A Court of Earth and Aether: a Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (War of the Gods Book 4)

by Meg Xuemei X

  I moved, faster than a flash of wind, and snatched the coin out of the fae prince’s hand.

  “I know that. All that’s yours is mine,” I said, waving the hand that clutched the coin with irritation. “My point is that I won’t play by Hades’s rules.”

  “Our mate probably has a new idea,” Alaric said. “She doesn’t like to lose.”

  Sometimes the demigod got me more than anyone, except for Reys.

  Hephaestus folded his bulky, hairy arms across his chest. “Right.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You all have short memories and shorter faith. I’m a dragon! Now, please give me some space.”

  Alaric smirked. He was all for not following the death god’s tradition.

  Everyone backed away as fast as they could, and they were all fast, while I yelled in pain.

  My bones stretched, my flesh tore, and my cells transformed.

  The next instant, a massive dragon spread her wings and swayed her blue-scaled tails.

  This time, I ruled the dragon as Cass Saélihn. I maintained my coherent thoughts in my dragon head, even though darkness and fire roared inside.

  I puffed out a streak of fire toward my companions, signaling them to climb onto my back.

  “And that’s what I was talking about,” Hephaestus exclaimed, getting onto my back near my tails after everyone had settled. He rubbed his palms in excitement. “We’re rewriting Hell’s rules! We’re changing the game. Cass is a dragon now, and she’s going to carry us across the famous river of Styx. That’s never been heard of! This would be counted as my most mischievous adventure, and it’ll be recorded in the Olympian history book.”

  “Will you just shut your mouth for a second?” Alaric said. “We’re doing some serious thinking here!”

  “And what’s that?” Hephaestus asked, but he tried to take the challenge out of his tone.

  “We need to drink the Elixir of Memory,” Lorcan said. “As we discussed beforehand, Hephaestus and I’ll drink first. If all goes well, you will all drink it when you reach the other side. I’ll administer it.”

  The reason that Lorcan would take the first drop was that, as a powerful vampire lord with my potent blood in him, he was least likely to be affected if the elixir turned out to be some kind of poison. After all, it was the King of Gods who offered us the gift.

  “I actually don’t need to drink the elixir,” Hephaestus said. “I’m a major god with great experience in Hell. I might be confused for a few seconds when I reach the other side, but I’ll get over the disorientation quickly enough to function.”

  While the God of Blacksmiths bragged, I flew over the dark expanse of the water.

  There wasn’t so much as a ripple across it, even though my wings generated wild wind. There was no reflection of my dragon form on the surface of the water, either, even with my fire billowing out of my mouth and my mates’ flaming swords illuminating the surroundings.

  “I’ve drunk the Elixir of Memory.” Lorcan’s voice broke a moment of quietness, besides the whooshing sound of my flapping wings and the wind. “We’ll need our mate to take a drop as soon—”

  A shadow flitted by my left flank, faster than the dark wind, and slammed into the passengers on my back.

  I roared a warning, turning my head to send fire toward the attacker.

  A bottle dropped into the river beneath with a splash, and a hell-bird shrieked in victory.

  Alaric swept his flaming sword toward the bird, and the warriors lunged at the creature, but it had soared into the dark sky, turning into smoke before vanishing.

  It wasn’t the elemental shifter I’d encountered. That shifter had taken a white eagle form. This one had feathers blacker than midnight.

  Lorcan cursed. “It snatched the vial of elixir from my hand and flung it into the river.”

  “It’s Charon in his hell-bird form,” Hephaestus shouted. “This is his revenge. I warned all of you this would happen.”

  He’d never warned us about this! He told us a lot of useless stuff instead, and if he hadn’t distracted us with his endless complaining, we probably would have seen the hell-bird coming. It was a shame he was the furthest away from me, with my team between us, or I’d let him have a taste of my pissed-off dragon fire.

  “We’ll have to carry on without the Elixir of Memory,” Alaric said gloomily. “At least one of us had the memory drink. Now, Lorcan, you’ll have to remember everything for all of us. Don’t let our mate down!”

  Lorcan grunted something. All my mates were alpha males who didn’t take orders from anyone. Yet they constantly forgot the others were alphas males as well when they barked their orders. But ever since their bonded brother Reysalor had been taken, my alpha mates hadn’t gotten into any serious fights for dominance.

  I gave a roar of fire as my dragon reached the other side of the frozen river of Styx.

  CHAPTER 9

  Where was I?

  The last thing I remembered was roaring fire, darkness, and a dragon.

  And then nothing.

  I was staring at a full mirror, a strange girl with tri-colored hair and crazed two-toned eyes—violet and golden like living fire—staring back at me.

  And I had creamy skin, rosy high cheekbones, full pink lips, and a curvy shape.

  My fingers pinched my small, straight nose to make sure this wasn’t some stupid dream in which I couldn’t remember my name.

  But I wasn’t dreaming.

  I was screwed.

  I gave the empty ivory bed behind me a measured look.

  Somehow I knew no one had slept on it. And this place felt like a prison. The scene felt like déjà vu. Someone must have drugged and dumped me here.

  I was going to find whoever was fucking with me and teach him some manners.

  I stalked to the door, raised my booted foot, and kicked it.

  The door toppled down, and I stomped on it.

  “Should get yourself a good quality door, fucker,” I said, my fists clenching at my sides. I didn’t like to be played.

  I should probably find a weapon, but there was nothing other than liquid soap in that room.

  I made a few turns in the corridors, which lacked any personality, until soft laughter and a faint melody floated in my direction.

  A smirk replaced my grim expression. A party was on, obviously. I gave my attire a once-over and shook my head. Why did I put on a cavewoman costume—a piece of rudimental animal fur barely covering my ass and an old leather bra that bound my breasts?

  All I could hope was that the party didn’t require a dress code. Even if it did, I’d either talk or fight my way in. I might not know who I was, but I did know I wouldn’t be denied some good fun.

  A grand hall ahead beckoned me over.

  From my abandoned prison room all the way to here, I hadn’t seen a single window, so I hadn’t had a chance to study the landscape outside and determine where I was exactly. This entire place seemed sealed.

  Rich male laughter from inside the hall made my heart flutter for reasons I couldn’t perceive.

  I halted before the door. Should I kick it, break it, or what?

  I chose to push it open instead to display good manners.

  My eyes widened as the open door revealed the most gorgeous female I’d ever seen.

  She wore a crown made of priceless gems over golden hair that tumbled over her perfect, creamy shoulders. Her slender, elegant neck would shame a swan’s. Her face was so lovely that no words could ever do it justice.

  Her royal blue eyes, brighter than the stars, fell upon me, and she inclined her crescent-shaped eyebrows at my stunned expression. I might be the newcomer to the party, but I wasn’t the only one with that kind of idiotic, drooling look.

  Everyone, a few dozen of them, was enthralled by her. Most of them couldn’t decide if they should focus on the unparalleled beauty of her face or her lovely figure clad in almost nothing.

  Well, she was wearing something, a flimsy gown that barely concealed her perky br
easts.

  As our gazes met, she smiled, though not at all kindly but one carrying the promise of punishment. On whom did she plan to exact revenge? The crowd in the room all beamed at her sudden smile and gazed upon her like nothing else mattered and no one else existed in the whole universe.

  A genetic memory surfaced in my blank mind. It dawned on me who she was, while I still couldn’t remember my own name. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Lust, Beauty, and Pleasure, was hosting the party of the century!

  Her beauty was rumored to be able to freeze time and capture every man and woman’s heart. Just as I pondered that, her power blasted toward me, bringing an aroma of rose, cinnamon, and myrtle.

  “Hooey,” I yelped and staggered back at the impact. “What the fuck is that?”

  That was it. Her smell was nice. Her power was potent, but she didn’t freeze me. Her charm and beauty didn’t hold me captive, though I could admit that she was still the most beautiful female, probably in all the worlds.

  I brushed off her influence. I wasn’t as beautiful as she, but it didn’t bother me. I didn’t feel less in front of such a beauty, and I knew instinctively I was more dominant than her, even though she enthralled the crowd in the room.

  The adoration on everyone’s puppy-like faces stood as testimony enough that she was every male’s living fantasy, and they would do anything for her to have their fantasy fulfilled.

  Every head turned to me, as if coming out of a spell, and every pair of eyes glared at me. I shouldn’t have cursed, but I blamed it on the goddess’s beauty and my loose tongue.

  Was I always so fucking rude and immature?

  Two extremely handsome males who stood out among the group that lounged at the goddess’s feet growled at me for disrupting their admiration of the beauty of the universe.

  The broad-shouldered male with honey-brown eyes was all hard muscles. He dressed stylishly, his look completed with a nice scarf. I wondered if it was cashmere. I might need to steal it from him so I could have some additional fabric to cover my skin.

  The other dashing male, who had gorgeous turquoise eyes, carried a boyish charm. He wore a black t-shirt that showed off the tattoo of a golden panther on his muscled upper arm.

  Too bad they belonged to the goddess of unmatchable beauty.

  “Sorry, dudes,” I murmured, waving at them. “Please go ahead and lick her lovely feet. Don’t fucking mind me. I’m just going to get some drinks.”

  They pulled their sensual lips back in a snarl, which almost ruined their good looks.

  Now I felt a little dismay, since the goddess got all the males worshipping her and all I got were hostile glares and animalistic, threatening growls.

  “Foul-mouthed wench!” the brown-eyed immortal cursed me, menace rolling off him.

  “Watch your tongue if you want to keep it!” his buddy threatened.

  “Alaric, Pyrder.” The Goddess of Love and Beauty pointed at me and ordered the two males, “Bring her head to me on a plate, for she’s offended your goddess.”

  “What?” I stuttered. I didn’t come here looking for trouble.

  The two immortals rose to their feet and stalked toward me, two identical flaming swords appearing in their hands.

  My jaw dropped. “What the fuck?”

  Fight or flight?

  Just as I was about to flee, black flames whooshed out of my skin, hissing in aggression. I had power, too, motherfuckers!

  I darted to the nearest table and grabbed a butter knife and a fork, my black fire crawling onto my weapons, ready to defend me.

  “That’s right,” I chuckled in wicked delight. I might have lost my memories, but my power hadn’t. “Let’s have fun with the nasty boys. Where should I stab them?”

  The two immortal warriors looked surprised at my burst of power, but that didn’t stop them from advancing toward me, their gait full of power, ease, and harsh purpose. The Goddess of Beauty had them in her thrall.

  Then a giant man, who looked more like a monster, jumped between us out of nowhere. In his hand was a vast straw grandmother fan.

  “Cass,” he yelled. “I’ve been looking for you. Good, you finally showed up!”

  I turned my head left and right to see who this Cass was before I narrowed my eyes on him. “Are you talking to me, big guy?”

  “Damn it, not you, too!” he huffed. “I thought your potent goddess bloodline could resist...well, my ex-wife must have messed you up.”

  He started fanning the two good-looking-but-up-to-no-good immortals, and the wind sent their smell in my direction.

  The scent of sandalwood, leather, and harsh male slammed into my face. Something suddenly clicked in me. One of them was a demigod, and he had the same fire power as mine in his veins.

  Before I could sort out the freak show, the second male’s scent assaulted my nostrils. His smell of forest sun, snow, and rich spice roused a deep longing in me, like a distant home. It also felt like a first love that was about to fade but never should. A beloved one in my lost memories used to smell like that. Fae, he was fae.

  An ache rose from the pit of my belly.

  I waited for their scent to go away, but it only haunted me, singing to me and caressing me. And the fae possessed the same wind magic as I did.

  “What kind of voodoo is that?” I hissed, my black fire rising.

  “It’s not voodoo, Cass,” the giant, ugly male sighed. “It’s—”

  My genetic memory flashed again.

  “Fuck me!” I covered my mouth with my palm. “You’re Hephaestus, the famous God of Blacksmiths and Fire!”

  “That’s me.” Hephaestus smirked at me. “Now you remember.”

  I glared at him. “Who’s trying to mess with me, you or your lovely wife Aphrodite?” I pointed two fingers at the two immortals, who were still heading my way with their swords. “She sent these two lackeys to behead me. If it’s you who put something in my drink, like some date-rape drug, you’ll pay!”

  My black flame wheeled around me at my threat.

  The giant god shook his head. “You aren’t back, I see. Here we go.”

  He raised his old-fashioned fan, wielding it like a weapon, and fanned me toward the demigod and fae. “I hope this works, for all our sakes. Cass, sometimes you’re extremely clever, and then at other times, you’re more obtuse than I thought possible.”

  I hissed at his insult, though I thought he might, in fact, know me as this Cass.

  “I don’t like the odds of two against one,” I said, jerking a thumb toward the two henchmen, who suddenly halted, stiffening and sniffing the air. “And those two assholes don’t appear to be gentlemen. If you’re going to help me fight them, I suggest you get a proper weapon rather than that grandma fan of yours.”

  “I’m not a fighter, Cass,” he said. “They’re all yours.”

  My blood boiled. What a coward!

  The fae and the demigod resumed their steps toward me; their gazes, formerly menacing, were now heated and roving my body.

  Involuntarily, my gaze dipped down from the fae’s chest to his powerful legs wrapped in a pair of gray jeans. I could almost picture his perfect, tight ass.

  The demigod instantly growled at my ogling of the other.

  “Hello, boys, come to have some fun?” I purred, adopting a battle pose.

  With one foot stepped in front of the other, I waved my fork and butter knife in front of my chest as if I knew what I was doing. My black flame whipped tightly around me, so I wasn’t as afraid as before, knowing my power would back me up.

  Hephaestus fanned at me, then at the two approaching, fearsome immortals again.

  Aphrodite scrambled after the two immortals, her beautiful blue eyes flashing with dark anger.

  “Stay out of this, Hephaestus,” she shrieked, her beauty unimpaired by her rage, “or you’ll never get the divorce papers!”

  “Cass has beaten you like no one has before, Aphrodite,” Hephaestus said viciously. “And according to the rules of the game, you
’ll have to let them meet.”

  Hephaestus fanned us once more.

  The two immortals’ nostrils flared, their heated looks toward me growing darker, hungrier and more possessive. Then they dismissed their flaming swords in sync.

  Their blended scent swirled around me and intensified, haunting and caressing me, as if it would never let me go.

  Shit! A rush of desire surged in me, and liquid fire pooled between my thighs.

  How could I want to fuck these two jerks who had snarled at me, threatened me, and come forward to kill me?

  What the fuck was wrong with me?

  Yet my body didn’t care about logic. Lust swirled in me like a storm, and a mating need like no other urged me to surrender myself to the two immortals.

  They didn’t fare any better. Their pupils expanded as if they’d seen a female for the first time in their savage lives, as if they needed to claim me right here, right now, despite the crowd, and no matter the consequences.

  “Now that’s an interesting development.” Hephaestus chuckled in satisfaction.

  I turned to him and hissed. “What did you do? Did you put some nasty, horny spell on us?”

  He’d fanned at us!

  “I only brought you and your mates together,” he said with a smirk and a shrug, “and allowed nature and fate to take care of the rest.”

  “Mates?” I shrieked. “Are you crazy? They aren’t my mates. They’re assassins!”

  “Not anymore,” Hephaestus chortled. “Look at them. They’re in heat.”

  “Alaric, Pyrder,” Aphrodite purred in the sultriest, most feminine and alluring voice I’d ever heard. I could never compete with that. “Let’s end this game. Offer me the golden apple now and you can have me however you want for the whole night.”

  The idea of her taking away the two hotties before me suddenly enraged me. A trace of fire leaked out of my nostrils.

  I was taken aback by my absurd, fierce possessiveness, but I didn’t care. I was going to grab her perfect blonde hair and drag her down.

  The two immortals hesitated for a beat, glancing at the sexy goddess over their shoulders, then turned back to stare at me.

  “You can have the goddess, fae,” the demigod said and pointed at me. “This one is mine.”