“I would not harm her, if that is your concern.”
He laughed again. “Side two doesn’t make that easy…”
“Neither does the Dark One.”
Silence settled between us again until I broke it. “Does your job make it difficult to be with her?”
He scrubbed his face with his hand. “That’s a loaded question if ever I’ve heard one, but yes, it does. Very much so.”
“Would it be easier if you were not who you are—if you did not have to lead the PC?”
“Not that abandoning my position is an option, but no, it wouldn’t. I will always be PC, and because of that, our relationship will always be difficult.”
Something small and hard to understand inside of me broke a little at his words. Perhaps I had thought that, if he would relent his position to me willingly, we could get the information from Ares without accepting the unsavory part of his proposed deal. But it was clear from Sean’s reply that that was not a viable option. Perhaps that broken bit was the hope I had held for another way out of Ares’ deal snapping in half.
“I am sorry for that,” I said softly. “I wish I could do something to make it easier.”
“You can,” he said, placing his hand on mine. “Stop almost getting yourself killed so I don’t have to stress about you, too. One reckless female in my life is more than enough.”
“Oz would argue that one is one too many.”
“He always did like things his way…”
“As he still does.”
“But you don’t let that happen, do you, Sister?”
It was my turn to smile. “Only when it suits me.”
His laughter rang out through the room, filling it with something I could not quite place, but enjoyed nonetheless. We sat there for a while longer, his hand still atop mine, and I wondered what our lives would have been like as children together. How different I would have been with him at my side—with all of my brothers present to influence me, for better or worse.
The moment died not long after with a light knock on my door. Sean gave my hand one final squeeze before he got up and answered it. I spotted Trey on the other side, who showed something to my twin. The change in his demeanor was instantaneous. He quickly devolved into the being Ares had shaped—the dark side of him that was ruthless and cunning and perfect for the job our father wished to take from him and give to me instead.
When Sean closed the door, he took a long breath to steady himself before turning to face me.
“I have to go. I’m sorry, Khara—”
“It is your job, Sean. And I will be fine in your absence. I always am.”
A ghost of that bright smile returned. “Because you aren’t afraid of anything, right?”
“No,” I replied. “Because I am batshit crazy.”
His booming laughter filled the room once again. It echoed off the vaulted ceiling even after he slipped out the door.
I had not lied when I had said I would be fine in his absence, but I had not told the full truth, either. For something in me felt heavy when he disappeared from sight, and it would remain so until I saw him again.
13
“All right, assholes. I think it’s about time we come up with some kind of plan for all this shit we have to deal with,” Casey called from deep within the Dragon’s underground lair. Everyone filed over to the couches with varying levels of urgency. Oz arrived last, his expression troubled. Whether his concern was regarding what Sean and I had spoken about or something else, I did not know, nor did I have time to ask. Casey started in the second we all gathered.
“The way I see it, Khara has shit coming at her from every angle right now. We need to neutralize some of these threats before they get any worse.”
“And help find her mom,” Kierson added with a sad smile.
“Agreed,” Pierson said. “I have been analyzing the logistics of this, and I’ve come up with a tentative plan.” His blue eyes drifted to mine before he continued. “The gods seem the least of our worries at the moment, so I have put them at the bottom of our priority list, but that still leaves the Dark Ones and he-who-shall-not-be-named.”
“Deimos is hunting his brother,” I said. “Under normal circumstances, I would be hesitant to rely on him, but his desire to claim me secures him as a temporary ally.”
Oz went rigid at my side. “He’s the lesser of evils—for now.”
Pierson looked at his journal. “Kaine and the Dark Ones are the wildcards at the moment.”
“Kaine did not look pleased with me when I last saw him. It seemed as though he wished to cut my head off.”
“He doesn’t,” Oz said firmly, as though there were no doubt in his mind that his statement was true.
“How can you know?” Drew asked quietly.
“Because he’s tried too hard to acquire her to throw it all away because she torched a few of his boys and zapped him into submission.”
“And forced him to tell me where you were,” I added. “I might have beaten him a bit afterward to get a head start, too.”
Silence fell heavy upon the room until Muses broke it.
“Is that all?” he asked, daring a step toward Oz. “Because I feel as though there’s more to this than you’re letting on—something you don’t want to share. It makes me want to rummage around in your mind until I find the full truth.”
“I don’t have the full truth,” Oz snarled. “I have suspicion and common sense. Kaine wants her for something, so he isn’t going to kill her. Neither will that other motherfucker whose name we don’t speak—at least I don’t think he will. It’s what’s happened to Celia that I can’t figure out, and it has me on edge.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Something about what happened between Khara and her at the Hallowed Gates just doesn’t sit right, especially now that we know what we do about the Pho-asshole fucking with Khara’s head. I need to know what happened there and where she went.”
“And how will you learn that?” I asked, turning to face him. “The Light turned their backs on you long ago. Surely you do not think you can go to them for information.”
“I have a plan, new girl. No need to stress.”
“I do not ‘stress’, Dark One, but I do think before acting, and I see no wisdom in this.”
He choked on a laugh. “Think before acting? You? That’s rich…”
“Suppose your plan works and you find someone willing to tell you what you wish to know. Do you honestly believe you could trust the veracity of their story?” I stared into his deep brown eyes and found nothing but anger looking back. “My mother went missing not long after I arrived, and if the attack on the Hallowed Gates was indeed an illusion created by the fear god, I fled for what would appear to them to be no reason. Why would any of them trust you, a Dark One, who is allied to me and undoubtedly seen as a traitor for what you did for my mother?”
“Like I said, I have a plan.”
“If he wants to talk to his former team, then let him,” Casey said from his position on the sofa. “As long as he doesn’t give them anything on you, I don’t give a fuck.”
“If you think it is worthwhile, do it,” Pierson said. “In the meantime, the rest of us will focus on Kaine and his Dark Ones.”
“What am I to do, then? Because I will not be left here to hide like a coward in the sewers of this city that has become my home, staying behind like the inept warrior I was when I first met you. I am PC, as you are, and I am every bit as capable of living up to that reputation.”
Drew walked over to me, his normally soft eyes narrowed and focused. He reminded me of the Drew I had known before; the one we lost after Hades brought him back from the dead.
“What are you thinking?”
I furrowed my brow in thought. “I want to go to the Underworld. I must speak with Aery to see if she has had any visions—or could have one if she were to focus.”
Drew’s eyes turned to Casey. Casey’s gaze drifted to Oz and searched his face for something. The
ir silent conversation lasted but a minute before Casey nodded. “Fine. Go and see if you can get what you need. Then come straight back. No side missions. No deviating from this plan. Got it?”
“I understand—”
“Good. Because if you do, you will be punished for insubordination like you are PC.” He leaned in closer. “If you’re one of us, then you’re one of us, good or bad.”
At that, I smiled. “I would not have it any other way.”
He returned the gesture, then shook his head. “I’m not even gonna say it because we’re already thinking it.”
“Thinking what?” Muses asked.
“She’s batshit crazy,” Kierson replied with a laugh. “It’s kind of a thing at this point.”
“And well earned, no doubt.” Muses turned his attention to me, the movement slow and elegant and menacing. “Perhaps I should go with you, Sister. I am in desperate need of entertainment these days.”
“No dice,” Oz said, taking my arm to lead me to the door. “You get out there and fuck with some minds. See what you can find out.”
“Bring me a Light One and I’ll gladly do that.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Kierson added. “It’s the only way to learn the truth.”
Oz stopped short of the door. “I try it my way first,” he said over his shoulder. “If that fails, we’ll bring in Khara and Muses to tag-team him.”
“That seems a bit unnecessary, but—”
“Muses!” Oz shouted, cutting him off. “You know what I meant.”
Muses feigned disgust. “Honestly, Ozereus. Incest is so last millennium…”
“I’ll be the only one fucking your sister.”
I looked from one to the other, something dissonant blooming in my gut. “I will fuck whomever I please, and I do not require permission from anyone to do so.” I focused my anger on Oz. “At the moment, that happens to be you. Keep making decisions for me, and we shall see if that continues.”
I could hear Kierson giggling before Casey’s outright laughter eclipsed it.
“Remember what I said,” Casey called after me as I headed for the door. “Go ask your questions, then come straight back. Do we need to get Trey, or can you travel like him now?”
I mulled over his question for a moment. “I do not know. There is only one way to find out…” I reached inside for the sensation I had felt when he had stolen me away from the Dark Ones near the Underworld. Then I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was on the far side of the room. “It appears I will be fine on my own,” I replied, making my way back to them. “I shall return soon.”
Before Oz could stop me, I channeled that foreign energy again and focused on the Underworld. I traveled through the thick darkness until the Acheron suddenly appeared before me, along with a being I had not expected to see.
At the sight of me, both the river and Persephone raged.
14
“Are you lost?” she said to me from across the Acheron.
I did not bother to answer. Instead, I flew to her side.
“I know precisely where I am.”
“Oh good. I was beginning to wonder if your time at the Hallowed Gates had changed you—made you forget who you are.” Her gaze flicked to my wings. “But I see the darkness still owns you. A small victory for the time being. Are they thanks to your little trip to the in-between?”
“What is my status to you?” I asked. “You care not for me or my well-being.”
“I care for your father. That is reason enough,” she said tersely. “You remember your father…the one you were to return to after your rescue mission. The one who has not seen you since.”
Her anger was palpable beneath her practiced indifference, and it gave me pause.
“That was not by design. There were complications.”
“Clearly.”
“How is Hades?”
She eyed me tightly, anger etching her brow. “Worried about you.”
“He need not worry.”
“He is your father, Khara. He will never not worry about you, regardless of what you think or how you feel or where you run off to. That will never change, even though I wish it would.”
Her words bit at my heart. “As I said, he need not worry.”
Persephone let out an exasperated sigh. “Why are you here, Khara?” The hint of suspicion in her tone was mirrored in her taut expression. “It is not fair to come and go in and out of his life this way, especially not after you tore out of here with the mother who abandoned you the day you were born.” Her body went rigid with anger. “It might not have crossed your mind, Sister dear, but Hades did not take that well. His mind was filled with doubt as to your safety, though you do not seem too concerned about that. Tell me, has your mother already grown tired of you? Is that why you came back?”
“I returned the other day to see my brothers,” I said icily, “and to find Oz—”
“Ah, of course. The Dark One…his presence seems to trump all, does it not?”
“I do not have time for your petty arguments, Sister,” I said, pushing past her. She caught my arm and held fast, not allowing me to go. “Some would deem this unwise.” I looked to where her hand gripped my forearm, then back to her face. “Some would die for such an affront.”
“Well, I am not ‘some’, nor do I care what you think you can do to me. I want to know why you are here, and I want to know now. Or have you forgotten that, while you may be the Princess of the Underworld, I am still Queen…”
I leaned into her hold instead of pulling away. “I came to speak with Aery to see if she has had any of her visions regarding my mother.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And why would you need to know that?”
“Because my mother is gone.”
“Gone?” she scoffed. “Perhaps my assumption was a bit too on the nose—”
“She is missing,” I corrected. “I believe something has happened to her.”
“And why do you think this?”
“Because she left me in my room in the Hallowed Gates and never returned. Not long after that, Deimos’ brother drove me from there.”
“And you think one has something to do with the other?”
“I think she would not have promised to return then not followed through.”
“Of course you believe that,” she said, releasing me. “Why wouldn’t you? Mommy would never do something like abandon you, now would she?” The ice in her tone traveled up my spine. “You are like a child when it comes to her.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you are blinded by a relationship built in your mind over time. Delusions of that magnitude are hard to see past, even when the truth is staring you in the face.”
“And what truth would that be, Sister?”
For a moment, sympathy flashed behind her dark eyes. Sympathy and understanding.
“The one you likely have not yet entertained: that your mother has not been taken. That, instead, she lured you into a den of lions and left you to your fate.”
“No—”
“See?” she interrupted. “You balk at the mere suggestion that she might have abandoned you, but did she not do the same to you the day you were born? Ridded herself of you so that she might earn back her precious white wings?” Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me something, Khara: when did she go missing?”
“Once we were inside the Hallowed Gates, she brought me to my room and left me there. I did not see her after that.”
She nodded slowly. “And why did you leave?”
Silence.
“The Gates were under attack, though I have since realized that the fear god might have fooled me into believing that was the case.” As if she had heard the omission in my statement, she waited for me to offer up the rest without interrogating me. “The doors and windows were magically locked and could not be broken. I melted the window with dragon fire and escaped—”
“Escaped,” she said, a wry smile tugging at her mouth. “That sounds as if you knew you w
ere a prisoner.”
“I do not know what I was. But I did not believe—do not believe—that my mother was to blame.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, drawing a finger along my jaw. “It will hurt so much more once you learn the truth.” Her arm fell gracefully to her side as she sighed. “Perhaps you should let it go, Khara. Give up the search for her—it might be easier for you this way.”
“I do not think I can.”
She nodded. “I know. But remember this: Hades loves you. Your brothers love you. The Dark One…well, I’m not certain what I would call that, but you have him all the same. Maybe you should be thankful for those you already have rather than chase after the ghost of a mother you never did.”
I stared at her, surprised by the boldness of her words—the rawness of them. For a moment, I wondered if they were fully meant for me, or if somewhere under her hardened exterior was a softness that somehow understood my position. A reminder that Persephone was a far more complicated being than I had ever given her credit for.
“Khara!” Aery’s familiar voice echoed off the stone walls as she sped toward us. “Oh my God, you’re okay.”
“I am fine—”
“I just—” She stopped at my side and worked to catch her breath. “I was just coming to find you.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t. I was heading above.”
“Why? To tell me something?”
She nodded. Then her suspicious gaze turned to my companion. “Is now a bad time?”
“Not if the matter is urgent,” I replied. “Say what you must in front of Persephone. She is not a threat.”
“Ouch,” the Queen of the Underworld said, feigning affront. “No need to be nasty, Sister. Besides, I have other matters to attend to.” She started down the hall that led to Hecate’s old room and waved over her shoulder. “Do remember what I said. And be sure to report to your father before you leave. He deserves at least that much.”
Unmade (Unborn Book 4) Page 9
