The Sun Revolves Around Apollo (The Gods Are Back In Town Book 2)

by Serena Akeroyd

  The heat helped. Not just from the water, and I knew when they placed me in the bath, because it eased my pain, but my men were pivotal too. They surrounded me. Physically and spiritually, so that even though I was covered by darkness, they were alight.

  That whole ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ shit? It was true. I could see it, and knew that with each passing hour or maybe even day, I was getting closer to it. Except, the light wasn’t death.

  The light was Apollo.

  He was my sun.

  And around him, were satellites—Lux, Tor, and Chill.

  I could feel when they moved me. Jostled me around as they cared for me. I felt their touch, their gentle kisses to my forehead—the way they stroked my hair.

  Each touch, each caress was imbued with an emotion that was as foreign to me as the Mandarin language. Hell, I had more chance of guessing what the word ‘love’ was in Mandarin than I did of understanding how it felt, but I knew because it was impossible to avoid it.

  They barely knew me, and I barely knew them, but the connection went soul deep.

  It didn’t matter if they hated horror movies—a once ‘no no’ for any potential boyfriend—and if they preferred Thai over Indian food, then I wouldn’t judge them for it. I just wanted them.

  The wanting grew with each moment I spent in the darkness, until I failed to realize when the obsidian gloom around me dispersed as Apollo’s light bled through the shadows.

  Of course, I didn’t realize that some of that light was mine too.

  When I finally opened my eyes, the ache was like lightning across my optic nerves. I raised a hand to cover them, shield them from the brightness around me, but the brightness came from me. My hand was glowing.

  Fucking glowing.

  I looked like a radioactive Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Except I wasn’t bringing peace or love, just a shit ton of light.

  “What the actual hell?” I managed to croak.

  Around me there was movement. I heard chairs grate as they were shoved out of place, and I heard footsteps—several pairs of them.

  “Ella?”

  Cressida?

  That was Cressy?

  I had to sit up, but even as I tried, my arms weren’t strong enough to support me. I flopped back down, and the move jostled my head.

  Ouch.

  Then, hands were there, pillows were rearranged and I was hauled up against them.

  I felt like that magnetic putty that seeped into every pore while you fiddled with it, delineating all your fingerprints. I could seep into the spaces between the pillows, no problem.

  Squinting at the people surrounding me, I managed to whisper, “Why are so many gorgeous guys looking at me when I feel like shit?”

  Cressy giggled, and the sound had my lips twitching.

  “Traitor,” I said to her, and was relieved when she jumped up from her seat at my side and began hustling the handsome men away.

  Seriously, no woman wanted any man this fine to see her looking the way I felt.

  Even if I knew who the men were, and that they were intrinsically mine… I didn’t give a fuck. I needed a shower and a hairbrush as well as, ew, a toothbrush.

  “How can my mouth taste this bad?” I whined when I knew the bedroom was empty—something that surprised me considering how bullish my men were. What the hell kind of magic had Cressy pulled?

  “Because you’ve been sleeping for ages?” Cressy retorted, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw how close her hands were and when she clapped them in front of me, I hissed.

  “Bitch! What was that for?”

  “Ummm, for scaring the shit out of me? How about that?”

  She sounded cheerful though, which was a direct contradiction to the bitchy move she’d just pulled.

  I scowled at her. “Ouch. That fucking hurt.”

  “Good,” she retorted. “What the fuck is happening here, Ella?”

  “How would I know? I’ve been asleep,” I told her sulkily, and peered over at her to see she was holding something out to me. Realizing it was a compact, I scowled at it, and then her. “If you’re trying to make me feel crap, then just let the boys back in. I mean, jeez, they were nice to me at least.”

  “Look in the mirror, Ella,” Cressy ordered, her hand not wavering as she held out the compact for me.

  With a huff, I told her, “You were nicer before you married a God.”

  “I was also down-trodden, terrified of living, and spent way too much time in closets—”

  “Closets?” I demanded. “What the hell were you doing in closets?”

  “That’s neither here nor there,” she retorted. “Look in the mirror.”

  “Since when do you say shit like ‘that’s neither here nor there?’” I squinted at her. “I thought mine was the only body being possessed around here?”

  She huffed. “Do you realize how old our men are?”

  I carried on squinting at her. “So?”

  “So? I quoted Shakespeare the other day, Ella. Shakespeare.” She flung her arms wide, and it was so weird to see this Cressy. Christ, I hadn’t seen her like this for ages. “I mean that’s just fucked up, right?”

  “Why did you?”

  “Because Hades does.”

  “Hades quotes Shakespeare?”

  “Well, he mumbles it.”

  “And you mumble it too now?”

  Cressy flipped me the bird when I started snickering. “Some of it’s really catchy.”

  “No, Cress, no. Just no. Shakespeare might be the original wordsmith, let’s not break Hades’ heart and tell him Kit Marlowe was plagiarized severely by the bard, but he is anything but catchy.”

  Another bird was flipped my way, but I tossed it back by grabbing the compact. Before I looked, she mumbled, “You’ll see. Just watch. And it’s impossible to stop. I’m going up against three, Ella. You have four. Four. That means you pick up their little sayings. I really hope you start quoting Confucius.”

  “I’d prefer Yoda,” I teased her, before sucking down a sharp breath and opening the compact.

  I mean, I didn’t shriek, even if I could feel the shriek warbling in my throat, longing for freedom. Instead, I swallowed, then rasped, “This is why they left you to deal with this, right?”

  She winced. “I think they figured I’d know how to calm you down.”

  “Since when did you calm me down?”

  A shrug was her first answer. “Didn’t think it would soothe them if I told them you were the one who was the calmest of our bunch.”

  I had to snicker. “No wonder they all ran.” I picked up a piece of hair that had fallen on my brow. “What the fuck’s happening, Cressy?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “You’re cute, Ella.”

  “Cute? Cressy, I’m glowing.”

  “Yeah. I know. It’s pretty hard to miss.”

  “I don’t look like I did the last time I looked in a mirror.”

  “You’re looking more like the Ella I knew,” she told me softly.

  “Well, that isn’t going to freak Dolly out,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Who’s Dolly?”

  “Cindy’s mom.” I began to tug at my bottom lip. “She sent me to a rehabilitation center, not a plastic surgery getaway.”

  Cressy shrugged. “I think that’s the least of our worries.”

  “You mean the fact I look like a walking, talking nuclear generator? Yup, I figured that’s the most pressing concern.”

  “Technically you’re a walking, talking sun.”

  “Same difference,” I told her, wafting my hand dismissively at her.

  “Hardly.” She shoved my arm then, and before I knew what the fuck was happening, she was there, next to me on the bed, and her arms were around me. She hugged me so hard it hurt, and then I felt her tears, and I knew she was crying because she was happy, so I didn’t chide her for them.

  I wasn’t dying or anything. I just… well, I glowed.

  I mean, there were worse things, rig
ht?

  Well, not in the day and age of social media.

  Face-palm moment.

  Sighing, I pressed my face into her hair and sucked in the scent that I always recognized. When we’d been foster kid brats, and then when I’d been a nurse in the burn unit and she’d been a superstar, she’d always used Garnier Fructis shampoo. The Sleek and Shine one.

  “I love you, Cress.”

  “I love you too, Cinderella.”

  I shoved her. “Bitch. We were having a moment.”

  She snickered, but squeezed me tight. “Ella, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too, sweets.” I rubbed my chin on her head. “I swear, I’ve done more shit since I died than when I lived.”

  “I’ll bet,” she retorted dryly. “You’re not the only one.”

  “How are you coping with being a stud sandwich?”

  She pulled back at the question and shot me a look with eyes that twinkled. “I’m managing.”

  The prim tone had me snickering. “I’ll bet.” I shoved her again. “Think I’ll ever be able to go out in public?”

  “Not when it’s dark.”

  “Has Apollo said when the glow will stop?”

  She shook her head. “He doesn’t know why you’re glowing in the first place.”

  I reached up to tug at my necklace, when it wasn’t there, I frowned.

  “What is it?”

  “I have this necklace I’ve been wearing. It’s rutilated quartz.”

  She blinked. “Since when are you into crystals?”

  “Since I woke up, apparently,” I mumbled. “What? Was I into Satan before?”

  She snickered. “Yeah, you were into all kinds of shit. Drinking goat’s blood and wearing skulls.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, #lifegoals. I achieved so much in my past life, why not aim higher in this one?”

  Her grin beamed almost as bright as I did. Which was seriously saying something. “Nah, you almost had a halo. You walked dogs at the shelter in your spare time, and trust me, that spare time was limited. You were like the burn unit head before you died because you worked so much.”

  I pulled a face. “Going to nominate me for sainthood?”

  “Maybe tomorrow.” She reached for my hand and squeezed my fingers. “You okay?”

  “As okay as I can be, I guess.” I frowned and went to fiddle with my necklace again. “Dammit, I want my necklace.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I had it on when we went on the boat, but I don’t know where it’s gone.”

  “The boat?”

  Her cocked brow told me the guys hadn’t kept her in the loop. I didn’t question why, just trusted in them and shrugged. “They have a boat. A big one. And we had sex on it.”

  She snickered. “You rebel. Sex on a boat is cool though, isn’t it?”

  “Hell yeah. Especially when you’re a part of an orgy.”

  “Orgy?” Her head tilted to the side. “You mean they got it on too?”

  Her wide eyes told me her dudes didn’t ‘get it on’ with each other. Rather than answer, I winked at her. “That’s for me to know.”

  She pouted. “No fair!”

  I snickered and patted her hand. “We’re gonna live a long time, honey. There’s going to be some shit I don’t want to tell you.”

  “That makes it sound even juicier.”

  I smirked at her. “I know.”

  ❖

  Apollo

  “Bitch!”

  The word came out as a squeal and was followed by a torrent of laughter that had me sucking down a relieved breath.

  Lux shot me a look. “Things sound okay in there.”

  I nodded. “That’s a relief.”

  “I wonder if she’s looked at her reflection yet?” Tor asked, prompting me to think of the subtle changes to Cindy’s face. No longer were her cheeks gaunt, they were fleshed out. Her hair was like honey without any need for dye, and her eyes? God only knew what Dolly would say if she saw her without a face full of make-up and colored contact lenses.

  Then there was the glow to worry about.

  Jesus.

  “Cressy is too upfront not to have shown her straight away,” Nash stated, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in, prompting us to all remember the picture Cressy had shown us of Ella before. Well, Cindy of now was looking more like that.

  As unlikely as it may have been, in my world, few things were truly impossible.

  I wasn’t sure why my quarters had turned into a waiting room, but it had happened after the third day of Ella’s seemingly endless sleep. Cressy had wanted to sit with her, her men hadn’t wanted to let her in my suite, so I’d compromised on Ella’s behalf. Even though having my altar so close to another God had set my teeth on edge, especially a God who hated me, I’d seen how Hades had softened when he was around Cressy, and the love his wife had for Ella was impossible to deny.

  Hades would never be a friend. I couldn’t even say he’d be an ally. But we were linked now. Linked by the love of two women we, in turn, loved more than our own lives. That was an irrefutable connection, and I had to wonder what game the Fates were playing.

  Gods were never friendly with one another.

  Even the sibling deities weren’t.

  Artemis and I were as close as it got, and she lived in the Philippines and we spoke every decade, which was more than enough for both of us.

  So for Hades and I to be rubbing along well enough, and then Icarus’ insistence that our wives were connected to other Gods’ lines for a reason…?

  Indeed, there was something afoot, but in all my years, I’d learned to stop myself from getting hung up on the games of the Fates. They did what they wanted, worked for a higher power than even Hades or I, and so, we had no alternative but to embrace that.

  I rocked back into my chair at the dining table in the room connected to my suite. It was a simple space, mostly because I never used it. All cream walls with bright white moldings on the ceiling, the large glass and chrome dining table, and ornate white chairs that looked as though they’d been 3D printed. I wasn’t a fan, but it didn’t matter. It housed us all with ease.

  “You’ve no idea when the glow will die down?”

  “No. I have no real idea why she’s glowing in the first place.” It irked me to admit to the failing, but it was the truth, and my guardians deserved no less than that.

  Icarus cleared his throat. “I mentioned this to Castor when I first arrived…”

  I shot Tor a look. “Mentioned what?”

  “We were discussing the likelihood of Ella being sired by Hecate and Cindy being sired by Helios. Or vice versa,” Tor said with a sigh.

  “And you didn’t think to discuss this with me?”

  “No, not while she slept. What use is knowing that anyway?”

  “It would explain much,” I growled. “Like how we almost destroyed society as we know it without putting any protection into place.”

  Hades frowned at me then at his guardian. “What makes you think this?”

  Lux chimed in though. “If Ella was born of Helios’ line, then she merged with Cindy, her sudden interest in crystals would make sense. Hecate’s influence was bearing fruit while Helios’ had always been there.”

  I rubbed my chin. “What might this mean for Ella? For us?”

  “Nothing, except for the fact that she has two dueling forces inside her,” Icarus commented.

  “Nothing?” Achilles growled. “That sounds like a whole lot of somethings to me.”

  Icarus sighed. “You know what I meant.”

  Achilles grunted, and I agreed with him. For once.

  Huh.

  Ella had wreaked yet another miracle.

  “What if one force protected or controlled the other?” Castor mused.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Perhaps being around crystals would contain the glow?”

  I clicked my fingers. “Her necklace. The rutilated quartz. W
here is it?”

  “I removed it before we put her into the bath when we got back, I was worried it would get damaged,” Tor explained. “It’s in your room. Your nightstand drawer.”

  I nodded, and climbing to my feet, headed over to the connecting door. It felt strange to tap on the door to my room, but it was a time of strangeness for all of us here.

  “Come in,” Ella called out, and her voice was husky. From lack of use? Or from emotions?

  I opened the door, and even though I braced myself for the glow, I almost winced as the light hit my eyes. It was as piercing as light through glass. I was half afraid she’d set fire to the bed, that was how hot she beamed.

  Forcing a smile for her, I murmured, “It is good to see you well, ó chrýsion. We may have a solution for the glow.”

  “Oh?” She perked up as I headed over to the bed and went to the nightstand farthest from her. When it wasn’t in the top drawer, I moved to the one closest to her. “Do you know where my necklace is, by the way?” she asked.

  My hand touched upon the leather thong, and I retrieved it from the drawer and dangled it over her belly.

  “That is pretty,” Cressy said, but she shot me a look.

  It was amazing how this woman had no fear of me. Ella hadn’t either.

  What were they breeding nowadays?

  Amazonians?

  I ignored Cressida, however, and focused on my mate. Hearing movement over by the door, I saw my guardians hustling over there, watching with intent as Ella reached for the necklace and tugged it over her head.

  Nothing happened.

  Disappointment whirled inside me.

  Then she reached for the crystal and I blew out a breath.

  “She’s dimming!” Cressida cried out, her relief evident.

  “I am?” Ella squeaked.

  “The crystal isn’t though. Look,” I pointed out.

  My guardians strode in and gathered around the foot of the bed. Achilles commented, “We can hide that.”

  “Can we?” I frowned. “How?”

  “A glowing necklace can be explained away nowadays,” he stated.