by G. Bailey
“Corvina!”
Everyone shouts my name at the same time.
“I’m all right,” I call back at them, using my wings to hold me up now that it’s too painful to stand. “Let’s send this demon hound back down to hell.”
I gather the shadows again, completing our circle so Ambrose can bind the demon. To my relief, the tattoo on my arm heals the wound on my leg. Narah’s protection spell mixes with it and gives me an incredible burst of power.
With the circle now whole again, Ambrose links each of our shadows as if he’s weaving a net. It reminds me of the blanket of stars Selena wove into the night sky. The second the net touches the demon, it lets out a deafening howl that shakes the leaves around us. The shadows sizzle against its flesh and it tries to claw away from it, but Ambrose pins him to the ground.
“This won’t hold him for long!”
He snaps the shadows around the demon like an elastic band, another shrieking howl carries around us. Singed fur permeates the air and a huge void opens up below the demon. It’s like Cerberus really is being dragged back down to hell. Good. Serves him right for trying to hurt my friend.
I fly down to my guys and glare up at the demon. You are a very bad dog!”
Gage pulls me away with a grin. “Alright, you. Let’s go before we land ourselves in even more trouble.”
“Looks like Cerberus is being summoned back anyway,” Pitch remarks, pointing at the black hole dragging Cerberus in.
As the five of us turn to leave, a rush of cold dread fills my spine with ice. My breath turns into smoke again and the ground beneath me freezes. I turn to see the demon wrapping the fire chains around Pitch and dragging him into the void.
I stare at the ground where the demon dragged Pitch like something is going to change, like time can simply go back and I can stop what just happened. Panic flares through me as I fall to my knees and dig into the soil underneath me, connecting me to the world even as I fall apart. My vision turns blurry as tears threaten to fall, but I keep on digging, needing to find a trace of something that will help find my shadow.
My mate.
“Vina, stop,” Jonah whispers, pulling me back. Even though his touch would usually soothe me, connect me to everything, the burning fear pounding through me makes me hardly notice Jonah.
I shrug him off and dig harder. “There’s got to be a trace of some kind. Maybe I can use my magic to counteract the portal. Or maybe I can—”
“I know where Pitch is.” Ambrose gently touches my other shoulder, briefly stopping me as I turn to look up at him, searching his calm eyes. “The only place Hades could’ve taken him is the Underworld.”
“That’s another realm entirely,” Gage says with a frown and I look at him. “Only fae can enter it.”
“Then let me go.” I stand up and use magic to wipe the dirt off my hands. “How do I get there?”
Ambrose, Gage, and Jonah exchange a worried look. Before they can talk me out of this, I lift Echo into my arms and walk away.
“You’re going in the wrong direction,” Ambrose calls after me. “The best place to get to the Underworld is through the Fountain of Mene. That’s east. You’re going west.”
“I was just making sure you were paying attention.” I spin around and head the other way. “To the fountain we go!”
Even though a niggling thought settles in my mind, that I can’t fight Hades to save Pitch…not in his own dimension, I still know I have to go to him. I would go to hell, to heaven, to the gods or anywhere for my mates. I will fight anything for them. Even Hades.
Jonah stands in front of me, one of his brows lifted. “We should stop by Jane’s to check on Narah and the others, don’t you think? It’s on the way.”
I nod, admittedly bummed about having to see Jane again, but it’s important we talk to Narah. Maybe she might know a way to fight Hades. I’m pretty sure she is going to be shocked when I tell her who Pitch really is. No wonder he didn’t die as a baby when Narah lost control and attacked him with dark magic. Pitch is a half-god. A demigod, and that makes him incredibly powerful…likely more than me. I have to believe he can keep himself alive long enough for me to get to him.
“Okay,” I say, nodding and sucking in a deep breath, “we check on the others, and then I’m going to the Underworld to destroy Hades once and for all.”
I know something is wrong even before the cottage is within sight. There’s a septic tinge to the air that reeks of freshly drawn blood seeping into white roses. It invades my senses and causes the hairs on my body to stand on edge. Ambrose senses it, too, his eyebrows knitting together and his skin glowing ever so softly. He motions for us to stay hidden in the shadows, but the second Jonah sees the cottage peeking through the trees, he runs off.
I put Echo down and go after him, using my wings to guide me above the treetops. I reach the cottage before Jonah does and my heart squeezes when I see that the lights are out and the wind chimes have all smashed onto the floor, nothing more than shattered glass now. The dark magic lingering in the atmosphere is suffocating, trickling over my body like a static chill.
“Jane?” Jonah leaps over the fence and runs up the porch. “Jane!”
He barely sets foot on the first step when a blast of magic sends him spiraling onto his back. I’ve seen that type of forcefield before when Ivywood shielded the academy. That means it’s been cast by a light fae.
As I help Jonah onto his feet, the sword speaks in my mind.
“How do you know that?” I ask it, and Jonah frowns at me, rubbing his arm.
Ambrose and Gage appear behind us with Echo, and while Jonah tells them what happened, the creepy sword speaks in my mind.
Dammit, I’m getting hit on by a talking sword. All my guys rush to us, and Ambrose stares at my arm like he can hear or sense the power. When his eyes meet mine, I turn away. No need to worry him…or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
“We need to find a way inside,” Gage says, tentatively approaching the cottage.
“Wait!” I grab his arm and pull him back. “Eva is in there. She’s holding someone hostage and wants me to go in. No one else can get inside.”
“It’s a trap.” Ambrose’s skin glows even brighter as his magic radiates off him in waves. He shines brightly, like the glare of the sun against the ocean. “Whatever she wants cannot be good.”
I’m touched by his concern, but I need to do this. What if it’s Sage she’s holding prisoner again? Or David? Or even Jane? I need to find out what happened to the others if there are only two people in there, and I need to get to that god damn fountain.
Gage lifts my chin and forces me to look at him. A crease forms between his brows, almost like he can read my thoughts, but he doesn’t try to talk me out of this. He just kisses me, the touch gentle and yet filled with such unspoken promise that it takes my breath away.
“Trust me,” I whisper against his lips.
“I always have.”
I kiss him again before letting go and stepping back. Jonah looks away, his hands clenching, and glares at the cottage. Ambrose, on the other hand, gives a hesitant nod in approval. It’s not like I needed it to save my friends, but it’s nice to know that the god has my back.
“If you’re not out in ten minutes, I will burn the cottage to the ground,” he says.
“Like fuck, you will!” Jonah yanks Ambrose back and scowls at him. His features soften when he looks at me. “But in all seriousness, if shit hits the fan in there, I’ll skin Eva alive and wear her like a suit.”
I chuckle despite the gross imagery. “Just have faith in me, Jonah. If nothing else, I’ll be able to take down the force-field and let you in. We’ve totally got this.”
“Ever the optimist,
shadow raven.”
“One of us has got to be.” I wink at him, stepping back. “See you all on the other side, baby.”
The three of them watch me turn and make my way to the porch. My smile fades when I climb the first step. I hold my breath, preparing to be shot back onto my ass. Nothing happens. The magic sweeps over me like a sheet of cling film. I wrap my hand around the door handle, and pausing only briefly, twist and enter.
The entire cottage is cloaked in darkness. I wave my hand, igniting the fireplace, and there, bathed in the shadows of its flames, is Eva. She’s holding a blade to Jane’s throat. To my horror, relief floods through me when I see it’s not Sage or any of the others. But Jane is still Jonah’s sister, and an innocent person, too. I need to get her out of here.
One thing I know about force fields is that they’re easier to destroy from the inside. I clasp my hands behind my back and let my magic seep into the darkness. Everything about me has always been dark, so my power merges seamlessly with the shadows. If I can distract Eva for a couple of minutes, I’ll be able to destroy her forcefield and let my guys in.
“Eva,” I snarl at her, surprised by how quickly her poison has spread. The black veins now cover part of her face, which she has tried but failed miserably to hide with her matted hair. “You’re always so dramatic with your arrivals.”
She curls her blackened lips into a repugnant snarl. “What’s revenge without a little flair?” Resting the tip of the blade on Jane’s jugular, she adds, “But I do think that we ought to stop meeting like this.”
Jane’s fearful eyes widen. “Get this crazy bitch off me and I swear I won’t ever be a bitch to you again!”
“Hush now,” Eva warns. “You’re ruining my moment.”
“What do you want, Eva?” I sweep my gaze over her body. The ivory dress hanging off her thin body is torn and covered in mud. She looks like she hasn’t washed or slept in days. “What’s happened to you?”
“War has happened.” She waves her other hand dismissively. “These things are never easy. Or sanitary.”
“Well, you look bloody awful.”
Her eyes narrow into slits. She’s completely oblivious to what I’m doing. “Don’t let my appearance fool you! We are winning this war. Already the titans, and my army, have taken over the Dark Fae Kingdom; something my father never had the guts or power to do. Soon, Draconia will fall, and the entire Forest will be at my disposal.”
I clap my hands sardonically, more as a distraction than anything as her forcefield is lifted from right under her nose. “Congratulations on turning into a tyrannical bitch. Now, what do you want from me?” She glances at the tattoo on my arm. “Oh, this little thing? Yeah. You don’t want it. Trust me. It talks to me all the damn time, especially when I’m trying to sleep.”
“You will come with me willingly,” Eva says, adding pressure to the blade, “or I will slit this shadowborn’s throat and kill your lovers.”
My response is to yawn and stretch my arms, letting more magic shoot off me and into the forcefield. I can already feel how close I am to breaking through it. Just a few more minutes.
“And then what? What exactly do you want to gain from all this, Eva?”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Eva, in the short time that I’ve known her, it’s that she loves the sound of her voice
“Come with me and I’ll show you,” she answers, lifting her chin. “Or watch every person you care about fall and bleed out before you. Personally, I’d rather prefer if you chose the latter. Pitch, Zander, Gage, Jonah, Ambrose…Sage. They’re all just dying for you to resist me.”
“What have you done with Sage?!”
“She’s bluffing,” Jane hisses. “Narah escaped with Sage and David before she arrived.”
“I warned you to shut the fuck up!” Eva yanks Jane by the hair and snaps her head back. “You shadowborns never know when to hold your tongue.” Her eyes darken and gleam in the firelight as she digs her fingers into Jane’s cheeks, prying her jaw open. “Perhaps I should cut yours out as a lesson.”
Jane screams around the blade, her eyes filling with tears, but she’s no longer looking at me.
She’s looking over me.
I turn just in time to see Ronan smashing a rock against the side of my skull. The room sways around me and I fall to my knees, watching as a portal bleeds opens behind Eva. She pushes Jane away and seizes me by the throat in one impossibly swift movement.
“You really thought you could distract me, Corvina?” She leans into my face, a sickening snarl sliding over her lips. “It was I who was distracting you all along.” Dragging me by the hair into the penetrating light, she turns to Ronan, a look of adoration on her face. “Stay here, my love, and take care of the others. My sister and I have some catching up to do.”
Darkness envelops me, punctuated by soft whispers and moans heady with desire. Warm hands roam my being, and a groan leaves the back of my throat when they reach for my cock.
The quiet laughter that greets me does not belong to Corvina.
I shoot my eyes open, horror filling me when I see all of the naked women draped over my body. Their hands slide over my exposed chest.
“Let me go,” I warn, trying to shove them away. But my hands are tied to dark wooden bedposts and I can scarcely move. “I said release me!”
“Do as he says,” a voice commands. “It seems my son is in no mood to be worshipped.”
My eyes land on the darkest corner of the chamber. Hades stands by a latticed window, his body bathed in darkness except for his eyes. He steps out of the shadows and dismisses the harem and my restraints with a simple wave of his hand. The females scramble out and all the while I glare at Hades.
I should have known he’d be the one to summon me.
The rage from another female touching me is all-consuming. Never have I wanted or been with anyone other than Corvina, but now this fucker has taken that from me. They might have only been fawning over my body, but it’s enough to send white-hot fury surging through my veins. Hades takes one look at me and chuckles, gliding over to a bar sculpted from ebony stone.
“Do you at least drink, my son?” He pours two despite my lack of an answer, the liquid dark and strange.
“No.” I straighten and push off the bed, tugging at my unbuttoned shirt and pants. Doing the buttons again, I snarl at him, “Why have you brought me here?”
“You are my son.” Hades saunters over, his black robe billowing around him into tendrils of smoke. He sets the glass on the side of the bed, but I ignore it. “I thought you and I could speak in private.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” I sneer. “You have taken me from my mate when she needed me most. You of all people know what that feels like.”
Hades turns his back on me, the shadows draping around him. “To be without the one you love is a pain unlike any other.”
The sorrow in his voice takes me by surprise. Before Eris planted the Apple of Discord, Hades’ love for Persephone was said to be the strongest in all the realms. My anger abates ever so slightly as I look around the room. Every item of ornate furnishing is black like the soul of its master, but above the bed is a tapestry of Persephone before she became Selena. Her sheer pink gown flows down her body like a waterfall and her hair reaches her ankles as she lifts a black rose to the sun. A crown of wreathed flowers adorns her head. She looks like Selena with only slight differences. Unearthly beautiful.
“Was Selena my mother?”
Hades whips around and a dark glint flashes in his eyes. “Persephone,” he corrects, “was not your mother.”
“Then who was?”
He shrugs dismissively. “A mortal.”
“Is she alive?”
“No. It is rare for mortals to survive giving birth to a demigod.”<
br />
“Did you love her?”
“I have loved many. Your mother was not one of them. A mere concubine.”
His comment riles me, making the blood pound in my veins.
“If she was only a ‘mere concubine’, how did you end up with me?”
“By convenience.” The Dark God settles back in his chair, resting his arms languorously. “Your mother’s sister left you at my temple, wanting nothing to do with the babe that killed her sister. When the Light Fae King summoned me to do his bidding, I saw a chance to give you a life free from darkness.”
“Free from darkness?” I scoff at the irony. “You gave me to the Dark Fae Queen. That is hardly a life free from darkness.”
“Believe me when I say her world pales in comparison to mine.” Standing from his chair, he circles the desk and places a hand on my shoulder. “You are the Dark Prince that my wife, Persephone, wanted to inherit her throne. It’s time you take what is rightfully yours. Once the war is over, reclaim the Throne of Luna and rule the forest with me. Father and son.”
I frown at him, drawing my eyebrows together. “With you?” His real motive finally clicks in my head. “Ah. You want the Throne of Helios. Of course. But why?”
His arm falls off my shoulder. “The reason matters not. All that matters is that you and I rule the Enchanted Forest together. That is the only way you can become a god.”
I look away from him, contemplating his words. The most shocking thing of all is that a part of me wants to say yes. With my god powers, I could protect the forest with Corvina as my queen. We’d be unstoppable and never again would I feel helpless in ensuring her safety. But to get this I would need to hand Helios over to Hades. I would never forgive myself for the destruction I am sure he’ll cause there, even more than has already been done. I doubt his intentions are pure considering it was Danica who banished him all those centuries ago.