by Haley Weir
“I can’t.”
“What? Why not?”
“I used most of my energy to open the portal,” she explained. “I don’t know if I can close it back up now that I’m hurt.”
Seth framed her face with his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. “You can do this, Diana. I believe in you. No one here is as strong or as stubborn as my mate. I’m right here with you.” He kissed her quickly and rounded the corner. Seth used his body to shield her from Prometheus’s power. Damien dragged Madeu out of danger long enough for them both to catch their breath. Balor drew symbols on the ground and slammed his fist onto the stone. A surge of dark magic formed a dome around the demons. Prometheus’s fire began to sear the flesh from their bones.
Balor was far more powerful than any of his brothers realized.
Seth eyed him suspiciously and helped Diana over to the rift. She focused inward, drawing on a strength that he couldn’t see with his eyes but he felt in every fiber of his being. He wrapped his arms around her, allowing his mate to draw on his energy. The rift rippled and closed with a great shudder. Diana stumbled back, falling away from Seth and into the arms of her father. Hades healed her wounds and set her back on her feet. “Take her inside.”
“Where were you?”
“Not now!” Hades walked through the dome of roiling fire and wrapped his hands around Prometheus’s throat. He squeezed until the flames died and Prometheus fell to his knees before the God of Death. “You hurt my daughter. And so you will pay the price.” Hades gestured to his guards, and they carried Prometheus and the Atë into the depths of the castle. Seth lifted Diana into his arms, rushing her into the castle.
She blinked up at him with a sleepy smile on her face. “We did it.”
“You did it.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Diana whispered. “Are Madeu and the others all right?”
“They’ll be fine. I’m sure Balor is healing them as we speak. My little brother has a lot to answer for. It seems he inherited a lot more from the gods than just infinite knowledge and the ability to heal those in need.”
“I’ve never seen anyone cast a spell like that.”
“Because it wasn’t a spell,” Seth replied. “It was rune magic. Something much older than spoken words. It draws magic from a place even the gods cannot touch.”
“It helped us.”
“It’s dangerous. He needs to be careful or else he’ll unleash something worse than gods with fragile egos and the titans that birthed them.” Seth carried Diana to her sleeping quarters and laid her on the bed. He peeled away layers of singed clothing until her smooth, unmarred skin was bared to his eyes. There was no evidence that she had been burned. “I was on my way to get you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. You saved yourself, and I’m proud of you.” He kissed her temple and brushed the soot from her face. “Are you up for a bath?”
“If I don’t have to stand on my own…”
Seth chuckled and lifted Diana up once more. They shuffled into the bathing chamber. He used a spell to turn on the water as she sighed against his shoulder. “Now that Atë and Prometheus are in my father’s possession, can we go on vacation?”
“Where do you want to go?” Seth asked.
“How about the real world? I wouldn’t mind just lazing about my apartment for a few weeks. Maybe even help you with a case while I write the screenplay.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Underworld
The sweet scent of cinnamon and chocolate filled Diana’s bedchamber. She muttered something indecipherable as she buried her face beneath the pillow and refused to surface. Seth kissed her shoulder and the sensitive spot behind her ear. His deep, raspy chuckle caused chill-bumps to spread along her arms. Diana reached for him blindly, but he moved out of the way. “What’s so important that I have to get out of bed?” she huffed.
“Breakfast.”
“Are you on the menu?”
Seth yanked the covers off her body and traced ticklish circles along her back. “I can be. If you promise to eat something. You were in Limbo for six days. I want you to eat before the hunger catches up.” He licked a stripe between her shoulder blades. Diana squirmed a little. She pressed her back against his chest. Seth’s hands slid down her abdomen, dipping his fingers between her thighs. “Open up for me, love.”
Lips brushed her neck, and Diana tossed the pillow before spreading her legs. Seth parted her folds, toying with her clit until she moaned into the darkness of the bedchamber. The burn of his stubble against the nape of her neck only pushed her further towards the edge. “So soft and warm,” her mate whispered. His finger slid lower and slipped inside. Slick trickled from her core, wetting his hand and easing his ministrations. Diana bit her lip and tried to keep quiet. The last thing she needed was to alert her father of what was going on beneath his roof.
She reached behind her back, inching her fingers between them until she wrapped them around his rigid length. Seth hissed in her ear, and Diana’s eyes rolled back. He sucked on her flesh before biting down hard enough to make her gasp but not hard enough to break the skin. Diana rocked her hips and pressed back when she felt the engorged head of his erection probing between her folds. Seth moved his right hand up to her mouth as his left continued to push her to the brink of madness. Breaths puffed across his knuckles.
Seth snapped his hips and speared into her. Diana screamed against his palm, riding the waves of her release as Seth made love to her. Tears prickled behind her eyelids. She sucked his fingers into her mouth, and he groaned loudly. The sounds of their passion filled the room. Seth rolled her over onto her belly. He thrust in deep, even strokes that touched the places she needed him most. That intense, familiar flare of power tensed within Diana. She screamed into the pillow as her body begged him to set her free. Seth trapped her clit between two fingers and picked up pace. Each thrust sent her spiraling towards madness. “Please…”
“Do you want to come, Diana?” he whispered. “Take what you need.”
Diana pushed back, meeting his thrust in an almost brutal pace that caused her toes to curl. She dug her hands into the bedding and lost all inhibition. Seth touched her with expert caresses. The tension built to a height that filled her with fear. Diana moaned towards the ceiling. She tossed her head back and slammed her legs shut, trapping Seth in her depths. But it was the barely audible, “I love you,” that sent her over the edge. Strong arms wrapped around her. Diana felt as if she was floating outside of her body, looking down on Seth as he held her tightly.
Bruises and bitemarks peppered her skin in a way that excited her.
“I love you too,” she sighed.
Seth kissed her sweetly. “We promised to have breakfast with your father.”
“You promised. Not me.”
He forced her out of bed and handed her a cup of cappuccino. It warmed her belly and soothed the cramps in her muscles after a thorough session with her mate. She slipped on a robe and cleaned up before meeting Seth and her father in the dining hall. Hades looked up from his plate with a scowl. “When is the wedding?” he asked.
“Good morning to you too, Dad.” Diana sat beside her father at the table. “Now that there isn’t a goddess trying to kill us, I’m sure we can start planning the wedding as soon as possible. I’m not really a fan of big ceremonies, so I’ll leave most of it up to Seth.”
“I don’t plan weddings.”
“Neither do I. Should we hire someone?”
Hades pinched the bridge of his nose as if Diana and Seth were the most insufferable people he had ever met. Well, considering the fact that her father spent most of his time with the dead, it wasn’t much a surprise that he found them exhausting. “I’ll handle the wedding. Just get married already,” her father grumbled. “The sooner you give me a grandchild, the sooner I can retire.”
“Gods can retire?”
“I can.” Her father
took a bite of something that looked sweet. If anyone had told her the ruler of the Underworld had a sweet tooth, she would have laughed in their face. Now, it was unusual for her father to be seen without a lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth or a handful of sugary candies in his pockets. "Atë and Prometheus are contained. I'm not sure how long we can keep them locked away without alerting Zeus that we're on to his schemes."
"What about Poseidon?"
"What about him?" Hades asked.
Diana rolled her eyes and snagged a raspberry off of Seth's French toast. "He's your brother. Poseidon must have his own suspicions about Zeus."
"Suspicions are likely," her father grumbled. "But with Poseidon, it's almost guaranteed that he'll have a motive of his own. He's not tricky, just vicious."
"What if I talk to him?"
"No!"
Diana looked between her mate and her father as they rejected her offer in unison. "Why not? I'm his niece. He might listen to me more than anyone."
"Diana, none of the other gods view family the way you do. They think it is a human concept that is beneath them."
~*~
Castle Black
Destiny Falls, Alaska
They were short on allies, but Seth felt good about their position in the war. The Sleuth was torn. Half of the shifters were skeptical about whether or not the former members of the Reckoning were trustworthy. The other half understood that shifters were a dying breed and preserving the future of their kind was far more important than pointless rivalries. Seth wasn't much of a politician. He preferred to use actions rather than words when it came to proving himself.
Sadly, not all of his brothers were cooperative. Balor had been fighting against all of them since Atë's capture. The youngest of his siblings was unwilling to even lift a finger until he was certain Atë couldn't contact the other gods telepathically.
"If we allow her to remain in the underworld without—”
"Enough!" Giddeon finally snapped. "I'm tired of listening to you become more and more paranoid with each passing day. Hades had guards on them at all times. Besides, the dungeon beneath his palace is impervious to force. If anyone tried to sneak in or out, they would be executed."
Seth released a drawn-out whistle. "That's bound to get someone's attention eventually. I think we should figure out why Prometheus hasn't spoken a word since his capture."
"Nothing at all?"
"Hades checks every hour like clockwork. If Prometheus could talk, I'm sure he would have by now," Seth supposed. "He has to know that Zeus wouldn't risk exposing himself as a traitor just to save them." He looked to Giddeon and found his brother smiling with pride evident in his eyes.
"Good. Did anyone locate the Sword of Zeus?"
"No. Someone will have to question Atë." Balor stormed from the room in a flash of black.
Seth moved closer to his brothers once Balor was out of earshot. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward, meeting Giddeon's stare without even blinking. "Something is going on with Balor. You didn't see how he took down Prometheus."
"What?"
"He used rune magic and drew energy from the underworld," Seth explained. "That shouldn't even be possible."
Giddeon's eyes widened. "Have you told anyone about this?"
"No one outside of this room knows. If Balor is involved in some kind of dark magic, then someone has to be teaching him."
"He draws knowledge directly from the gods, Seth. Balor is the teacher, never the student."
He sat down in a chair beside Madeu and closed his eyes. Seth knew how easily power had corrupted their father and, with Balor's divine knowledge, he was even more susceptible. "How do we make sure he doesn't—”
Diana kicked open the door and held the Sword of Zeus high above her head. Seth's jaw dropped. Madeu rushed over and took the sword from her possession. Diana strutted over to the desk and leaned a hip against the surface. "So, I was thinking about the one place she could have hidden the sword where we wouldn't find it."
"And? Where the hell was it, and how did you end up finding it?"
"The one place we wouldn't look was right under our noses the entire time. I remembered Casey telling me about a date she went on with Giddeon. She said they went to a museum and that there was an entire section dedicated to your family," she said excitedly. "I went there after Seth went to the meeting and searched the exhibit. There was a rack of swords. It was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles."
"Why would she hide it there?"
"I asked myself that too," Diana chuckled. "The gods don't like anyone thinking they're above the divine powers of Olympus. I think Atë placed the Sword of Zeus in the museum because she believes it's your temple."
"That is insane."
"No, it isn't. People go there to learn about your family's mysterious history. They hold you in high regard. Seth protects them, Giddeon helps them find love, Caleb is an idol of human perfection in their eyes, Madeu gives them courage to rebel against their oppressors, and Balor—”
"All right," Giddeon interrupted. "I think we get it."
"All of you are practically worshipped here. Atë thought placing the Sword of Zeus in your Temple would be an insult." Diana looked awfully proud of herself as she smiled at Giddeon. "Now, we put it in the armory and keep it safe until the war."
No one argued.
Diana moved away from the desk. Her hair had been pulled back from her face, allowing him to see her beautiful features clearly. Seth held his breath until the very moment her hand touched his jaw. "I love you. And I can't wait to marry you." She bit her bottom lip and glanced up at him with heat in her eyes. Seth wanted to taste her so badly, but his brothers were in the room.
"I love you too. Though I think your father is more nervous about the wedding than we are. How are the plans going?"
"I talked him out of summoning a dragon this morning."
"What? A dragon would have been so badass! I'm going to talk to Hades to see if he'll get me a dragon for my birthday," Caleb said as he hurried out of the room.
Madeu and Giddeon stared at them expectantly. Seth was torn between wanting to ravage his gorgeous mate and having to work. Diana pressed a kiss to his neck, and the decision was made. He grabbed her by the hand, pulling her from the study as he shouted, "Start without me. I'll be back in an hour...make it two to be safe."
Chapter Twenty-Three
Temple of Hades
Nekromanteion
The whispers of spirits fluttered in Diana's ears as she walked along the stone path that led to the temple. Humans had many theories about the mysterious Nekromanteion, but most of them were wrong. She walked inside the ancient structure that told tales of a time that had faded long ago. The very earth beneath her feet resonated with magic as she ventured to the lower level. Pure silence. Not an echo could be heard within the room. Her bare feet shuffled along the edges of the chamber. Diana knocked on the stone wall, and a doorway opened. She heard the river Acheron as it flowed between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
A hooded figure stretched out a skeletal hand and helped her into a small boat. Candles floated on the water within the tunnel, lighting the way until they reached daylight. Miles away down the river was the true Temple of Hades. The riverbank was surrounded by vibrant green foliage that beautifully complimented the blue waters of the river. Diana spread her arms and watched as spider lilies grew along the bank, filling the air with a sweet floral fragrance.
Sunlight kissed her warm skin, and the wind rustled the black lace gown that hugged her body perfectly. The long sleeves, high neck, and open back gave the timeless dress a touch of elegance that made her feel like Morticia Addams. Diana smiled as she caught sight of her friends standing in front of the temple entrance. They looked so lovely with their flower crowns and flowing black toga dresses. Deputy Eliza Harris and Casey's round pregnancy bellies were absolutely adorable.
Olivia and Rina helped her out of the boat. She steppe
d onto a bed of grass and waved her hand to open the temple gateway. It answered to the blood of Hades in her veins. Rows of pews had been arranged on both sides of the aisle. They were filled with strangers and a few familiar faces. Diana saw Seth standing at the end of the aisle in a white toga and the petrified twigs of an apple tree braided into a crown upon his head as a tribute to her mother. Nemesis hadn't reappeared since their conversation in the woods, but Diana was touched by the gesture, nonetheless.
Giddeon, Madeu, Caleb, Balor, and Damien stood beside him in a show of loyalty and brotherhood. Diana's friends moved to the opposite side and whispered words of adoration that caused her to blush vibrantly in the dimly lit temple. Hades took Diana's arm with a wicked grin. "Are you sure you don't want me to summon a dragon?"
"I'm sure," she giggled. "You already have us riding in that ridiculous chariot of yours."
“Have you told Seth you’ll be having your honeymoon in Limbo? I’m not much of an expert on marriage, but not all surprises are good. He might be tired of having to fight for his life at some point, darling. At least tell him before you set off.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”
“Last time you were in Limbo, a horde of demons nearly killed you.”
Diana bit the inside of her cheek and elbowed her father. “I’ll be fine.”
“What happened to the sweet girl who had no interest in fighting?” Hades grumbled. “I miss the days when you yearned for a simple life.”
“I still want a simple life, but I see no reason in settling down until after the war.”
“Then, let’s hope the war ends in our favor.” Her father handed her off to Seth and moved to stand behind the altar. Diana looked into the eyes of her mate, peered into his soul as she remembered the day she felt that first spark of love in her heart. Even if she could go back and change everything, she wouldn’t. Diana looked at Seth and knew she would have battled an endless horde of demons if they could be together.