Walking over excitedly, I was ready to dance with my friends.
“Okay, me first, and not something too hard. I have a feeling I’ll be worn out after two songs or so. But I wanna watch. Will you play?” I turned to Tristan, ready to beg.
“Anything for you love. But you know I’m unbeatable, right?” he winked and strolled over. This was exactly what we needed. Some fun. Even though we all knew there was danger waiting around the corner, we needed this to keep morale up, to give us hope that things were going to be all right. Being surrounded by the people I love, in this light atmosphere, was making me believe that even more than before.
Leander and I went first. Just like old times, when we used to play this together in our apartment for hours. I missed the old lug. He was my brother; not by blood, but in all the ways that mattered. I missed him talking with his mouth full of cereal. I missed reading a book on the couch while he sat on the other end.
“Let’s show them how we roll, Budda belly and all.” He winked and then swiped the song so it would begin. He chose “Firework” by Katy Perry. This one wasn’t too hard. I noticed he didn’t put it on the most difficult setting, either. We danced, laughed, and had fun. When the song was over, I was slightly out of breath and felt like I had gotten a workout.
“Ok, Someone tag me out.” I held out a hand and Tristan tapped it while helping me down to the couch. Dancing was no joke with two babies on board.
Lacey and I were laughing up a storm watching our guys dance to “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5. I had just watched Tristan go bad ass on people outside not even 24 hours ago, and now he was busting a move to a video game. I loved him so much. He even went to get us pizza really quick. Leander was happy about that, and so was I. Pizza sounded amazing right now. We were laughing and having so much fun when Orion appeared in the foyer, looking at us strangely.
“We have pizza?” I offered with smile. He was sort of one of us now. He just shook his head and went to his quarters. I felt bad, but tried to shrug it off. He had helped us so much since the arena. I could feel uncertainty coming from him, and then a smidge of guilt. Maybe it was the pizza soothing my soul, or just that I’ve never truly been one to hold a grudge, but I decided I would try to show him that we could be friends now, if he wanted. I wondered, when this whole battle was over, what he would do in life? Continue being his mother’s little warrior? Try to settle down somewhere? Besides his little minions at his compound in Greece, I didn’t really know if he could call anyone a friend. I got up, catching Tristan’s eye as he took an enormous bite of pizza. He knew what I was up to, and he was ok with me doing it. But I felt caution in him. Orion wouldn’t hurt me. I walked down the hall to the wing he was staying in, assuming he would be behind the only door that was closed. I knocked.
“Come in.” Slowly, I opened the door and saw Orion sitting on a chair, working on his bow. It was quite beautiful, for a bow. Traditional, wooden, with intricate carvings along its side.
“Beautiful bow,” I commented, trying to break the ice. The room was much like the rest of the house in design: a single bed with cotton sheets. White. A table and a long chaise that he was sitting on, then a bathroom set off to the side.
“Thanks. Everything okay?” he asked, probably knowing what I was on my mind.
“Yeah, I just figured I’d come offer you an olive branch of pizza and fun. You’re welcome to join us.” I gestured out to where you could hear Lacey laughing. He set his bow down, and looked at me.
“I’m good. You should probably get back to them.” He was brushing me off. Nicely, but still a rejection.
“Okay. Well, you don’t have to hide in here the whole time. We do appreciate all your help.” I started to back away and retreat, but he stood and started to speak.
“Thank you, I don’t deserve you being nice to me.” His golden eyes held pain. I took a step closer and grabbed his hand, sending some happiness into his body.
“You’ve saved me, and my family. The past is the past. It’s time to be happy and find peace.” It was a beautiful moment to watch his eyes close and enjoy that slither of happiness I was pushing into him. Then my stomach growled. His eyes opened but held mirth in their golden hue.
“Happiness and peace for me is another couple of slices of pizza, apparently.” I let go of his hand and started walking towards the door. But before I walked out, he stopped me.
“Thank you, Thalia.” He nodded and went back to the chaise. Our little chat was over, but I felt confident that something moved inside him. Maybe not now, but he would find peace in his long life.
Chapter Twelve
Tristan
Thalia was snuggled against my side as we all sat in the living room and watched a movie together. Her soul and mind were at peace for now, and I was happy and grateful for these moments. This is what our life will be like when things settle, only with two babies in our laps.
I looked down the hall towards where Orion was hiding, waiting for him to come out, but he hadn’t yet. My Thalia was sweet to go talk to him, but I felt slightly nervous for her to do it by herself. The caveman in me wants her near me all the time, and nowhere near an interested man. But, I knew better. His desire for her was still there, he just knew it wasn’t happening.
As the movie came to an end, I set up Leander and Lacey in their own private wing of the palace, and left them to do their thing.
Jack decided to show himself to them and Lacey was quite taken with a ghost dog. He played with her for a little while then seemed determined to hang around Thalia like a guard dog. This pleased me greatly—someone else to help watch over and protect her.
She grabbed one more slice of the third pizza I’d grabbed, and then we said our goodnights and retired to the bedroom.
“Thank you for tonight. I know it was your doing.” She finished her food and started to undress.
“I’m going to take a bath, wanna join?” She slowly slid down the shorts she was wearing, and then began to unbutton her shirt. Slowly. I watched with zero embarrassment as she unveiled her body to me. My eyes searched out hers, only to see that mischievous glint in them. She knew exactly what she was doing.
“You were designed for me; I swear it.”
She smiled at my words and then turned to show her bare back to me as the shirt slid down her arms and fell to the floor. My sexy goddess. She gave me a wink and then walked off in her panties towards the tub. I came here after seeing how much she loved my bathroom at the apartment and created a similar version for her. Soaking in a tub was one of her favorite pastimes.
I followed her, and found her bent over, ass in the air, while she fiddled with the water temperature. I groaned at the sight of her perfect round ass.
“What I wouldn’t give to pinken that display of perfection with my palm.”
She rose and went straight for my clothes. Lifting my shirt up over my head, helping me shed my jeans. My cock jutted out for her, begging her to wrap her soft fingers around it. She didn’t. Instead she leaned up to wrap her arms around my neck and give me a kiss. Deciding to let her continue her lead in this, I placed my hands around her waist, and planted them right on that delectable ass. Although, I loved to see Thalia in anything, panties especially, I wanted nothing between my palms and her perfect skin. Using a little bit of my powers I simply disintegrated them into nothing. Much better.
Her mouth opened slightly; her breath mingling with mine was like a sweet drug to me. She was trying to take this slow, and while I was all for living in the moment if I didn’t taste her soon I was going to combust. Taking advantage of her parted lips, my tongue invaded her mouth, swallowing the whimper that escaped her chest. I loved that sound.
We made love with our mouths for a moment longer before she pulled back to check on the water. I had completely forgotten about everything besides her lips on mine, and her body in my hands. She pulled back and turned the faucets off. Taking a step into the water, I held onto her hands and helped lower her down. She didn’
t need my help, but I didn’t want her to slip and get hurt. When her body was completely covered in the soft bubbles on top of the water, I stepped in and settled in behind her. She leaned up against my chest quite comfortably.
She wiggled and my eyebrow rose in question.
“The babies like the warm water.” She was adorable.
“How are you feeling?” I asked while wrapping my hands over her belly, wanting to feel the babes move.
“Horny.” I barely managed to hold in the laughter that threatened to come out. She had seemed a little more passionate since she got pregnant.
“I can help you with that.”
“You should. I’m always horny around you normally, but since you knocked me up I’ve been like a cat in heat around you.” Her hands moved up and cupped her breasts, instantly making my laughing moment disappear.
“Then I guess I need to tend to your needs more.” I whispered against that spot right behind her ear, kneading her breasts.
“Your growing tits are begging to be sucked. Do you want that love?” She nodded and whimpered as I kissed along the line of her neck. In one fluid motion, I was in front of her, mouth latched onto her perfect tit while leaning her to the back of the tub slowly.
She moaned and writhed under my touch. I moved on to the other breast while pinching the swollen tip I had left behind.
Thalia’s eyes had drifted shut and I couldn’t have that.
“Eyes on me!” I barked and they flew open to watch me. Much better. She continued to take my torturous pleasure on her chest before I was thrown back and she was climbing onto my cock. The whole movement surprised me; she was unbelievably fast right now, apparently feeding off of the babes’ powers again. She moved over me, watching my face as she used my body to bring us both into euphoria. Up and down, grinding her clit on my pelvis, she was a vision that was absolutely indescribable. She was the daughter of Aphrodite, but even without that blood running through her, there would be no doubt in my mind she was her very own goddess of passion.
Right now, her passion for my cock was consuming me, driving me with the sole thought to make her scream my name for all in the palace to hear. My hands gripped her ass and lifted us out of the water. She cried out from the new position, overwhelmed with pleasure. I wasn’t done. We were far from done. I was going to make sure she slept fan-fucking-tastic tonight. Picking her up off my cock and setting her to her feet, I spun her around to face the mirror. I wanted her to watch me as I fucked her from behind, to witness the madness she stirs in me every time I look upon her.
With her eyes staring into mine I slowly entered her. Watching as her face turned lax, and her mouth opened with every inch. Just when I was rooted in balls deep, I pulled out and thrust back in hard. Keeping up that punishing stroke of hard and fast, Thalia was screaming my name into the mirror in seconds. Once her orgasm started to recede, I moved us to the bed, and continued with my goal to knock her into a blissful, orgasm-induced sleep.
She was all too willing to let me accomplish my goal, falling asleep with a big smile on her face. I was feeling like the all-powerful god I was for making my woman feel so satisfied. With her body curled up against mine, wrapped in sheets, I drifted off peacefully for the first time in days.
Until I was pulled into her dream by her soul. Something wasn’t right. I walked around the fields of Greece, looking for her. Eventually I saw a little boy with dark hair sitting with her in the grass. Was that our son? I looked him over while they were oblivious to me being there. He did look like me, but there was something off. When I decided to get a closer look, his head popped up and looked in my direction. I knew he couldn’t see me, because I didn’t want him to. He seemed satisfied that no one was around and continued to talk with Thalia. I needed to get closer and figure out what that nagging feeling was. Thalia’s soul brought me here for a reason. I was brought up short when I was only ten feet away.
“I’m afraid they’re going to hurt me.” His voice sounded so innocent; I felt the father in me wanting to fight off whoever was making this child afraid but I stood still.
“No one is going to hurt you. I promise.” She smiled.
“You still haven’t taken your rings off, right? You promised that, too.” He asked and I was confused to this part of the conversation. Thalia hadn’t told me about this particular promise.
“Of course not. I need them on all the time anyway.” She confirmed and I made a mental note to ask her about it in the morning. I felt a little tingle in my chest and searched for the problem from her soul. It took only a few seconds to realize it was not from her soul, but from our son. And not the one sitting next to her. The two souls were not the same. The one sitting next to her was something else completely. I searched deeper and found divinity. It was a god.
“Morpheus.” I cursed internally. He was up to something, and was impersonating our son. Hitting Thalia where it hurts. She was a fierce warrior, but she was becoming an even more fierce mother. She would do anything for her children, and if one she thought came from the future and asked something of her, she would agree without question. Not allowing him to poison her mind further, I shed my invisibility and let my presence be known. Automatically, the child’s eyes moved to mine and he sneered right before disappearing.
“Tristan!” Thalia looked behind her and was shocked to see me.
“Did you see him? Our son?” She beamed, and I didn’t want to upset her, but I had to say something. He was trying to cause her harm in some way. Maybe it was a mental game, but I had to make sure she knew the danger she was in.
“That wasn’t our son, Thalia. That was Morpheus.” I walked over to her and changed the scenery of her dream to somewhere not connected to the boy. I held her close, while we were back on the dance floor of our wedding venue in Memphis.
“God of dreams.” Her voice was so low. Realization hit her, and her hand instinctively moved to her stomach. Scared for them.
“Our children are fine. It was Ren that brought me here. His soul and the soul in that boy were not the same. I looked closer and saw his true self beneath the boy he was pretending to be.” I moved us over the floor while she let that information settle in.
Chapter Thirteen
Thalia
I’d been duped.
Tristan spun us around the dance floor, and while it was very romantic, I needed a break. I needed to sit. I let go of him and walked over to a chair.
“I can’t believe I fell for it.” I should have known. I felt so stupid.
“How could you have known? You can’t feel souls like I can. And even as strange as it sounds, to be hanging out with your son in the dream world, anything can happen. Time travel, even in dreams, is forbidden. To break that law of the world would cause devastation.” He was trying to make me feel better. I knew it sounded crazy but with everything that had been happening, I thought this was something real. Not fake. Then a thought hit me.
“He said she isn’t here. Oh God, Tristan, do you think they know about our daughter, too?” We had been trying to keep that a secret from the gods.
“I’m not sure.” His face turned hard as stone. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. I just wanted them to be born so I could protect them, and hope that this will all end when their beautiful faces gaze upon the world. The gods surely couldn’t be so cruel as to kill babes in cold blood once they looked at them.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t look into this when he first appeared. I failed your heart this time, Thalia. It aches, and I hate to see you so sad.” I shook my head, hearing the sadness in his voice.
“It’s not your fault. I should have been more cautious.” It was the truth. I figured I was safe in my dreams, guessing that was the one place they couldn’t touch me. I was wrong. I’m so glad our son had brought Tristan in to see what was happening. I touched my stomach and thanked him silently. Tristan kneeled down in front of me and kissed my belly.
“Thank you Ren.” He knew where my train of thought had been,
and had to say it too.
“What now?” I felt like every step we took in the right direction, something would happen, and would knock us back a few. I was tired, so tired of it all. I’m glad the babies were growing rapidly. I couldn’t take nine months of this.
“Take me out of the dreams; I just want to sleep dreamlessly for the rest of the night, please.” I just needed a break. I was starting to feel overcooked. He nodded and grasped my hand. I felt myself start to relax, and I closed my eyes, ready to not think or dream for a few hours.
I woke up with an urgent need to pee. I leaped out of the bed and relieved myself. I could hear voices echoing down the hall but didn’t feel up to being around people right now. I loved my friends, but being tricked in my dream had hit me hard last night. Once Tristan took me out of the dream world I slept well, but I couldn’t sleep forever. I had to wake up and face the fact that I had let someone trick me. I didn’t think I was naïve, but I was feeling the fool right now.
I took a deep breath and went out to sit on the bed, looking at the clock perched on the nightstand.
“Ok, five minutes.” I was giving myself that time to be upset about what happened. After that, I was going to move on, and was going to be strong for my friends and family.
Obviously, Morpheus was trying to accomplish something. He really didn’t want me to take off my ring. Why? The rings gave me control over my powers, and my mind that was at war with itself otherwise. I could stay in the underworld, and I was immortal. If I took it off, I would be just a normal demigod. So wouldn’t he want me to take them off? I was confused about that, and decided I would talk to our crew about it later.
What if they knew about us having twins?
I hoped they didn’t, I truly did. But if they did, then we would have to stick to our plan and that was that. We were having twins. That wasn’t going to change just because they knew about them.
Battle of the Heart Page 6
