by Mila Young
About caring for each other for more than what we could gain physically.
And I liked this new version of him. Actually, I loved seeing this part of Hades.
I adored that he showed his real self to me.
“How does a cup of coffee sound?” He broke away from me and headed into the kitchen. “If we sit outside, we can probably spot a constellation or two.”
It felt strange talking to Hades so normally, with us not fighting, but I loved his company. And picturing us doing ordinary things left me jittery with excitement. It shouldn’t have, but he affected me beyond physical attraction. I wanted more of him, the god, the man he was right now.
Plus, I didn’t have the heart to tell him Chicago’s celestial landscape was almost invisible, obscured behind the strong glow of the city’s streetlights and buildings at night. I’d read somewhere that this city was one of the most light-polluted places in the world, which was sad. But I was with Hades, a god, so anything was possible, right?
“Yes to coffee.” I smiled to myself, hopeful this was a change in the right direction for Hades and me.
Soon enough, he offered me a cup of coffee with a dollop of cream, just how I liked it, and took my hand in his. His large palm swallowed mine, and our fingers interlaced. Such a small gesture but my stomach twirled with excitement from the strength of his hold and the way he held me tight like he had no plans of letting go. I glanced up to look at him, and his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. He had the kind of face I could imagine gracing the front of a magazine, where I’d stare at him for hours wondering if someone so handsome could exist, not to mention the soulfulness in his eyes. Except, us standing here was real, and he looked at me with a longing that weakened my knees.
“Let’s head out,” he said. “To get some fresh air.”
Before we took a step, the world around us shimmered, then darkened. Within a heartbeat, we stood outside in the night where a soft wind buffeted against me, curling under my hair.
I looked out from the cliff’s edge, over a canyon with a river. Shadows dwelled below like night creatures, resembling the shapes of monsters. I should be terrified of what might be hiding in the shadows, but I wasn’t scared. Not in Hades’s company, despite our rocky relationship and his unpredictability. Overhead, an abundance of star clusters and galaxies stared down on us, their brightness lighting up the spectacular heavens.
“We’re in the Grand Canyon?”
“Yes.” Hades took a drink of his coffee and guided me to sit down on a rock ledge that resembled a bench. “This is as close to the beauty of Mount Olympus as I can take you. And it has a wicked view of the sky.” He pointed upward. “That’s the Milky Way, and that faint pulsing star is Mars. It’s a representation of Ares. He reminds anyone who listens to him.”
I laughed, because I could picture Ares doing that. I set my cup down near my feet and studied the star that burned a little brighter, larger than the rest. “Do you have a star?”
He chuckled and placed his cup down. “I have the whole Underworld.” His voice dripped sarcasm, but he laughed it off, and I left it at that, not wanting to discuss such dark things. Tonight shouldn’t have made me smile or laugh because my friend was still out there. And I had every intention of finding her. Now, with Hades by my side, we’d track her down in no time. I’d been drawn to the man from the moment I first met him, to enjoy this new side of him.
"See that glimmer over there, up on the right?” He leaned closer, not enough to touch me, not yet, but the hairs on my arms shifted. He pointed, and I followed the line of sight of his outstretched index finger.
"Yeah?"
"That's the prancing horse constellation.” His breath blew against my neck. My heart pounded, lunging into my throat. I tried to swallow, but my voice grew husky.
“I see it.” I breathed hard.
“When Saturn’s in the right position and you look at it sideways, the planet is seen to be riding the horse.”
I tilted my head but couldn’t find the rider. “It’s gorgeous.”
Hades’s lips were on my neck, and I arched my spine, bursting with tingles. I leaned closer, my hand on his leg, gripping his thigh. His fingers stroked my lower back, drawing me against him.
“You react so beautifully to my touch” He kissed my brow and slid a finger under my chin, lifting my face to his, to meet his lips as he grazed my mouth. Softly at first, tender and smooth, and I closed my eyes, trembling. I was lost, floating under his strong hands holding me in place, yet his kiss was light and so damn sensual. I clenched my thighs as arousal rekindled through me.
He cupped my face and his passion intensified, his mouth pressing against mine, his tongue surging forward. And I took him in, tasting his offering. The groan in his chest rolled through me.
I moaned, placing a flat hand on his rock-hard chest, feeling his thundering heartbeat.
But he broke our kiss and simply collected me tight into his embrace. I burned on the inside, needing, craving, dying for more. But as much as I contemplated straddling him and ripping off his clothes, I also sensed tonight wasn’t about lust with Hades. He wanted companionship, and a small part of me appreciated that for a change.
His breaths eased. “Why did somebody not teach me the constellations, and make me at home in the starry heavens, which are always overhead, and which I don't half know to this day?”
That didn’t sound like something Hades would say. I pulled myself up and stared at him, arching a brow. “Is that a question?”
“Yes, by Thomas Carlyle. He’s a Scottish philosopher. Sometimes I need to remind myself the answer I seek is right in front of me.”
Hades always surprised me, and I would never have guessed he read the works of a philosopher.
He wrapped me in his arms once again, not letting me stray for long, and I nestled my head on his shoulder. A man who’d influenced me so much against my back felt primal and right. We sat there, star gazing, holding each other. I desired him and fell even deeper for him with each moment that passed. More than anything, I hoped this was the start of a deeper relationship between us. So, I pushed aside the doubts, refusing to even entertain them tonight.
Chapter 12
Ares
I was growing sick and tired of this game. X had disappeared with Catina and no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find him. None of us could.
The son of a bitch had vanished as if he never existed, but on the bright side, I hadn’t sensed him consuming innocents, so what the fuck was he up to?
My life would have been a hell of a lot easier without him. But then I wouldn’t have met Elyse. I had mixed feelings about the fucker being here.
Finding Catina meant everything to Elyse, so I intended to help her track down her friend. And I’d searched everywhere I could think of and where I thought would make sense. Poseidon and Apollo were doing the same.
But X was nowhere to be found. And I was running out of ideas. How was I going to find Catina? She had no power signature of her own, being a human. And I should’ve been able to find X with all the darkness that surrounded him, but there was nothing. It frustrated the hell out of me. As gods, we could reach out and sense similar beings, but X was untraceable. He was damn smarter than I’d given him credit for, and it meant I shouldn’t underestimate him. Fuck, he pissed me off.
Wherever he was, perhaps he wasn’t within the confines of the city.
It wasn’t the first time I’d considered that. Poseidon searched in obscure places, trying to trace X back all the way back to Greece. But those islands were long abandoned by the gods, and it seemed unlikely X would have gone there. It was too easy of a spot for him to hide. Still, Apollo scoured mountains and isolated locations and caves.
That was what I was looking for—something that didn’t seem straightforward—somewhere that wasn’t easy to find. X was upping his game because Elyse gave him hell. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her to figure out. Or for any of us. And the bastard more th
an likely saw this as a game, and I bet that was why he’d kidnapped Catina, to toy with Elyse, drive her insane. But had he counted on all of us gods taking her side to bring him down?
And I wanted to be the hero who got Catina back.
I had no idea if Catina was even alive. We all kept telling Elyse not to lose hope, that X wouldn’t have killed her. None of us knew for sure, but I remained convinced that Catina was still breathing.
For one, X wanted to draw Elyse out in a certain way and get rid of her. She made his life hard. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve, but Elyse was stopping him from doing it.
For another, if X had just killed Catina and moved on, he wouldn’t have disappeared. He’d be going on and on, killing humans, consuming souls. He wouldn’t be lie low.
What exactly he was doing to that human was a different story, but I refused to give it thought or bring such worries to Elyse for the moment.
And I was sure one hell of a fight would ensue.
Which was why I needed to determine what was going on so we could jump into it already and get this done. Elyse could take care of herself, no doubt about it. She was a fucking skilled fighter.
But I wanted to spare her the risk of dying another time and protect her. Because she only had one life left before her final death.
And I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it if she were dead for good. Eliminated from our world. Not now I’d just found her, started to connect with her, had her see me for who I really was. I needed more time to get to know her. I didn’t know how long I’d have with her—she was godly in a lot of ways but still human. I didn’t know how long “forever” would be with her. And thinking about the future hurt my head, reminding me of some of Zeus’s words about gods not falling for mortals, as it came with consequences. And now I suspected he meant the heartbreak, the agony of watching them die—knowing it was coming while there was shit I could do to change that fate.
But I’d make sure her life was as long as possible while I had her.
Did it seem selfish? Maybe. But sometimes, that was love.
I paddled on the edge of Lake Michigan, the sky cloaked in clouds, when the ripple of a familiar power licked the length of my spine. I turned and spotted Apollo not too far off. He stood on the edge of the water, staring north.
When I approached him, he glanced my way and his expression changed from one of concentration to a smile. The gods used to hate me, but recently, we’d become allies, if not friends. And it was a welcome change to not be on guard each time I crossed paths with them. Another reason coming to Earth for Elyse had worked out—creating bonds with the gods in ways I’d never thought possible. For so long, I accepted my fate as the lone wolf, the one they criticized and blamed. Now, the reprieve from their taunts offered a calming relief. A welcome change I intended to hold on to, as I’d missed being one of them.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked, clapping his palm into mine and bumping me with his shoulder.
“Same as you,” I said. “Trying to track down that fucker.”
Apollo’s hands briefly clenched. “I don’t even know where to keep searching. I’ve checked everywhere I can think of, and I’m sure we’ve all covered spots the others have already inspected. We must look like fools running around, hunting for X. I bet he’s having a fat laugh.”
“He can laugh,” I growled, bristling with anger. “He won’t be amused for much longer.”
Apollo sighed. “At this rate…”
“What fucks me up about this is that we don’t know what to expect,” I broke in, not letting Apollo go on with a thought that couldn’t lead to anywhere good. “He’s usually so damn predictable, it was almost a sin we couldn’t stop him. But now? I’ve no idea what game he’s playing, and that pisses me off.”
“Yeah, this is a big mess,” Apollo agreed. He gathered his blond hair together as if he wanted to tie it up but let it go again. I’d get so fucking irritated with hair like that. I kept mine shaved as short as possible. It was more practical in a fight and didn’t give the enemy anything to grab on to.
“We all know he wants her,” I said. “And he wants her bad. What if we miss something and he gets to her?” Just saying those words churned my gut because they came from a place of fear. The dread I’d lose the one good thing that’d happened to me in too long.
“Over my dead body,” Apollo growled. It was a funny statement coming from a god who couldn’t die. But maybe that was the point he was trying to make.
“He wants to take her out for good.”
“He won’t get his hands on her soul,” Apollo pointed out. “He just can’t, not with Zeus’s magic in her veins.”
“I hope you’re right. But she’s the last fighting Lowe. The others in her family line don’t even know who they are anymore. And if she’s dead—wherever her soul may go—she’ll be out of X’s way. That’s ultimately what the son of a bitch is after. So what’s his intention with her gone? Devour as many innocents as possible? Rule over Earth? Grow so powerful, we wouldn’t be able to stand in his way?”
Apollo nodded without answering. We both knew I was right. But we had to stop this from happening. Without Elyse, X would run rampant in the streets, killing for fun, consuming souls because he felt like it. Because he was part of Hades, we couldn’t do anything about him directly.
It was a gigantic loophole Zeus should have worked out before he decided it would be fun to fuck with Hades.
But I guess we didn’t always see the shit we caused before it was too late. I’d learned that years ago when I’d still been fucking around and impregnating women left and right. Not that I regretted the sex, but the kids were all demigods who strived to be like me. That was a disaster in and of itself; I didn’t even want to think about.
Let’s just say I was a hell of a role model.
“If we don’t find X, Catina might die but Elyse will be safe,” Apollo mused.
I saw where he was going with this. And he was right. The flipside was that if we found Catina, X might kill Elyse and the world would end. But if he took the human out, what stopped him coming for Elyse again and again?
“We can’t stop looking now,” I began. “She’s already taken a massive knock to her self-esteem because she couldn’t stop X from taking the human.”
“That’s what X wanted,” Apollo growled, the bridge of his nose creasing.
Of course, he was right there. It was exactly what he’d wanted. When you intended to throw someone off their game, you hit them where it hurt. It was what Hera did to Zeus when she’d tried to eliminate Heracles so long ago. That plan blew up in her face, and somehow the family feud had died down a little, but that was how you played dirty.
And X was playing filthy as fuck.
“We have to keep her safe, then,” Apollo said after we stood together in silence for a while, staring into the cloudy sky. “Getting Catina back, doing what we can, isn’t negotiable. We have to make sure X doesn’t succeed in whatever he’s trying to do. But by Zeus, the asshole is making life difficult for us.”
Hell, he was, but it was okay. This meant there was going to be a fight, and goddamn, I loved a good battle. I itched for combat.
“We just have to find X,” Apollo interrupted my thoughts. “If we don’t find him, this whole thing is pointless, and we’ll seem pathetic because we couldn’t figure it out.”
That was true, too. We’d look like idiots if we couldn’t find him. Three gods unable to find Death.
The water in the lake started to bubble.
“What’s happening over there?” I asked, pointing to the middle of the lake.
He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. Both of us stared at the spot. Darker clouds crowded overhead, and the water turned as black as ink, spreading outward like tentacles.
“It’s X,” I snarled.
Apollo opened his mouth to answer, but he didn’t get the chance. X appeared before Apollo could say anything and floated across the water in his bl
ack form, a dark fog lingering behind him as if he wore it as a cape. No sign of Catina.
I tensed, curling my hands into fists, ready for a fight. Though, why the fuck would X come to us?
Apollo mirrored my posture, and we glared at the monster. My armor appeared as my power flared and Apollo was suddenly surrounded by light as if he were glowing. We were going to take X down here and now. Finish this messed-up shit once and for all.
When he reached us, X smiled, revealing his yellowing teeth under thin lips. God, he was an ugly motherfucker. His teeth were sharp and dripping, as if he salivated for food. His eyes were filled with what I could only call hellfire. But he didn’t scare me. I thrummed with energy, buzzing to charge.
“Look at you two. Pathetic,” he growled, his voice half-human, half-grunting like a wild animal. But he sounded almost bored.
“Bring it on, asshole,” Apollo bit out.
X laughed, the sound grating over my nerves. I was over his shit.
“What’s so funny?” I sneered.
“The two of you thinking you can make a difference. But I still have the human and attacking me won’t help. If you want the human, bring Elyse. It’s a fair trade, no?”
“Fuck that,” Apollo snarled.
X shrugged, but stared at us unblinking.
What the hell was his master plan? A simple negotiation or did have something else in mind, like find a way to take out as many humans as possible while he finished Elyse? Or was this some show so we could witness whatever evil disruption he had planned?
“Yes, I didn’t think you’d fall for that. But it was worth a try. Pity you won’t find where I’ve hidden her away. And she won’t hold on much longer. How will you tell your precious little girl you failed her? I’ve been hiding right under your noses. You’re such a disappointment.”
I’d heard enough. I charged X, whipping out my sword, ready to do some serious damage.
But he vanished again, the sun emerging from behind the clouds, the water shimmering quietly like a mirror, as if all of this had been nothing more than a dream.