by Amy Sumida
“I'm fine,” I said as I joined them at the long, rectangular table. “I just had some issues in Kyanite. The latest group of nymphs have gone back to Olympus to warn their people and help defend them from satyrs.”
“No shit?” Cerberus asked, sounding impressed but not all that surprised. “Good for them.”
“Helene went with them,” Darc added with a glance at me.
“She broke up with Kasteo?” Cerberus growled. “What the fuck happened?”
“Evidently, she was never with Kasteo,” I said in a slow, controlled tone. “She's been pining for Kosmos this entire time.”
Cerberus just gaped at me.
“Well, that's unfortunate,” Declan noted.
“Helene said that to you?” Slate asked. “You haven't just assumed this?”
“She made herself very clear,” Darc answered for me.
“Did you tell that fucking traitorous bitch to get the fuck out of your castle?” Cerberus snarled.
“Better. I told her that if she wasn't going to be with Kasteo, she had better stay away from Kosmos or I'd hurt her.”
“That's my girl!” Cerberus pounded the table.
Darc grimaced.
“Shouldn't that be up to Kosmos?” Torin asked.
“Thank you.” Darc waved a hand at Torin in solidarity.
“Hey!” I pointed from Darc to Torin. “Kosmos is a tomcat. If Helene lifts her tail for him, he'll fuck first and then think later. And that will tear the Terrencal brothers apart. No sex is worth losing your family over.”
“But is it really your place to interfere, Elaria?” Torin asked gently. “To threaten her?”
“They're family so that makes it my place. I'd do the same for Cerberus, and he would for me.”
“You're damn right!” Cerberus pounded the table again.
“Would you please stop abusing my table?” Banning asked dryly.
“All right, that's enough,” Darc announced. “It doesn't matter. Elaria spoke her mind, and Helene left. It's done.”
“How's Kas taking it?” Cerberus asked.
“I don't know,” I admitted. “We left while she was telling him.”
“Fuck,” Cerberus muttered. “And he just manned up.”
“I know.” I grimaced.
“Bitch,” Cer hissed.
“I know.”
“Is the woman really so bad for simply falling in love?” Lucifer—again back to his usual glory—asked gently.
I swung my gaze to Luke and flinched at the open longing in his eyes.
“Helene went through a horrible trauma and took help when it was offered,” Lucifer went on. “Can she help it if she fell in love with the wrong brother? Can any of us prevent our hearts from choosing who they will?”
I grimaced and looked at Cerberus.
“Fuck,” Cerberus grumbled. “Fine, she isn't a bitch.”
“Only because she's not involved with Kosmos yet,” I insisted. “Helene's still at the point where she has a choice, and she had better choose wisely or I will correct her mistake for her.”
Cerberus chuckled as Torin and Darc rolled their eyes, but Lucifer just stared at me sorrowfully until I looked away.
“So, what's the plan?” I asked as I pulled the blueprints over to me.
“We need more surveillance pictures of the location before we can settle on an arrival spot,” Cerberus said. “But we think it would be best if we surrounded the house while you sang and then go in together to clear the place.”
“I'll have angels posted in the area to watch the site for any updated security measures or other changes to the manor that we'll need to know about.” Lucifer folded his hands serenely before him on the table. “They'll also keep an eye on the satyrs themselves.”
“And my contacts will keep me updated as well,” Banning added. “We may have to modify our plan later but for now, it looks solid.”
“The manor is in a secluded location,” Torin added. “We won't have to worry about humans interfering.”
“What about hired help?” I asked. “You said you had notes from the event planner?”
“There will be several waiters and waitresses in addition to the event planner herself; all of them Beneathers.” Banning passed me a stack of papers to peruse. “The food will be cooked elsewhere and reheated on-site so there won't be a chef to worry about.”
“I'll need a non-fatal song,” I murmured. “I don't want innocent people harmed.”
“Just knock 'em out, and we'll take care of the rest,” Cerberus offered.
“All right, I'll come up with some possibilities.” I looked over at Darc. “Perhaps you could sing with me.”
“I would love to.” Darc lifted my hand and kissed it tenderly, that single action wiping away my earlier irritation.
There were very few people who understood what it was like to be a spellsinger, and all of them had been my family. Until Darc became a shining one. With Kyanite giving him the power of communication, Darc was as close to understanding my magic as a non-spellsinger could get. But the truly glorious part was that we could make magic together. I finally had a lover who I could share this part of myself with. Someone to not only stand beside me as I sang but to also sing with me. But then, Darcraxis and I have been blending our magic from the very beginning. It made sense that he'd develop similar magic to mine.
I cleared my throat, let go of Darc's hand, and asked, “Do we know anything about the terrain? What we'll have to work with?”
“Not yet,” Banning said. “As mentioned, we're waiting on surveillance photos. We should have them soon.”
“Until then, we should all take some photos of these blueprints so we have them to refer to,” Declan suggested.
Cerberus pulled out his cellphone and started snapping pictures. “My contacts will notify me of anything happening in the Bazaar. I think we should stay out of Istanbul until we handle this shit.”
I frowned at the event planner's notes as I set them down. Something was bothering me.
“Hey, El, stop looking so damn nervous,” Cerberus teased me. “We've got my security teams, the Cat-Shifters, Banning's gura, and even the Angelic Host helping us. With that many badasses involved and all of our intel, it should be a sure win.
“That's what's making me nervous,” I muttered.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Would you like to go down to the Sgàthan today?” Declan offered as he spooned against my back.
I'd gone home with Declan to Alexandrite after the meeting broke up but despite his talented efforts to distract me, I'd woken up as anxious as I'd been the night before. Now, I stared at our wedding picture, set on the bedside table in a silver frame. If you're happily married, looking at your wedding picture should make you feel love and gratitude, maybe even peace. But looking at that photograph of Declan and me—him regal and staring confidently at the camera while I stared lovingly up at him—just made me more anxious. I had so much love in my life, so much to be thankful for, that it terrified me. The more I received, the more I had to lose. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. Blah blah blah. Yeah, I'm whining about being happy. It doesn't change the fact that I was having a damn panic attack.
“Sure,” I murmured. “That would be nice.”
“Elaria?” Declan turned me onto my back. “What is it?”
“I have a bad feeling,” I whispered.
Declan went white, and I instantly felt even worse.
“Hey, it's just nerves.” I stroked his stunning face and ran a fingertip over his pouting lower lip. “It'll be okay.”
“Elaria, Kyanite's magic is more than Communication. It's also a jewel of Prophecy.”
“Yeah, I know. But Ky's never given me prophecies before.”
“Kyanite grants psychic abilities and that can manifest as instinct. Feelings.” Declan sat up. “Ask him. Ask Kyanite if your bad feeling is a psychic warning or just normal pre-battle jitters.”
“Ky?” I sat up too.
&n
bsp; The future shifts constantly. It's difficult to predict and half the time, predicting it alters it so I've never offered you my forecasts. What you're feeling now is my unease, my love, Kyanite said gently. I sense something wicked gathering its strength. Something that will set its sights on you. And this future isn't shifting; it's holding course.
Well, that's not at all cryptic, RS muttered.
But you don't know what it is, Ky? I asked.
Not yet. Just that it's evil.
Then let's keep this to ourselves for now.
But—
If I tell them, they'll insist that I stay in Kyanite. Hell, they might even lock me in my tower like Rapunzel, I muttered in my mind.
Yeah, they'll freak the fuck out, RS agreed.
Perhaps you're right, Kyanite conceded.
When you can tell me what it is, I'll tell them, I bargained.
As you wish, my love.
“What did he say?” Declan asked urgently.
I pasted on a bright smile. “It's just nerves.”
“Oh, thank the Jewels!” Declan exclaimed as he hugged me. “I was on the verge of panic.”
“It's going to be fine,” I comforted him while inside, I shivered.
It will be fine, Kyanite assured me.
Yeah. You're not alone, even when you're alone, El. We're always with you, RS added.
“I think I may need a little more reassurance,” Declan whispered in my ear as he slid me onto his lap and then onto his shaft.
I was just getting a nice rhythm going—arms around Declan's shoulders as I focused on the feel of him inside me instead of my aching anxiety—when my contact charm chimed.
“No,” Declan declared as he shoved me onto my back and started slamming into me savagely.
It kept chiming.
“Declan.”
“No,” he growled. “Let them wait. We need this.”
I set my feet to the mattress and steadied myself against Declan's urgent thrusts. There wasn't any of his usual finesse—no sweet words or kisses, just barbaric lust. And that was fine with me. I clawed Declan closer as the passion rose and our ragged breaths drowned out the chiming of the charm. Within minutes, I shouted brokenly, my whole body thrashing with the ferocity of my release, and then Declan swiftly followed, emptying into me with a roar.
As we shared a sweet kiss and our heartbeats slowed, that annoying sound invaded our privacy again.
“They're damn insistent,” Declan muttered as he eased off and out of me.
I chuckled softly as I reached for the contact charm. At least some of my worry had faded with my orgasm. I slid the stone into my ear and answered.
“What the hell is it now?” I asked without any real heat.
Declan snickered as he headed to the shower.
“I've just received word from Olympus,” Cer said grimly.
“What happened?” I went still.
“The Demos Satyrs went back for more nymphs.”
“Fuck! Again? Already? Are the Nymphs okay?”
“They're fine; not a single loss.”
“Oh. Good.” I relaxed. “Then why don't you sound pleased?”
“The Nymphs were prepared for war, but the Demos Satyrs weren't,” Cerberus said grimly. “Every satyr sent was slaughtered. The Nymphs took their vengeance out on them. It was a fucking bloodbath, El.”
“You can't say that they didn't deserve it.”
“That's not the problem,” Cer growled. “What do you think will happen when the Demos Family hears that their men were torn apart by a bunch of nymphs?”
“Oh,” I whispered.
“Yeah. It didn't occur to me either, not until I heard the report. The Demos thugs are going to return to Olympus but next time, they'll be prepared too.”
“We need to get the Nymphs some help.”
“That's why I'm calling,” he said. “I could ask Hades myself, but I think you'd get further with Persephone. She likes the Nymphs. Isn't she a close friend of the Nymph Queen?”
“That's right!” I exclaimed. “She'll definitely help them.”
“Meet you at the gates?”
“Give me five minutes.”
Cer hung up without bothering to say goodbye. It wasn't rudeness, it was efficiency.
“Declan, I'm going to Styx!” I called out as I pulled on my underwear.
“What?” Declan's voice echoed hollowly out of the bathroom.
“I'm going to Styx!”
“The hell you are!”
“Yes, exactly!” I giggled as I pulled on some boots to go with my jeans and sweater. Hell could get chilly. I didn't want to catch my death. “You want to come with or are you staying here?”
“Why are we going to Styx?” Declan came out of the bathroom dragging a towel over his dripping wet, gorgeous body.
“Because I need to see its queen.” I grinned as I enjoyed the view.
“Oh, of course.” He rolled his alexandrite eyes. “Why else would someone visit Styx?”
“Hurry up; we're meeting Cerberus at the gates in three minutes.”
“Well, at least you're not rushing me,” Declan muttered as he flung aside the towel and headed for his clothes.
“And at least we're going there by choice this time,” I added.
“There is that.” Declan glanced over his shoulder at me and caught me checking out his backside. “Do we time for—”
“No,” I cut him off.
“Fine,” he grumbled and grudgingly pulled on his clothes. “But when we're finished talking to Persephone, we're coming back here and having sex all day.”
“What happened to visiting the Sgàthan?”
“We'll have sex there too,” he declared decisively.
I chuckled. “Very well.”
“Yes?” Declan started to look hopeful.
“Yes.”
“Well, let's be off then. The faster we get to Styx, the faster we can come home so I can show you my stick.”
I groaned as the RS chortled inside both of our minds.
Don't encourage him, I said to her.
But he's adorable, she insisted.
“No? You don't like that one?” Declan asked with a teasing grin.
“It was awful.”
“How about; the faster we can come home so I can styx it to you?” He tried again.
“Please, stop,” I whined.
“The faster we get to the Underworld, the faster we can come home so I can get under your world?”
“That's just silly.”
“So I can lick your underworld?” Declan pulled me against his chest and nuzzled my neck. “In fact, I have many plans for your underworld, some of them involving my underworld.”
Great, Kyanite muttered, now I'll never be able to hear the word “underworld” without thinking of Declan's private parts.
Me either! RS exclaimed gleefully.
“Just hold on and shut up, you gorgeous pervert.” I clutched Declan closer and took us to Styx.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Greek Realm has two planets capable of hosting life; Olympus, where the Grecian race—now known as the Greek Gods—originated from and Styx, where Hades and Persephone rule over races the other Grecians find too monstrous to consort with. There's only one place to arrive on Styx—at least if you travel there unaccompanied by its rulers—and that's directly in front of the gates. Cerberus was the original Guardian of the Gates of Hades before his sister, Hydra, took over for him. But now, Hydra is imprisoned with her parents in Tartarus so I expected the Gates to be unguarded.
Silly me.
“What in all the Realms is that?” Declan whispered to me as we stood before the imposing Gates of Hades, their iron spires tearing at the stormy sky.
It was always gloomy around the gates. Hades liked it that way. He thought it added the proper ambiance.
“I have no idea,” I whispered back to Declan.
The creature in question was female; her sagging breasts, drooping over a rounded b
elly, confirmed it. But that was all I could determine for certain. Curving claws clicked at her sides eagerly and a pair of giant bat wings lifted behind her. She bared ragged teeth at us and hissed. All very impressive, but it was her flaming hair and eyes that held my attention. Fire. As much trouble as it gave me, I still loved it.