by Meg Xuemei X
“Hell no,” the fae snapped. “This female belongs to me. She’s the mate I’ve been looking for my entire existence. I’ve scented her. She’s mine and no one else’s. So kindly fuck off, demigod. Why don’t you go fuck the goddess? She and you are the same kind.”
Somehow it offended me that the fae asked the demigod to screw the Goddess of Beauty.
“No, no, no!” Aphrodite no longer glided gracefully across the floor but jumped and cut in between the two hunks, blocking their path to me. “This is all wrong. This went wrong. We must correct it and change the course. I’m the Goddess of Love, Lust, Beauty, and Pleasure. No male—mortal, immortal, or god—has ever turned me down.” She pointed at me. “This savage is nothing. She’s nobody. You can’t choose her over me. You just can’t. Look at me.”
Seemingly unable to resist the power in her words, the two immortals looked at her and smiled, especially when she battered her long, curled eyelashes that could nest a flock of baby birds. Her lilac-soft lips parted sensually, promising sweet nectar to any male lucky enough to taste her.
Fuck, she was going to sway them! I’d better come up with a clever plan to counter her. I didn’t know why all of a sudden it was so urgent that I needed to keep these two males by my side, considering their first intention was to take my head and present it on a silver plate for her.
“Now look at her,” said the goddess in disdain and venom.
And the demigod and fae gazed at me as I stared back; they were still delicious.
“See the difference?” The Goddess of Beauty and Love flicked her golden hair, her sparkling blue eyes beckoning them to follow her to her bedroom. “The street whore has no class. Tell me that you want me instead of her. Offer me the golden apple that should be rewarded to the most beautiful female in the universe, and you can have me even here.”
And she called me a street whore?
The demigod chinned toward his companion. “Go with her, fae, and give her the fucking apple.” He trained his possessive gaze on me, as if I was the only thing he ever wanted, and stalked toward me. “I’ll take my female and leave.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, my one hand on my hip, yet my heart pounded in my throat at the thrill of anticipation. I wanted him badly. I wanted both of them, but I wasn’t some dame that would roll over so easily.
“You think you can just take me, demigod dude?” I challenged.
He threw his head back and laughed, the sound deep and sexy. “I’ll court you briefly before I claim you, if that’s what you want. But in my opinion, courting is all bullshit.”
“You aren’t big on charm, are you?” I snorted.
He reached me in a blink, determined to wrap his arm around me. I lashed out with my fist, but before I could make contact, the fae male had also moved like a flash and shoved the demigod aside.
“Don’t ever touch her, demigod,” the fae snarled. “Don’t make me kill you. I won’t remind you twice that not only did I spot this female first, but she’s mine. Why don’t you go with the goddess and warm her bed? Don’t disappoint the Goddess of Beauty!”
My eyes widened and my mouth was agape.
Both immortals were evidently awed by the goddess’s beauty, yet they didn’t want her. They wanted me—a cavewoman. Was it really happening? Why? Should I slap myself to see if it was real?
“Then we must duel to the death to claim this lovely maiden we both want,” the demigod asserted.
“Agreed,” the fae said.
They summoned their identical flaming swords as one, ready to cross blades.
“Stop!” the Goddess of Beauty shrieked.
Her power of seduction crashed into both males. The demigod and fae froze for a second, eyes glazed, and looked momentarily confused. The goddess’s beauty shone gloriously; even I almost dropped to my knees at her loveliness.
Lust fogged the eyes of all the males in the room, and rage dominated me again.
Before I could punch the goddess whore in the jaw, the fae and the demigod returned their gazes to me. They brushed off her power just like that.
“No! No!” the Goddess of Beauty cried in anger and dismay. “This can’t be happening. This is outrageous. How could you choose a foul-mouthed barbarian over me?”
“I happen to like her dirty mouth,” Alaric said with an indulgent smirk. “She’s my type.”
Pyrder nodded in agreement. “There’s something about her that turns me on like no other. I’ll have to kill you, demigod, if you don’t back off. Uh, where are my manners.” He turned up the voltage of his smile, and my heart fluttered. “What’s your name, lass?”
Before I could answer, Hephaestus chuckled in wicked delight, wiping a big tear from the corner of his eye.
“For the first time in history, men don’t fall all over themselves for you,” he said. “How does it feel, Aphrodite? How does it feel to lose to someone you look down your nose at? It seems you aren’t the most desirable female in the universe anymore. A ‘nobody’ has just beaten you easily and taken your crown.”
“Dulcis!” a deep, cultured voice shouted in urgency, and a large, gorgeous male sprang toward me.
Now I was Dulcis?
The new male’s piercing gray eyes, full of concern and adoration, fixed on me, as if the sight of me brightened his very existence.
It warmed me, but I didn’t know who he was.
Hephaestus raised his grandma fan.
“Stop!” I barked. Ever since he’d fanned at the two males and me, we’d been feeling incredibly horny toward each other.
“I just want to speed the process, princess,” Hephaestus said. “I was trying to help.”
The male reached my side, and his scent of pine and fine wine made me want to throw myself into his arms.
I held my ground, just as I had done toward the other two immortals, even though I wanted to strip and fuck them right there. I might dress like a cavewoman, but I didn’t intend to act like one.
“Dulcis,” he called again. “Are you all right?”
“You’re a vampire,” I said, “a powerful one.” I eyed him critically, though I was hot for him. “And you have my blood in you. When did you drink from me? How dare you drink from me?!”
I should strike him down, but he didn’t appear to be a threat to me.
“Where have you been, vampire?” Hephaestus grumbled. “You should have been here and done your part as well. I don’t enjoy babysitting them! I had to carry this fan like a clown. And do you know how difficult it is to deal with my ex-wife?”
“I was locked in a marble coffin,” the vampire hissed.
“As the High Lord of Night, you have great strength,” Hephaestus said. “Marble or steel shouldn’t have stopped you.”
“It’s an enchanted coffin,” the vampire said, exasperation tingling his voice. “It took me a while to break out. Do you think I wasn’t anxious to get to my mate’s side and protect her? This place tried to stop me since I’m the only one who can remember.” He returned his gaze to me, his eyes full of warmth again. “Now that I’m here, dulcis, you have nothing to worry about. But it seems we need to get acquainted again. I’m Lorcan, your mate.”
He sidled toward me, ready to sweep me into his arms.
I melted a little.
“Step back, vampire!” the demigod shouted and came between us. “If you still want your head attached to your neck.”
That reminded me that I shouldn’t trust anyone in an unknown territory in my state, even though I really wanted to get into the handsome vampire’s arms. I wasn’t a naïve girl who would fall for any man just because he was hot. And this place felt wrong. The more I lingered in this hall, the more anxious I got.
“You think I’ll just trust whatever you say?” I said, waving my butter knife. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
“This loveliest maiden obviously doesn’t know you, vampire,” the fae spat. “She isn’t your mate. The truth is as far from your words as the ocean is from the sky. I’ve chosen her
as mine!”
The High Lord of Night frowned. “Have they been talking like this the entire time?”
“Oh yeah.” Hephaestus chuckled. “You should have gotten here earlier for more amusement. I wish I could record this and never let the demigod live it down.” He waved at the two males. “These two didn’t remember a damn thing. They worshipped my ex-wife like a pair of lost puppies. It was pathetic to watch. Well, they shifted their affection toward Cass as soon as they spotted her. She doesn’t know who she is, either, but she still hasn’t lost her bad attitude.”
I glared at him. “What an ass!”
Hephaestus spread his arms. “See?”
“I must make her remember me,” the vampire said, “so we won’t be trapped here.”
The God of Blacksmiths nodded. “This spelled place is messing up their minds, though, and I don’t think charming Cass into making her remember you will be that easy.” He backed up a pace at the vampire’s glare. “Hey, that’s just the impression I got from your bonded brothers. You’re used to women bending over backwards for you. You aren’t a charmer, Lorcan. You’re too straightforward.”
The vampire ignored the god and shifted his gray gaze to me. “May I kiss you, dulcis? Just one kiss. I’ll never hurt you. I just need you to remember us.”
“Well,” I said, regarding him, weighing my options as I licked my lips.
How would it feel to have his sensual lips on mine? I wanted to know. Especially since I had such unbearable heat between my thighs. But I was also afraid that once we started kissing, we wouldn’t be able to stop. And this place didn’t seem safe.
“No!” Both the demigod and the fae snarled their answers for me.
“You won’t kiss her or touch her in any manner,” the demigod said. “She isn’t your woman. She doesn’t know you, and I’ve staked my claim on her.”
“We’ll duel to the death to win the maiden’s affection!” the fae said. “Unless the two of you withdraw now. It’s not in me to kill you, but I will if any of you attempt to take my future bride from me.”
“Idiots,” the vampire said. “Cass Saélihn is mate to us all.”
“No way,” the fae said. “I don’t share.”
“And I won’t allow any of you to lay a finger on what’s mine, my future wife,” the demigod warned.
“No more pretty words,” the fae said. “Let’s get to it. I’ve had enough of this foolishness.”
He charged at the High Lord of Night, his flaming sword sailing toward the vampire.
“Must we solve the conflict this way?” the vampire asked, rolling his eyes as he parried. “We fought millennia ago and none of us could really win.”
“I don’t think so, vampire,” said the demigod. “Prepare to die if you don’t give up.”
“The winner will take the female we all desire,” the fae announced.
“So be it,” the vampire said.
“Wait a fucking moment,” I cried out, black fire rushing from my arm to the butter knife I held. “No one gets to decide who will take me, except me!”
The three immortals ignored me and started crossing swords three ways.
“They all come from the old world where women were the prize,” Hephaestus explained. “They didn’t need to ask for permission. They were different with you when you were their mate. And now this place has returned them to their former barbaric selves. They’d all be so ashamed if they could hear how they are talking.”
I narrowed my eyes at Hephaestus, but his words rang true.
Could it be that all three of them were my mates? I didn’t have my memory, but perhaps my body remembered them since it was incredibly, shamefully hot for all of them?
And I’d gotten their names from the God of Blacksmiths.
The three excellent swordsmen lunged, ducked, and charged against one another, their speed amazing, their strength admirable. Lorcan fought Alaric, their blades locking, the flames on their steel hissing.
Pyrder’s blade stabbed toward Lorcan’s back.
I cried out a warning, but Lorcan had twisted away swiftly. And now Alaric and Pyrder were engaged in brutal combat, their sizzling blade swinging left and right, bearing down from overhead, meeting each other again and again.
My heart beat a frantic rhythm, and I started sweating.
I called out warnings whenever someone was about to get hit. I couldn’t tell whom I should root for. Despite my former attitude toward them, I was afraid of any of them getting hurt.
And then Lorcan got in between the fae and the demigod, calling them idiots and demanding they stop acting like morons. But he soon lost his temper after they brought their swords down toward him.
The three became a blur, their flaming swords flying in circles.
The clashing sounds of their steel filled the room.
The crowd gathered around. Among them I noticed a few fae warriors. They all snarled at me, for no obvious reason. I braced myself to stab them with my fork and butter knife, burning them with my dark fire if they attacked me.
Aphrodite didn’t try to stop the fight. She watched the three-way duel with a vicious smile, as if she wanted all the males to fall under the swords.
Anxiety pulsed through me in waves. Even though I didn’t know them, I didn’t want any of them to perish. I didn’t want them to fight. But they wouldn’t listen despite my hoarse warnings and shouting. They would continue until only one of them stood, and that one would come to claim me.
As their battle raged on, all of them suffered wounds here and there. I could no longer handle my fear of any of them getting killed.
In my intense fear, I threw up my hands, pushing whatever power I had toward them to separate them. And I saw that instead of making them disengage from one another, my fire and wind caressed them.
“They’re immune to your power,” Hephaestus said, “because they’re your mates. Now do you believe me, little Cass?”
I didn’t like him calling me little.
I swallowed. “But how can they all be my mates? I can barely handle one of them.”
Hephaestus smirked. “Don’t sell yourself short, Cass. You haven’t just tamed one. You tamed all four of them, four of the most powerful immortals walking the Earth.”
My eyes widening, I shrieked, “Four? Where’s the fourth?”
“Now you’re asking the right question,” Hephaestus said. “We came to the pit of Hell for your fourth mate, Reysalor Iliathorr, Unseelie fae heir to Sihde the Spring Isles.”
CHAPTER 10
Reysalor Iliathorr. The name rang a bell, and an ache rose in my chest.
Hephaestus regarded my pained expression and continued mercilessly, “You lost him to Hell in our war against Hades by the third Hell Gate. Hades pierced Reysalor’s wrists and dragged him here in chains when he tried to rescue your best friend, the seer. And then you turned into a mean dragon. Remember, Cass, remember all of your pain. Remember your rage and your quest for revenge so you won’t lose any more of your mates. If you don’t, you’ll lose them all.”
An image flashed before me.
A pair of turquoise eyes, like the bluest ocean in sunlight, gazed at me with all the love in the world. They conjured such tender feelings in me, feelings that I hadn’t known I possessed.
Reysalor Iliathorr materialized in the dark fog of my mind and strode toward me with a dazzling smile.
“Reys!” I cried. My beloved Reys!
I ran into his arms, only to find iron chains piercing both his wrists as he was dragged toward Hell. He wheeled and roared in rage, whipping his sword at a horde of wraiths and horned demons.
He fought to reach me, but the demons overpowered him.
The Hell Gate sealed, separating us. My power wasn’t enough to get to him in time.
I shrieked and sobbed.
Hell took him. Hades, my biological father, dragged my Reys into its pit.
I blinked back to the present.
“You don’t need the elixir to get your memor
y back,” Hephaestus coaxed beside me. “You’re a goddess. You’re more powerful than me. You’re the most powerful goddess ever born. Now, draw your power. Draw on your strength and remember.”
My power didn’t shake me back to myself, but the soul-tearing pain of losing a mate had done just that.
I remembered it all.
I remembered the icy wind, fire, then a spark of an ember extending to the faraway galaxies.
I remembered a dragon’s roar, and I was lost in the infinity of dark storms and fire, but my mates tethered me.
I roared.
My power welled up, coursing through me and buzzing on my skin.
My beloved mates—Lorcan, Alaric, and Pyrder—were still engaged in a fierce battle to win the right to claim me. Flaming swords rose and fell and wheeled; blood spilled.
“Enough!” I shouted.
Yet they still ignored me.
The God of Blacksmiths was right. My mates came from an old world where males ruled and dominated, where females were objects and property. But they’d stepped into the new world with me. They’d adapted. And they had loved me.
They’d do anything for me.
I’d make them relearn the new life they had started with me. First, they needed to remember me.
I yanked our mating bond, hard and mercilessly, though not without love.
Our bond awoke, the thread radiating in the endless dim fog.
My mates stopped crossing their blades and snapped their heads toward me.
“Dulcis.” Lorcan smiled. “I was trying to teach them a lesson and make them remember.”
Well, his method had failed.
“You’re all mine,” I said, power rolling off me. “There’s no need to fight anymore.”
“I’ll go fetch the gold apple and offer it to you,” Pyrder said. “And then we’ll just ditch them.”
They still hadn’t recognized me, even though they knew in their hearts that I was theirs.
The fae prince dashed away.
Alaric strode toward me. In one swift, smooth move, he scooped me into his arms.
“Mine!” he declared like a savage.