“You would think after Gala, the others would stop because of that one fact alone.”
“What I don’t understand is why they are like this,” Hades mused. “You have the same curse they do—and Koi and the others. So why all this destruction?”
Ciro shook his head. “I have been wondering the same thing. Mother says it is because I am eldest, but I am not sure if that is true anymore. Aerios is as strong as I am.”
“I am not certain what to say to that, brother.” Hades rose and walked to the edge of the boat. He stared down into the darkness of the Acheron river and inhaled. “But whatever you do, you best do it fast. The waters are restless.”
“What does that mean?” Ciro stood beside him. He stared into the water but he couldn’t see anything except black, murky liquid.
“It means something bad is about to happen and I really hope it has nothing to do with one of our brothers.”
Ciro pressed his lips into a thin line.
“I wish I could simply take their life forces and end it now. But that is not how it works. I may be the keeper of the dead but even I have no power over death. No one visits me here. Often times it’s lonely.”
“You have all these souls here…”
“Yes. I’m never alone, but I am often lonely. There is a difference, brother.” Hades stopped speaking for a moment.
Ciro said nothing.
Hades continued, “There is a fear of what I am, what I do and what this is. Even the Gods of Olympus fear it all. I cannot blame them. But sometimes I would like to see their faces here.”
“It’s the finality of death, Hades. There is just something about it that makes everyone run scared.”
After giving his brother a hug, Ciro left him there on the Barge of the Dead and made his way back to land. He didn’t stick around long on Earth. His next stop was Olympus.
“Hello, beautiful sister,” Ciro greeted Aphrodite.
The goddess was busy staring intently into her love pool while twirling her fingers within its waters. She turned around and a smile lit her face.
“Oh, brother, you are such a sweet-talker.” Aphrodite rose to kiss both his cheeks. “But I adore you for it. I am terribly sorry for Gala.”
“And what do you have to be sorry about, dearest?”
“That he put you in the situation where you had to take his life. Brothers should not be warring with each other. Use Zeus as your example.”
“But we are of our father’s blood, Aphrodite. Why should we be any different? And if we chose not to follow in his footsteps, why then should we be happy?”
Aphrodite smiled softly and nodded. “You are troubled, dear brother, which makes what I have to say more dreadful.”
Adrestia and Hygeia entered the room.
Adrestia made a face. “Why must you be so dramatic, Aphrodite? It cannot be all that bad.”
“Dramatic? I do not think it dramatic. Besides, I think a little over embellishment now and then is good for the heart.”
“What is this horrible news, Aphrodite?” Ciro pushed.
“Our dear brother is about to fall in love,” she said, her voice filled with sorrow. “How absolutely heartbreaking.”
“Heartbreaking? That’s wonderful news,” Ciro replied. “I thought your job is to celebrate love? Why would that be a bad thing?”
“It is my job to celebrate love,” she responded. “But not when it’s bad news for those I love.”
“Besides,” Hygeia spoke up, walking to look into the pool, though no one else could see what was happening but the Goddess of Love. “We gods and goddess are known to fall in love constantly—sometimes with people or beings we have no right falling for.”
“That’s just it.” Aphrodite looked into her pool again. “I keep checking and rechecking and the end result is always the same. I really do not see a way around it.”
“Aphrodite…please…” Ciro pleaded. “Just tell me why you believe my falling in love is such a bad thing. The wait is killing me.”
“Yes,” Hygeia added. “Do not leave us in suspense. We are all dying to know what this dreadful news is.”
“Ciro is about to fall for a human,” Aphrodite all but cried.
Ciro laughed. “That will not happen, dear Aphrodite. Perhaps your son Eros has gotten into your lines again and is playing a practical joke. I was told by the Oracle of Olympus my love is not mortal but a demigod.”
“My son has not been in Olympus in over a fortnight.”
“Then there has to be another explanation,” Ciro told her. “The oracle is never wrong, so your pool probably needs cleansing.”
“She is this time—wrong, I mean.”
“But Aphrodite…”
His sister snapped her head up and she leveled a glare on him. “Are you saying I am incorrect, Ciro? I know what I saw.”
“That is not what I am saying. I think you may be mistaken. Perhaps it is Koi who is meant to fall in love with a human—or Aerios.”
She said nothing else and stormed from the room. Ciro exhaled loudly and looked to Adrestia and Hygeia for help. Both goddesses shrugged and he knew they had nothing to say that would make the situation better. He shook his head and exited the room, desperate to find Aphrodite. She was easily offended and sometimes he forgot that fact. Regardless, it didn’t make sense for him to have a human for his lifemate.
Ciro continued searching for her but after he couldn’t find her, he gave up and went back to his chambers to grab a few things. It was time for his rounds anyway and it wouldn’t be fair to ask Hercules or one of the others to take his place. He would have to speak with Aphrodite later.
“Ciro, before you go,” Hygeia’s voice stopped him from leaving.
He turned to see her standing at his door, leaning on the frame.
“Your essence is weak, my friend,” Hygeia continued. “Perhaps you need some rest.”
“There is no time for that, Hygeia.”
“You cannot keep this up forever. One day you will have to stop—one day you will have to rest. It is not for the weak and there is no shame is asking for assistance.”
“I will remember that. Thank you.”
Hygeia smiled. “Your fight with Gala.”
“Yes?”
“He is dead.”
“Yes. I received confirmation from Hades soon after. It broke me having to do that, but I had no choice. I am responsible somehow for them and the evil they do.”
“But you are but one Shiver, Ciro. Though you are powerful, you cannot do it all or stop them all. They are your brothers, not your children.”
“And yet they behave oh so much like children.”
Hygeia approached slowly, her long gown brushing the floor. She touched his cheek gently. “I see the sorrows in your eyes, Ciro. I know your pain, for I can feel it beating through my very heart. It devastates me to see you so unhappy. I wish nothing but the best for you and your brothers. You did not ask to be a part of Father’s twisted little lies.”
“But here I am. Father takes no responsibility in the hurt he causes—never has—and I hold out no hope he ever will. Even with Hercules and Perseus, he created the chaos and flies off like a pixie filled with vigor for the next mischief while we all suffer the consequences.”
Hygeia allowed her hand to fall away from his face. “Do not let your father’s crimes visit you, Ciro. I will not allow that to happen. You are a good sort. If you need someone—anytime—you just call.”
Ciro smiled sadly and nodded. “I must go, dear friend.”
“Ciro…”
But he just couldn’t stay or say anything else. So many unshed tears welled up behind his eyes. If she showed him any more kindness, he wasn’t sure he would be able to control them. For hundreds of years he’d held them back, refusing to show weakness. But that all seemed to be slowly building, swelling like a dam within him, threatening to burst.
His descent to Earth was a slow one, for he stopped in the Hall of Winds to check on his mother.
She was busy playing a game he’d never seen or heard of before with one of her friends from the Wind Aisle. Koi was off somewhere or other with Hercules. Ciro kissed her cheek, bowing his head to his mother’s friend in farewell and continued on his way.
The night was slow and after his patrol, Ciro went off shift, leaving his best friend, Sisqo, to do his rounds. There was something in the air—something that seemed to be taunting him. It came and went with the wind like a small spray of cologne or a puff of bad-smelling smoke. Though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, he called in to the others and pulled himself off-duty so he could be with Sisqo. Since Sisqo was still working, Ciro spent the time in deep conversation with Hades and reported to Earth after Sisqo’s rounds were over.
He sat in the semidarkness of the VIP section and watched the dancers on the crowded floor. The need to be close to strangers never appealed to him. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t been intimate with someone in a long time. Why he chose to go to a straight club was beyond him. Well, at first he’d thought it was a great idea because he figured he wouldn’t get his ass grabbed, pinched or slapped. But those things happened the moment he walked in the door.
“I’m telling you, it’s crazy out there,” Sisqo said, closing the VIP door behind him. “All those bodies—the air is electric. You really should get out there.”
“Not my scene, really.”
“You are no fun—you know that?”
Ciro laughed. “I am here, am I not?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sisqo grinned. “How was your patrol?”
Ciro thought of the question and shrugged. “Same old. Nothing went bump in the night, but I keep smelling trouble, feeling it on the air and not seeing anything. Even now as I sit there, I can taste it. Either my powers are being blocked by something or I am just losing my mind.”
“Losing your mind? Damn it.”
“What?”
“You already went crazy. Is it possible to go crazier?”
“You, my friend, are a dick.”
“I’ve been told. Anyway, I didn’t feel anything. So unless I’m getting old or losing it too, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Maybe.” Ciro rubbed his sore ass. “There is just something wrong with this picture.”
“You didn’t think this one through, did you?” Sisqo asked with a smirk.
“Not quite. I figured at a straight club I wouldn’t get my ass pinched so much—I was wrong.”
“Well, don’t worry. A good-looking man is a good-looking man, so you can’t fault them for grabbing your ass. The women obviously saw something they liked.”
Ciro laughed. “And you think I’m good-looking, Sisqo?”
“Yeah, I don’t swing the Shiver way.” Sisqo grinned.
“Yes, you do.”
Sisqo laughed aloud. “True but I like my men, less—less, Shiver-y.”
“You’re an ass.”
But Sisqo the demigod formed his fingers into the shape of a heart over his chest then pointed at Ciro. Shaking his head, Ciro finished his drink then propped his black boots on the center table beside his empty glass. Work swam into his mind, even though he was trying to breathe and let the worries of the world leave him, at least for a little bit. Each time he closed his eyes and tried to forget, he realized how miserably he was failing at not thinking of work. He glanced at his coat draped over the back of one of the plush seats, debating within his head if he should just leave and do another round. It would be better than just sitting around listening to music he’d never understand in a million years and feeling irritable.
He was about to rest his head back when he caught a strong, alluring and delicious scent. His mouth watered, causing him to swallow convulsively. He rose slowly and walked to the velvet rope. There had to be some mistake. Aphrodite couldn’t be right, for that would mean the Olympus Oracle was wrong—the oracle was never wrong.
So many naughty thoughts flew through his mind as he stared out of the glass—each one of them hotter, sexier than the last and every single one turned him on. His body throbbed in ways he’d never felt before with any of his other lovers. His cock pressed against the front of his pants, leaving him trembling. Even with this reaction, Ciro still couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from. He ached to know more about the being who possessed the intoxicating, almost hypnotizing, bouquet. On the other hand, it scared him. Something had to have gone wrong with the oracle’s predictions. There was no other way to explain what he was feeling for this human.
Every Shiver had a reading because their species was so new and different. Most times, it was just a regular thing, like a two-dollar psychic playing about with tarot cards. But Ciro’s reading had been different. Pain and hardships filled his, but the one part of his that caught him the most was that he was to fall in love with a demigod—the fates had spoken it. All his life he’d thought the demigod was Sisqo, but he didn’t have any sexual attraction to his friend. Then he would spend nights lying awake just wondering if he would ever find this mysterious demigod the oracle spoke of. Lover after lover, close call after close call—Ciro had finally given up.
He sat motionless and let his gaze wash over the crowd until he found the source of his new obsession. This man didn’t have the smell of arousal toward the sexily clad women around him like a good ninety percent of the other men. It could mean either he was gay or Ciro was just missing something. Ciro watched him cross to the bar and take a stool. The black dress pants the man wore were just tight enough to show off muscular thighs. The stranger looked lovely in a matching baby-blue shirt that flowed over chocolate skin.
With a smile, he allowed his body to shimmer from the room and appear behind the stranger. Everyone was so obsessed with grinding against one another that they hadn’t even noticed what he’d done. The music blared around him. Patrons walked back and forth, a few bumping into him. Soon, he couldn’t hear the music and his body was knocked from the left then the right by gyrating forms. Everything became a dull hum and all he could really feel was the way his body pulsed at the mere smell of this man. It had to mean something—he had to take a chance. A part of him knew this human could never be his one true mate—how could he be? Humans were unpredictable and panicked. Before he could stop himself, he tapped the sexy morsel on the shoulder.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Ciro asked him.
The man tilted his head and peered up at him. Confusion filled his brown eyes. For a moment, Ciro thought he was wrong, but when the dark-skinned beauty licked his lips, Ciro knew the man before him was aroused.
“Is that a regular question you ask a man in a straight club?” The guy wanted to know, mischief dancing in his brown eyes.
Ciro smiled. “Well, if you are straight then I will apologize and buy you a drink anyway.”
“Smooth-talker…”
“So I have been told.”
“Okay. You can buy me a drink,” the stranger said. “Black Velvet.”
“I am Ciro Pyktis.”
The man leaned in, bracing a palm on Ciro’s chest and spoke in his ear. “Carter Olabasu. Nice to meet you.”
Ciro did not want to break that connection between them. With the simple action of a hand on his body, a spark of electricity surged through him. It traveled up his chest, grazing his neck before he realized he must come off as a bit creepy to Carter. Ciro reluctantly stepped away. He hoped Carter believed it was to order their drinks, but Ciro knew better. He knew the spark would crackle through his eyes and he wouldn’t be able to control it. It would freak the human out, and the last thing Ciro wanted was to be away from him. For Carter’s drink, Ciro watched the bartender dump some ice into a glass, followed by some champagne then some Guinness.
So that’s what a Black Velvet is.
Returning to his catch, Ciro noticed a vacant stool but he figured he’d like to get Carter in a private area where he could speak to him without yelling. He accepted their drinks and handed Carter a cold glass. Before he had a chance to say
anything else, he realized another man was trying to get Carter’s attention.
“I was going to ask you to dance but I think he’s trying to speak with you.”
“He? Who?” Carter looked genuinely perplexed and turned to look.
Ciro bowed his head and smiled sadly. He was always attracted to the wrong men. Perhaps it was because Aphrodite had told him the man of his dreams was indeed a full-blooded man and not half. Maybe that was why he thought he smelled his lifemate. Carter obviously had someone else. It was probably for the best. With the war happening between himself and his brothers, a human wasn’t a good thing to have around. It still sucked not being able to feel Carter against him, around him and inside him. No matter how he thought of it, his heart broke at the thought of having to walk away from this man without so much as a taste of him. What he wouldn’t give to watch Carter’s big brown eyes change with fire and dazed with pleasure. Again, he had to force his mind from where it was going. The more he thought of Carter, naked and panting under his body, the more Ciro felt a piece of him slowly withering away.
Taking a breath, he glanced around and stepped back, allowing the crowd to swallow him.
Chapter Four
Carter saw his brother then whirled around to speak with Ciro, the spot beside him now occupied by someone else. Ciro was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, he eased from his seat with his drink in hand and walked to where Kofi stood waiting for him.
“You have the worst timing, you know that?”
“What? It’s not like you found booty. It’s a straight club.”
“How would you know? You just swept right in, and he probably thought you were my man or something.” He didn’t want his irritation to show. A part of him thought Kofi had interrupted on purpose, but he quickly took a deep breath and pushed that thought out of his head. Kofi would never cock block him on purpose. Carter’s body was beginning to rebel. He thought for sure if he pulled his pants down, his balls would in fact be blue.
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