Chapter 16 – Hecate
HECATE
We’ve only been walking for a short time after our last break in the dark tunnels when we hear music ahead of us. Blaise and Orion exchange a glance, then look back at me. I wipe at the sweat on my brow and shrug.
“She said there would be tests, right?”
Both men slowly withdraw their swords, and I feel for the magic inside of me. It’s there. A beautiful bright spot of magic. I don’t know if it’ll obey me, but at least it’s there, and it seems to be growing within me in a way that it couldn’t in my cell. The realization makes me smile.
“What?”
I look up and realize that grumpy Orion is looking at me. Those dark eyes of his have this strange way of devouring me at the same moment that they seem to hate me. It means that I never quite know what he’s thinking.
“You were smiling,” he adds, a rough note to his voice.
I decide to be honest. Andros had told me I could trust him. “The magic inside of me is growing. And...it’s such a relief. Like watching a tree shrivel away and die, and then one day it grows a new leaf.”
He frowns. “I would describe magic as more an evil oil spreading around it.”
I glare. “Anything can be evil when put into the hands of an evil person, but magic in itself is good.”
He humphs.
Blaise smiles at me. “I happen to have met a few charming witches in my life. All of whom were rather good in--” His eyes widen, and he coughs. “Good with magic.”
I lift a brow. “No, you were right the first time. We are good in bed.”
It’s ridiculously darling when his cheeks turn red and he looks away.
We continue climbing then, toward the music, and I’m surprised to find myself smiling.
I feel the softest touch along my spine, and I almost turn around but force myself not to.
It isn’t Andros. He can’t touch me in just his soul form.
Right? But it did remind me that Andos wants me to be the lover of everyone in his Brotherhood.
So as strange as it might be for me to think of being with other men, I have to relax and just see what happens between us.
The music grows louder and louder. A pumping and rhythm I’ve never heard before, but I find my head bobbing along with it. Up ahead, lights flash on the stone, and we all slow and proceed more slowly.
When the tunnel opens up into a large room, we all line up just inside the room and stare out.
I’ve never seen anything like this. A ball of sparkling light spins in the center of the room, casting flashing lights over the room.
There’s a big open space with squares that light up, seemingly at random.
And the music feels like it’s moving through my very soul as I bob my head harder and harder.
There’s a bar in the back too. A woman with blonde hair and a blank face dries glasses, not even glancing at us. There’s something familiar about her, but the magic inside me whispers that she’s not a threat.
“What is this?” I ask.
Blaise is bobbing his head too. “A night club...on the path to the Underworld, apparently,” he says with a grin.
I don’t know what comes over me, but I head out to the dance floor.
This isn’t the music from my time. In fact, it’s nothing like it, but I start to dance.
And the moment I do, I’m laughing. The music seems to flow through me, and I can sense magic in it, but it’s good magic, not bad. I spin, and the world spins around me.
And then Blaise is beside me.
He grins, which makes his terribly handsome face even more handsome.
How hadn’t I looked at him before? I mean, really looked at him.
He has the most pleasant features. Less harsh than Andros and Orion and softer, while still being masculine.
His sword is back on his belt, and my eyes roam over him.
He’s not as big as the twin gargoyles, but he’s sure as hell muscular.
His dark shirt strains against his broad shoulders, and his dark jeans hug his thick legs.
Thick eyelashes bring out the golden in his eyes.
When he spins, I openly appreciate his ass.
Then one of his hands touches my waist, and we’re not just dancing in front of each other, we’re dancing with each other. He steers me a little, and I swear he’s teaching me new moves. I mimic him as he swings his arms at his side, and then he’s laughing.
I spin again, and I see Orion. He’s moved onto the dance floor, but keeps his distance from us. And yet, he’s staring at me. Not through me. Not in that pinning, judging way he has, but with open fascination on his face.
Something makes me beckon him with my hand, and I’m pleasantly surprised when he comes closer to us. At first, he doesn’t dance. He sort of just bobs. But then spirits that look like shadows of people fill the dance floor around us, and they’re all happy.
Orion surprises me by pulling me into his arms. His mouth comes closer to my ear, and I shiver. “Is this a trap? Are we in danger?”
I reach up and run my hand along his cheek to the back of his head, then tug him closer so I can respond. “No, this magic is good. I don’t know why it’s here, but I can’t sense danger in it, just happiness. I think we’re meant to enjoy this.”
Orion shudders. “I can’t dance this way.”
“Then show me how you can dance.”
He surprises me yet again by taking one of my hands and placing the other one on my hip.
Then we’re dancing in a way I recognize.
No one else dances like us, but in that moment, it feels right.
It feels perfect. He smiles at me, and it transforms his face.
I can see so much of his brother in him, but he’s also just..
.Orion. Himself. And I realize that just as Andros has suffered in the Underworld, Orion has suffered too.
For a person to risk everything he did, he must have loved his brother greatly.
He spins me again and pulls me back. This time I crash into him. We don’t dance, I just look slowly up into his face. And then he leans down and kisses me.
It takes my breath away. This feeling that flows between us is curious and exploratory. Not the desperate way that Andros and I kiss, like we’re stealing a moment. This is the kiss of a man who thinks we have forever to learn about the other person.
When he pulls back, his brows are drawn together, and I swear he’s confused.
He releases me and slides back. His hand still holds mine, but then he drops it and the world feels colder.
Hands wrap around my waist, and I almost attack, but Blaise’s scent washes over me, like marshmallows roasting over a fire, and I spin in his arms to face him.
His wings dance with firelight behind him, casting him in a golden warmth.
He holds me far closer than Orion had, and his body rubs against mine, awakening things inside of me that surprise me.
It’s like electricity beneath our skin, growing hotter and more dangerous with each movement.
And then we hear a woman scream.
I freeze and look toward the exit from this room, opposite from the direction we’d come from.
A man is dragging a woman out of the room.
They’re both cast in shadows like the other spirits, but I can feel her fear radiating from every ounce of her body.
He continues to drag her, disappearing into the darkness.
I’m running to save her, my magic gathering as I do so, ready to unleash on the bastard that would dare harm someone in this happy place.
To my surprise, Orion and Blaise are at my sides.
These men are unexpected in so many ways, but I don’t think I truly trusted them until this moment.
Because just like me, they are willing to go head first into danger to save a stranger, someone who isn’t even human.
We explode into the darkness, then freeze in surprise. The room is identical to the one we’d just left, only there’s no music, and the dance floor is empty. I scan it, searching for the woman who had screamed, but I only see the blonde at the bar.
Rushing toward her, I call out, “There was a woman--”
“She wasn’t real,” the bartender says without looking up. “She was just a test.”
I stop in front of the bar, Orion and Blaise beside me.
“She was in danger.”
Finally, the woman looks up at me, and a moment flashes in my mind.
Hades was hauling me to one of his parties, and I’d crashed into this woman, wearing a dark cloak.
She’s looked up, her green eyes the color of fresh leaves, her face the color of freshly fallen snow.
I’d had to keep going, she’d rushed away, but something about the woman had stuck with me.
“Who are you?” I ask.
She draws herself up taller. “I’m the one who keeps this path clean of any who are undeserving. Not all people, not all souls, should escape the Underworld. In fact, most shouldn’t. Good or bad, it doesn’t help the living to have the undead suddenly returning.”
“So...did we pass the test?”
She smiles. “You passed...this test.”
There’s a flash of light, and I must have blinked, because around us is simply a cave like any other. The club, the bartender, everything is gone. I turn and look back at the men. They look as confused as I am.
“Well, we passed,” I say, heart racing. “But we’re not done yet.”
“Did you think it’d be so easy?” Orion asks, and there’s an unexpectedly annoyed tone to his voice.
For some reason, it pisses me off, and I whirl to face him. “Listen, gargoyle, you don’t know me, and you don’t know the life I’ve lived, so don’t act like I’m some princess who can’t handle a challenge.”
He says nothing, but I keep glaring. And he glares back.
Blaise clears his throat. “If these are the challenges, dancing with pretty ladies and all, I think we can handle them.”
I look back at him, confused. Is he joking? “You don’t need to make fun of me.”
He looks shocked. “I wasn’t!”
I turn away from them both and tug my cloak closer. Orion could be a real ass, but I expected more from Blaise.
The phoenix grasps my wrist, and I look back at him. “I know I’m not some big, sexy gargoyle, but Orion made me part of his Brotherhood. Which means...which means we should all be together.”
There’s something in his eyes that I don’t understand.
“You don’t think I’m pretty. I’m a strange witch to you.”
He shakes his head. “We don’t know each other, yet, but you sure as hell better believe I intend to give this my best shot. And what’s more, you’re not pretty.”
I try to jerk away from him, but he holds on more tightly to my wrist.
“You’re stunning. Drop dead gorgeous. So beautiful that you take my breath away.”
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.
“Hecate, don’t write me off. I’ve got plenty to offer you.” And then he releases my wrist.
I comb my hair back behind my ear. I’m fucking ancient, so why does it feel like I’m a school girl with a brand new crush? Yeah, if Blaise ends up to playing me I’ll break every bone in his body, but if he means what he’s saying... Of course I’ll give the handsome phoenix a chance.
Orion surprises us both by saying, “I know she’s using us to get to the surface. She knows damn well she’s a beautiful temptress, and she no doubt used her powers on my brother. Once we escape, she’ll be long gone, and my brother will forget all about her.”
“Is that what you really think? Or is that just what you’re hoping?” I throw at him.
He scowls.
I turn and head for the tunnel on the opposite wall from where we came in.
Tears sting my eyes, and I wish more than anything Andros was here to brush them away.
The Underworld is filled with darkness and pain, but what if Orion is right?
What if Andros reaches the surface and doesn’t want me anymore?
I touch my stomach. What if he doesn’t want us anymore?
It’s a crazy thought. He loves me more than he loves himself, but it clings to me as I start back up through the tunnels. I thought I knew Andros better than anyone else, but what if Orion does?