Keras tossed a snarl over his shoulder and launched at her brother.
She didn’t want to watch as they clashed, as Ares jammed an elbow into Keras’s face and got a fist in his throat in return.
Thanatos finished freeing himself of the shadows now that Keras was distracted. The mountain of a god twisted away from the fight and grabbed Eris, bundled her up into his arms and beat his wings, lifting into the air with her.
Keras roared as he noticed.
Shadows barraged her brother and Keras broke past him, stepped but didn’t teleport. Black ribbons swirled from his shoulders and he twisted and turned, growled as he took in his surroundings.
He was too weak to teleport.
Ares slammed into his back, his golden armour a stark contrast against Keras’s black armour. Light against darkness. Her brother wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled backwards, gripping his wrist to choke Keras.
“You are being unreasonable,” Ares muttered.
Keras smashed a fist into his groin.
Ares grunted and released him, staggered backwards as he clutched himself and glared at Keras. “Now you are really being unreasonable.”
“Calm yourself, Keras. Listen to my voice.” Enyo rushed to him, but didn’t reach him before he kicked off and collided with Ares again.
Her brother unleashed a frustrated growl as Keras grabbed his golden hair, fisting it hard, and shoved his head down. Ares grunted as Keras kneed him in the face and tossed him away again, sending him stumbling backwards once more. Her brother braced a foot behind him, recovered swiftly and lunged forwards, slashing at Keras with his sword.
Forcing Keras to block.
The two of them clashed again, harder this time, each strike of their blades ringing in the thick air as she looked for an opening in which she could reach Keras and grew aware of something.
Her brother was trying to wear him out. He was trying to push Keras to his limit so he would be weakened, was stealing all of his focus to keep everyone else safe and so she could have a chance to reach him without him being able to lash out at her.
Enyo saw an opening and forced herself to remain where she was, to trust her brother not to hurt Keras. She prayed that Keras wouldn’t hurt him either, monitored him closely as he sent a wave of shadows at her brother and Ares dodged them all, swept around behind him and kicked him in the back.
Keras slammed face first into the black ground and was slow to push himself up. His black hair brushed his forehead as he shook his head, as he frowned and gritted his teeth. He lumbered back onto his feet and twisted towards Ares, a vicious snarl pealing from his lips.
Shadows suddenly shot up from the ground, wrapped around Ares and hurled him.
“Ares!” She flinched as he hit the ground hard, leaving an impact crater.
Keras’s eyes narrowed on her brother as he struggled to recover from the blow.
A smile curled his lips.
Shadows raced down from the sky and rose from the black earth in front of Keras.
They shot towards her brother in a thick black beam.
No.
Enyo hurled herself into their path, her heart beating at a dizzying pace and fear rushing through her as she braced herself.
Before the shadows could strike her down instead of her brother, Ares grabbed her and shoved her forwards, twisting with her. He pushed her and she hit the ground, gasped as she twisted, fearing the worst as he bellowed.
The black tendrils tore at him, ripping at his armour, cleaving long gashes in it. He glanced at her as the shadows reached for her, warmth and worry in his blue eyes, and sprinted away from her, taking the shadows with him before they could attack her.
Protecting her.
A shiver danced down her spine and over her arms.
Keras had told her that he had seen that her brother loved her, and she hadn’t believed him at the time, because she had never witnessed it for herself. She could see it now though as he placed himself between Keras and her, as he fought to free himself of the shadows and battled to keep them from her as they kept reaching for her.
When he failed to free himself of the shadows, he narrowed his blue eyes on Keras.
He teleported and grabbed Keras by his shoulder, ripping a scream from him as he dug his fingers into the wound on it. He pivoted, hurling him across the battlefield.
Away from everyone.
Her heart lunged into her throat as Keras hit the ground, as he tumbled across it, kicking dust up into the air.
He was still when he finally stopped in a wide clearing near the crumbling wall that surrounded the palace.
Too still.
She pushed onto her feet, her brow furrowing and heart screaming at her to go to him. Someone grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. She looked over her shoulder at her brother.
He shook his head. “Do not. He is too dangerous.”
His blue eyes shifted from her to Keras, the worry in them building.
She looked there too, the need to go to him only growing as she watched him lumber onto his feet and stagger around, as his brothers approached him and he turned on them, lashing out at them with shadows and claws, and baring his fangs.
She calmly placed her hand on her brother’s, eased it from her arm and put on a brave face when he frowned at her.
“I will be fine,” she whispered, not wholly believing that.
But she had to do something.
Keras caught Marek hard with his shadows, taking him down, and Caterina rushed to him, forming a barrier that didn’t last a second against the shadows. They shot towards both Caterina and Marek. A pale green bubble appeared over them and the shadows bounced off it.
Keras growled and shook his head, bared his fangs and attacked the barrier, darkness washing across his features as he savagely clawed at it and struck it with his shadows.
She walked towards him, mustering her courage, nursing the seed of hope that remained in her heart.
She wasn’t afraid of Keras.
He would never hurt her.
She kept telling herself that as she cautiously approached him, as he gave up trying to break through the barrier and viciously growled and snapped fangs at his brothers whenever they drew too close to him.
“Keras,” she whispered as he dug his hands into his black hair and staggered away from his brothers.
He stilled and looked at her.
She smiled for him.
“Listen to my voice.” She edged closer. “Come back to me.”
He bared fangs at her.
His scarlet pupils brightened.
Lightning struck just behind her, the heat of it searing her back.
A warning shot.
She couldn’t heed it. She had to reach him and bring him back. She needed him back.
She ignored everyone around her, narrowed the world down to only them as she lifted her hands and took another slow step towards him.
“I love you, Keras,” she murmured, feeling that love flowing through every inch of her to give her strength and the courage she badly needed. “I have always loved you.”
She risked another step.
Flinched as another bolt of lightning struck close to her, shaking the ground, and Keras roared at her.
She opened her eyes again and locked them with his. “I have loved you forever and I will love you forevermore. I need you, Keras. I waited so long to be with you, and I will not give up on you now. I will not give up on us.”
His black eyes softened.
Hardened a heartbeat later as he launched at her.
Too fast for her to dodge.
He seized her by her throat and snarled in her face, his scarlet pupils narrowing as he sneered at her.
She wasn’t afraid of him.
She lifted her hands, ignoring how he growled and snapped his fangs at them.
“You kept me waiting for so long,” she husked. “Do not make me wait any longer for that forever I have always wanted with you.”
&nbs
p; She edged her hands up to his face, her gaze locked with his.
He roared in her face.
Lunged at her hand with his teeth.
Rage poured through her, threatening to shatter her hope as he tightened his grip on her throat. She was done being gentle with him. She had been right in Tokyo.
She needed to be strong with him, firm and unyielding.
Enyo grabbed his wrist with both hands.
“Kill me or come back to me, because I will not give up on you!”
Chapter 34
The air burst from Enyo’s lungs as Keras twisted with her and slammed her into the ground. Pain exploded down the length of her spine and stars winked across her vision. She choked as he pressed down on her throat, stared into the crimson abyss of his pupils and tightened her grip on his arm.
Fear crowded her heart, flowed through her veins and stole her strength as she lay beneath him, desperately trying to prise his hand from her throat.
He bore down on her, growling in her face.
Beneath her, the earth warmed.
She edged her gaze to her right as colour bloomed there, couldn’t believe her eyes as a meadow sprung up around them. Strength flowed into her, seemed to come from the earth itself, filling her up just as the last of hers had left her.
Enyo pushed back against the fear and looked at Keras again.
He snarled at her and his claws pressed into her throat, cold spreading outwards from them.
“Look at me,” she whispered, trying to keep his eyes on hers, not hiding the love she felt for him as she loosened her hold on his arm and forced herself to relax beneath him. “I do not want to hurt you. I am not a threat to you. I love you, Keras. I only want you to come back to me.”
His black eyes leaped between hers.
He jerked his head up and roared, deafening her, and she choked as he tightened his grip again, crushing her throat. Whoever had dared to move closer to him wisely backed off. As the ringing in her ears faded, she recognised her brother’s voice.
“Stay back,” she wheezed, fearing what might happen if anyone tried to get near Keras.
She didn’t want him to hurt her brother. She didn’t want him to hurt his own family.
She feared he would as she looked into his eyes, not recognising the male staring back at her. He was too far gone to discern friend from foe, his injuries and exhaustion pushing him to lash out at anyone who got too close to him.
He was trying to protect himself.
She could use the awakening of that instinct in him to her advantage.
She had promised to bring him back, and she intended to do just that.
She gathered her strength again and lifted her hands, flinched when he snapped fangs at her left one and caught her this time. Blood bloomed in the line of the cut.
He stilled, his eyes leaping to hers, and for the first time she had hope.
“You know me, Keras,” she murmured to him, trying to keep his focus on her, fearing he would bolt and aware she couldn’t let that happen.
The darkness’s hold on him was strong, and it would take too long to find him if he made a break for it. She had to keep him with her. He twitched, his gaze jumping up and then left, and this close to him she could sense his rage.
His fear.
He clutched her throat and glared at someone, tensing and hunkering down, as if he was going to spring at them.
Enyo gently placed her hand on his wrist and he glanced at her, his gaze colliding with hers and lingering as she stroked him.
This time, she only held his focus for a second.
His gaze darted back to whoever was off to her left and he flashed fangs.
She edged her eyes in that direction.
Thanatos.
He had returned from taking Eris to Tartarus.
“Can you please take your mother and inform Hades of what has happened?” Each word was a struggle but she somehow managed it.
Thanatos nodded and took hold of Nyx, and they disappeared.
Keras’s grip on her throat eased and she relaxed again, glad she had read him right and he had wanted Thanatos away from her. This deep in his darker side, he no doubt viewed Thanatos as a threat. Not to him physically, but as a rival for her affection. The darker part of him had been in control at the banquet, was no doubt reminding Keras that Thanatos had commented on her dress and her looks, stirring his need to keep her with him.
She also felt that same darkness was provoking black thoughts about her brother trying to take her from him.
She needed to show him that she didn’t want anyone else or want to be anywhere else. She only wanted him. She only needed him, and that need ran deep. She needed to bring him back to her.
“Keras?”
He frowned at her, confusion flickering in his black eyes.
“That’s your name. Keras.” She smiled for him and tried to think of something to say that would remind him of who he was, and might bring him back. “Do you remember what you said to me in the garden of your home?”
His frown deepened.
“You told me that it has always been me. From the moment you met me. Remember?” She searched his eyes, hoping to see a glimmer of recognition in them. When she found nothing, she continued, aware this was going to get them both into some trouble. “You told me that the only reason you have never fought my brother is because you knew it would kill me too. You said that you couldn’t hurt me like that.”
His grip loosened further and he frowned down at his hand on her throat.
“You asked me to live with you.” Tears lined her lashes as she gazed up at him. “I want that so much, Keras. I want a future with you. Do you want a future with me too?”
He didn’t answer her, but then she hadn’t expected him to.
“We can have it now,” she whispered, her brow furrowing as she slowly lifted her hands, warmth welling up inside her. “It’s over now. It’s over. Your father is safe. The realm is safe. You can return home and we can have that life we have been waiting for all these centuries. We can be together.”
Tears filled his eyes as they darted between hers.
Enyo risked it.
She framed his face and lured him down to her.
Kissed him.
He was still against her and her hope wavered.
But then he growled and slid his hand around her nape, yanked her up to him and crushed her to his chest as he kissed her, holding her so hard that she couldn’t breathe.
She sank into the kiss, not caring that he was hurting her, only caring that she was reaching him.
On the verge of bringing him back.
Someone moved.
Keras broke the kiss and snarled at them as he held her to him.
Shock swept through her as he teleported with her, and a flicker of fear lit her veins as they landed and she looked around her at a cavern.
She didn’t recognise it.
Veins of gold glittered in the black rock and threaded the stalactites that hung from the ceiling above a dark pool that shone with glowing blue dots. Those dots moved, swimming in the clear water, their gentle light enough to allow her to see how far the cavern extended in all directions.
It was huge, with only a small opening at one side.
Keras staggered to the wall near the pool and collapsed to his knees, breathing hard and trembling violently. Damn him. He shouldn’t have teleported her when he was already weak. The strain on his body must have been phenomenal. She was surprised he was still conscious.
She rushed to him, expecting him to snarl at her.
He cast her a desperate and fearful look.
And her heart melted for him when she realised what he was thinking.
Rather than taking hold of him, Enyo sat with her back against the wall, between him and the pool, and looked into his eyes. “Do not worry. I will not take you anywhere, and I will not go anywhere.”
He had brought her here because he was feeling protective and possessive of her, had
needed her away from other males while he was weak, unable to defend her. He had needed her away from her brother so he couldn’t take her from him. Teleporting her here had been his way of keeping her to himself.
A reckless and foolish way, but beautiful too.
It strengthened her hope that she could bring him back to her.
She held her hand out to him and cupped his cheek. “I will stay right here with you, because this is the only place in all the realms I want to be.”
She patted her thighs with her other hand. He settled on his left side with his head on them and his back to her.
She stroked his dirty black hair, gazing down at him as she murmured softly to him. “Rest now. I have you. I will watch over you. No one will take you from me.”
It seemed to calm him.
His eyes slipped shut and his breathing levelled out almost instantly, his weight comforting against her as he trusted her and fell asleep.
Enyo kept stroking his hair. She would keep her vow. She would watch over him while he was vulnerable, sleeping to heal his extensive injuries. It would cause her own injuries to heal slower, but she didn’t care. Giving Keras back his strength was more important. He needed it in order to fight his darker side and claw his way back to her.
When she was sure he wouldn’t wake, she leaned to her right and reached into the waist of her skirt. She pulled the two broken limiters from a small pocket on the inside of the thick band and frowned at them. It was going to be some time before Keras learned to cope with his power without help, and she was deeply aware how much he needed the help of his limiters.
And how much the one she had woven for him meant to him.
So rather than waiting for new ones to be given to him when he returned home, she worked to weave the bracelet she had made for him with the one from his parents, forming them into a new limiter. When it was done, she lifted it to her lips and kissed it, and then slipped it onto his right wrist.
She stroked her finger over it and then the ring on his thumb, and then skimmed the backs of her fingers across his cheek as she ignored the fatigue that washed through her, made her head and her eyelids feel heavy. She wasn’t sure how much time passed as she sat there with him, lost track of it as she gazed down at him, on high alert despite her own need to sleep.
Keras: Guardians of Hades Series Book 7 Page 38