelihood of it being a slap on the wrists?” Rafe asked.
He sat on the floor between Magnus’ legs while Rayne sat on the other side of Magnus.
It all seemed very cosy between the three of them, and it was clear that the connection between them was growing stronger with each passing hour.
It wouldn’t be long before they mated, which made me a little sad.
That I’d never get the chance to have that connection with Rafe and Rayne.
“Slim to none,” Hades said, interrupting my trip down woeful lane.
There was a frown above his dark eyes as he watched me, and I wondered if my face showed my pining for something I could never experience.
What was wrong with me? I had mated with Atticus and recently got a connection with Hades.
Why did I want more? Why did I feel this burning need for the twins beyond that of Reaper and Hellhounds?
Urgh, there was definitely something wrong with me.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Asteri.”
I flinched and immediately looked at Erebus. That fucking smirk was plastered across his sharp face, and his head was cocked to the side like some gothic little puppy. What the fuck was he doing in my head?
A dark eyebrow rose over his blood-red eye. “I have always been able to communicate telepathically with Nyx. It seems that some of that connection remains with you.”
Nope. No fucking way. I could not deal with this right now.
I scowled at the man, but he just chuckled and rolled his eyes at me. For some reason, that just pissed me off even more.
Rafe squeezed my calf, no doubt sensing my rising ire and frustration through our bond.
I took a deep breath and relaxed into the sofa, momentarily forgetting about the hand-shaped welts covering my ass.
I hissed as I moved, and seven pairs of hungry eyes flicked my way.
I froze as a surge of heat flushed up the side of my neck, and my skin heated under their gaze.
They were all looking at me. Hungrily.
That wasn’t intimidating. At all.
Atticus coughed, breaking the weird, hot staring contest. “So, what should we prepare for?”
Hades brushed a long finger over his Cupid’s bow. “Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t seen my brother in a long time.”
“And he wouldn’t see me when I last went,” Thane said, reminding me of what Helios had shared when I tried to get past the pearly gates.
When I’d gone to Olympus on advice given by the Fates, it had been empty, and Helios had tried to convince me that everyone was at some emergency meeting that Zeus had called, but there’d been something in his eyes that made me think he was lying.
I turned to look at Thane. “Helios said you’d been screaming that Zeus had lied to us all. What did you mean?”
His face hardened immediately. “I knew souls were disappearing, and the only person strong enough to steal them before they made the crossing was Zeus. I had gone up there to confront him, but the coward wouldn’t see me.”
“But it’s not just souls that are disappearing,” I said with a frown.
“What?” Hades said, his tone clipped.
“No, ghosts are vanishing, and Magnus said there have been cases of vampires being completely drained of blood.” I didn’t know what it all meant or what someone was going to do with souls, vampire blood or life essence, but it couldn’t be anything good.
Hades glanced over at Erebus with pursed lips and templed fingers.
“What is it?” I asked, a little bit of panic creeping in. There was something concerning about the way Hades was looking at the primordial.
“I heard tales once of a creature made by man to rival the power of the old Gods.” Hades rose from his seat and stalked over to Erebus, tucking his hands in his pockets and stretching the front of his grey sweatpants deliciously.
I wasn’t the only one who looked if the mumbled ‘fuck’ coming from somewhere down the sofa was anything to go by.
“How would that be possible?” Atticus asked, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear and pulling softly on his lobe.
“It isn’t,” Thane added, his tone strong and sure.
Hades furrowed an eyebrow as he closed the distance between him and Erebus. “But what if it was? What if there was a way to combine the very things that gave creatures life to generate a God Killer?”
“Ridiculous,” Thane scoffed. “That isn’t possible. It’s a fairy story.”
Erebus cocked his head to one side and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Is it now? If there’s anything I’ve learned after being imprisoned in the Vault, it’s that anything is possible if someone wants it enough.”
Magnus placed his hand on my bare thigh, and I wrapped my fingers around his. “But who would want to create such a thing?”
“Someone who isn’t happy with the way the world looks,” Magnus replied, his tone ominous.
Rayne huffed a low laugh. “And where might we find this person?”
Erebus shrugged, the move graceful and an arrogant smile curved his red lips. “I would not know. Perhaps you could ask Zeus tomorrow.”
“If you have a death wish, sure,” Rayne growled, the amber eyes of his beast flashing in his blue irises.
Something had him worked up enough that his inner Hound was close to the surface.
Was it Erebus? Was there something about the man he didn’t like?
Something that drew his beast to the surface?
Interestingly, Rafe didn’t seem to be reacting quite the same way, but his fingers were gripping my leg with enough force to bruise me. What the hell had them agitated?
“I say we put it in front of Zeus,” I said, a little spark of determination curling in my gut.
“What?” Rafe asked, his mouth pinched.
“We said it before; someone has covered up that the Diadem was stolen in the first place and we assumed it was Zeus. If we put this before the Council of the Gods, then won’t the spotlight be on Zeus instead of us?” I stood up and walked over to Hades. “You know your brother best, would that work?”
Hades pursed his lips. “I don’t know, Roux. He’s temperamental at the best of times and challenging him in front of others might backfire.”
“And then some,” Thane added with a wry chuckle.
“Although, there’s a slim chance it might work,” Atticus said as he pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger, the cogs of his mind turning in deep thought. “I mean think about it, do any of his siblings actually like him? do any of his children? Couldn’t we appeal to them?”
Hades raised a dark brow. “You have a point, demon. There may be a few we could win over.”
“And what about you?” I asked as I cupped his jaw, the light stubble grazing across my fingertips. “Will you stand with us, or will you sit on the Council?”
He frowned, and his eyes were so dark I couldn’t decipher the emotions that were swimming in their depths. He brought his hands up to frame my face. “I do not know if it will help or hinder, but I am with you.”
My heart soared in my chest at his words, and a little flame of hope sparked in my chest. We might all actually get through this alive.