Lucian glanced at me. “Hungry?”
“Oh hell yes.”
Laughing, we grabbed a fancy plate and got in line. After stacking our plates with mountains of food, we found seats at one of the round tables circumventing the dancefloor and sat and shoveled food into our mouths. By the time my plate was empty I didn’t think I could move.
Jasmine patted her flat stomach. “I have a food belly.”
I leaned in to peer at her washboard abs. “Where?” I poked her and she laughed.
It felt wonderful to sit with my friends and joke around after months of hard work, like we were just ordinary teenagers at spring formal and not warriors training to one day risk our lives in war if needed. I soaked it all in knowing it wasn’t going to last long.
I looked over at the DJ platform where Dionysus had his turntables and sound system. His hair was spiked up every which way like a demented hedgehog and he wore dark sunglasses and a black cape. He spotted me, grinned, and then grabbed the microphone.
“This next song is for all the bad bitches out there.”
Red laser lights cut through the air, as they rose from the ground to the roof as the music dropped the beat. It rolled over me like a technicolor wave. I jumped to my feet and grabbed Lucian’s hand, pulling him with me out onto the dance floor. Jasmine and Mia held hands out on the floor. Ren and Rosie, even Georgina all joined in until we were one massive group, jumping and bouncing to the music like pogo sticks.
“Put your hands up!” Dionysus shouted as the beat, that one glorious beat, dropped like a rock in water, rippling out to the entire room.
I closed my eyes losing myself in the music. I swayed and gyrated, Lucian matching me with every move. I draped my arms around his neck, his around my waist, and we danced together, in synch, the heat of our bodies mingling as one entity.
Sweat slicked my body and I was so hot I wanted to tear off my robe, but I refrained considering I only had on my underwear underneath. When the muses had come to dress us before the ceremony, Clio and Thalia wouldn’t let me wear a bra, claiming it would ruin the elegant lines of my robe. It didn’t matter now I supposed, as I wasn’t about to undress anyway. But I did want alone time with Lucian. My body was burning up for him.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him off the dancefloor and toward the main doors. He didn’t say anything, didn’t question me. By the wicked look in his eyes, I figured he was thinking about the same thing.
We found a dark alcove away from the noise and revelry of the celebration and instantly embraced. His hands pressed against my bare back, sending a pleasant shiver over my skin, as he leaned down and kissed me. My sudden gasp emboldened him and he moved his mouth over mine, tasting and teasing, making my heart thump so hard in my chest it was painful.
I dove my hands into the silky waves of his golden hair and hung on as he backed me up against the wall. His hands became bold, and moved over my body, touching me gently. A slight caress along my hip that made my belly flutter, and then up to brush just under the swell of my breasts making me gasp again.
Breathing hard, Lucian pulled back then rested his forehead against mine. “I think we’re nearing dangerous territory here. I don’t want to do anything neither of us is ready for.”
Did I tell him that I was ready? That I was scared that we wouldn’t have any more time together, that this was it for us? That if we didn’t indulge in each other, we’d never get another chance to do just that?
My heart raced so fast and I couldn’t catch my breath. I couldn’t think beyond the way my body vibrated under his touch.
“I’m going to go get us some drinks.” His voice was a bit ragged and rough.
I nodded, licking my lips; they still tingled from his kisses.
He pulled back, looked me in the eyes, then after a quick peck on the tip of my nose, he ventured out into the main corridor before heading back to the great hall. I stepped out of the alcove and casually paced around the area, trying to get my heartrate back to normal.
I leaned against the railing and looked down the huge staircase to the main foyer. It was dark down there, the only light radiating from one or two flickering lamps along the stone walls. I looked up at the glass dome ceiling. The moon was full and its light seemed to beam right through me. It seemed to want to expose me for a fraud, or it could’ve been that’s how it made me feel as its beams glared at me. I didn’t know why I felt that way. I’d earned my place here in the academy. I’d passed every trial; I never cheated despite the accusations from Revana and a few others. Still, that feeling lingered deep inside me. Uncomfortable I stepped out of the moonlight and into the shadows.
The moment my foot touched the darkened floor, the shadows seemed to undulate playfully. Frowning, I watched as they moved across the white tile like wisps of black smoke to envelop my sandaled foot. I lifted my leg, and the tendrils clung to me like spider webs. A prickling sensation rushed over my body, and it made me feel cold and clammy.
I turned to walk away, to get away, but the shadows followed me. Now they didn’t seem so playful, but aggressive, purposeful. I kept walking, faster by the second, but I couldn’t outrun the darkness. As I moved down the corridor toward the hall, I looked for firelight to step into but each time I moved toward one of the lamps, the flames blew out, plunging me into even more darkness. I could see the golden glow of the great hall ahead, but I wasn’t going to make it.
Finally, I stopped running, as it was pointless, and let the shadows swallow me up.
Chapter Three
MELANY
I was pulled through the darkness, as if strings were fastened to pinpoints on my skin. It felt the same way as being sucked through the water portal to the academy except decidedly more uncomfortable. My lungs didn’t burn, but everything else seemed to. Eventually the shadows dissipated around me, and I was left standing in a wide black stone corridor, with high vaulted ceilings, that led to several rooms; there were four doors on each side.
It was dim in the hall. Firelight came through from narrow slits in the juncture of the wall and floor and cast an eerie glow across the smooth black stone floor. I swung around in a circle; took note of the tall closed doors behind me, but I didn’t recognize where I was. It was like no hall I’d ever been in.
“Hello?” My voice echoed off the walls.
I didn’t expect an answer, so I jumped when I heard a deep male voice.
“I’m in the library. Last door on the right.”
Cautious, I walked down the corridor to the last room on the right. It was the only one with an open door. I stepped into the room and hovered there in the doorway surveying my new surroundings. The vast room was a library. Two walls were floor to ceiling shelves with meticulously organized books. Not one looked out of place. There were more books than I’d ever seen in one spot. The other wall showcased several paintings. Renaissance paintings of old Greek myths. I’d seen some of them in books about the Gods.
At the far end of the room were a massive dark stone fireplace, fire crackling within, and two high backed decorative chairs sitting on either side, a dark wooden round table by each. And Hades sat in one of those chairs, sipping red wine from a delicate looking wineglass, looking equally at home and on display in his sharp purple suit.
He smiled when our gazes locked. “Welcome.” He gestured to the other chair. “Please sit and join me for a drink to celebrate.”
I slowly moved across the room toward him. “Did you bring me here?”
“Technically I just sent the shadows, you walked through them.”
“It was kind of hard not to considering they swarmed me.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, my shadows can get a tad aggressive from time to time.” He pointed to the big chair. “Sit. Drink. Relax.”
I considered not sitting but realized that was childish and a waste of my anger at being kidnapped. I sunk into the velvety cushioned chair. Beside me on the table, the wineglass magically filled with red wine as I watched.
; I picked the glass up, peered into it suspiciously. I sniffed it.
Hades shook his head with amusement. “Do you really think I’d poison you? After all I’ve done to get you here?”
I took a tiny sip of wine; let it linger on my tongue. I didn’t normally enjoy red wine, but this was surprisingly sweet. “Where is here?”
“My hall, deep below the academy. This is where you’ll live now. You’ll have you own room with ensuite. The soaker tub is exquisite.” He took a sip of his drink, watching me intently over the rim. “You will train with me to hone your skills. If you do everything I say you could become the greatest warrior this army has ever seen.” His lips twitched up in a sly lopsided grin. “Besides me, of course.”
“Of course.” I smirked. “What makes you think I want to be some great warrior?”
“I’ve been watching you over the course of the year. You play to win, not to get some participation ribbon.”
“How could you have been watching me? You were banned from the academy, or so the rumors said.”
He shrugged. “I have my ways.” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.
The dark form outside of the portal. The whispers in the halls. The shadows which guided me. My dreams. He’d been there beside me from the moment I arrived at the academy. But why me? What was so special about me? I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I wanted to know that answer, so I didn’t ask. Although I was sure he wouldn’t tell me the truth anyway.
Hades intrigued me most definitely. But he also scared me. Because I felt drawn to him, and I didn’t know why.
I set the glass on the table and got to me feet. “I want to go back to the party. I want to see my friends.”
“There is no going back, Melany. That’s not how it works anymore. You’re in my charge now. You’re my protégé.”
That’s what he said, but in my mind, I heard the words...You’re mine.
I walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” He sighed.
“I’m leaving.”
“Okay, have fun with that.”
Before I left, I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was still in his chair, casually drinking his wine, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
I marched back down the corridor to the towering main doors. At first I thought they were made of a dark wood, but they too were carved from stone. I reached for the large metal knob expecting it to be locked, but it turned in my hand and I slowly pushed it open. I walked through, the doors suddenly swung shut behind me and I was in another corridor, which looked eerily the same as the last one.
I walked along the stone floor, my footsteps echoing off the walls. I passed three doors on either side, all closed except for one. When I peered inside, I saw it was the library, the same library, and Hades still sat in the chair near the fireplace.
When he saw me, he raised his glass. “Ready to see your room yet?”
I turned and ran down the corridor this time, pushed open the doors, crossed the threshold and ended right back in the same corridor. It was an unending loop.
Frustrated, I ran to the first closed door on my left. I tried the handle, it was locked. I went to the next door, also locked. The third door wasn’t locked, and I opened it, walked in and had magically stepped into the library. I whirled around to see the bookshelves behind me, and no door.
Hades pulled a face. “Done running around yet?”
“No.” I marched out of the library, and tried the room next door. The door was locked. I banged on it, tried to push it open but it wouldn’t budge. The next door opened, and I walked in, and then popped out of the door across the hall back into the main corridor where it had all started.
I raised my hands into the air and screamed. “Are you freaking kidding me?!”
When I was done, my throat dry and hoarse, I looked up to see Hades strolling out of the library. “I’ll show you to your room.”
He crossed the corridor and approached the second closed door on the left side. It was one of the doors that had stayed locked when I tried it. He put his hand on the door handle and turned it. The door opened.
Of course, it did. This was his world and he was a God. And I was just some puppet he was playing with.
Firelight in the sconces in the wall flashed with flames the second I followed him through and stepped into a huge suite dominated by a king-sized canopied bed, with indigo blue covers and pillows, and thick curtains tied up against the four tall posters. The stone walls had several paintings, of what appeared to be fearsome beasts and pretty nymphs, hung on them, and large oval gilded mirrors with words etched on the glass. There was a dark blue settee and a cast iron table in one corner near the ornate hearth. In another corner near the closet, was a dressing table with a large mirror and a decorative chair.
It was all very elegant and royal looking and gothic in shape and style. I could picture all the furniture as part of Dracula’s castle from a book I once read. I looked so out of place with my white and gold robe, and tiara and sandals.
Hades gestured to an arched opening in one wall. “This is the ensuite.”
Inside the room were the toilet, sink, a waterfall like shower, and a claw-footed soaker tub.
He pointed to the drawers and cupboards near the sink. “Everything you need is in there. Soaps and shampoo and oils for your bath. I think there might even be a bag full of rose petals if that’s what you prefer. Anything you want, just ask.”
Rose petals? What did he take me for? A pampered princess?
I took it all in. The room was bigger than the one Callie had at the Demos estate. Although everything was all dark and stone, medieval like, it was still just as luxurious. I never thought I’d ever in my lifetime have such a room to call my own. I couldn’t stop my smile as I looked around.
Hades must’ve spied my grin, because he looked positively pleased with himself as he went to the closet door and pulled it open. The lamp hanging from the ceiling flared to life as we walked inside. I gaped at the rows of clothes hanging along one wall, and the rows of shoes and boots along another. The other wall was one giant mirror.
“Now that you’re part of my clan, you should dress the part.” He pulled a long dark purple velvet dress off the rack and held it up for me. I ran my fingers over it; it was soft and subtle and I noticed it had two slits in the skirt along the sides, so a girl could still perform a roundhouse kick I imagined. It was also surprisingly in my exact size, as if it had been specially made just for me.
“It’s pretty, but not really me.”
He put it back, and pulled something else off a hanger. “How about this?” He handed me a pair of black leather pants, also in my size, and a dark blue leather corset. Then he gestured to a long black leather duster coat. He pulled it open to show me the silky dark blue lining inside. There were skulls painted all along the fabric. “I think this would look good on you. You’d look kick ass.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip as I played my fingers over all the fine, expensive looking clothes. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why all this?” I looked at him. “Why me?”
He narrowed his eyes as he regarded me. “Because Melany, you have darkness running through your blood.”
I winced. I didn’t know what he meant. I wasn’t a bad person. At least, I didn’t think I was.
“Darkness is not this bad thing as most people would have you believe. As the other Gods like to blather on about.” He shook his head sadly. “Darkness is power and strength and stealth. With my help, you will be able to access that power and use it.”
I frowned. I wasn’t as thrilled as he was to know that I had this inside me. All my life I’d been told I was different, an outcast. No matter how hard I tried, I knew I’d never be like Callie and her friends. Light didn’t shine from inside me, as it seemed to shine from them.
Now, I supposed, I knew why.
Was I born with this darkness inside of me? Did I get it from my parents?
Hades gestured for us to leave the closet. He walked to the table near the hearth and poured water into a glass. He carried it over to me. I took it gratefully, and drank it all down in a couple of swallows.
“I know this is a lot to take in.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.”
He gave me a soft smile. “It’s been a long, interesting day. I’m sure you’re tired now.”
I yawned. I was tired. It kind of snuck up on me all of a sudden. Now that adrenaline wasn’t coursing through my bloodstream, I was crashing down hard.
“You will find sleeping clothes in the closet and everything else you need in those drawers.” He walked over to the bed, and pointed to a silk cord that hung down from the ceiling. “If you need anything at all, at any time, just pull on this and Charon will get it for you.”
“Who’s Charon?”
“My butler. He’s a bit of a grump, so don’t be put off by his gruff manner. It’s just how he is. He says it’s from serving me for over a millennia, but I think it’s just his low vitamin D levels. He doesn’t get much sun.” He winked.
And I giggled. I was feeling a bit drowsy. Almost tipsy.
I stared at the water glass in my hand.
He took it from me, and led me to the bed. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning. Then we’ll start your training.”
“What if I want to leave?” My tongue felt fat in my mouth and I wondered if I was mumbling my words. “Can I just open those big doors and go back to the academy?”
Demigods Academy - Year Two Page 2