Searing Ecstasy

by Setta Jay

  Sirena walked in just as Brianne sputtered those words. The healer greeted his mate with a bright smile and he felt Era’s grip on his hand ease a little. Sirena’s curious gaze took in her tattoo and then glanced at his arm, a scientist examining a specimen and trying to make sense of it. She didn’t get close enough to touch either of them and he wondered if that was because of the power coming from his mate. He wasn’t even sure Era was aware that she had a kind of blanket of power riding around him. He wouldn’t say a word about it, because it pleased him.

  “Yes,” Drake answered Brianne. Era’s mark was moving and he felt the one on his own chest doing the same along with the dragon inside him. The beast felt his mate’s agitation and wasn’t pleased. He didn’t have time to be shocked that their tattoos were somehow linked to the beasts. He wasn’t sure how her power could have done something like that.

  “We don’t have time for this now. You will all have time to get to know her better. Later. Now, Nastia needs to explain exactly what she saw in Hades’ mind. And I’m under the impression he had no idea you were in there,” Drake growled at Nastia. He felt his female relax at not being the center of everyone’s focus, and was glad for it.

  Nastia started recounting the entire experience, including how Hades didn’t have a clue she’d been in his mind.

  P.

  Yes, his cousin growled back in obvious annoyance and Drake could only imagine what Hades was doing to get P to leave his side.

  Did Nastia give you an image of the stone? Drake hadn’t seen it before. It was a blue somewhat opalescent-looking stone in the rough form of a jagged stalactite. The color made it almost appear as if the six-inch-long rock were filled with pale liquid. It was apparently the centerpiece of a chandelier in the palace in the city of Efcharistisi. A place that held yearly parties as a way to introduce newly matured Mageia and Immortals to potential mates. Since finding mates had always been such a rare occurrence, the event was just a week of Immortals and Mageia screwing around. Drake wondered how something of Hades’ had ended up there.

  Yes. She showed it to me and filled me in, P snarled in answer. I remember seeing it in Hades’ chambers once, but he was constantly given gifts and its presence didn’t seem odd or in any way powerful that I remember.

  He considered P’s words before addressing the group. “I don’t like it. Why would Hades keep it secret from us if this Agnarr is an ally of his?”

  “He’s an arrogant ass, so that could have something to do with his actions,” Nastia dryly pointed out. “I also didn’t get the impression he trusted the male overly much, but he didn’t think about who he was exactly or how he’d come to know him.”

  The rest of the Guardians were murmuring and asking questions as Sander sent two images through the Guardian link. One was of the rock and the other was of a big blond warrior wearing a fucking fur cloak and a golden war helmet with two large horns. The warrior was apparently who Hades’ had pictured when thinking of Agnarr.

  Drake had questions, ones he planned to ask the God, soon.

  “Alyssa, how do you feel? Are you getting anything?” he asked Gregoire’s small mate. The babe had given them their first warning that the warriors had been coming. It didn’t hurt to see if the female was feeling any hint that something was on the horizon now.

  The female’s pale green eyes appeared thoughtful. “I don’t feel that same anxiety that I felt right before the warriors came.” Gregoire pulled her tighter to his chest. Drake finally appreciated the male’s intense protective instincts for his mate.

  He couldn’t imagine how he’d be if Era was carrying his young.

  That was not a thought for now. It generally took a decade for a mated pair to have a child, yet Gregoire and Alyssa had conceived during their mating ceremony. So far no other mates were pregnant, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen at any moment, and one could be his mate.

  Shit.

  He felt amusement in their bond before Era’s words slid to him. Don’t add to the list of worries. Let’s just get through the things we’ve yet to tackle. Like getting Apollo back.

  He looked down and her and squeezed her hand again. Are you feeling anything off?

  She shook her head. No.

  He looked back at the room and saw smiles lighting faces around the table. Mostly female. Though there were smart-assed smirks from his males. His Guardians were happy he’d finally been able to claim his mate. He ignored them, commanding, “Bastian and Tasha, go get the stone.”

  “I’ll go, I’ll go,” Nastia volunteered excitedly, raising her hand.

  He growled, “No, you’re about to listen in on all of Hades’ thoughts again.”

  Nastia’s grin grew wider and maybe a little devilish. Sander pulled her chair closer to his with a smile and nuzzled her ear. The female’s eyes warmed as if the two shared some inside joke.

  P, bring Hades to the war room now.

  Thank fuck for that, his cousin snarled.

  “Hades and P are on their way,” Drake bit out. “We keep Nastia’s ability under wraps.”

  He tried not to look at Sirena’s businesslike expression and see her pain at being surrounded by mated pairs.

  Hades and P walked in seconds later and the God looked vaguely uncomfortable, likely sensing all the tension.

  Drake planned to make the God feel a lot more uneasy.

  Chapter 28

  Guardian Manor, Tetartos Realm

  “I see everything worked out with your mate,” Hades said with a smile for Delia, or Era as Pothos said she was now called, though he felt distinctly on edge. The female cleaned up well, very well indeed. “It seems the stasis unit worked,” he added with a cocked brow in Sirena’s direction. The tiny blonde had doubted him and even now she only sighed in annoyance and nodded in his direction.

  “It did,” Drake acknowledged, before getting to the point of why he’d dared summon Hades as if he were one of his warriors. “Have you connected to Apollo?”

  He hated being questioned and that was all they seemed to do. He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “I would have said if I had.”

  He had things to do and this was not one of them. His eyes tracked to the silent Guardians sitting around the table. They were lounging with mates and he swore many were glaring in his direction.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Hades?” Drake growled.

  He smiled brilliantly. “Who says I’m concealing anything?”

  “Hades, don’t piss me off right now. Uri can always take blood memories if I think you’re hiding something important.”

  Hades felt his muscles bunching; he would never allow that and his eyes told his nephew as much. “Don’t threaten me, nephew. Remember, I just saved you and your mate,” he reminded them with narrowed eyes. A closer look showed just how much control Drake had gained. The male seemed to be calm and he was emitting even more power than before. New strength flowed around him and his mate both, and Hades noticed Delia, Era, staring at him, assessing him with her brilliant golden eyes. It was the calculated gaze of a ruler with the power of a Goddess. Hades looked closer and saw their very strong soul bond.

  Drake’s next words pulled him from his thoughts. “And that’s why I’m giving you a chance to speak, instead of sticking you in a cell and having Uri get my answers the less friendly way.”

  His wings flexed and he pulled back the desire to damage his nephew. Seeing Draken’s newfound control made him think twice about including him in his plan. A few more moments ticked by before Hades answered, “You and I can discuss this privately.”

  He’d share a bit, it wouldn’t necessarily hurt to have backup in the form of Drake, but he needed to keep his son out of it.

  “Why?” Drake growled.

  “Nephew.” Hades’ wings bristled with his annoyance. He wasn’t about to say anything with his son in the room. Or any of the others, for that matter.

  Drake seemed to consider it for a moment and he noticed the male g
ive the order for the others to leave, sending a curious look at the Phoenix and his mate, before directing his attention back to Hades. “You have five minutes with my mate and me.”

  Hades grinned at the others as they were dismissed; they weren’t shy at voicing their displeasure as they exited. Pothos was less than pleased. What are you doing, Father?

  I need to talk to Drake for a moment.

  Hades noticed his son share a look with Drake. Hades would need to ensure that Drake kept Pothos away from anything they did.

  Hades didn’t care that Drake’s female stayed. These males were odd with their mates, but he was a little surprised Drake wanted Era anywhere near him. Most males weren’t so pleased with his presence near their females.

  “Tell me,” Drake demanded once the room was cleared.

  Hades thought for a moment, searching for a place to start. “I once had an ally. I’ve been looking for a way to find out if he knows anything about Apollo’s whereabouts.”

  “Who is this ally, and what could he know about this?”

  He didn’t want to get into all of it, but the more he considered it, the more it seemed having Drake at his side was a tactical advantage if Agnarr proved less friendly than before. When Drake had been out of control, it was out of the question. Hades was perfectly capable of defending himself, but a show of power might not be out of order when meeting Agnarr after all this time. He considered his nephew and the female at his side with new eyes. It seemed it was time to give his nephew his due.

  “Pothos cannot be a part of this. At all,” Hades warned.

  *****

  “Why? What am I dealing with? And you still haven’t said who this ally is.” Drake wanted the God to get to the damned point. Nastia was in there somewhere in her invisible mist state. Her ability was so damned impressive that even he wasn’t able to see or feel her presence.

  Era’s voice came into his head. I can’t feel her either. I don’t like that she is in my mind right now.

  She’ll be busy with Hades.

  Hades watched him seriously. “His name is Agnarr and he cannot be allowed to see Pothos.”

  “Why?” Era demanded before Drake could. Her fingers were still twined with his as they both leaned back against the huge solid wood table in the middle of the room.

  Hades was being tight-lipped and Drake was getting more than a little irritated. When the bastard finally spoke, it wasn’t what Drake expected. “It has to do with Pothos’ mother. It would be dangerous for my son.” Damn it. What wasn’t the bastard saying?

  “I thought you said his mother died,” Drake demanded.

  “She did. She just happened to be a Priestess of Thule.”

  “Where and what is Thule?” He knew it was said to be a northern land in human mythology. Was there another grain of truth in human tales, and if so, how did anyone know to write them? Drake bit out the next statement, “We’re looking at another world.” He wasn’t necessarily surprised, the blood left by the mysterious warriors was similar, but didn’t match any of their known races. And he hadn’t understood the language they’d spoken, which meant it wasn’t used here, as all Gods and Guardians could understand any language in the world.

  Hades cocked a brow. “I’d think that was obvious.”

  Drake narrowed his eyes. “Finish your story. Start with the other world part.”

  “Mother and Father weren’t the only Creators sent out to sow the seeds of the lost races.”

  Drake hadn’t ever considered that there were different Creators doing what theirs had done. He ran a hand under the back of his hair. Era had been silently contemplating everything, including the God in front of them. He could feel her mind sliding alongside his.

  “So your ally was from another world populated by different Creators.” At Hades’ nod, Drake went on, “And P’s mother was a priestess there. You’ve seen the images of the warriors who have Apollo, are they Agnarr’s?”

  “No. They didn’t hold Agnarr’s eagle insignia, but their world is similar to ours. They’d been going through their own strife when Pothos’ mother, Eir, came through to our world. Agnarr is only one of the Gods born to that world.” Hades paused. “And Eir was one of his three Immortal priestesses who came with the intent to create an alliance.”

  “How did they get here?”

  “They’re able to open a portal from Thule.”

  “You can’t open one?”

  “No.” Hades’ eyes flashed. “In their world only the Gods are said to have that power. Athena, Aphrodite and I all tried.”

  Drake didn’t like that information one fucking bit.

  “If they could just come through at any time, then why haven’t they been here since you were put to sleep? We’re talking millennia. Why now?”

  “There is every chance that Agnarr is dead or imprisoned and his siblings didn’t have the path to our world. Eir said the paths were not always easy to find. Distance made it more difficult to locate us.”

  Drake paced in front of his mate, who was processing everything Hades shared. “So you don’t know if Apollo is even there?”

  “No, but Apollo isn’t answering my calls. One of Agnarr’s siblings could have the bastard, or I could be looking in the wrong place. We both know how dangerous it is to leave my brother in unknown hands.” And that was the problem. Drake could tell Hades didn’t like it any more than he did that the answers only led to more questions.

  “What agreement did you make with this Agnarr?”

  “I was to lend my forces to his in order to contain his siblings and he would do the same here.”

  “You trusted him?” Drake ground out.

  “Yes and no,” Hades said with a cocked brow.

  “What does that mean?”

  “The alliance was made in blood. I trust that he can’t attempt, or order any of his warriors, to go against me. I trust that if I would have battled at his side, he would have been compelled to battle at mine.”

  “Fucking hell, Hades,” Drake growled. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Your mother didn’t tell you,” Hades pointed out. “I didn’t tell Pothos because he can’t be anywhere near this.”

  “Fuck, did you even know what you’d be fighting in Thule?”

  Hades’ wings flexed. “Don’t question my intelligence, nephew.”

  “You went there, then?”

  “Yes,” Hades bit out.

  “What do you know of it?”

  “It was like here. The lands and palaces were the same as when I ruled. Their warriors are long lived and strong mortals with elemental abilities. The only Immortals in that world were Gods and the priestesses, neither of which could procreate, so I don’t imagine there are forces of Immortals there now.”

  Drake stared at the God. “Yet you impregnated a priestess.”

  “Yes,” Hades admitted easily.

  If Hades could father a child with one of the priestesses, what was to say those of Thule couldn’t find more sperm donors in other worlds? That made the God’s assumption that there were no powerful beings birthed in millennia a pretty big fucking guess. He mentally shook his head and felt Era’s disbelief as well.

  “And that somehow makes things dangerous for P?” Drake snapped.

  “His mother indicated as much before her death,” Hades said through clenched teeth.

  “And you never fucking told him?” Drake growled.

  Hades’ eyes flashed. “This is none of your concern, nephew.”

  “P is my concern. And you are going to tell him.” Drake squared off with the God.

  Era’s power unleashed in a fury of winding telekinesis the second the God twitched as if to lunge. Drake looked over at his female. Her hair had lifted with the force she’d freed and those beautiful golden eyes were flashing when she spoke. The words themselves were calm, but they held a deadly warning to Hades. “I wouldn’t.”

  He felt how violently angry she was through the bond and he sent soothing energies before she
tried to kill the God.

  Drake felt Hades using power of his own to fight the hold as he glared down at Era. Before it could escalate, Drake accessed her power and released the bastard, but fuck if he didn’t get off on how fucking incredible she was. He was just thankful that Hades hadn’t used his own deadly ability in those brief seconds. He sent a sharp look at his Guardians to leave the room; they were already halfway through the door, likely having sensed the sheer power whirling around.

  You don’t need to protect me from him, temptress, he sent and had to mentally calm his dick.

  She sighed. It was instinctive.

  “Leash your mate, Draken. I wouldn’t want to harm her.” Hades was holding his temper, but his flexing wings showed it was a tentative thing. Drake was lucky the God had kept it together.

  Drake changed the subject. “What are Agnarr’s weaknesses?”

  “He is vulnerable to my abilities and was unable to teleport. That doesn’t mean he’s weak. He’s strong, fast and cunning. The only other sensitivity I know of is copper.”

  Drake considered that. “How sensitive?”

  “Enough that it would drain some of their abilities like any metal does to us. Copper apparently doesn’t exist in Thule, so it affects them negatively.”

  Drake could use that. “You planned to contact this Agnarr with no fucking backup?”

  Hades’ eyes flashed. “I am capable of taking care of myself, nephew. If I sent the call, it would only go to Agnarr. He set safeguards for it so that it wouldn’t be received by his enemy siblings. And their portals can’t be kept open for long. The power it takes to get this far would have drained one of their Gods in well under an hour. If he chose to show force, I could easily have dealt with anything that came in that time.”

  Hades was so damned arrogant. One day that was going to knock him on his ass. “Apollo didn’t fare well.”

  “Apollo isn’t me.” Drake felt the lick of power that the God sent with the words.

  Drake considered the battle with the mystery warriors. Dozens had come through with those weapons and it all ended well within that time frame.