by K. M. Scott
“Play by the rules? Get the hang of the place? You were a goddamned warrior of your race, and now you’re what? A nobleman living a make-believe life of leisure in the Underworld? I want to see my wife, and I know you know where she is, so once more I’m going to ask, where is Noele, Thane?”
He looked away and refused to make eye contact with Ramiel. Fidgeting with his shirt collar, he said, “You have to understand. This place can be very difficult for some. She’s tough, but even the toughest of us have to do things we don’t want to do.”
Terror tore through Ramiel. Had something horrible happened to her? What could Hades do to someone down there? They were already dead, so what was worse? He didn’t want to think about that. All he wanted was to see her.
“I know how tough my wife is. Remember, I married her? We had two children together. We had a fucking life together, so I know all about Noele. I want some straight answers, Thane. Is she okay? Is she hurt? Where is she?”
The silence that followed his questions threatened to crush him. As he waited, every muscle in his body began to ache. Noele hadn’t fared well in that place, and Thane didn’t want to tell him the truth.
But he had to know.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Thane answered, “Noele is as okay as anyone else down here. She’s still in love with you. I know that. I want you to keep that in mind for when you see her. She’s never stopped loving you, Ramiel.”
That sounded cryptic. Why would he have to remember that when he saw her?
“And I’ve never stopped loving her, so we’ll be fine on that point. I don’t like the way you sound, though. Why are you talking like this? Why would I need to keep in mind that she loves me?”
Thane opened his mouth to explain, or at least Ramiel hoped so, but someone walked in behind him and interrupted their conversation. He spun around to see not the woman he loved but a fucking daemon like the one who’d taken his life.
Without saying a word, he rushed her and set his hands around her neck. He had no idea if they could be strangled, but he damn well wanted to test it out. Squeezing his fingers into her flesh, he felt her throat begin to crush under his strength and her eyes grow wider and wider, filled with fear.
Good. That’s for your friend staking me.
Behind him, Thane pulled hard on his arms to stop him, screaming, “Let her go! Ramiel, let her go!”
Let her go? Why? She was a fucking daemon!
Ramiel looked back and saw worry written all over his friend’s face. What the fuck would he be worried about the likes of this thing?
“Let her go. She’s a friend of mine and Noele’s.”
His words ricocheted around Ramiel’s brain for a few seconds before he released her and staggered back in shock. A friend? Now the two people he cared about most in this place were friends with a fucking daemon, the same kind of creature that wanted to wipe the Sons of Navarus and their allies off the face of the earth?
Thane helped her up off the floor and gently eased her into a chair as Ramiel watched in horror. What the fuck had happened to him since they’d last seen one another?
“Are you okay?” he whispered softly as he smoothed her short blond hair and she morphed into a beautiful young female. “I’m sorry that happened. I didn’t get a chance to explain things to my friend.”
“Why don’t you try now?” Ramiel said as his stomach roiled. He felt like he was going to be sick watching this scene playing out in front of him. Did he even know who Thane was anymore?
Taking the daemon’s hand in his, Thane brought it to his lips and kissed it. “This is Layla. She’s a friend to both Noele and me.”
“She looks like way more than a friend. You just make yourself at home with the ladies no matter where you go, don’t you?” he asked as flashes of Thane with Sasa rushed through his head.
No wonder this guy hadn’t been unhappy to be in this fucking place. He got himself a little daemon piece of ass action. Nice.
“It’s not like that, Ramiel. Layla was the first one to make me not hate this place. She kept me from going crazy when I first got here. Until Noele arrived, Layla was all I had.”
Suddenly Thane’s reluctance to tell him about Noele made sense. He’d gotten together with her since she came to the Underworld!
Ramiel tightened his hand into a fist and cocked his arm back. He finally knew how Vasilije had felt when Thane stole Sasa from him. What the fuck was with this guy?
He didn’t care to know the answer to that question. All he wanted to do at that moment was pound the fuck out of him.
Thane saw him move to swing at him and ran around the table. “What are you doing? Why are you trying to hit me?”
“You’re a traitorous son of a bitch! I stood by you when you pulled that stunt with Sasa, and now I come to this fucking place to find out you’ve done the same thing with Noele. Stop fucking running like a little girl and stand up to me so I can beat the hell out of you for being a shitty friend!”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything with Noele. I just told you I’m with Layla. Calm down, will you? Maybe go over and sit down on the couch for a little bit. I wouldn’t do that to you, Ramiel.”
This place made his head fucking pound. If it wasn’t head games and riddles, he had to deal with the reality that the vampire he thought he knew in Thane had changed to something that hung out with daemons and couldn’t give him a straight answer about his wife. Eternity in the Underworld was going to be pure shit based on the way it had begun.
He slowly backed away and sat down on the couch on the other side of the room as Thane suggested. Not that any amount of calming down was going to make him feel any better. The only thing that would do that would be seeing Noele.
As he tried to make the pounding in his head stop, he heard the door open. How many of them were going to have to stay in that tiny room?
“Thane, I’ve got news! The witches fighting on the Archons’ side have been defeated. That’s good news, but the bad news is that means the daemons are getting into the war. Layla, we need you to go tip off the Sons. They need to be prepared for Hades’ legions.”
Instead of answering her, Thane simply looked over to where Ramiel sat in shock staring at Noele. Now he understood why his friend had been so hesitant to explain what she’d been doing in the Underworld.
Dressed in barely enough fabric to cover her breasts and private parts, she looked like some kind of sex toy Ramiel had once seen in Dante’s apartment. He had no idea why she would choose to look like that, but as he tried to find an answer that didn’t involve her being with another male, the voice returned.
“Isn’t my favorite whore delightful? She’s been the perfect distraction for me,” it said with a chuckle.
Ramiel’s heart sank. Instantly, he hated this place more than he thought possible. Noele had been made to be Hades’ sex slave. His wife was the god of the Underworld’s favorite whore.
Chapter Thirteen
Noele followed Thane’s gaze to the other side of his room. Ramiel. Her breath caught in her chest, and she instinctively ran to him. They were finally together again!
“Oh, Ramiel! I’ve missed you so much,” she said as wrapped her arms around him and began to cry.
She waited for him to envelop her in his strong arms like he always did, but he stood still, his coldness instantly noticeable. Why wasn’t he happy to see her? What had changed in the time between when they were last together and now?
Lifting her head off his chest to look up at him, she saw a sternness in his eyes she hadn’t seen since the first night they met. He stared down at her like she disgusted him. Without saying a single word, he made her feel like she wanted to cry.
What had happened to the man she loved?
“Ramiel, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you happy to see me?” she asked, fighting back a sob.
His gaze traveled down from her face to her body, and she understood immediately. Not that she blamed him. Noele knew w
hat kind of male Ramiel was, and seeing the woman he loved dressed like some kind of whore would never make him happy, even if it was the first time they’d seen each other since her death.
She took his hands in hers and kissed them. “I did what I had to so I could help you and the Sons. Our son.”
“You became Hades’ whore to help me? How does that work?” he asked in an icy voice that chilled her to the bone.
He tugged on his hands, but Noele refused to let go. “Didn’t you just hear what I told Thane and Layla? She can warn the Sons so they can be ready to fight against Hades’ daemons.”
“Thane and Layla? So you’re fine with hanging out with daemons too? How nice for all of you. Curious how I got here? A fucking daemon, Noele! But what does that matter when you’ve been fucking Hades the whole time?” he barked as he yanked his hands from her hold.
She hated seeing him so unhappy. Somehow, she needed to reach him, but she knew her husband. When he got a thought into his head, it was hard to get it out. So she did the only thing that had ever worked with him.
Tilting her chin up so she could meet his gaze, she took a deep breath and gave him the truth he sorely needed. “Well, I’m sorry a daemon staked you, dear, but we’ve got the fate of the entire vampire world we’re working with down here, so you’ll forgive me if I’m happy to see my husband again. And yes, I have had to do some things I’m not particularly pleased about, but I wasn’t just going to let my family and friends I love fight this war on their own.”
Ramiel’s mouth dropped open just like it always did when she let him know how things really were. He could be a very stubborn male, so sometimes he needed a reality check. She understood he wouldn’t be happy with what she’d had to do with Hades, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
In a far softer tone, she added, “I’ve never been the kind of female to just sit on the sidelines and not do whatever I had to for those I love, Ramiel. Tell me you understand. Please?”
“That you’ve been sleeping with Hades? That’s what you want me to understand, Noele?” he asked in a voice full of hurt.
And still she needed him to understand.
“Yes. Tell me you know I have never stopped loving you and only did that because I wanted to help you and the rest of the Sons.”
Ramiel hung his head and sighed. “I want to understand. I do. It’s just a bit much to find out the woman you love has been with someone else when you’re not around.”
“I know, baby, but it means nothing to me. This body has done things, but he’s never been in my heart. You are the one who claimed that a long time ago.”
He sighed again and finally looked up at her. “I’m going to be honest here, Noele. I’m pretty fucking tired of the woman I love having to sleep with other guys.”
She knew her husband well enough to understand that was his attempt at humor. He needed that to start to get past the reality of what she’d done and would have to continue to do to help the Sons win this war.
Standing on her tip toes, she cradled his face in her hands and kissed him for the first time in far too long. “I’ve missed you so much, Ramiel. I love you, and that hasn’t changed since we’ve been apart. It never will.”
For the first time since she lay eyes on him that night, he smiled in that way that never failed to melt her heart. Her Visigoth she’d fallen in love with, that hard man the rest of the world feared, had come back to her.
“I’ve missed you, Noele. I didn’t want to go on when I lost you. I couldn’t be around anyone without feeling like I wanted to die. The only thing that kept me going was my hate for the vampires who took you away from me. I killed as many as I could, but it didn’t take away the pain of not having you with me anymore.”
She took him in her arms and held him as the thought of him alone made her want to cry. For all his strength, he was a male who needed love to remain with the world. Without her, she knew what he’d become. The same kind of vampire he’d been before her.
A loner who saw the world through eyes filled with loathing.
“You’re not alone anymore. We’re together again, Ramiel,” she said against his chest.
He pulled her close to him and sighed. “I’m sorry for what I said, Noele.”
Looking up at him, she smiled at how silly he could be. “You’re the only one for me. How could you ever doubt that? I love you, Ramiel. I have from the moment I realized you were exactly the mate I wished for all those starry nights. We were happy before, and we can be happy here. I know that sounds impossible, but it’s not. Love stays, no matter where we have to be.”
“I was with him when I got staked. Theron. He’s all grown up now and a Son like me. You’d be so proud of him, Noele. He’s grown into the kind of vampire we hoped he would.”
She tried to hide the sadness at hearing her baby boy had been forced to become a man too soon, but it was impossible. “Is he happy? I just want him to be happy.”
Ramiel smiled. “Leta is safe too. Terek and Ilona are taking care of her, so don’t worry.”
Her baby girl. She hadn’t let herself think of her in so long because it hurt too much to know she’d miss her entire life, and now that Ramiel had said her name, Noele couldn’t stop herself from crying. She’d never see her children until they ended up in the Underworld, never see them enjoy life.
Covering her face, she sobbed harder than she had since she arrived in that place. When she thought she was doing something useful there, she could at least tolerate being in the Underworld, but the thought of never seeing Theron or Leta again made being there nothing but misery.
“I know how hard it is. I wish we could be there with them too,” Ramiel said as he wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders and held her to him.
“I’ve missed you all so much. I had so many plans, and they were all just stolen away that night.”
“We’ll make the Archons pay for that and everything else. I promise, Noele.”
That’s all she wanted now that she had Ramiel back and could believe her children were happy. Every Archon in the world dead.
“Theron found me, Noele. He found me, and for the first time since you died, I smiled. I wish I could have had more time with him. He’s the leader of the Sons of Navarus now, and we were wrong. He was ready.”
She sighed at that reality. “So Nico did get to him after all?” she asked as she wiped the tears away.
“No. Nico turned traitor. He’s on the Archons’ side now.”
His news stunned her. “Traitor? I can’t believe it.”
Behind her, Thane interrupted. “Nico a traitor? No way. I won’t believe that.”
Ramiel nodded. “Believe it. His sire is some important vampire and on the Archons’ side. He’s been selling the Sons out for a while.”
Suddenly, Noele wondered something terrible. “Did he have anything to do with the night they found me? I thought it was strange that he insisted on you going to see Hadrian and the weres that particular night.”
He shook his head slowly, but she could tell he was now thinking the same thing. “I don’t know. If he did…”
Thane didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence. “How is everyone? I mean, other than Nico. Like Sasa?”
The room felt silent as Ramiel hesitated for a long moment before answering, “She and Vasilije are back together and happier than ever.”
Noele watched Thane struggle to keep the emotion from showing on his face, but she knew how he felt. Even though he and Layla spent time together, it wasn’t what he felt for Sasa. Hearing that she and her sire were back together no doubt was devastating to him.
Quickly, she changed the subject and got back to the business that brought her to his room in the first place. “Layla needs to go to Theron right now. He needs to know what he and the Sons face with the daemons getting into the war.”
“He already knows. It was a daemon who got me. That left him with two against just him. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him wit
h us before long,” he said sadly.
“That’s just another reason for Layla to go right now. Warn my son about what Hades plans to do. The Sons need to know.”
Thane nodded his agreement and leaned down to kiss Layla. “Yes, you should go. Find Theron and tell him everything. They may have been able to handle witches, but daemons are an entirely different story.”
A second later, she disappeared from the room and Noele turned back to face Ramiel. “Again, we’re forced to do things we don’t want to, but Theron needs my help. I know how hard this is going to be on you, but always remember I love you.”
Wincing in pain, he shook his head. “You don’t have to do anything with Hades now, Noele. She’s warning Theron and the Sons about his plans. That’s all they need.”
Noele brought his hand to her mouth and pressed a gentle kiss onto his fingers. “I’ve been doing more than that. Because of how close he’s let me get, I know where Macaria, Navarus, and their sons are here. If we get the chance, we can set them free from their cells in Tartarus, the prison beneath the Underworld. That could tip the scales in our side’s favor even more.”
Ramiel’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “The original vampires Macaria and Navarus from the stories?”
“Yes. I spoke to Nikator, Idolas’s brother and the son my bloodline is descended from. They’re all down there, Ramiel. If we can figure out a way to get them out of there, they might be able to help defeat Hades and his daemons. And I’m still trying to find out more from him. He likes to brag a lot, so all I have to do is listen.”
“And sleep with him,” Ramiel grumbled. “It’s not worth it to do what he wants.”
Pressing her cheek into the palm of his hand, she looked up at him and hoped he saw in her eyes how much she loved him. “Trust me. I hate every minute I’m anywhere near him, but if it means I can help Theron and the Sons, how can I not do everything I can?”
“That sounds vaguely familiar to the last time I had to watch you go sleep with another male. I’m sick and tired of this. Let someone else have to do it.”
