by Bella Klaus
All traces of amusement melted off his features, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. He stared at me with an intensity that shook my soul and made me wonder if he’d heard something alarming in the tone of my voice. “Kora,” he asked, his breath catching. “Did something happen?”
“Do you remember Samael wanted me to seduce Lucifer?”
He nodded, his eyes never wavering from mine.
“When I left Namara’s office to visit the Hellcats, he redirected the mirror, so I ended up trapped with him and a pair of demons.”
The muscles in his face tensed, and he took deep, controlled breaths, as though trying to stave off an attack of rage. “Did they touch you?”
I gave my head a rapid shake. “It was mostly psychological threats. And Samael killed one of his henchmen for saying something inappropriate. He ordered me to visit Lucifer in New York or else.”
Nodding, he removed his hand from my shoulder and clutched at the sheet, which turned brown and smoked. His eyes flared with blue flames that filled the space between us with heat.
“I’ll kill him,” he snarled.
“We’ll both do it.” I placed my palm on his wrist. “Azriel’s emergency meeting is our big chance to get rid of him and Demeter.”
His jaw dropped, and he stared at me through bulging eyes. “You would kill your own mother?”
“I don’t want her dead,” I muttered. “Just incapacitated or turned into stone.”
“That’s certainly something we can do.” He drew toward me and pulled me to his chest. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“Don’t be,” I murmured. “No matter what Samael says, he can’t hurt me directly, and I think he wants to use me as his reserve brood mare after I’ve birthed Lucifer’s child.”
Hades growled. “There will be no talk of birthing anyone’s children but mine.”
“All right, caveman,” I said with a chuckle. “Did we have any children other than Captain Caria?”
He drew back, his eyes shining with love. “Macaria was our only one, but we talked of having another before you left.”
“What was that argument about?” I asked.
His eyes squeezed shut. “I just told you.”
“Persephone didn’t want to have any more children?”
Hades remained silent for several moments, his face held in a tight mask of restraint. His nostrils flared, and his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. “I’ve had centuries to rehash what happened that night, and I still don’t fully understand why she reacted so badly to my suggestion.”
“Did you speak to anyone about it?”
He nodded. “After the Great Divide, Caria and I went searching for Persephone, and we found other gods either dead or torn apart or roaming around without their powers. We brought as many of them into our realm as we could.”
“People like Hermes?” I asked.
“Correct,” he replied with a nod. “Some of them say Persephone hadn’t been on Mount Olympus during the Great Divide. Others said she had started to split her time between Demeter and someone else.”
My throat tightened. “She was having an affair?”
Hades rolled onto his side and stared at the white ceiling. “She wasn’t that type of goddess. Apart from her unhealthy attachment to Demeter, she mostly preferred plants to people.”
“Then who was this other person she was seeing?” I asked.
“Dionysus.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“The god of wine, orchards and fruit.”
I stared at his profile, trying to put the pieces together. “Did you ever talk to him?”
“I never met him,” Hades said, his voice sounding far away. “And no one has seen Dionysus since the Great Divide.”
“What do you think they were doing together?”
He hesitated for several heartbeats, his breaths becoming ragged, before he emptied his lungs in a long exhale. “Everyone knew Dionysus was the result of one of Zeus’ conquests.” Hades shook his head. “And his mother was a goddess related to plants…”
I held my breath, waiting for him to finish his sentence. My mind couldn’t help wandering back to what he had told me about Zeus coming to Persephone disguised as a snake.
When Hades remained silent, I asked, “You think Persephone lied about Demeter coming to her rescue, and she gave birth to him?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “It’s hard to imagine why she would hide something so devastating. I could have used the might of the Underworld to destroy Zeus.”
I scooted up to Hades and pressed myself against his side. “If I could remember what she did, I would tell you.”
“Or we can wake up Zeus and beat the information out of him,” Hades snarled.
He didn’t mean that. Not after he’d scoffed at the prospect of us coming to the other god’s rescue. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and nuzzled his neck, making sure to press soothing kisses on his flesh.
Until now, I hadn’t thought there would be anything worse than losing one’s soulmate, but being parted from them for so long and never having answers to such a mystery had to be agonizing.
Dread rolled through my belly like thunder. If I kept secrets from Hades, he would think I hadn’t changed. “Listen,” I murmured. “There’s something you need to know before you hear it from anyone else.”
Hades stiffened. “What?”
“Lucifer took me to a place called Sodom, and we pretended to make out.”
A growl reverberated in his chest. “You mean Lucifer slobbered over you while you played along?”
I pulled back, meeting his red eyes. “Don’t you trust him?”
“To an extent,” Hades said, his eyes narrowing.
“You wouldn’t have sent him to my housewarming party if you didn’t know about his curse.”
Hades slid his gaze to the side. “He told you about it?”
“That he’s condemned to only find unavailable women attractive?” I asked.
The corners of his lips tightened with a suppressed smile. “I couldn’t betray the confidence of a friend, even if he lusts after my wife. Is there anything else you need to confess?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “That’s everything.” The image of a red-skinned dwarf rolled to the front of my head. “Oh! Samael took control of the Eighth, and now his demons are running it for a queen who calls herself Persephonia.”
“This is Demeter’s new offspring?” he drawled.
“Since they used carnivorous plants to wipe out the previous king and his inner circle, I’d say what they did to the Fifth was a practice run for other Factions.”
“Shit.” Hades pulled himself up to sit. “Maybe Azriel really wants to waive that no-murdering clause. Because if Samael controls three factions—”
“Four, according to him.”
His gaze snapped to mine. “What?”
“Samael’s been telling everyone I’m his daughter.”
Hades swung his legs out of bed. “I’m beginning to think Zeus’ dick has rotted his brain.”
I sat up. “Where do you think you’re going?”
He pulled the cannula from the back of his hand. “We’re going to interrogate an expert on how to kill an angel.”
Chapter Eleven
For someone with parasitical pollen tearing through his lungs, Hades sprang out of bed with a surprising amount of energy. By the time his feet hit the floor, he was dressed in red armor, complete with a helmet.
It clung to the contours of his muscles and consisted of tightly packed scales that resembled the hide of a crocodile. Instead of the usual snake design on the breastplate, the leather there was thick and raised and rugged.
He stared down at me, his brows lifted, a smile playing on his full lips. “What are you waiting for? The sooner we arrive at Belphegor’s doorsteps, the sooner we can devise a means to kill Samael.”
I pushed myself up to my elbows, letting the silk sheets slide down to my hip
s. “You’ve got to show me how to do that.”
Hades’ gaze flicked down to my breasts before returning to my eyes. “Stand up.”
“All right.” I scooted over to his side of the mattress, swung my legs out of bed and stood at his side. “What next?”
His eyes glazed for a heartbeat before he gave his head a hard shake. “Remember the cache I set up in your penthouse?”
I nodded. “You want me to summon the armor from the living world?”
“There are several caches around Hell, including a few in this palace.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Close your eyes and picture yourself already clad in leather armor. But you need to choose something both resistant to Hellfire and powerful blasts of magic.”
“How will I know the difference?” I gazed into his eyes, which shone like amber flames.
“That particular suit is adorned with the skin of an alligator-like creature that dwells in the River Styx.”
“Got it.” Letting my eyes flutter shut, I concentrated my thoughts on how the leather would feel against my skin. Then I imagined the same armor I had worn to the battle of the Eiffel Tower but with similar, bumpy scales to Hades’ design.
He chuckled.
My eyes snapped open, and I stared into his broad smile. “What’s so funny?”
“Armor like that might work if your job was to seduce the enemy, but I don’t want that bastard getting any ideas.”
I stared down at what I’d created. It was red leather and consisted of a fitted bustier that enhanced my new cleavage. It dipped at the waist, exaggerating my curves, and formed a miniskirt that barely skimmed my ass. With a pair of matching arm bracers and knee-high boots, I looked ready to star in my own TV show.
“How on earth did my mind conjure up something like that?” I asked.
Hades wrapped his arms around my middle, pulled me into his hard body, and pressed a kiss on my nose. “Remember when I took you to the pinnacle to eat and you said you wished you’d worn something more appropriate for the romantic atmosphere?”
A giggle bubbled up from my chest. “This is what I was thinking?”
He ran his fingers down my exposed neck, sending pleasant shivers across my skin. “I’m sure you could slay any demon in an outfit like that, but those bastards don’t deserve to see you looking so unspeakably beautiful.”
I swallowed hard, my body heating under his touch. If I responded with so much as a shiver or a moan, Hades would lower me into that bed, and we’d spend the next few hours making love. It was the most tempting and delicious prospect, but the threat of Samael hung over everyone’s heads, and we couldn’t afford to indulge.
“Does this suit exist, or did I make it?”
Hades rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze darting to the side. “You’d be surprised at how many garments I’ve purchased for that particular body over the years.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. If this person we were seeing today could tell us how to kill an angel, Hades and I would soon have our happily ever after.
“Let me try again.” I squeezed my eyes shut, shuddering at the thought of Samael, and pictured a fortified suit of armor that could withstand both Hellfire and the strongest of magic.
The material wrapped around my skin, encasing my arms and legs before forming a shell around my torso.
Hades squeezed my shoulder. “Good work.”
My eyes opened, and I met his fond smile. “I still can’t believe all we have to do is imagine things and bring them into being.”
“Take a look.”
My armor was a covering of oxblood-red leather fashioned into a smaller version of the one Hades wore. I ran my hands down the breastplate, enjoying how the bumpy rises felt against my palms.
Hades materialized a helmet similar to the one he wore and placed it on my head. “And this will give you absolute protection.”
“And I’ll still be able to use my magic?”
He inclined his head. “Every suit I’ve commissioned is enchanted with a one-way flow of power.”
I stepped back and rolled my shoulders. This armor was heavier than the other one I’d worn, making my skin tighten with apprehension. I opened my hand, summoned the bident, and turned to Hades. “Ready?”
Hades placed a hand on the small of my back and walked me toward the room’s double doors. Unlike with the other set of armor, which had allowed me to feel the pleasure of his touch, this particular set only passed through the barest amount of pressure.
“What’s the name of the person we’re seeing again?” I asked.
“Belphegor. He’s a primordial source of evil.” He raised a hand, making the doors swing open into the blackness that separated this room from the rest of the palace.
“Does that mean he’s a demon?” I asked.
Hades stepped out into the void. “Every time an evil soul perishes within Hell, its power feeds the primordial evil that forms the core of this realm.”
“Wait.” I paused in mid-air and stared up into his profile. “Are you saying that Belphegor is the land mass?”
“More like a force of gravity,” Hades said. “Just like the gods used to be the primordial force that maintained the integrity of their realms.”
As Hades and I continued through the void, I tried to picture Belphegor, but my mind conjured up a being with red skin, horns, and a pointed tail. I shook off that thought. He probably wouldn’t appear to us as an imp.
“Are you sure he knows how to kill an angel?” I asked.
Hades curled his fingers, and the door leading to the palace opened. We stepped into the marble hallway, and he paused. “Belphegor might not have fought the winged wonders himself, but he holds the collective consciousness of thousands of demons, some of whom would have fought in the ancient battles between Heaven and Hell.”
I nodded. “Where does he live?”
“Deep underground in a place called the Abyss.” He flashed me a smile. “Are you ready to peruse another part of our domain?”
Pausing, I sucked in a deep breath. If this would bring us closer to getting rid of Mother, Samael, and whoever else had allied with our enemies, then I wanted to do it.
“It should be interesting,” I said.
“Let’s go.” Hades took my hand and teleported us to a gigantic cavern.
Smoke swirled around a space that appeared to be a quarter-mile in diameter, and its shape reminded me of the interior of a funnel made of rock. Instead of a smooth slope, the walls had been carved out into terraces—multi-tiered platforms on which demons in red uniforms walked their patrols.
It took a moment for my body to register my surroundings, and then everything assaulted my senses at once. A cacophony of snorts and grunts and roars rang through my eardrums, and power vibrated across my skin. Heat radiated through my armor, and the scent of brimstone filled my nostrils.
A full-body shiver traveled through my bones. It was no wonder Hades had been so particular about my armor. Something told me that if I took off my helmet, the heat would suck all the moisture from my body and leave me a desiccated husk.
“This is where Persephone hid?” I shouted over the noise.
“Demeter would have had the good sense not to burrow so deeply,” Hades said into our bond, his voice cutting through the sound. “Even Persephone’s immortal body wouldn’t be able to tolerate this amount of heat.”
I turned in a circle, taking in the view. We stood on a suspended walkway that crossed a deep chasm. The circles that made up platforms beneath us became tighter and tighter until they disappeared into the dark. It was like standing within a hollowed-out mountain, only it was upside-down.
“Was this place once part of the Underworld?” I asked.
Hades took my hand. “Not even Tartarus was this horrific. I inherited the Abyss when they amalgamated my realm with Hell.”
Some of the smoke cleared, allowing me to peer down at cells within the terraces that we
re the size of large houses and held dragons, salamanders, and multi-limbed creatures I couldn’t even begin to identify. Some of the inmates were humanoids made of fire and others were just balls of flames.
“What are they doing here?” I asked.
“Being kept.”
My fingers tightened around the bident. “Did they do something wrong?”
Hades tilted his head to the side. “They’re too dangerous for the general population. If we don’t keep them separated, they battle each other for dominance. Over the centuries, we’ve found that these cells are the best way to keep them docile.”
“And Belphegor?” I asked. “Does he live in a cell like this?”
“Not exactly,” Hades muttered. “Hold on tight, we’re making another jump.”
I wrapped my arms around his middle, and he teleported us to a much darker location. The heat disappeared, replaced with damp and a sense of doom that made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
We had to be close to something dreadful. I gulped. This was probably the reason why Hades had chosen the armor to withstand powerful magic.
When I tilted my head up, rows upon rows upon rows of the cells stretched up into a burst of firelight.
I released Hades’ waist but stayed close to his side. Through our bond, I asked, “Are we at the bottom?”
“If the Abyss were an hourglass, we’d be at the midpoint.” He gestured at the expanse above. “Belphegor takes up a space as large as this.”
My hand flew to my chest. “Is he dangerous?”
“Not unless released.” He turned to me, his features grave beneath the helmet. “Over the centuries, small pieces of him have broken free and possessed other demons, but he’s always been easy to spot.”
“Why?”
The corners of Hades’ lips curled into a smile. “It’s always the same modus operandi. He cuts through swathes of souls within the Asphodel Meadows, demanding a way out into the living world. All the demons managing the villages know how to drive him back into the Abyss.”
“I don’t like the sound of him,” I muttered.
Hades patted me on the behind. “That is the nature of evil. He can’t help it, and without primeval forces like him, there would be no way to keep the truly wicked tethered to Hell.”
