by Tee, Marian
Sssshit.
I laughed, and after a moment, even the earth goddess cracked a grudging smile.
Ssstop making a big deal out of this, ssstupid.
"I just want you to be sure," I insisted. "Hadrian told me you had really bad memories of the last time you were in Mt. Olympus and—-"
It is important that they know the new Lady of the Underworld has my sssupport.
She was being so sweet that for one moment I was just tempted to let it go. I mean, I could always talk about it next time, right? The coronation won't be until next month—-
You have a ssstupid look on your face that I find painfully familiar. If you have sssomething to sssay then out with it. Ssstupid!
"Well..."
Ssstop wasting my time!
I took a deep breath. "Before you make up your mind about attending the coronation, I thought it's only fair for you to know that I don't intend to have the people call me Lady of the Underworld."
Hadrian groaned from the balcony, but I pretended not to hear this. Gaea, on the other hand, was shaking her head in seeming bewilderment.
You want a new title?
"Just a shorter one, like..." I beamed at her. "LOTUS!"
Hadrian groaned again.
"It's an abbreviation," I said helpfully.
Then ssshould it not be LOTU?
"Nope. It's really LOTUS."
But what can the S ssstand for?
I allowed myself a grin, saying, "What else but...Lady of the Underworld, silly."
It took a few seconds...and then Gaea threw her head back with a laugh, the sound of which became the front page of the Underworld Times the next day.
EARTH GODDESS LAUGHS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS!
IS THE WORLD COMING TO AN END?
Author's Note
15 October 2020 (Thu) 1546H
Manila, Philippines
Hello again! I hope you had fun joining Saoirse in her latest (mis)adventure. I really wish we had more scenes of Hadrian in this book, and to be honest, that was the plan...but as it usually happens when I work, the story ends up writing itself, and I'm just as surprised as you guys are
at how things turn out. > . <
Thankfully, this is not the last for the Lord of the Underworld and his LOTUS (oh, I can just imagine how Saoirse would be grinning so hard every time she hears people call her that, lol), and I hope you all feel the same way, too.
Also, with this book we've officially caught up with the end of Book 3 of the Witches of CSI, which is Paul and Blair's series. I mentioned Paul briefly in this book, but if you haven't read their story yet, please do so! It's basically your typical paranormal cozy - clean romance, magical small town setting, supernatural murder to solve...along with your favorite Greek gods and goddesses.
Anyway, that's it for now. Since I'm not sure if I can get another book out this month, let me end this with an advance greeting for one of my fave holidays.
Happy Halloween!
Until our next journey,
Marian Tee x Alice Bloome
Mr. Hell, Meet Ms. Haunted
If you haven't read the first book of Hadrian and Saoirse, here's the prologue for you to enjoy!
The words 'tall, dark, and handsome' popped in my mind the moment I saw the man walking inside the high-ceilinged lobby of my apartment building. He only had a black hoodie over his denims (also black), but his long, muscular build made the clothes look as if they cost thousands of dollars. Or maybe they really did. Who cared, really? All I wanted to know was whether Tall, Dark, and Handsome was single or married, and my curiosity only grew when I saw him head for the stairs rather than the elevators.
What's up with that?
And before I knew it, I was already out of my seat and hurrying after him.
The stairwell was empty as expected, and although he took the stairs at a fairly steady space, by the time we made it to the seventh floor, I had already seen enough to question whether he was even human or not. Shouldn't he be catching his breath by now, even just a little? And they hadn't even taken a single break, not even for a few seconds—-
The stranger suddenly turned, and my jaw dropped when I saw him stare straight at me. "Why are you following me?"
He had seen me!
"I...I..." I tried thinking of a lie but could only come up with the truth. "I'm scared to be alone."
"Why?"
"Because..." Lie, Saoirse, lie!
He raised a brow.
"My apartment is haunted?"
Silver eyes narrowed at me. "And your basis for thinking that?"
I had been prepared to hear him respond in a hundred different ways, but the one thing that hadn't even crossed my mind was for this too-beautiful stranger to take me seriously. "That's really what you're going to ask?"
A frown creased his forehead. "Should I have asked something else?"
"You're kidding, right? Or am I being dense here, and you're actually being sarcastic?"
"Neither."
And because it did seem like he meant both, I said uncertainly, "9 out of 10 people would have thought I was crazy."
But this only had him shrugging. "I've always been the 1 out of 10 type."
The words should've made him sound like an obnoxious butthole, but there was just something so attractively self-assured about him that the words seemed more like a factual description. It made me wish I was still in the position to ask him out, but...
"You really like staring, don't you?"
Oops. He got me there, and I could only smile sheepishly in apology. "I'm sorry. I guess I just got used not being called out for it."
"Hm."
I fought back a grin. While it wasn't my first time to hear a man grunt like that, I was only kinda used to hearing Henry Cavill doing it when playing Geralt in The Witcher. I was almost inclined to think that this man might be actively imitating the actor, but...
Nah.
If anything, it would be even more believable if this man turned out to be the inspiration behind those grunts. This man simply didn't seem the type to fake—-
"If there's nothing else..."
Seeing him about to leave made me panic. "No, wait—-" And when he turned back to face me, I said in a rush, "I...I meant it about my apartment being haunted." At this point, I was willing to say and do anything, just to get him to keep me company.
"And you want me to check it out?"
I was half-incredulous, half-hopeful. "You'd really be willing to do that?"
"I have the time for a brief look, I suppose—-"
Oh my God, he was! I beamed up at him. "I'll take you up on the offer then. My unit's 13B—-"
"My unit's across yours." He was already hitting the next flight of stairs as he spoke, and I hurried to keep up with him.
"I'm Saoirse, by the way."
"Hadrian." The briskness of his tone didn't change, and I took it as my cue to keep my mouth shut for the rest of our trek to 13/F. When he faced me again, we were already in front of my apartment, and I quietly thanked God that the lock was digital as I punched the necessary digits. A moment later, the display screen flashed Welcome, and I turned to him with a smile. "Here we are!"
"Hm."
"You don't like talking much, do you?" I couldn't help asking.
"No."
Rhetorical obviously wasn't in his vocabulary, I thought ruefully as the door swung shut behind us, and he began studying my old apartment-—oh, shit. It suddenly but belatedly occurred to me just how wrong this whole thing was, and that I needed to come clean before I ended up getting him in trouble with the current owners. "Um...actually—-" But I ended up losing my train of thought when I saw the way his gaze suddenly snapped back at me. "W-What is it?"
"I thought you were simply joking," he said abruptly.
I held my breath.
"But you weren't, apparently."
His silvery gaze bored through me, and my heart jumped in my chest.
"Something is haun
ting this apartment...and I'm looking at it right now."
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A Season of Gods
and Witches
Book 1 of Paul and Blair's adventure coincides with events of Hell Becomes Her.
TALL, OLIVE-SKINNED, broad-shouldered and with hair trimmed in a no-nonsense bob, Dike carried herself like the immortal warrior she was, her aura of strength making her all-too-normal pantsuit and leather clogs feel as intimidating as a suit of armor welded by Hephaestus himself.
“Good morning, agents. I trust you’ve all received our text alert?”
All twenty of us simply nodded, trained by Dike herself not to bother with the usual yes, ma’am / no, ma’am, which the goddess considered a mere waste of time.
And as for the text alert, it had been as to the point as you’d expect it to be, considering Dike’s preference for brevity. Zeus out of control; everyone required to report for duty A.S.A.P.
It had me leaving Panda’s in a hurry, knowing that our director wasn’t the type to use A.S.A.P. lightly. I hadn’t even any time to explain myself to Mr. Handsome, managing only a quick, profuse apology before dashing out of the diner and straight into the storm.
Tension in the air heightened up a notch as the black-haired goddess spared us the briefest of glances. “All of you seemed to have made it. Good.” That was high praise already, considering it was Dike, and the tension eased, just enough for us to slightly relax against the backs of our seats.
“At present, we have a Category 3 Hurricane in our hands. INTERPOL’s confirmed that today’s inclement weather is a direct result of Zeus’ actions.”
I drew my breath sharply at Dike’s words, and the look on other agents’ faces told me that I wasn’t the only one worried about Dike’s revelation. As divine head of the Olympian pantheon, Zeus held dominion over the skies, and him being ‘out of control’ could mean anything from a repeat of Hurricane Katrina or, even worse, a tsunami devastating even landlocked towns that could’ve served as temporary refuge for evacuees.
“The Anemoi is doing their best to mitigate the damage, but the backlash is expectedly severe.”
The Anemoi referred to the four most powerful wind gods: Boreas who commanded the North Wind, Notus from the South, Zephyrus from the West, and the youngest of them, Eurus, who commanded the East Wind.
The four winged immortals had sworn by the river of Styx to obey all of Zeus’ orders, and such vows were double-edged swords. Their own bodies had to absorb the damage every time they disobeyed one of the thunder god’s directives.
“All attempts to interrogate Zeus have been unsuccessful so far. He’s locked himself in his battle tower, and all the information INTERPOL has been able to glean is in your dossier.” Dike snapped her fingers, and case folders appeared in front of each of us.
“Right now, the CIA has all its agents out on the field, and their priority is to rescue humans and protect them in the event this matter escalates. INTERPOL, on the other hand, has focused their efforts in lending assistance to the Anemoi in whatever way they can.”
Dike’s glance swept over the room. “That leaves us, the CSI, to investigate behind the scenes. We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to find out what’s making Zeus act out of character.” She rose to her feet and gestured towards the doors of the conference room, saying, “Now that you all know what to do—-” She made a little wave of her hand, and the doors flew open. “Dismissed.”
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