by Bella Klaus
“What’s wrong with the one I’m wearing now?” I glanced down at the unblemished red suit.
“If those traitorous bastards turn on us, you’ll need something that protects your body from hellfire, heavy blows, and magical attacks.”
“Right.” I straightened, letting Hades remove the red armor with a flick of his hand and replace it with a set that looked nearly identical except that it was burgundy. “What next?”
He materialized a box and flipped it open. “Eat this.”
Inside were a different set of red bonbons. “What are those?”
“Crystalized stamina, made in Logris by faeries.”
I selected the red and popped it in my mouth. “Okay, let’s go.”
He held up a hand. “Wait for the effects to seep in.”
The bonbon fizzed across my tongue, creating a mouthful of strawberry flavored foam. As I swallowed it, strength coursed through my insides, making me feel like I’d just consumed an extra strong cup of coffee.
“How long will it work?” I asked.
“An hour, but after that, you’ll be ravenous enough to eat anything.” His brows waggled. “Including me.”
I wrapped my arms around his middle. “Maybe I’ll finally get my naked sushi.”
Hades chuckled. “You can wrap your lips around my eel anytime.”
“Is that what you call it?” I asked.
“An endowment so substantial has many names,” he drawled.
A giggle bubbled up to the back of my throat. “Like what?”
Hades paused, seeming to think about the question. “Basilisk, cyclops, python, and my favorite one, the titan.”
“But they’re all monsters,” I said.
“As is my mighty eel.” He said that in a deep seductive voice, making sure to draw out the last syllable.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, hoping my cheeks weren’t turning pink.
He raised his brows. “Do you feel the bonbon’s effects?”
It took a moment to pull my mind away from all the penis talk, and I pressed the heel of my hand into my stomach. “I don’t feel so ravenous anymore.”
He grinned. “What will you pounce on when its effects wear off?”
“Not you,” I said with a chuckle.
“Famous last words.”
I snorted. “If you want to be eaten so badly, why not jump in a lake of piranhas?”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “They’re not as charming as you.”
“That’s hardly a compliment!”
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Wait,” I said. “What’s the plan?”
“We materialize in the middle of the restaurant, say a few words to show the bastards we know what they’re planning, and leave to reinforce the Fifth.”
“Why can’t we just reinforce the Fifth, then confront them?” I asked.
“By the time we’ve done that, they’ll have already gone and we won’t know which of our allies have sided with Samael.”
I nodded. Hades was right. It was dangerous to be friends with someone who was in secret meetings with that slimy viper. Of all the monarchs I imagined would be there, I really hoped I didn’t see Lucifer.
“Let’s go,” I murmured.
Hades took my hand and stared down at me with a frown that told me to be alert.
Nodding, I turned my gaze away from his, readying myself to face a dinner party of demons.
In the blink of an eye, we stood within a restaurant the size of my penthouse’s living room that contained about twelve tables for two arranged around a booth on a three-foot-tall platform. Its white leather seat curved in a semicircle, looking like it could accommodate eight.
Starlight streamed in from three of its floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing the metallic structures of the Eiffel Tower and an expansive view of Paris. The scent of brimstone hung in the air, but there was no sign of whoever had traveled here by chariot.
I leaned into Hades’ side and whispered, “Are we in the right place?”
“You’re just in time,” said Mother’s harsh voice.
She and Samael appeared in the middle of the booth, the pair of them clinking glasses of champagne.
My hackles rose. Mother looked even more radiant, her hair golden instead of the color of wheat, as though the power of the Third Faction coursed through her veins. A healthy flush adorned her cheeks, and she preened in her low-cut ivory dress.
Her new husband, however, wore a pastel-blue tuxedo with a ruffled shirt the same color, and a matching top hat. His half-melted features contorted into a grin that made his forehead ripple like lettuce leaves.
“Why would King and Queen Hades interrupt a meal with my bride?” Samael leaned into Mother and snapped his jaws.
Nausea crawled up my gullet, and I clenched my teeth, resisting the urge to spit.
Hades released my hand and folded his arms across his chest. “We came for the view, certainly not for the sight of two nauseating newlyweds on a date.”
“How’s life in the Fifth?” Mother asked with a smirk. “I hear that you had to wrangle an extra-large soulkin.”
“And you would be his mysterious benefactor?” Hades asked, his brows raised.
“The very same.” Mother raised her champagne flute to her lips. “It’s always rewarding to help your most incorrigible of souls to escape your punishment pits.”
My lips tightened, and I ground my teeth. How could Mother be so vindictive? Every encounter with her uncovered a new revelation. Now I knew she would condemn innocent people, just to make Hades look like he was incapable of managing the Fifth Faction.
Hades shook his head. “How reassuring it is to know that one thing remains constant in this ever-changing world. Your propensity for pettiness.”
“You have taken something of mine.” Mother gestured at me with her champagne glass. “Hand her over.”
Her words hit like a slap, and I forced myself not to flinch. “You’ve reached a new low, Mother. I never thought you would go so far as to torture a cat.”
Mother flashed her teeth. “You’re a stupid and gullible little girl. It’s the only reason I’m prepared to forgive your transgressions. But I will not refrain from punishing those who have led you astray.”
“You have two objects.” Samael raised his fingers as though neither of us had spoken. “One of which is running amok across your faction and the other you’ve corrupted into a concubine. Now, hand over both halves of Persephone or we’ll use the combined power of the Third and Second Factions to remove you from Five.”
Hades threw back his head with a deep belly laugh. “You’re using the wrong preposition, you illiterate bastard.”
Mother flinched. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Hades’ features twisted into a sneer. “There’s no question of ‘or.’ What you meant to say was that you wanted me to hand over Persephone and you’d use your combined Factions to attack mine.”
“What’s the difference?” Mother asked with a sniff. “My husband will eventually take control of the entirety of Hell.”
Samael leaned forward and grinned. “We can do it the easy way or employ the most excruciating methods. I’m happy to go along with either.”
I turned to Mother and scowled. “How could you be so desperate as to ally with that thing?”
Her eyes softened. “Samael is a good man.”
Hades barked a laugh. “He’s barely even male.”
“Rumors of my castration have been much exaggerated,” Samael said through serrated teeth. “However, I can’t help but wonder if your constant reference to my genitalia is to compensate for the lack of your own.”
Hades snorted. “Nice try. Did Demeter give you that comeback?”
Mother ignored them both. “And Samael wants to be a good stepfather.”
“You do realize I’m a grown woman?” I snapped.
“There, there.” Samael patted Mother on the shoulder, leaving black handprints on her flesh.
“When I’ve defeated Hades, I will hand you Persephone bound and gagged and on a platter.”
I shook my head, trying not to hiss at Mother’s new level of depravity. “What makes you think he’s not going to kill you the moment he gets the power?”
“Kora is right,” said Hades. “Samael’s appetites run more toward goats than goddesses.”
The Demon King placed his hands on the white tablecloth and rose from his seat. “Your puerile posturing was amusing the first hundred times, but now it wears thin. If you’re so desperate to prove your prowess, then let’s see how you fare against my elites.”
Pillars of black smoke rose from the marble floor, forming a circle around Hades and me. They arranged themselves in two rows of about twelve, lengthening and thickening and coalescing into seven-and-a-half-foot-tall shapes.
Holding my breath, I stepped closer to Hades, the pulse in my throat fluttering like a trapped butterfly.
When Aunts Juno, Vesta, Minerva, and Diana stepped out from behind the booth, my stomach plummeted through the floor and down the entire height of the Eiffel Tower. We now stood against four vindictive goddesses, two Monarchs of Hell, and over twenty-four demons.
How on earth would we escape this ambush alive?
Chapter Thirteen
Hades and I stood back-to-back, surrounded by the coven and an increasing number of demons. Their solid smoke forms coalesced into muscular bodies protected by leather armor and skull-shaped helmets that covered their faces.
Magic thrummed through my veins, a combination of anxiety and the effects of the red bonbon. I opened up my connection to Hades and asked, “Any ideas for escaping this confrontation unscathed?”
“Follow my lead,” he said into our mental bond. “And stay close.”
“Why can’t we just teleport out of here?” I asked.
“Tactics 101,” he replied. “Never go to the trouble of staging an ambush if you don’t seal off all means of escape. If we teleported out of here, leaving a horde of henchmen without anything to clobber, it would make Samael look like an even bigger twat.”
“Okay…” Somehow, I managed to make the voice in my head tremble. But then this was my first demon standoff.
Hades gave me a gentle pat on the ass. “Mass carnage is the only way out of this mess. Are you in?”
It wasn’t like I had any choice. I swallowed hard, my gaze darting across Aunts Juno, Vesta, Minerva, and Diana. They were bigger threats than the approaching demons. It was hard to imagine them as goddesses, but the malice glinting in their eyes said that they not only knew Hades but despised him with a passion.
“What did you do to make them so mad?” I asked.
Hades spluttered. “What makes you think their shitty attitudes are related to me?”
Mother rose from her seat, her blue eyes shining like polished jewels. “Let’s see you talk your way out of this situation, you daughter-stealing scrote.”
My mouth dropped open. “Mother!”
She cast me a withering glare. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your conduct at the Devil’s Ball. When I finally get you back, I’ll wash your corrupted soul in the waters of forgetfulness.”
I clenched my teeth. “Maybe I’ll stuff your blackened soul into a turkey.”
Mother hissed through her teeth. “Enough talk. Seize my daughter. Hurt her if you must.”
The demons lumbered forward, flashing oversized tusks. Hades raised a hand, and the air thickened. The tightness in my chest loosened a little, but it was too soon to feel relief. It was only a matter of minutes before Mother and Samael combined their magic to disable his ward.
“We should kill Samael first,” I said into our bond.
“No.” Hades grabbed my arm. “No monarch may strike at another. Doing so will incite the wrath of Heaven.”
“Is that from the Handbook of Hell?” I asked.
Hades rubbed his chin. “Unfortunately, Samael knows how to work within these rules. When the rest of us do it, we end up like Varaha. However, you’ve just given me a dervish idea for causing discord among the newlyweds.”
My entire body shuddered at the memory of the four-armed boar with the blue and black body paint who had been reduced to a pillar of salt. I wasn’t about to waste time asking if the rules still applied when Azriel wasn’t in the room. The uptight angel was probably watching this encounter, looking for opportunities to be a dick.
“Demeter, I hate to point out the obvious, but your new husband is trying to kill you,” Hades drawled.
Mother’s features pinched, and the other members of her coven mirrored the expression. It was the kind of face she pulled when a weed found its way to the greenhouse, or if she was about to hear a lie.
My gaze darted to Hades, and I wondered what he would say next.
Samael chuckled and held up his narrow palm, ordering the demons to stop struggling against Hades’ wards. “This will be interesting.”
Hades steepled his fingers and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “These assassins you’re setting on me. Are they from the Third?”
Demeter’s gaze darted to Samael, confirming that was exactly where they had originated. “What lies are you spewing now?”
Hades raised both shoulders. “Only that if one of your minions lays a finger on my delectable person, that constitutes one monarch attacking another, which is an offense punishable by annihilation.”
Mother’s entire body stilled.
My breath caught. Hades had finally gotten through her thick head.
“Explain,” she said.
“If you believe you can bargain with Heaven, think again. After all, what’s Samael’s motive for attacking me? Apart from the fact that he wishes to reunite Hell under his banner and stealing the Fifth is of strategic importance. But your motive…” Hades wagged his finger and chuckled.
“He’s right,” I blurted. “This is just like those murder-mystery shows where the killer inherits his wife’s property. Samael probably wants you to get yourself smitten, so both factions revert to him when you’re dead.”
Mother pursed her lips, her gaze sliding to Samael, who rubbed his chin.
“Isn’t that a little far-fetched?” he asked.
Hades gestured at Samael with a hand. “Ask him why he didn’t bring any of his new demon underlings for this mission.”
“Demeter,” the decrepit king said in what he probably thought was a charming voice. “Hades has a certain way with women. He’s a libertine who leads them to mistrust those who hold them in the deepest respect.”
Mother flared her nostrils, her ample chest rising with furious breaths. She waved her fingers toward the coven, gesturing at them to retreat. My aunts skittered back toward the booth, standing beside it like good little servants.
Samael’s rusty laugh grated across my nerves. “With a few well-placed words, Hades is already tempting you into a foolish decision. Look at how far he’s influenced your poor, debauched daughter.”
“What?” Mother’s eyes bulged. She reached down and snatched Samael’s hand.
“Get ready for the wards to fall,” Hades said.
“Can’t you use my power to strengthen them or break through what’s keeping us from teleporting out?” I asked.
“Why waste it when we could just kill those minions for fun?” he replied. “Consider it as training in the field.”
“Bloody hell,” I muttered.
Mother raised Samael’s hand, and a blast of power tore through the wards. They splintered around us like invisible shards of glass.
She bared her teeth in a snarl. “You won’t trick me so easily. Demons, attack.”
“Shit.” I flicked out my fingers, releasing dozens of needles from the exoskeleton around my hand. They flew across the restaurant, hitting the demons within my line of sight.
None of them seemed to notice the attack, and they advanced toward us holding clubs and hammers and spiked maces. I flared out my new wings, and white power traveled down dozen
s of tiny strings.
My stomach flip-flopped. This conducted my lightning with frightening accuracy. Soon, I’d be able to throw lightning bolts. The demons I’d hit all stiffened, their bodies convulsing with the electric shock.
Hades raised his arms, moving them like the conductor of an orchestra. The demons on his half of the circle turned to each other and lashed out with their weapons.
“What are you doing?” Mother screeched. “Stop turning on yourselves and fight.”
I was too busy channeling even amounts of lightning through the strings to savor her expression, but she sounded thoroughly pissed.
My heart thundered, and the scent of burning flesh filled the air. While my demons fried, and the other half battled to death against their will, Mother and Samael sat back in their seats and watched.
“Hades,” I said into the bond. “What if this is a diversion?”
“You mean they’re keeping us busy while their more competent forces are attacking the Fifth?” he asked.
“Something like that,” I replied.
“I can’t sense any disturbances in our wards. Can you?”
“How would it feel?” I asked.
“Bloody bastard.” Aunt Diana pierced her hand with a spear and threw it toward us.
“No,” Mother howled, her voice laced with anguish.
Hades flung up an arm and lifted one of the demons, letting the weapon lodge itself in its chest.
“What’s so bad about that spear?” I projected the thought into his mind.
“The blood of a god is the only thing that can kill another god.” Hades’ growl rattled through my skull. “Fucking Artemis just tried to murder me.”
Dread rolled through my stomach. Until this moment, I hadn’t fully realized how desperate the coven had become to take me back. This was no longer a case of Mother being overprotective or them wanting to hurt Hades for abducting Persephone. Whatever they wanted from me was important enough to them to attempt the murder of a fellow Greek god.
The demons I electrocuted fell to the floor like sacks of potatoes, leaving Hades still battling half of the horde. I turned to the coven and bared my teeth in a hiss.
“Does Samael know how to kill one of us?” I turned to Mother’s booth.