Evans, Gabrielle - Reckoning [Fatefully Yours 9] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove)

by Gabrielle Evans

  “Okay, you’ve lost me again. You said that gods can’t maintain their immortality on Earth, but this Protector guy can. My mates are immortal. Something isn’t adding up.”

  Helios linked his fingers together on the desk and sighed. “The demons were forged, not born, and therefore retain no souls. Hades has little use for the vessel in which a soul is housed. It is the soul itself that is called to the Underworld.”

  “So, this Protector has no soul?”

  “Correct.”

  “Do gods have souls? I mean, if what you’re saying is true, how can gods be immortal? How am I immortal?”

  “You ask a lot of questions.” The Titan didn’t sound like that was exactly a good thing, either. Then he shook his head and chuckled. “You cast off your mortal shell when your life was taken. You are now purely a soul. A soul cannot die. Hades can call you to the Underworld, but he won’t. Only the virtuous become daemons. Hades has little use for the righteous.”

  “What about the gods?”

  “The gods are all powerful. We were not meant to live among mortals. To live among humans is either a punishment or a choice. Some gods may choose to give up their immortality to live life on Earth. Others have been stripped of their immortality and banished from Olympus.”

  “Well, I wasn’t given a choice, so I guess that means I was banished.” Echo wasn’t sure how he felt about the information. Nothing about this conversation was helpful. He had more questions than ever, and Helios’s explanations left much to be desired. Maybe he was being difficult, but he still didn’t understand how living on Earth would make a god mortal.

  After several minutes of silence, Echo eventually waved his hand around and huffed. “I don’t understand any of this. I feel like you’re just talking in circles. Why don’t you just tell me what you want and let me go home?”

  “I want you to destroy the Protector.”

  “And who is that?”

  “You know him. Think, boy. Do you believe your mother would send you to earth with no one to watch over you?”

  Echo’s eyes widened, and he almost dropped the little ball in his hand. He clutched it tight and brought it to his chest. “Who is he?”

  Helios looked at him across the desk, and Echo saw a great sadness in the Titan’s eyes. “His mother was the only woman that I ever truly loved. She died many years ago as mortals do. He was all I had left of her, but as a mortal, I could not bring him to Olympus. I persuaded Zeus to grant him immortality in exchange for his soul and allow him to protect the demi-gods.”

  “Wait. If Peter is your son, wouldn’t that make him a demi-god as well?” If Peter was the son of Helios, and Helios was also Echo’s dad, then that meant…

  Echo’s stomach churned, and his heart did its best to crack his sternum as it thundered inside his chest. The things he’d done with Peter slithered through his mind like a disease. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t known at the time. Oh, gods, he was a sick freak.

  “Peter is not my son—not by blood anyway. I granted him powers that no mortal should ever possess, but I did not father him.” Helios sounded as though the words hurt to say.

  The relief that slammed into Echo, though, was so overpowering that he slumped back in his chair and had to close his eyes for a moment to regain some of his composure. Oh, thank the gods.

  Before he could ask any more questions, Echo found himself standing in the field behind his home. Part of him was grateful to be away from the man who had fathered him. Another part of him was hurt that the Titan obviously didn’t want him. A tiny piece of him was sorry he’d ever met Helios.

  Mostly, he was just happy to be home. He had so much to tell his mates and prayed that Syx and Vapre could make heads or tails of it.

  Running across the field, he bounded up the steps and hurried in through the kitchen. He’d only been gone an hour or so, but he missed his men and knew they’d be worried out of their minds if they realized he was missing.

  “Guys! Where is everyone?” He tucked the glowing orb into his pocket and started across the kitchen. He pulled up short, though, when Fiero came barreling into the room.

  Every ounce of blood drained for the warrior’s face as he stared at Echo. Then he dropped to his knees right there in the doorway and began gasping for breath.

  Rushing across the room, Echo knelt in front of his mate and began stroking Fiero’s cheeks. “Breathe, big guy, just breathe.” The other demons rushed into the kitchen and stood there, staring down at Echo as though he’d grown a second head. “What is wrong with you guys? I realize that you were worried, but I wasn’t gone that long.”

  Eyce fell to the floor beside Echo and crushed him to his heaving chest. The rest gathered on the tiles with them, all wrapping their arms around Echo, Eyce, and each other. They stayed that way for a long time, all breathing heavily and not saying a word. Myst looked like he was trying damn hard not to cry. Hex had a crazy look in his eyes that scared the shit out of Echo.

  “Guys, seriously, I was gone for an hour. I’m sorry that you were worried, but you’re freaking me out.”

  Eyce’s fingers gripped the back of Echo’s neck and pulled him into a kiss that could only be described as desperate. The kiss went on forever, and when the warrior finally disengaged from Echo’s lips, a deep growl rumbled in his chest. “Where have you been?”

  “In a meeting,” Echo said with a sly smirk. “I have a lot of stuff to talk to you about.” He reached up and stroked Eyce’s cheek when the man continued to growl. “I’m perfectly fine, love.”

  “Echo?”

  Glancing up, Echo found Mac standing in the doorway with tears streaming down his cheeks. “Hey, Mac.”

  “You’re back,” his friend breathed. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

  Echo rolled his eyes. “What the hell has gotten into everyone? I haven’t been gone that long.” Then he suddenly remembered Helios telling him that time worked differently where the gods lived. “Have I?”

  Mac’s eyes widened, and he looked between Echo’s mates before he swallowed hard and bobbed his head. “You’ve been gone for over two months. The equinox is in two weeks.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Eyce refused to let go of Echo. He knew his other mates needed to hold the smaller man and assure themselves that he was fine, but he just couldn’t let go. He carried Echo to the living room and perched his lover in his lap, keeping him crushed in his arms.

  He still couldn’t breathe properly. For nine weeks, he’d done nothing but think of Echo and search for the man. They’d all lost weight. None of them had been interested in eating. They rarely slept. They’d scoured every inch of the woods and any other place they could think to look for their missing mate. They’d dredged up every old contact, had anyone at their disposal looking for Echo, but it was as though he’d vanished into thin air.

  “Gods, I’ve missed you,” Onyx breathed as he sat beside Echo and buried his face in Echo’s neck. His massive shoulders shook, and Eyce wrapped one arm around him while holding tight to Echo with the other.

  The other demons moved closer to them, all touching and stroking any part of Echo they could reach. Fiero’s arms wrapped around Echo’s waist and pulled him out of Eyce’s arm. Eyce had to bite back the hysteria that bubbled inside him at being separated from his mate again.

  “I love you,” Fiero whispered raggedly. He repeated the words again and again, petting Echo’s hair with trembling fingers.

  Echo looked shaken and pale, but not nearly as upset at the rest of them. If Eyce had to guess, he figured their reaction to his return was what was making Echo so nervous. Trying to calm himself and be strong for his lover, Eyce took several deep breaths before he spoke.

  “Echo, can you tell us where you went?”

  “I don’t know where I was exactly, but I think it was Olympus. He said that time was different in the immortal realm.”

  “Who?” Hex growled.

  “Helios. I guess he summoned me there
. I really don’t know. I thought I was dreaming.”

  “But…” Syx trailed off and looked to Vapre. The two exchanged some kind of silent communication, and Vapre eventually nodded. “Only those of your blood can summon you to Olympus against your will.”

  “Yep.” Echo nodded, but he didn’t look very happy about it. “You were right. Helios is my sperm donor.”

  “Your father is a Titan?” Myst sounded properly impressed.

  Echo growled, though. “He is not my father. To hear him tell it, I’m merely the byproduct of a bargain made with my mother.” He took a deep breath and seemed to regain some composure. “I did get some information out of him, and I have a lot to tell you.”

  “It can wait,” Syx said immediately. “Just let us hold you for a while.”

  Echo smiled but shook his head. “We only have two weeks until the equinox. Unfortunately, there’s not much time.”

  “Not time for what?”

  “We have to rescue the residents from the lab, and it needs to happen before we face Ares. Have you found out where the compound is located?”

  Vapre shook his head. “We haven’t done anything but look for you since you disappeared.”

  Echo’s eyes softened, and he reached out to cup Vapre’s jaw. “I’m okay, my love. I’m so sorry you were worried about me, but I’m back. We need to focus now. There’s not much time.”

  “Can we just sleep and talk about it in the morning?” Myst moved to the floor and rested his head in Echo’s lap. “Please? I can’t even think right now.”

  Echo combed his fingers through Myst’s hair and sighed. “I suppose a few more hours won’t hurt.”

  Eyce rose from the sofa and motioned for Hex, Onyx, and Vapre to follow him. It didn’t take long for them to gather blankets and pillows from their rooms and bring them downstairs to pile in the middle of the floor.

  “Good thinking,” Echo approved. “I need all of you tonight.”

  Eyce nodded but couldn’t form words around the lump in his throat. Echo might need them, but not nearly as much as they needed him.

  * * * *

  Pacing the floor inside the office, Syx listened to Echo recount the conversation he’d had with his father without interruption. When Echo finally ran down, he slumped back on the sofa and sighed. “So, that’s it. I don’t understand what half of it means, and I have so many questions.”

  Syx stopped pacing and leaned against the desk. “Let’s see if we can answer your questions first, then we’ll go from there.” After being apart from his mate for so long, Syx had the uncontrollable desire to give Echo anything he wanted.

  “I’m so glad you said that.” Echo flashed him a smile, and Syx thought he’d melt into a big pile of goo right there on the desk. “I don’t get this soul thing. How is it that some people are immortal and others aren’t? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “When we escaped the Underworld, we had no souls.” This was one of the easier questions for Syx to answer. “We were immortal because Hades couldn’t recall our souls.”

  “Then why did the prophecy say that you’d have to go back to Hades if we lost this war?”

  Syx smirked. “I didn’t understand that for a long time, either, but I get it now. As creatures of the darkness, we were empty shells. Once we let the light in, we earned our souls and the right to live among the righteous.”

  “What light? Huh?” Echo tilted his head, looking too damn cute.

  “You, sweetheart. You taught us to love, pushed our moral compass a little closer to north. To put it simply, you saved us.”

  Echo snorted. “I didn’t do anything but give Hades another weapon against you.” He chewed on his lip for a minute before he finally nodded. “Okay, fine. If I can accept the fact that I’m now some kind of spirit, I guess I can accept that you suddenly have a soul. What about me, though? I’m still confused about that. And if you have a soul now, does that mean that you’re no longer immortal?”

  “Helios is correct that you are immortal. By being bound to us, that guaranteed it, but as we had no souls, your light couldn’t penetrate the darkness.”

  “Okay.” Echo waved his hand around. “What about you being immortal now?”

  “I think so.” Syx bobbed his head slowly. “We are bound to you.”

  “You think?” Echo yelped. “So, you don’t know for sure?”

  “Echo, calm down. There’s a reason we’re all together. Just trust in that.”

  Echo calmed a little. “So, is that the thing that’s going on with your eyes? I mean, is that why they changed colors?”

  Syx nodded. “Our eyes swirled with infinite color because we were nothing more than a void. When you opened us to the light, the color of our eyes reflected the changes within us.”

  Echo smirked. “So, Myst has a purple soul? Oh, I can’t wait to tell him.” He paused for a minute to think through his next question. “Okay, so what did Helios mean about riding a bicycle?”

  “Remember when you said that the answers wouldn’t be nearly as important if they weren’t discovered on our own?”

  “What does that have to do with a fucking bicycle?”

  Syx bit his tongue to keep from laughing. “You can learn the basic mechanics of riding a bicycle by watching someone else do it. Until you touch it, sit on top of it, learn to balance your weight, you can’t hope to ride it on your own, though.”

  “You are just as confusing as everyone else.” Echo crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “I just feel like I’m being made to suffer.”

  “That’s kind of it. You won’t appreciate the good times unless you suffer through the bad.”

  “That’s bullshit. Why can’t everything just be the way I want it?”

  “If there was nothing wrong in the world, then there would be nothing right.”

  “Did you just quote Shinedown lyrics?” Fiero asked as he stepped into the room.

  “Who the hell is that?”

  Fiero gasped and clutched his chest as though he’d been wounded. “You did not seriously ask me that. We need to educate you in fine music, babe.”

  “Anyway,” Echo said loudly and cleared his throat. “So, who’s this Protector, and what am I supposed to do with this?” He pulled the little ball of light from his pocket and held it up for them to inspect.

  “I believe Helios’s Protector is your Peter.”

  “He’s not my anything,” Echo spat. “If he’s so bad, why was I sent to him?”

  “I don’t think he was always bad, love.” Syx pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of how to explain it. “Even with the powers from the gods, Peter is still mostly human, ruled by greed and hungry for power.”

  “I don’t think that’s a trait unique to humans.” Echo tossed the ball in the air and caught it in his palm. “So, he was supposed to protect me until…whatever happened.”

  “Until you were ready to find us. That would be my guess.”

  “You guys make my head hurt.” Fiero turned and walked back out the door. “I’ll bring food,” he called over his shoulder.

  Echo laughed. “I’m glad things haven’t changed since I was gone.” Then he became serious again. “Okay, so how do I use this to defeat him?”

  “I have a feeling you’ll know when the time comes.”

  “You know he’s connected to Ares somehow, right?”

  Syx nodded. “I’m not too concerned, however. I think Ares was merely using him to get to you. I still think it was Ares, or at least his idea to take the money from our accounts. It’s exactly the type of game he’d play.”

  “So, why can’t the gods just kill Peter? Or take away his gifts?”

  “I don’t know why they can’t take back his immortality, but it is forbidden for the gods to kill a mortal.”

  “Ares killed me,” Echo argued.

  “And we haven’t seen or heard from him since Hex’s test. I’m sure he was severely punished.”

  “I hope so.”

  �
�Now, we just have to figure out where he is.” Syx growled in frustration.

  “Gage said they were moving the facility to the Olympic Peninsula, right?”

  Syx nodded.

  “Then I suggest we start looking near Mount Olympus. If Peter is so hungry for power, then I have a feeling that he wants to be more than just a half-god. It seems fitting that he’d want to rule Olympus.”

  “You are a freakin’ genius, Echo!” Syx couldn’t contain his excitement. “I need to talk to Vapre.”

  Echo pushed up from the sofa and sauntered across the room to give Syx a deep kiss. “I’ll go help Fiero get us something to eat. Find Vapre and be brilliant.”

  “If we can pinpoint his location, we need to move fast.” Syx hated bringing Echo into more danger, but they’d need his help. He wasn’t too proud to admit it, either.

  “I’ll be ready to roll the minute you give me the word. I think we should bring Gage and Craze along as well. Maybe we can get Lorcan to babysit again.” Echo bit his lip, but it looked like he was having a hard time not smiling.

  Syx had no such issues. He threw his head back and laughed like a loon. “I wouldn’t put it that way to your friends, but Lorcan did everything he could to help us find you. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to play bodyguard again.”

  “We’re going to have to help Hex remember,” Echo whispered, all traces of his previous amusement vanishing. “Do you think we should do it before or after?”

  Syx gave it serious thought before answering. “I think after. We can’t afford distractions, and whatever he needs to remember, I think it’s going to be big.”

  “I agree.” Echo sighed and kissed Syx’s lips again. “We’re running out of time.”

  “We’ll be ready.” Syx prayed he hadn’t just told the biggest lie of his life.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Are you ready?”

  Echo looked up at Hex and shook his head. “Not at all. Let’s go.” His stomach twisted into knots, and his heart galloped inside his chest. He bit back his fear, clutched the golden sphere in his hand, and slid out of the SUV. He still didn’t know how Syx and Vapre had managed to find the place, and it didn’t matter. They’d tried to explain something about GPS signals, and bank transfers, and blah, blah, blah. He didn’t understand, and he didn’t care.