She cut herself off, her words ending on a choked sob.
Hades looked as if he would relent, but then his face hardened, his red eyes brightening as he turned his cheek to her. “I will need my armour, and my bident.”
Keras was getting him neither of those things. His mother was right. They couldn’t risk Hades leaving the palace, not when he was weak. He could understand his father’s need to fight, to kill the ones who had done this to him, but he couldn’t allow it.
Somehow, they needed to convince Hades to stay in his palace, protected by his guards, even if the enemy attacked.
But how was Keras meant to make his father do something he didn’t want to do?
Hades was more stubborn than the worst of him and his brothers, and liable to do the opposite of something if he felt he was being ordered around by them, or his wife.
Keras glanced at his brothers. All of them wore thoughtful looks, were clearly trying to figure out how to stop their father from leaving the palace just as he was.
Ares’s expression gained a pained edge.
One that had Keras wanting to take a step towards him to offer him comfort even when he wasn’t sure what was wrong.
Ares’s broad shoulders shifted as he drew down a deep breath and released it, resolve filling his dark eyes as they settled on Hades and then pain flickering in their depths as he looked at Megan.
“I need to go with my brothers,” he said, a tremble in his deep voice that relayed how much that decision hurt him, and how much strain it placed on him.
“Wait.” Megan whirled to face him, fear brightening her dark eyes. “Wait. No. You said you wouldn’t.”
Her hands shifted to her stomach and she clutched it as her eyebrows furrowed.
“You said you’d stay with me… safe with me.”
Ares sucked down another breath. “I know, but I have to be out there. They need me.”
“I need you.” She lunged for his arm, gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. “I don’t want to be alone here.”
Ares swept his fingers under her chin and lifted it, smiled shakily down into her eyes as his brow furrowed. “You won’t be alone. The guards will be here. Mother will be here.”
Megan grew frantic, her voice rising in pitch as she rubbed her belly. “Guards? Are they strong enough to defend this palace? They’re not you, Ares. They’re not gods, and I don’t know if they can fight. I haven’t seen them fight. I’ve seen them stand around.”
She made a valid point, but she didn’t have to worry, the palace guards were highly trained and they were strong.
But something told Keras that Ares had been banking on her panicking like this.
“Calm yourself, my love,” Persephone murmured, as gentle as a summer’s breeze, but her words were lost on Megan.
“And the others? Aiko. Eva. Are the guards strong enough to protect them?” Megan’s eyes slowly widened and her breathing quickened. “I’m not the only one being left here.”
“You felt safe here before,” Ares said.
“Well that was before someone tried to stab your father through the heart!”
Ares stooped so he was eye-level with her and rubbed her arms. “I don’t intend to leave you unguarded, sweetheart, but I have to go with Keras and the others. They need me in this fight. I swear that I’ll be careful. What do you need to make you feel safe while I’m gone?”
And there it was.
Keras swore Ares had been taking lessons from Apate.
Because Megan looked straight at Hades.
Their father scowled at Ares, but all of his fight fled him as his gaze shifted back to Megan where she stood rubbing her baby bump with trembling hands, a stricken look on her pale face.
“Very well.” Hades sagged back against the pillows. “I know when I am defeated.”
The shadows finally lifted from Persephone’s face and Megan relaxed, her fear washing away as she looked at Hades. It returned when she lifted her dark brown gaze to Ares.
“Be careful,” she whispered.
Ares slung his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. “You know me. You know my brothers. We’ll have each other’s backs and we’re all coming back from this. Want me to rub oil into your belly?”
She pouted a little and nodded.
Ares led her away. Keras’s brothers and their women slowly followed, leaving him alone with Enyo and his parents.
“You know what you must do,” his father said.
Keras nodded.
“I swear, I will make them pay, Father.”
Darkness curled through his veins, hunger mounting inside him that wouldn’t be satisfied until the blood of Eris, Apate, Oizys, Moros and the furie bathed his hands.
He was going to slaughter them all.
Chapter 32
The wait was killing him.
Keras tried to listen to what Valen was saying as he leaned over the map of the Underworld in the war room of the palace, but it was hard as anticipation gnawed at his insides and rage simmered in his veins. The darkness that had risen within him the second he had seen his father injured, betrayed by lesser goddesses and a lesser god of his own realm, still writhed inside him, clouding his thoughts and darkening the corners of his mind. He wanted vengeance, burned with a hunger for it, a black need to mete out justice to those who had turned against his family.
Thanatos paced into view beyond Valen, Marek and Daimon.
The grim god of death was as impatient as Keras, had muttered barely five words since they had decided to hold a meeting to discuss the enemy and their next move.
Nyx stroked a hand over Thanatos’s black feathered wing as he pivoted on his heel. He didn’t spare her a glance, kept his fiery blue eyes fixed on the stone floor of the huge room as he strode towards the shelves of books that lined the wall to Keras’s left.
Keras looked at each of his brothers in turn, seeing that he and Thanatos weren’t alone.
Everyone was itching to get going.
Ares planted a hand against the edge of the 3D map and rubbed his free hand across his mouth as his dark eyebrows pinched above flickering amber eyes. “Would she attack the palace?”
Concern laced his brother’s deep voice and Keras knew the path of his thoughts. He was worried about Megan being placed in danger. Keras reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. The metal of the black armour Ares wore was cool against his bare palm.
Ares didn’t want to leave Megan’s side, he could see it in his brother’s eyes, and Keras was grateful that Ares was making this sacrifice, putting himself through this pain. His decision to head onto the battlefield was the only thing stopping their father from being out there.
Keras swore he would keep his brother safe for Megan.
He would keep all his brothers safe.
He wouldn’t let anything happen to them.
He didn’t know what sort of force they were up against, but his gut said this fight wasn’t going to be easy. Everything had been building towards this, Apate’s plan pushing them to this point. He wasn’t a fool. He knew she had been guiding them on this path, making whatever move was necessary to bring them to this moment.
Attacking Hades had always been the plan.
The enemy had wanted all along to force him and his brothers to close the gates, keeping them busy while they put everything into place for an assault on their father—an attack that would either kill him and give them the power to open a gate and force the Underworld and the mortal one to collide, or would result in only the latter.
Either way, Eris and her side were getting what they wanted.
The Underworld in chaos.
Unless Keras, his brothers and their allies could stop them.
The urge to pace was strong as he waited, deeply aware that someone was missing from their group. He felt it like a hole inside him, an abyss that terrified him, drew him to it as darkness poured into it, filling it like a well.
One he felt sure he would dro
wn in.
A shiver bolted down his spine as the scent of lilacs hit him.
Enyo.
He turned on a pinhead to face her.
She strode through the double doors of the war room, a sight to behold in her black and silver armour. The modest breastplate was at odds to the shortness of the skirt that barely reached mid-thigh. The pointed slats of it moved with each stride she took into the room, flashing the black material that protected her legs beneath and gave her some modesty. The silver detailing on her greaves and the vambraces that shielded her forearms flashed as it caught the candlelight.
“Well?” he said, shooting for all business when what he really wanted to say was how beautiful she looked, how arousing he found her when she wore her armour.
This really wasn’t the place for such talk though.
“The Moirai confirmed that nothing has altered. The future they see is still the same.” She removed her silver-edged black Corinthian helmet.
The beauty of her struck him hard, had him taking a step towards her before he realised what he was doing.
Thanatos chuckled and spoke in a hushed voice. “You would think she was the sorceress in the room. Look how bewitched he is.”
“Who can deny the beauty of Enyo?” Nyx said. “Many a man would fall on their sword at her bidding if they witnessed her in battle.”
“Many a man would want her to fall on their—” Thanatos cut off.
Keras glared over his shoulder at the mountainous god of death.
Almost smiled when he found Nyx with her hand in the air near his head and Thanatos with his head angled to one side, a red mark forming on his ear.
“Do you want me to order you to go home?” Nyx tipped her chin up and looked down her nose at him, which was a feat considering Thanatos had at least ten inches on her.
Thanatos shrugged and rubbed the back of his head.
“Continue, my dear.” Nyx turned a smile on Enyo.
Keras supposed it was meant to be encouraging.
It came off chilling.
“They still see the gates breached and everything in ruin, with the two realms bleeding together.” Enyo kept her gaze locked on Keras, something he appreciated since he was considering punching the god of death himself as punishment for daring to find Enyo alluring.
“Man, I really regret bringing Megan here now,” Ares muttered.
Keras touched his shoulder again. “She will be fine. She will be well protected at the palace. The enemy will not attack here. It would be suicide with so many of Father’s legions here now.”
Their father had called back three legions. Close to ten thousand of his men would remain at the palace to protect it, while several elite groups from each legion would go with Keras and his brothers into battle.
The garden was thick with them, and the palace had so many captains and other officers in it that it was hard to move around the corridors. Several of those officers stood around the map, as eager to get going as he was.
“We have a kick-ass team.” Cal went to Ares and lightly boxed him on the arm. “No one is getting near Megan, Aiko or Eva.”
“Milos is remaining here too,” Cass offered.
Milos jumped on the map and scratched at it, sharpening his claws in a way that made his feelings perfectly clear.
“Stop that,” Cass muttered but the ginger and white tom ignored her, kept clawing at a mountain and ripping chunks from it.
Apparently, Milos was not happy about the arrangement.
“What is a tiny cat going to do?” Thanatos jerked his chin towards it. “It is a scrawny thing.”
Milos growled, the sound going from weak to a rumbling snarl as he grew, golden sleek fur rippling over his body as it transformed. Tawny feathered wings sprouted from his back and a dark mane rippled down his neck, tufting from the top of his head and around his ears too.
When his shift was complete and he resembled a winged lion, Milos bared his three yellowing fangs at Thanatos on a mighty roar.
The god of death held his hands up in front of him and pulled a face that said ‘fair enough’.
Milos furled his wings against his back. The map creaked beneath his weight, bowing slightly before he jumped off it.
“The big bad man didn’t mean it, Milos, baby.” Cass went after him as he loosed a long, low growl. “You are beautiful. Strong.”
Keras focused on the map again as Enyo came up beside him.
“I have other news,” she said and he glanced at her, and lingered as he found her looking at him. “My brother is coming now that he has heard that Eris and the others are involved. The four of them often rode into battle with him and he isn’t happy that they have betrayed Hades.”
As much as Keras despised her brother, having the god of war on their side could only be a good thing. He could set aside his feelings about him. For now, at least.
“If Eris isn’t coming here, then where would she go?” Cal’s blue eyes roamed the map.
“Somewhere she knows?” Daimon offered.
And it hit Keras.
“Not necessarily somewhere she knows.” He sought the realm, his gaze skipping over mountain ranges and deep valleys until he found the one he was looking for. He pointed to it. “Somewhere she felt powerful. Invincible.”
“My realm?” Nyx’s voice gained an octave as she approached the map.
“It does make sense.” Thanatos came to stand beside her, his enormous black wings shifting restlessly against his bare back. “We go there then.”
Nyx muttered something as she glared at her realm on the map, her navy-to-aqua eyes darkening.
She wanted Eris to pay for her audacity. Another good thing. Having the goddess of night riled and out for blood, and having the battle take place in her own realm, was sure to give her incentive to fight with all of her heart.
Not much could stand against Nyx when she was in a rage.
She teleported.
Thanatos followed her.
Keras grabbed his gauntlets and pulled them on as he turned to the officers. “Gather your men.”
They all nodded, kept their heads bent as they backed off. They turned away from him, heading for the door.
He flexed his crimson talons as he looked at his brothers.
“Ready?”
They all nodded.
Keras took hold of Enyo’s arm and stepped.
Darkness embraced them, the thundering beat of his heart echoing in it as his mind raced and adrenaline flooded his veins, the uncertainty of what awaited them sending a sharp thrill laced with an edge of fear through him.
They landed in the midst of chaos.
Enyo tugged on his arm, yanking him to his left just as a blade whizzed past his head. The valkyrie shrieked at him, her golden braids catching the light of the fireball that shot towards her. It struck her in her chest and launched her backwards, into another of her breed who was fighting three men dressed in black armour edged with blue.
Nyx’s guards.
Keras drew his sword and unleashed his shadows, let them tear through the weaker of the forces Eris had brought with her as he got his bearings. Enyo fought the valkyrie as he scanned the battlefield and the grand palace beyond it. The two valkyries near them weren’t the only ones.
Not only did Eris and her comrades have an army of Hellspawn and other species of the Underworld on her side, but she had at least fifty valkyries. The blonde females were making fast work of Nyx’s guards, decimating her forces despite being outnumbered ten to one.
The valkyries were the least of Keras’s worries though.
Above him, eerie shrieks and cries echoed, and blood dripped down on him like light rain.
Eris had convinced the Keres to join her side.
The female death spirits flew on bloody wings, their white skin making them appear almost spectral against the dark sky. Near Keras, one of the guards went down and struggled to get back onto his feet.
On a keening cry, a Ker swept down and landed on hi
m, tearing at him with her talons, vile hunger flashing in her glowing white-blue eyes.
Keras grabbed Enyo and shoved her forwards, away from the creature. It wouldn’t attack anyone who wasn’t bleeding, but he didn’t want to risk it.
“Well, fuck,” Valen muttered as he joined them, casting a disgusted look at the Ker as she finished ripping the male to pieces and began feasting on him. “This is going to be… fun.”
Fun wasn’t the word Keras would have chosen.
Around him, the men from his father’s legions appeared, close to a thousand in total.
Nowhere near enough.
“Everyone pick a valkyrie and start working on figuring out her charm,” Ares bellowed above the din of battle.
“And watch for Keres,” Keras added, because he was damned if he was going to lose any of his brothers or their women to the death spirits.
As one, his brothers spread out. Daimon and Cass broke away to his east, Marek and Caterina heading with them a short distance before they began moving further apart. Ares and Esher moved together, Valen tracking them for barely a few metres before he spotted a valkyrie. Lightning shot down, flickering white-purple, and the female screamed as it struck her.
Keras grabbed Cal before he could move.
His youngest brother looked back at him. Just beyond him, Marinda paused and pivoted to face them.
“Find Meadow,” Keras said. “We need to stop her from opening a gate.”
Cal and Marinda nodded.
“Not sure how easy finding her is going to be though,” Cal muttered as he scanned the battlefield.
He had barely finished that sentence before shimmering colourful light glowed in the distance, closer to the imposing black palace.
“Then again.” Cal grabbed Marinda and stepped.
Keras focused on working in tandem with Enyo, using his shadows to deal with any Hellspawn who got too close to them as she battled one valkyrie and he took on another.
He blocked the female’s blade with his own as she lunged at him, coming close enough that he could scan her arm for anything that looked as if it might be a charm. She pushed off and leaped backwards, distancing herself, and he summoned more shadows, ignoring the drain on his strength as he sent them shooting towards her. One managed to snake around her leg and he used it to pull her back to him.
Keras: Guardians of Hades Series Book 7 Page 35