Chapter 14
CORDELIA
The blinding white light and popping sound sent me reeling, falling, and twisting as nausea gripped my throat. I was about to gut this man, god or not, until a familiar voice bellowed “assassin”.
My hand fell to my side as I turned my head.
Hades… Fear surged like poison flooding my bloodstream, swift and paralysing.
His hulking form danced with shadows, some of which crept towards me like venomous serpents.
The two men flanking him added to my dread.
One guy—massive and as black as a moonless night—was surrounded by snarling wolves…
that seemed to be made from shadows. Freaking shadows!
The other guy was also huge, with muscled arms and sharp cheekbones, holding a scythe in each of his big hands.
My legs started to shake, and my heart rate ramped up as panic washed through me. I swallowed—not an easy task seeing as my mouth was like the Sahara Desert. I’m so dead… bury me here. I couldn’t breathe.
Si stepped in front of me. ‘Don’t fucking touch her.’ His voice—rough, guttural—vibrated through my bones. It struck low in my core like a war drum.
Possessive godly power swept into the room like waves of the sea as the room seemed to fill with the power and energy of the ocean, almost like the ocean’s water was surging through the windows. Wild and turbulent… Riptides pulling, waves crashing—fog rolling like tumbleweed throughout the room.
Poseidon had power in spades… His authority flooded the room with a confidence that would give the Hoover Dam a run for its money. He was divine fury in tailored clothes—beautiful, brutal, and undeniably dangerous.
And he was protecting me.
Hades raised a brow, his shadows evaporating like mist at dawn. ‘Erebus. Thanatos. Stand down.’ The wolves dissolved into darkness, the twin scythes vanishing with a whisper of finality.
‘She’s the assassin.’ Hades death-glared at me. ‘I recognise her scent.’ He cocked his head, his gaze turning to Si, but his icy rage still permeated the room. ‘I thought you went to hunt and kill her?’
A nervous sensation crept down my spine—an avalanche of a thousand tiny spiders. Were they seriously going to end me… here and now?
‘No one kills her,’ Si bit out, his voice dark and edged with promise.
‘If anyone lays a finger on her, I will obliterate them.’ A beat of silence.
‘And that includes you, Hades.’ The confident, unflustered tone he used to talk about violently avenging me sent a warm chill racing through my body.
I wasn’t sure if it was fear or arousal. Probably both.
A raw, dangerous blend.
I glanced up at the god of the sea—Poseidon, protector, predator—and released a long, slow breath. His gaze met mine; his angry eyes were greyer, like a dove in the cloud-filtered post-storm light. His hand snaked around my waist, tugging me flush to his body.
‘She belongs to me. She’s mine.’
Godsdammit. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. Annoyance thrummed under my skin, clashing with the ridiculous thrill I didn’t want to feel. I belonged to no one. I stayed silent—now was certainly not the time to argue, but I had a swift punch with his name on it, the arrogant twunt.
A crease formed between Hades’ brows, his captivating eyes dancing between gold and blue. ‘As you wish.’ Hades turned slowly, something unreadable in his eyes as he studied me. ‘I apologise.’ He bowed his head to me, and I stared at him like a freaking goober.
‘It’s fine,’ I breathed, my heart still doing aerial stunts inside my chest.
Then his bewitching eyes snagged on Si again. ‘I think you have some explaining to do, Brother.’
* * *
We sat around a rustic, grand table—its dark wood gnarled and ancient, like it had witnessed a thousand oaths and betrayals.
Each of us had a generous pour of whisky in hand.
I sipped on mine, enjoying the burn of the liquor as it slipped down my throat while I cast surreptitious glances at the trio of divine strangers.
Si leaned back in his chair, all relaxed menace and masculine confidence, seemingly unconcerned about anything.
Hades, on the other hand, looked as if he’d swallowed a flagpole—back ramrod straight, face taut.
This guy needed a massage. Or a chill pill.
He was built like a god—literally—tall with muscle on muscle, and like Si, he was male-beauty personified… but Hades had an undercurrent of dread that sent shivers down my spine. He was Halloween wearing a Hallmark Christmas sweater. All festive on the surface, pure nightmare underneath.
I wiped the moisture from my forehead as I took another sip of whisky.
‘I’m Thanny,’ the hot guy with shaggy black hair said as his grey eyes sparkled, and he flashed a grin that could melt hearts. ‘God of death, and collector of souls. Nice to meet ya.’ Hades scowled at him.
‘Cordelia,’ I replied, offering a wary smile. ‘Thanks for not hacking me to death with your scythes.’ Thanny laughed, but Si growled low in his throat and slugged his whisky. A crease worked between Hades’ brows, and his eyes narrowed as he regarded his brother.
‘And I’m Erebus,’ said the bald, hypnotically beautiful one, his voice a dark velvet caress.
His anthracite eyes held mine, gleaming with starfire.
His skin shimmered like midnight—black as deep space, flecked with what looked like constellations.
I stared, momentarily entranced. ‘God of darkness,’ he added.
And a total hottie, I thought to myself. I yelped as Si’s arm snaked around my waist, and he pulled me into his lap with a grunt. His breath brushed my ear as he whispered, voice low and possessive: ‘You’re mine.’
I swatted the hair out of my face, my lips thinning. Both Erebus and Thanny smirked at the god of the sea, and Si curled his lip at them like a territorial beast. Hades, however, looked even more bemused.
Ignoring Si, my gaze returned to Erebus. ‘Good to meet you, Erebus. Your wolves… they’re made from shadows, right?’
‘They are. They won’t hurt you… unless I tell them otherwise.’ He grinned, and I suppressed a shudder.
‘Well, thanks for not killing me, I guess.’ Thanny chuckled as Erebus tipped his glass in salute. Si’s arm tightened around me, his grip a silent warning.
‘You have something of mine, assassin,’ Hades said, his voice like a blade dipped in ice. I turned towards him slowly. His eyes glowed gold—feral and ancient—and a wave of cold dread slid down my spine. The helmet. The helm. Whatever. It must be his. Crap.
‘Yes. I’m sorry… I—I have your helmet.’ I tried to keep my voice steady, but this god freaked me the hell out.
His nostrils flared. ‘It’s a helm,’ he snapped.
Right. Gods’ semantics… My bad.
Without missing a beat, he turned to Si. ‘So,’ he said, holding his brother’s gaze with a look sharp enough to flay flesh. ‘You decided to keep the assassin instead of killing her.’
This god absolutely gave me the heebie-jeebies; he was definitely on team End-Cordelia.
‘Yes,’ Si drawled, completely unfazed. ‘She belongs to me, now. I’ve claimed her.’
All three gods stared at him like he’d grown a second head.
My entire body locked up as anger slammed into me, a wrecking ball of fury and disbelief. I struggled from Si’s grasp and slipped under his arm, planting myself in front of him with fists on my hips.
‘Excuse me? Claimed me?’ My voice rang through the room, hot and sharp. ‘This girl’—I pointed to myself—'does not get owned. Or possessed. Or claimed, you… You absolute dick.’
Si’s eyes churned with grey clouds, but a grin split his handsome face. ‘I told you, Little Red. You belong to me. Given time, you’ll realise it. Until then, I’ll wait.’
The other three gods watched us with unconcealed amusement—as if they were watching prime-time drama. Someone needed to hand them a bowl of popcorn.
I glared at Si, my fists still planted on my hips, the dick-faced fucker.
I wanted to kick him in that huge dong. I did not belong to him.
I did not want to be with him. He was delicious, and the attraction was potent…
but he was the epitome of a very bad idea, and the walking embodiment of heartbreak.
He’d crush my poor heart like a meat mallet does a steak.
My lips pressed closed, then opened back up, probably making me look like a goldfish.
‘You’re… you’re delusional,’ I finally snapped. ‘I’m leaving.’ I spun to go, but he moved like a godsdamned phantom. One second, he was sitting at the table, the next, my nose was bouncing off his chest. Ouch.
I punched him in the stomach, almost breaking my fist, so instead, I whipped out my blade and pressed it to his throat. ‘Back. Off,’ I hissed.
‘Assassin.’ Hades’ voice cracked with thunder. Cold and commanding. ‘Sit. Down. Now.’
I froze. Lowered the knife. Si smiled smugly as I showed him my teeth in a silent snarl, but not wanting to piss off the king of the Underworld, I stomped back to the table and dropped into my chair with all the grace of a furious porcupine.
Si followed, sliding into the seat beside me.
I crossed my arms across my chest and death-glared him.
‘Poseidon, brother, please tell me what the fuck is going on,’ Hades groaned as he closed his eyes.
Si gave me a go-ahead gesture as he grabbed the bottle of whisky, filling everyone’s empty glasses. I started from when I was hired via Drakos, mentioning the threat against my sister, and every lie, betrayal, and fuck-up in between. I told them everything. My voice only cracked once.
By the time I finished, one bottle of whisky was empty, and so was I.