He heaved a deep sigh. "I admit, it wasn’t my finest moment." Then he reached down and stroked my cheeks, studying me curiously. "This warmth instead of the usual fire is new. How’d you do that?"
I shook my head, leaning into his touch. "I have no idea. I just thought I'd try using a little less magic, and it worked."
His gray eyes narrowed slightly. "Your power is getting stronger."
I shrugged. "Or maybe I’m just getting better at controlling it?"
"Could be." His gaze lowered, taking in my body as if I were standing there naked instead of draped in layer after layer of heavy clothing. "How are you feeling?"
His tone was insinuating.
I closed my eyes, assessing the internal state of my body. There was a gentle heat stirring low in my core, but it wasn’t unmanageable.
I opened my eyes and shook my head. "It must take less power to create heat without flames. I’m not drowning in lust like I’d normally be."
He grinned, lowering his lips a hair’s width away from mine. "I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not."
I bridged the gap between us, kissing him sweetly as my chest once more filled with guilt and remorse. "I’m sorry, Rob. I’m so fucking sorry this happened."
Dan was suddenly at my back, wrapping his arms around me. His forehead nestled into my hair, and he whispered, "It’s okay, Lexi. It’s not your fault."
I turned to him, wanting to smile but unable to. "It is. If I hadn't married you guys, the queens would still be alive."
Dan shook his head, keeping his pale green eyes closed. "Maybe. Or maybe he would have found a different reason to start killing them off. We can’t know for sure. What we do know is that it was his fault, not yours."
Ben joined our group hug next, his brown eyes shimmering warmly. "He’s right, Sailor. And I wouldn’t regret marrying you even if it did keep my mother from dying. I honestly think she’s better off dead than suffering excruciating torture every day."
Rob nodded. "They said so themselves."
I glanced nervously between their three faces. "Really? They said that?"
"They did," Ben admitted softly.
Dan smiled, and a humorless chuckle left his lips. "I almost wished they’d died sooner. They didn’t deserve to live through the pain that they did."
"Makes me wish my mother had died too," Cal muttered, staring blankly at the flames as they danced in the fire. "I wish I could talk to her. I wish I knew she was all right."
Rob, Dan, and Ben released me—the prior looking much warmer now—so I cut off my power and walked over to Cal. Hesitantly, I rubbed my hand up and down his back, never drawing his gaze from the fire. "I… I do too. I wish they were safe from harm, once and for all."
Even my own mother.
Sadness pooled in my stomach, eating away at me like acid.
I love you, Mom. I’ll help you any way I can. Even if that means letting you go…
Cal slowly wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and we watched the fire together.
"You feeling up to another round?" Ben asked Rob. "They wanted to talk to her too."
I turned just in time to see Rob nod and close his eyes. He lifted his hands, and suddenly the world was shoved into wavering shadows. Stars swirled in the sky around us as if we were flying through a supernova rather than standing around a fire—which had now turned an electric shade of blue. I glanced around, but my princes were nowhere to be found.
Rob was still in control though. It was as if I were seeing this beautiful midnight world through his eyes. He darted around the astral plane, dragging me along with him, until he found who he was looking for. Three shadows stood ready and waiting in the distance. The vision jerked, and suddenly their faces were clear, as if illuminated by a full moon.
The first woman smiled, her plush lips tugging at the corners. Rosemary. "Congratulations on your marriage to our sons, Alexis. We couldn’t be prouder of the woman they chose to give their hearts to."
Bianca nodded happily at Rosemary’s side. "We didn’t know if they’d ever find love, given the horrible example they grew up with, but we’re so pleased that they did."
Delilah reached out to me from Bianca’s other side, almost brushing fingers with mine but not quite. "You saved my Daniel. You gathered up the broken pieces of his shattered heart and you put them back together. Thank you."
It was hard to speak through the burning knot in my throat. Hard to see through the stinging tears welling in my eyes.
"I love them" was all I managed to get out before I started sobbing. "I’m so sorry for what happened to you."
"Oh, hush!" Bianca said, dusting off my comment as if it were silly. "Our deaths were quick. Easy, even. As soon as our souls left our bodies, the pain was gone. It’s… a gift, really."
Rosemary nodded slowly, that small, sad smile still stuck to her lips. "When the king ordered the vampire twins to take our heads down south, we knew we needed to follow. I knew my Robert would be looking for us."
I nodded as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Did you even know that was possible?" Bianca asked excitedly. "When you die, you can either move on or remain near your body as a ghost. But when your body is dismembered, you can literally follow whichever piece of it you want."
Well, that wasn't disturbing or anything.
Delilah grinned as if amused by her friend. "Caroline, Ashlynn, Katelynn, and Faith buried our bodies in the palace graveyard, but we chose to remain with our heads rather than cross over into the Underworld."
"But why?" My head shook slowly as I tried to understand. "Why not just be done with it? Why not rest in eternal bliss in Elysium?"
"For the same reason we never left this world before," Rosemary replied softly. "No matter how much pain we had to endure, no matter how lost or empty we had felt, we'd always be there for our sons. No matter what."
Bianca smirked and crossed her tiny arms. "That’s right. We’re staying until that bastard-ass husband of ours is gone for good."
"Only then can we truly rest in peace," Delilah finished gently.
Rosemary reached out this time, but just like Delilah, her fingers never quite brushed mine. I had a feeling they might pass right through me if they were able to cross that invisible barrier. "We just wanted you to know that we’re grateful for you, Alexis. For loving our sons, for loving our people, and for loving this kingdom enough to fight for it."
"Thank you," I muttered in a pained whisper. "You don’t know how much that means to me."
"Kill the king," Delilah added, eyeing me knowingly.
Her voice joined Rory’s and Gemma’s in the back of my mind, growing louder until it echoed against my very skull. Kill the king.
I took a deep breath, practically inhaling their conviction and confidence, and then I nodded. "I will. But one more thing."
"Yes?" Rosemary asked curiously.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about Tia? Anything that might help me find her?"
"Jewels…" Rob warned. I could feel the strain of his emotions in the air. His power was waning, and he really didn’t want to waste the last of it talking about his supposed sister.
"There were whispers that she may have headed south," Rosemary answered before shrugging softly. "That's all I know, and I don't even know if it's true."
Bianca and Delilah nodded their apologetic agreement.
"Thank you, ladies," I said, smiling.
I was just about to bow my head and curtsey when the astral plane was ripped away from me and the bright-as-fuck snowy landscape of Blackdell was thrust back into reality, blinding my unsuspecting gaze.
"Fuck," I cursed, bending over and rubbing my eyes until the colorful dots swarming my vision cleared a bit.
"It’s more brutal with the snow," Rob admitted, teeth chattering once again. There was a painful grimace on his handsome face. "It reflects a lot of light, even though you can almost never see the sun through the clouds."
He was standing
next to the crackling fire, but it didn’t even matter. The cold was internal—the price for using his magic—and so was the pain that he no doubt felt. My flames would help warm him up now that his power had subsided, but there was no real cure for the pain except letting it run its course. I hated that I couldn’t help him more.
Criss reached out and touched Rob’s shoulder. It was meant to look like a gesture of solidarity, but when his golden magic seeped through Rob’s coat and into his body, I knew what he was really doing. Healing him.
Rob almost didn’t notice until Criss removed his hand and yawned, stretching high into the sky. His gray eyes darted this way and that, staring at nothing in particular as he seemingly assessed his internal pain levels.
"Were you… trying to heal me?" He turned toward Criss with a curious glance.
Criss merely smiled. "No sense letting you suffer in pain when I could just be a little sleepy instead, right?"
"I guess," Rob mumbled, looking a little dazed. "If it had worked."
Criss frowned. "You’re still in pain?"
Rob nodded. "Can you guys feel it through the bond? My pain?"
I shook my head, but Ben was the one who answered. "I think you, like Ash, have a special kind of magic. Since pain is the price for using your magic, it’s something that only you can feel. But when you experience pain unrelated to your powers, then we most definitely feel it. Like when that dickhead Thane stabbed you on the ship, I felt that shit."
"Me too," Dan assured him as the rest of us muttered our agreement.
"It’s just a theory though," Ben added. "I’m no occultist."
Dan chuckled and patted his brother’s back. "Well, thank the gods for that."
"What about the gods?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
I turned and discovered a man I’d never seen before standing in our midst.
Chapter 3
Curious shock overwhelmed me as I gaped at the newcomer.
He had creamy brown skin and dark curly hair that faded to blond at the tips. The sides of his head were buzzed short, allowing a bit of the curls to tumble down, and his eyes were a pale shade of green. When he smiled, his teeth shone like pearls, and he was dressed in clothing I’d never seen before. Tight, light blue pants hugged his sturdy legs, and a strange coat was buttoned up around him. It didn’t look all that warm actually, but I assumed he wasn’t freezing since his teeth never chattered and his hands, which were casually stuffed into his coat pockets, never shook.
"Adam," the newcomer said with a grin. "Long time no see, my man. I knew you’d get lost on your way to the bathroom."
Immediately, Rob turned to Taron and Tamara, who had been so freaking quiet this whole time, I barely even remembered they were there. "Are there any temples nearby?"
"Of course, Your Highness. The Temple of Hades is right at the edge of town."
Rob nodded. "Would you mind taking the chest there?"
"Of course, Your Highness," Taron answered for both of them, bowing low.
"I’ll talk to you again soon, Mom," Rob said to the invisible spirits as the twins lifted the cart and hauled it away.
Then it was just us and the new guy.
Ash sighed and shook his head. "I didn't get lost, man. And my name is actually Asher, not Adam."
The newcomer raised an arrogant brow. "Shit. You should have told me that before I had our names engraved on the trophy."
"You didn’t…" Ash said, but there was definitely a note of uncertainty in his tone.
The man chuckled, once more showcasing his beautiful smile. "Nah, I didn’t. But if I had, you’d feel like a real dick for lying, wouldn’t you?"
"I still feel like a dick for lying," Ash admitted. "Dion, I’d like you to meet my brothers and…" He stopped to stare at me for a moment.
How would he introduce me? His ex-girlfriend? His brothers’ wife? Gods, it was a fucked-up situation.
"And my girl, Alexis. Cal, Dan, Ben, Rob, Criss… this is Dion, God of Partying and Wine."
"Sounds like my kind of god," Rob declared with a dark grin.
"And she’s not just your girl," Dan corrected Asher. "She’s our girl."
Dion laughed, removing his hand from his coat pocket and holding it out toward Rob. "Nice to meet you, bro."
He moved quickly from person to person, shaking their hands in turn, even mine. No special curtseying or bowing. No special distinction between males from females. He treated us all with the same casual weight. I liked that.
"Hate to be late to my own party," Dion said, stuffing his hands into his coat once more, "but this place is in the middle of fucking nowhere. How’d you ever find it?"
"There’s a path," Ben said, pointing out across the tundra. As Dion’s brow raised, Ben smiled and added, "You know, deep under a foot of snow."
"Right," Dion agreed sarcastically.
"What do you mean, late to your own party?" I asked.
"Oh, the holiday you were celebrating yesterday?" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder as if the party was going on right behind him. "It’s in honor of my birth, which was, you know, like thousands of years ago."
Cal folded his hands behind his back as a curious look caused his brows to furrow. "How’d you know we were celebrating if you didn’t find the town until just now?"
Dion smirked. "I could feel it. It’s the reason why I came. Anyone throwing a party in my honor deserves my divine fucking presence, am I right?"
Ash laughed. "You just wanted to play more beer pong, didn’t you?"
"No, actually," Dion replied mischievously. "We have a new game now. It’s called battle shots. I’ll have to show you how to play sometime."
"That’d be awesome."
"Right," Rob said, interrupting their game talk, "but we have bigger shit to deal with right now, so…"
The Spirit Prince was clearly trying to keep the conversation on track and moving right along, but I was still stuck on Dion’s response to my question. He’d felt our holiday celebration. It was the reason why he’d come. I was suddenly feeling much less guilty about needing a day off to relax and unwind. If we hadn’t stopped to enjoy the holiday season, we might never have had a chance to ask this god for help. Talk about everything happening for a reason…
My guys looked tense—their muscles extra tight—and they shared reluctant gazes, as if no one wanted to finish what Rob had started saying.
Dion passed an inquisitive glance around our group before his gaze landed back on Asher. "What’s going on, man?"
Ash sighed and looked over at his friend. "We need your help."
Dion rubbed his hands together, his muscles flexing noticeably even beneath his coat. "I’m going to need a bit more details. And, like, probably a lot more alcohol."
He clapped, and suddenly we were all seated in the tavern located on the bottom floor of the inn. One more clap and the day-drinking customers were gone. All that was left was the bartender, and he looked like he was completely oblivious to any of it.
Dion stood and pulled off his coat, showcasing his rippling muscles beneath a tight white shirt, before sitting back down. A final clap and our tabletop was littered with mugs of beer and glasses of wine. He lifted his glass and winked at me from across the table, making my cheeks flush with warmth. Every single one of my guys' gazes darkened at Dion. They were going to kill him before we could even ask him for help.
When the god of wine was finished chugging his first glass, he grabbed another and gestured for Ash to continue. "You were saying?"
Ash grabbed a mug of beer and took a big gulp. "You know how Ares has been helping the Storm King as long as he completes those ridiculous quests?"
Dion grinned. "Zachy-boy? Yeah, I recall. Did he ever find the Eye of the Sea?"
Ash shook his head. "No, but the Hydratican King did. He claims he’s going to use it to open a portal to the Underworld."
The grin fell right off Dion’s face. "Hades would not be pleased about that."
"Neither would we," Rob
inserted sternly.
"We understand that the gods abandoned our world a long time ago," Cal added, trying to smooth out Rob’s blunt reply. "We’re not asking you guys to come back and save us. We’re simply asking that your war god no longer aid our psychopathic tyrant."
Dion pinched his bottom lip as he thought. "You want me to tell Ares to mind his fucking business?"
Cal smiled brightly. "Yeah, basically. If the Storm King no longer has divine assistance, then we can overthrow him and rule Blackwood Kingdom with kindness and justice, like the people deserve."
The party god sighed and took another long drink of wine. "And what does this have to do with the Hydratican King and the Eye of the Sea?"
"Nothing at all," Ben admitted with a nervous but hopeful smile. "We actually need your help with both of these issues."
Dion scrubbed a hand down his gorgeous face and bit his bottom lip. "I can’t tell Ares what to do. Dude’s like talking to a brick fucking wall. But Zeus will want to know about the Eye. If I can convince him to come and handle that, then maybe while he’s here, he can also deal with Ares and your Storm King?"
"Do you think it’ll work?" Ash asked him, sounding hopeful.
"Honestly?" Dion shook his head. "It’s a longshot. But I’m willing to try. You’re lucky we won that beer pong tournament. If you’d have made me lose, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now."
I was pretty sure he was teasing, but at the same time, I had a feeling it was true. Thank fuck Ash was competitive.
"Would it help," Cal began, "if you reminded the King of the Gods that his son is involved in this shitshow? And Hades’s son. And Demeter’s, Hera’s, and Poseidon’s."
Dion sat up straight and laced his fingers atop the table. "I have no idea. The gods fuck, fornicate, and reproduce so much it’s hard to keep track. He might care; he might not. But like I said, I’m willing to try."
Cal nodded, looking a little put off that his suggestion hadn’t held much weight. Or maybe he was pissed that neither of his fathers seemed to give much of a shit?
Now that I thought of it, it certainly pissed me right the fuck off. These men deserved so much more than what they were given in this life. I mean, sure, they were born into royalty rather than poverty, but there were fates far worse than destitution—I was living proof of that.
Perfect Storms (Storms of Blackwood Book 4) Page 2