And Hades? Hades... well, he continued to fantasize about slicing up some angel cake.
Ramiel decided to be the bigger man, which was odd for someone who wasn’t actually a man in anything, but spirit. “I have nothing to gain by a face-off, Hades.”
“Oh, so we shouldn’t bring up the part about you sleeping with my wife?” The dethroned ruler turned to his brother. “Do I not have cause for grievance and restitution?”
“What would you suggest, brother? That I award you his goat and let you slice off the finger of your choice?” Zeus shrugged. “What Persephone did was of her own free will. And it does not matter now, does it? You are no longer her lord; you have no grounds.”
“Sire.” From the edge of the terrace, an elderly, but solidly built man with long, gray hair emerged, shuffling slowly across the black tiled floor. “He is not in his room.”
“And the girl?” Zeus asked.
Mortimer’s straight face turned to a frown.
“I see; thank you, Mortimer. Please assure our privacy.”
Hades outstretched a hand, laying it on his brother’s. “I could ask Persephone to summon him, if you like. He won’t heed a hair for you or me, but he’d turn the world to ash for an ounce of her favor.”
“No need for that,” Zeus assured. “I earned his rebuke. I did hope the keystone could sway him. I knew it was... what do the mortals say? A long shot? All will come out right, by and by. And I have you to thank for that, Hades. Without your sacrifice, it never would have come to pass.”
A smile smoldered across the nephilim’s face before it died and dropped like ashes from a cigar. “I know it sounds crazy, but I thought I could beat it. I thought, okay, let it happen, but I would win her back eventually. Just like all the other times.”
Ramiel sat up on the edge of his chair. “What are you two talking about?”
The Lord of the Underworld glared. “Clare’s death wasn’t accidental. It was an exchange. A new form that would allow her to stay with Dee forever if they chose ambrosia, or until they both aged and died naturally. Whichever they preferred. It was the best we could do. Clare knew both she and the baby were destined to die during childbirth. If we agreed to make those sacrifices, it could have been remedied. For my part, I had to agree that Persephone’s heart would be won by another. I just never imagined it would be to an archangel.”
“You made a deal?” the angel asked. Both nephilim avoided his questioning gaze. “With whom?”
Zeus braved eye contact. “With the One.”
Like three-day-old grocery store sushi, Ramiel couldn’t stomach anymore. “Impossible. Big Boss doesn’t negotiate, especially not with those in the terrestrial realms. Just getting him to write a two-word email practically takes an act of god.”
“Consider it the exception that proves the rule, Arch Angelus.”
Ramiel considered what he was hearing. It didn’t take him long to figure out the implications. “And your sacrifice, Zeus?”
The king, a man whose youthful zeal belied centuries of life, love, and loss, laid a hand on the angel’s arm. “That’s why you’re here, my friend.”
LEADING HER HUSBAND by the hand, trying to negotiate passages she hadn’t trod on in nearly three decades, Anwen turned to the right.
“Slow down, you got to explain this to me,” Dee gasped, unable to keep up in both the physical and metaphorical senses. “Are you Anwen or Clare?”
“Both,” Anwen assured him. “It was like, my memories went on vacation for awhile, but everything came rushing back just now. I remember my life as Clare, and now, I have a whole new batch of memories from the past twenty-eight years.”
“How is your mind not totally fucked right now?”
She laughed, pulling him left. “Won’t lie, it’s a little disorienting. But more than that, it’s a huge relief. Here I was, thinking what an air-headed fool I’d become. I’ve kept myself away from any serious relationships my whole life. I’ve never slept with anyone, and there were some seriously hot contenders, let me tell you.”
“Hey!”
Anwen continued, “Deep down, it just didn’t feel right. Now I understand. I was waiting for you.”
She felt her body jerking back when Dee planted himself in place, his face going ashen. “Clare... Anwen. I never expected something like this to even be possible. If I had known, I’d... well, since you died, I...”
It wasn’t like she hadn’t already figured that out, or didn’t feel hurt on some level. Putting on her best impression of an understanding smile, she laid a hand on Dee’s cheek. “As far as you knew, I was dead. You have nothing to apologize for. You needed comfort. I’m glad they could give you that, only... I don’t want to know anything about them, okay?”
“Done.” Dee didn’t do tears, but a few managed to make a guest appearance. Placing his hand over hers, and lacing their fingers together, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’ve never gotten over you. I never will.”
“Geez, the two of you really need to get a room.”
Their heads whipped to the right, catching Persephone at the end of the hall.
“Oh, wait,” she continued as she moved towards them. “You already have one, so why aren’t you in it doing this kissy-kissy thing?”
“Steph, oh my god!” She threw her arms around the suddenly confused Greek goddess. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“I know we’re all kind of bewitchingly beautiful, and therefore, maybe easily confused, but we just met about an hour ago.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t remember, or I would have hugged you then.”
Persephone must have been giving her brother the old what-the-hell? face over her shoulder.
“Anwen is Clare,” he explained. When Steph didn’t seem to get it, he expanded. “Somehow she’s been, I don’t know, reincarnated.”
“I don’t believe you. Prove it.”
Anwen released the goddess and held her at arm’s length. “For our wedding present, you gave us a cottage in Northumberland and a membership to the sex toy-of-the-month club.”
“Dee could have told you that.”
Nodding, Anwen put an arm around Persephone and lowered her voice. “You hosted my bachelorette party at a spa on Thessaloniki, and you arranged for me to have a private session with, I think you called him, a sensual tutor? So that I’d be ready for my wedding night.”
“She what?” Dee gasped out in disbelief.
Persephone went on the defensive. “Which Clare refused to partake in!”
“Yeah, so instead, you took the session,” Anwen said. “You said you’d already paid for it, and it seemed a shame to waste the time of such a professional. That poor man couldn’t walk the next day.”
“And I got my money’s worth too. Hey! Clare swore she wasn’t going to tell anyone about that! Not even Dee. He would have killed me if he knew I sent her off with someone like that.”
A series of pops rang out as Dee cracked his knuckles. “He’s still considering it an option now.”
Understanding hatched across Persephone’s face. “You’re really Clare... I don’t understand. How?”
“Your dad and Hades made a deal to save me.”
“A deal?” she asked. “Wait, Ramiel... Oh my god, Hades.”
Without another word of explanation, Persephone turned on her heel and hoofed it up the hallway. Dee wasn’t far behind, leading Anwen up the corridor his sister climbed. Despite superhuman abilities, two part-nephilim were no match for a full blood’s speed. All they caught was a blur of blonde hair rounding the stairs. By the time Dee and Anwen emerged on the terrace, Persephone had already thrown herself into Hades’ embrace while two men with their backs to the door followed the scene with their eyes.
“Don’t,” she cried, hot tears falling down her face, causing her ex-husband’s expression to contort with confusion. “If I had known you’d kill yourself, I’d never have pushed for a divorce. You want to hear I love you? Fine, I love you. Now stop.”
Hades looked like a man who suddenly stumbled onto a treasure chest, but feared it might be cursed. His momentary stillness ebbed. He drew Persephone near, stroking her long mane of hair with his hand and hushing her.
“Does it take the imminence of my death for you to realize how you really feel about me? If I had known, I would have made arrangements long ago.”
Dignity’s invitation got lost in the mail. Persephone’s fat tears soaked the front of Hades’ toga, and her face soon became a patchwork of flushed olive and purple skin. “Shut up. You know I love you. I’ve always loved you. Sometimes, I just get frustrated that we’ve been trapped in this punishment for thousands of years. I hate seeing you suffer. What’s the point in living forever with that kind of life? But yes, I love you.”
Holding his beloved’s face between both hands, he beamed a smile at her. “Then you’ll be very satisfied to learn that I’m not going into the sunset.”
Disbelief tinged her voice. “You’re not?”
“No, I’m not.”
Dee shuddered as his father drew closer. “But I am.”
This time, it was his own wife who flung herself forward.
“Zeus, it worked!”
The king accepted the woman into his embrace, lifting her from the floor and spinning her. “Of course, it did! Was there any doubt? And how beautiful you are!”
“You always told me beauty was only an accessory to the nature of one’s soul,” Anwen laughed. “Or do you still think sweet talk will win me away from your son?”
“I stand by what I said, but you certainly accessorize well. And I’ve found much greater joy in winning you as a daughter than anything else.” As he returned Anwen to the ground, one arm still draped over her, his blue eyes turned onto his own son. ”I’ve rehearsed a thousand different things that I could say. Now that the moment has arrived, words fail me.”
“There’s nothing you can say, Dad,” Dee barked, and even Anwen jerked at the sharpness of his tone. “What did you think? That I would just go all gooey and fall down at your feet because you found a way to reincarnate Clare? You forget, though, that my son also died that day.”
“The baby would never have survived,” Anwen interjected, her eyes pleading. “I was never going to survive either. Dio, you have to believe me, there was no other way.”
“We could have left Olympus!” Dee shouted. “We could have tried actual modern medicine instead of a half-dead civilization’s old magic and charms. Hell, I probably could have healed you when the time came.”
“Stop just a minute!” Persephone shrieked. “Can we all please focus for a moment on my father’s announcement that he’s going to die? Papa, please, don’t do this.”
The blonde nephilim took up her father’s hand, layering it with kisses, and pressing it to her cheek.
Zeus’ watery eyes turned to Ramiel. “Of all my children, these two have been dearest to my heart. Is there anything else a father can hope to leave the world, except such wonderful souls as these?”
“Zeus, you know I’ve not been your kind’s biggest fan,” the angel returned. “That whole assuming-the-role-of-a-deity thing never set well with me. But you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to die.”
“I do. It was part of the bargain that was struck. Big Boss granted the return of my son’s wife, and the life of his son, if I agreed to pass at long last. More than four thousand years, I have ruled over this mountain. I think that is a long enough reign.”
Throwing a sobbing hiccup of words, Persephone pleaded. “Papa, no!”
Dee stepped forward, more in disbelief of his actions than anyone else. “Wait, are you saying, my son...”
“My death ensures his life,” Zeus confirmed, his cheeks turning red. “Of course, you’ll still need to do the necessary formalities to create a body in which his soul can properly reside. My family’s happiness and prosperity were all I ever wanted. Dionysus, I hope if there is anything I can convince you to believe before I expire, it is that.”
“But why?” Dee gasped. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Anwen reached for his hand, drawing him closer to his father. “One of the stipulations. My guess is, if you had known I was out there somewhere, you would have spent your life looking for me. You would have neglected your duties as a pillar. You’re still a Pure Soul, Dio. You have a responsibility to help the keystone and fight the forces of Hell. If my return kept you from that duty, I never would have forgiven myself.”
“I would have, too.” Dee kissed her knuckles in turn. “I would never have stopped looking for you, or our son...”
“I met him in Heaven,” Anwen said. “Such a beautiful soul.”
“He has a soul?”
Anwen partook of his lips, withdrawing afterwards with an intoxicated smile. “Tell you a secret? You do too. I felt it, even across the realms. I could feel your soul missing mine.”
Dee gave his wife one more kiss before he threw himself into his father’s embrace. Zeus’ eyes closed, his arms wrapping around his son. They stood like that for several moments before Persephone’s gravelly voice caught their attention.
“Is this revenge because I refused to ask for an exception? Because I didn’t want to go to Heaven and be your angelic fuck-buddy?”
Ramiel bristled. “Don’t flatter yourself, this has nothing to do with you. Plus, let’s not pretend that you didn’t go all bleeding-heart over your husband just now when you thought he was going to die.”
“If you take my father, I’ll never forgive you!”
“I’m not taking anyone. You know that’s not how this works. I can’t just wander into the nephilim realm and kill at will.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time the angels have massacred us,” Hades grumbled from behind.
Straight-faced, Persephone ignored him. “I should have known better than to sleep with an archangel. Or was that all a power trip for you? Seduce the daughter of the only creature outside Heaven who could kill you, as in, just for spite?”
With a wave of his hand, Persephone fell to her knees, her hands pressing into the terrace tiles as she moaned.
“You forget, Steph sweetheart, just how powerful I really am. I didn’t have to seduce you. If all I wanted was your body, you wouldn’t have had any choice. And let’s not forget,” his eyes turned up to meet Hades’ brooding glare, “you’re the one who came after me. Even after I told you it was forbidden. At that time, you were already contemplating your husband’s death so you wouldn’t be imprisoned half of the year anymore; do you really want to start a conversation about who might have been using whom to exact her revenge?”
With a twist of his wrist, Ramiel materialized his Angelic Blade. It caught the light of the torches around the borders of the terrace. Fear lit up Pesephone’s eyes just moments before Ramiel released his influence over her, letting her scramble to Hades.
The angel turned to Zeus. “I don’t want to escalate this. If you made a deal with Big Boss to die when all this came to pass, I suggest you allow me to help you see that through. We both remember how bad things can get when the realms resort to conflict.”
Zeus smiled, laying his hands on the angel’s shoulders. “And you and I both know that’s already happening. The signs are everywhere. I am ready. Let us be done with it.”
With a single nod, Ramiel lunged forward, piercing Zeus in the heart with his blade. The king called out, his eyes watering. Persephone shot to her feet, reaching for her father, with Dee right behind. The moment they closed in on Zeus’ figure, it was too late.
Where Zeus once stood, nothing but dust and a swath of cloth remained. Anwen looked around, but the angel had vanished.
Chapter 41
Gravity had nothing on the magnetic pull between them. Riona had to chance a quick glance out of the corner of her eye to make sure she wasn’t actually ablaze.
They hadn’t even touched yet, and ten feet of space separated them, but already, both were having trouble keeping their
respiration from racing.
The middle-aged human servant flicked on a light in the bathroom. “This is your en suite, and there’s a balcony just through those double doors. One member of our staff is on duty throughout the night. If you need anything, just dial three-one-four-two on the phone and someone will be along directly. Will sir or madame require night clothes?”
Jerry stuck a hand in his pocket and cleared his throat. “Um, no, we won’t be wearing any.”
“Jerry.” With a thunderous strike, Riona landed a fist on her husband’s bicep.
The poor man yelped. “Ow. Careful please. FYI: Human again. You break, you buy.”
“So I’ve heard.” She turned to the valet who had fetched them from the party to show them a guest room. “I’m sorry for my husband’s inappropriateness.”
“Madame, I have not even begun to be inappropriate!” Jerry declared.
The beaming valet leaned in. “We’re in the dominion of Zeus, madame. I’ve heard worse. If there is nothing else then?”
“No,” Riona confirmed. “Thank you.”
She caught Jerry laughing under his breath as she closed the door. “What?”
“It’s just so weird, someone calling me sir.”
“I used to do it all the time.”
“Yeah, but that’s because I had you handcuffed to a bedpost and promised to correct your insolence if I you didn’t.”
“Yes, sir, you did.”
The jibe made them both crack a smile. Jerry waved her forward, daring her to come to him. She never backed down from a dare, and Riona had no intention of stopping now.
“So you’re really human again?”
He pecked a kiss on her lips. “As human as I ever was.”
“How did that happen?”
“I earned it. Mind if I ask a question? You remember that thing a week ago when we got married?”
“I do.” The corners of her mouth curled up at the pun. “What about it?”
Hex Goddess (All My Exes Die from Hexes Book 3) Page 26