Chapter 22
Sera
Back in the Underworld Labyrinth…
Alina walks beside me through the field, her appreciative gaze on the blossoming flowers around us. “This really is beautiful.”
“I know,” I say softly before casting a furtive glance backward at Hades.
He’s still sitting beneath the tree, only Thea is in his lap now.
Her pretty brown eyes are focused upward to where Flame is lounging in jaguar form on a branch above their heads.
He bats playfully in the air at one of the birds, causing Thea to giggle excitedly.
“He won’t… hurt the bird, right?” I ask my sister, my brow furrowing a bit in concern. “I rather like the—”
A chirp sounds as Flame grabs the winged creature with his claws.
My feet stumble, my trajectory changing in a second as I start to head back toward the tree. But a burst of light has me freezing mid-step, then an array of feathers appears in burnt gold colors as the bird materializes above Flame’s head.
His green eyes dart upward just as the bird pecks him square on his big black head.
With a chastising chirp, the creature flies up higher to perch on a branch just out of reach.
The jaguar grumbles in response.
And Thea bursts out in another fit of giggles.
I blink, confused.
What did Hades call these? Stygians? From the Midnight Fae Realm? He said Human Realm birds wouldn’t survive here. So maybe these fascinating creatures are immortal?
I hope that’s the case.
I don’t like the idea of anything dying here, or anywhere else for that matter.
“Looks like he can’t hurt the bird,” my sister says, sounding amused. “His jaguar is annoyed.”
“Well, I will be annoyed with his jaguar if he hurts Hades’s gift,” I mutter.
Alina glances at me. “The bird is a gift?”
“This whole field is, I think,” I say, resuming our walk. “He said he created it for me.”
“Didn’t he technically make this whole maze for you?”
My lips twist to the side. “For Persephone, yeah.” I glance around, my heart beating a little faster as I take in the rows of endless roses.
“But these flowers are mine.” I look at Alina, see her souring expression, and add, “I think this was his way of apologizing to me. Or maybe trying to make this place feel more welcoming.”
What I don’t tell her is that I already liked the labyrinth before he made these changes. The timeless quality of the icy walls, frozen flowers, and deadly skulls is intricate and unique.
This world he’s created doesn’t scare me so much as enthrall me.
I can’t say why. Nor can I explain the comfort I sense here. It just feels right to me.
The chill. The complexity. The cruel visage.
I like all the details that went into its manifestation, even if the motivations were founded on darkness.
But this place depicts the fractures of Hades’s broken heart, the pain he experienced when he thought his Omega betrayed him.
And that history is one I respect. One I understand. One I long to make right.
Not by seeking forgiveness on Persephone’s behalf, but by freeing her memory from the burden of blame.
We need to find those Omegas, I think. Which means I have to somehow set my soul free.
Clearing my throat, I focus on Alina. “How did you access your creation gifts?”
Her lashes flutter, her eyebrows curling down a little. Then she shakes her head like she’s clearing it.
“Sorry, did you say something else?” I wonder out loud, noting her startled reaction.
“If you did, I… I wasn’t listening. My head is kind of cloudy right now, trying to understand everything that’s happened and also figure out what I’m supposed to do next.
” I swallow and add, “It’s all really confusing. ”
“I just said Hades has a lot to apologize for and that I hope he does more than make you a garden.” She winces. “Which… is probably not helpful.”
“It’s not,” I admit, giving her a small smile. “But I think you’re just being protective of me… like always.”
“I am,” she agrees. “However, you were right when you told me it’s not my place to, er, castigate Hades. He’s your, uh, mate, and it’s wrong of me to try to… tell him what to do. Though, I won’t apologize for wanting to kill him at certain points.”
“Lina,” I sigh.
She holds up her hands. “I’m not going to interfere, Sera. It’s your mate-circle. Just know that if he ever hurts you, I’m going to give Reaper permission to rip off Hades’s head.”
I cut her a look.
But her expression tells me she’s serious.
“You’ve always been protective of me.”
“As is my duty as the older sister,” she replies.
“I suppose it’s also my duty to try to teach you about being an Omega, too.
But I have to be honest—it just sort of happened.
I’m not sure what advice I can give. I mean, Orcus bit me, I went into heat, made a nest, and just…
Well, I woke up and everything felt as natural as breathing. ”
“Hmm,” I hum, thinking through her response as I move closer to some rose bushes to examine the red color. “None of this feels natural to me, something I suppose you already guessed after watching me try and fail to manifest things with Hades’s power.”
I was able to create some snow. And then… nothing.
That’s when Hades recommended I take a walk around the flower field. “See what comes naturally to you,” he told me. “You could garden a little, if you want. I’ll manifest whatever you need. Or you can simply enjoy the scenery. But try not to think too much, and just… indulge your senses.”
Obviously, I wasn’t doing a good job with the try not to think too much part.
Because that’s all I seem to be doing.
Alina coming with me didn’t help, either. Though, I do appreciate the company. And I rather like seeing Hades spending time with Thea. It’s not something I’ve seen him do before.
Actually… “Has Hades spent any time with Thea before today?” I ask Alina softly.
She blinks at me, her face doing the same thing as a minute or two ago, making me wince.
“Sorry, you said something else, didn’t you?” I shake my head, trying to clear it. “Sorry, Lina. I… I’m struggling to focus on anything right now.”
She stops walking and grabs my shoulders, her dark eyes meeting my blue ones. “Stop apologizing, Sera. I know you’re going through a lot, okay?”
I bite my lower lip and nod. “Okay.”
“Now I’m going to answer your question about Thea first because it’s an easy one to address—yes, he’s spent time with her before. Usually with Orcus, though. For all of Hades’s faults where his behavior with you is concerned, he’s…” She looks over at him, drawing my focus there, too.
His cheeks are currently puffed out as he makes a silly expression at Thea. Her little hand pats the side of his face, causing the air to escape. Or I assume that’s what happens because his cheeks go back to normal and she giggles so loudly the sound carries across the field.
“He’s pretty good with his niece,” Alina says, a begrudging note in her tone. “Very good, actually.” Those three words seem to be underlined in admiration. “She loves playing with his wings, probably because they remind her of Orcus’s wings.”
That comment has me looking sharply at Alina. “You’ve seen Hades’s wings?”
She frowns back at me. “You haven’t?”
“No.” For some reason, that admission makes me feel warm all over. And not in a good way.
I’m about to march over to Hades to demand that he show me his feathers.
But Alina stops me by saying, “Before you get distracted again, I want to repeat my comment about you trying to manifest Hades’s power since I don’t think you heard me before.
However, I said that I didn’t know how to use Orcus’s gifts.
So I’m not quite sure why Hades is trying to teach you how to use his abilities, and therefore I can’t really give you advice on that. ”
Hades looks over, maybe because he keeps hearing his name.
Or perhaps because he felt my intense gaze on him.
His lips move, the words too quiet for me to hear, but they appear to be for Flame because the jaguar jumps from the tree and begins to transform.
I focus on my sister, not wanting to see her mate in the nude. “You don’t use Orcus’s powers?”
She shakes her head. “No. I… I only use my own. And I’m not sure I would actually call it a power. Omegas create life. It’s… it’s…” Her brow furrows, and she walks over to touch one of the flowers.
My eyes widen as another stem begins to sprout off of the same stalk, the bud forming far more rapidly than should be possible until the ends are blossoming with red petals.
It happens in a few seconds.
The entire life cycle of a plant unfolding before my eyes in an impossible way. Because it shouldn’t even work like that, but as I approach and touch the rose, I realize it’s very real.
“How…?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I willed it to exist… and now it does. Anything I wish to give life to does the same thing.”
“And you’ve been able to do this since…?”
“Since my heat,” she murmurs. “Maybe even before that, but I never tried.”
I stroke the same stem, my mind telling it to create life like Alina just did. However, nothing happens. I grit my teeth in annoyance. “I don’t understand why I can’t access this part of my soul. I… I don’t feel any different. Not really.”
“How did you feel when you made your nest earlier?” Hades asks, his smooth tone wrapping around me in a cloak of comfort as he joins us in the field. “Did you feel normal then? Human?”
My brow crinkles. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it. I just wanted to fix the bedding. So I… I thought of things I wanted for the bed, and they appeared because of your magic. Kind of like manifesting food in the kitchen.”
His hands slide into the pockets of his slacks, his exposed forearms flexing with the motion.
“An Alpha can wish any inanimate object into existence, but we can’t create life.
That’s the primary difference between an Alpha’s skill and an Omega’s gift.
Further, Alphas also tend to have an affinity for a specific plane of existence. ”