Chapter Forty
Hades didn't take me far. We arrived in an airy Greek home, the walls a traditional white and wood beams crossing the ceiling. The scent of the sea blended with jasmine.
“Lomasi!” three men shouted.
Hades handed me over to the men I loved. I got a glimpse of them before my eyes went hazy. I started to shake uncontrollably. Death hovered near. Or was that just Hades?
“What's happened to her?!” Rune shouted.
“Hermes withdrew his magic. She's mortal,” Hades said. “You must bond with her.”
“What? We can't make love to her like this,” Merrick said.
“That is not the only way to bond. Reach for her. I feel a connection between you already. All you need to do is accept it. Set it with your intent. Do you want her?”
“Yes,” they said immediately.
“Forever?”
“Yes, of course,” Rune growled.
“Then claim her. Now!”
Hands touched me. I moaned in pain, even that light touch hurting my tender flesh. I had seconds. I knew it.
“Lomasi,” Braxen whimpered.
“Focus!” Merrick growled. “You fucking get it together for her!”
And then I felt it. The warmth inside me that I had recognized at the beach. Their love. Hades was right. We had already started to bond. I knew immediately that their tentative hold had been the only thing that kept me from disintegrating instantly. Their love had kept me alive long enough to reach them. If I'd had any moisture left in my body, I would have cried. Instead, I opened myself to them, and I rejoiced within. Even if I died, I had made it back to them, and I would die where I belonged. Maybe they could visit my soul in the Underworld.
Power, bright and strong, shot through me. Exploded outward from my chest. Pain receded in that instant. My organs, on the verge of shut-down, came back online. My flesh filled in and my vision cleared. I blinked, eager to see their beautiful faces, and found their eyes full of tears.
“She's healing!” Rune cried.
“Really fast,” Merrick said in awe.
“Lomasi?” Braxen stroked my face with his massive hand. “How are you feeling, love?”
I wet my lips and swallowed before I could speak, “Amazing! I feel amazing!” Then I launched myself at all three of them.
They surrounded me with their bodies and love, but I didn't need their touch to feel them anymore. They were a part of me, sharing their immortality with me. And this bond would never break. I felt the eternalness of it in every blooming cell of my body. I vibrated with vitality because of them, centuries falling away in the blink of an eye.
“I love you,” we kept saying to each other. Over and over, all three of us. Until we finally remembered that we had a guest.
I was the first to look up and meet Hades's tender stare. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, Lomasi of the Tsimikiti,” Hades said. “You have given my hounds eternity, just as much as they have given it to you. Without you, they would have slowly died.”
“I was slowly dying before I met them.”
Hades smiled softly and nodded. “I rejoice in your love and congratulate you all.” His smile turned into a smirk. “I'm sorry I couldn't help sooner, but my hands were tied until Hermes broke the law.”
“Your arrival was perfectly timed.”
“Yes, I think it was.” Hades shifted his stare to his hounds. “Stay a while in Greece. Enjoy your new mate. You deserve this.”
“What about Michael?” Rune asked.
“The others will handle him. Again, I wish I could help them more, but even gods must obey certain laws. I will do what I can for them. But you must return to Seattle and protect that region.”
“What if Michael left some of his people there?” Braxen asked.
“Oh, he has. Which is yet another reason you must return. Clean up the city and free it of the Host's contagion, but leave Michael to the others. You have a mate to protect now, and other souls to deal with. But first, take a week off, boys. Enjoy Athens and my vacation house. See the sights. And if you see Hermes, give him the finger for me.” He leaned in to grin and add, “I trust you know which one.”
Hades's laughter lingered even after he disappeared.