Storm of Ecstasy (The Guardians of the Realms Book 9)

by Setta Jay

  Her beasts’ incessant purring and pleasure at the idea infuriated her. Cease, she commanded. It was obvious what they wanted of her. It was all too much, too fast. She swept out of Pothos’ arms and knew somehow that it was only because he’d let her. She needed some space, but the second she was away from his warmth, the cold permeated her bones, and she felt as if she’d shatter into pieces of ice.

  The air and water began warming around her.

  His power calming hers.

  She moaned at the way that warmth caressed her skin. The bond to Pothos was already closer and more encompassing than that of her animals or the one she’d had with her priestesses.

  “You ask too much.” She lifted a hand to the skies before biting out to the world at large, “This asks too much.”

  “I know.” She watched him rub a hand over his short hair in frustration. “I’m not exactly sure what horrors you’ll see from my life. I’m hoping like hell we won’t see memories, but the odds are that we will.” There was sincerity in his growled words. The bond with him was making it impossible to hide emotion from one another, and that was a comfort as much as an invasion. She used to crave the kind of intimacy she’d seen in the mortal families of her world. This was a thousand times more intense. And part of her loved it while the other distrusted it. Having this connection meant she had even more to lose when the end came.

  He was there in front of her as the last thought was finished. “Don’t,” he said with a flash of intensity in his eyes. “No thoughts of losing what we’ll have. I won’t let that happen. And no dwelling on what we see in the memories. This cleans the slate of our pasts and begins our new life.”

  She sucked in a breath at his words. As if this would magically erase the nightmares. She huffed out the air. She could dream. Maybe they both could, because she could feel how much he’d rather not share his memories. She focused on the feel of his hands on her skin, knowing in her stomach that they were both stuck.

  “Or we can continue as we have been until the choice is taken from us. You get to choose if we do this now, thea mou, or we wait.”

  “The blood sharing is what connects our souls? It will stop all of the need?”

  His eyes flickered with heat before he growled, “Nothing could stop my desire for you, but the lust won’t rule us after we complete the bond.” He paused. “But the blood bond only paves the way to the soul bond.”

  She narrowed her eyes, not liking the sound of this. “What completes this?” she gritted out between clenched teeth. “And why are there so many steps?”

  He shook his head with a tight smile. “There is one more step after that.” He paused, and she held her breath, half dreading what he would say. “After we share memories, I’ll make love to you in every way possible.” She shivered in anticipation at his words, and her breath stuttered out at the ones that came next. “I’ll claim every inch of your beautiful body until your soul accepts me as your male.”

  The desire wrought by his words drew her closer to him.

  “What do you choose, Gefn?”

  She swallowed, breathing him in as the wind slid over their skin. She ignored her beasts’ encouragement, pushing them from her mind as she looked into his heated eyes.

  “We will finish this now.”

  Chapter 15

  City of Ouranos, Tetartos Realm

  Hades reformed beside Sacha, near the blue-domed city of Ouranos. The winds howled in the snowcapped mountains above them. The sun was barely coming up in this part of the world. He noted Immortals wielding swords and fireballs against the hell beasts barreling up the hill toward the city. Of course Draken would send him to help a city defended by phoenix and dragon warriors. Battle cries and furious shrieks of hundreds of beasts rent the sulphur-filled air. He took in the sight of brilliantly iridescent dragons clashing with the oily black dragons of Hell. The pairs were matched in mass.

  The mountain rocked with power and the thundering of hooves of Ophiotaurus, large bull-like creatures with snakes for tails.

  “What would you like, agapi mou?” His love. Hades’ muscles flexed along with his wings as he anticipated the battle with delight. He needed distraction until his son was safely back in Earth, where he belonged.

  Sacha’s dark eyes lit. “I’ve got the dragons.” He was forced to watch her snug leather-covered ass disappear only to reform gracefully atop a moving black hell dragon.

  He barely glanced at the three rabid hellhounds thundering toward him amid a cacophony of furious snarls. He absently tore the souls from their bodies, cutting off their growls as they crashed to the ground at his feet. He spared a look at two more hounds and unfurled his wings before sending power to slam them into a tree with a heavy crack of splintering wood. After dropping to the ground with pained howls, the evil creatures took one look at him and retreated toward the warriors. He shook his head.

  His gaze reverted once more to the sight of his female. Her long hair was tied in a braid whipping in the wind as the beast writhed and roared beneath her, not pleased at having a passenger. He frowned when she and the creature disappeared.

  He absently ripped more souls from thundering hell beasts with a flick of his hand as he searched for her.

  That split second Sacha was out of his sight made his shoulders tense. He tracked her new position just as she reformed with the creature at the same time as she slammed her sword down into its skull. The blade pierced hard flesh and bone, silencing the furious roars and raging fire that was spewing from its gaping mouth. Sacha was already gone the second the wings went limp. He smiled as the beast plummeted toward the lake below in a haze of smoke. A massive blue serpent shot from the depths in a cascade of waves, crushing the dead dragon in its powerful jaws before taking it beneath the surface.

  It was a rather convenient placing, and he wondered if Sacha had done the same before.

  I have, she admitted, already on the next dragon as she added, Leave the hounds for the phoenix warriors. I need you to take down the Ofioeidis that’s rushing up the mountain. The massive serpent is too dangerous for the Immortal warriors. His female did not sound pleased at the creature’s presence, which was confirmed by her next words. We try to kill all of them we can find in Hell before the bastard Tria can send them here. Their venom is deadly and the creatures are immune to phoenix and dragon fire.

  His eyes tracked the deadly serpent downing trees and brush as it slithered up the mountain. Two warriors crouched at the ready. The large males seemed small in the face of the giant serpent gliding in their direction. With a flick of his hand he teleported the warriors out of the way just as the serpent struck with violent speed and accuracy into the space one of the big males had just occupied.

  He was in front of the beast with a thought. A big smile lit his face as the creature roared to a halt and hissed out flames he easily dissipated.

  He heard the warriors’ angry battle cries as they reformed out of harm’s way. He downed more hooved creatures with a thought. He’d yet to even get his blade bloodied, but he planned to stay free of the acidic blood in case the Thulians arrived sooner rather than later.

  His voice boomed in the direction of the ungrateful warriors he’d just saved. “This one is mine.” And he flexed his wings wider, pleased when the serpent starting to coil, attempting to defend its throat. The phoenix warriors’ furious noise silenced, but he felt their tension as they remained at his back. A moment passed before he heard them taking down a few snarling hounds.

  The serpent lashed out with speed almost too fast to see. He ported out of its way with a laugh. He wanted a fight, not that this was much of a challenge, but it would have to do. It would calm his agitation.

  He glanced over when he heard a few more creatures with thundering hooves snorting in his direction. With a thought he cleaved their life forces. The ground shook with the force of their muscled bodies crashing into the dirt and rock of the mountainside.

  Hades toyed with the serpent while tracking his female an
d killing any beast that came close. She’d wanted the dragons, and now they were all destroyed. He smiled when he felt her behind him.

  “Are you done playing with it?” she asked calmly.

  A pack of snarling beasts thought to catch them unawares, and he was pleased when his female used the power she’d gotten from him to rend the violent creatures’ life forces with a wave of her delicate hand. A hand she’d obviously already cleaned of hell dragon blood.

  She was everything beautiful, perfect and deadly in the world, and now she was his Goddess.

  When the air charged, he lit with anticipation.

  A portal was opening.

  Hroarr was about to deliver Apollo to him. And if the Thulian didn’t deliver, Hades would have a much more satisfying fight.

  With little effort he destroyed the serpent with a thought. Its massive head collapsed, violently rocking the ground when the body unfurled in death.

  Chapter 16

  Fólkvangr, Falls of the Dead – Thule

  P gazed into the eyes of his beautiful female, but magical protective runes or not, he wasn’t looking forward to being unconscious and unable to defend her while in her memories. He didn’t know the priestesses or what their agenda was in Thule. Or Hroarr’s. His shoulders bunched in anticipation to get this part over with as quickly as possible.

  He put his thumb on the tiny dent in her chin, angling her lips for his kiss. She was nervous about what would happen next, and it was best they get to it, but he wanted to ease her a little first. He used his other hand to lift her into his arms. Her legs wrapped around him sweetly as he moved through the water, his tongue slowly tangling with hers. She sighed into his mouth as her body relaxed into him. Her questing hands were all over his skin, and he knew he’d never get enough of it.

  He groaned at how perfect she felt, at how eagerly she kissed him, no matter how much he controlled it.

  He moved from the water, drying them with warm air currents before breaking their kiss and settling her on the white lounge. She looked so damned gorgeous that he wished he had time to drink in the sight of her laid out for him, but he didn’t want her more anxious than she already was. She was trusting him in this. The cats had shared their approval, but this was a huge step she was taking entirely on faith. It didn’t matter that she was intelligent enough to know they were running out of options, unless they wanted to stay in this place for eternity, feeding the never-ending frenzy.

  He lay on his side next to her, and she turned to face him. “We can do the marking later, thea mou,” he soothed, knowing she was too on edge for more ceremony that wasn’t necessary to the bonding.

  “We can skip to the blood part?” she asked without hesitation.

  “Yes.”

  Air huffed from her lips as she asked, “How exactly will we share blood?”

  With a smile, he answered, “A kiss will do it.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “A kiss… You are lying.”

  He laughed before adjusting his aching cock so that it wasn’t jabbing into her stomach. “I’m not lying.” He sighed when she looked unamused. “I’m guessing that will be easier for you than having to drink from a cut on my chest.”

  “You plan to cut our mouths? How?”

  He brushed a golden wave over her shoulder. “The healing ability I have goes both ways. I can cause a cut as easily as I can mend one.” He couldn’t do much more than that and a permanent tattoo, but it was sufficient for what they needed.

  Taking a deep breath, she demanded, “Then let us begin.” Capturing her gaze, he took a moment to take in the sight of her before allowing the words to slip from his lips in the old language. “Thea mou, I vow to honor and care for you, with my body, soul and blood through all eternity.” He felt the magic in the words and knew she felt the warmth of it settle into her as well.

  Her eyes glazed with heat, and before he knew what she was thinking, she recited the same vow back to him. His heart thumped in his chest with every word she spoke. She didn’t need to do it, but there was no mistaking the power binding them even closer than before.

  *****

  Gefn went into this partially with faith in her beasts, and even in Pothos, but also because her own instincts told her this was right. Not to mention logic dictated that they couldn’t go on as they had been, but logic had nothing to do with the beauty of his vows. Once he’d said them, she’d felt compelled to return the words. To make her own promises to him.

  She lifted a hand to his neck and drew his mouth to hers. With a sharp nip to his lip, she’d drawn blood along with his growl. The vibrations of it slid through her body as she trailed her tongue over the cut. His big palm gripped her hip, dragging her tight to him.

  She moaned, barely feeling the sting of a cut on her tongue through the warmth of his power.

  She had only a moment, and then she was taken into a dream world. Into his memories.

  In some strange mystical way she felt taken back in time, as if the sun and moons had reversed themselves and now she was in a place where blue skies were filled with white puffy clouds and sparkling blue rivers cut through green forests. With the sight came knowledge. Pothos was a bright-eyed child of maybe five summers, laughing and flying, even half falling in the air when he wasn’t sure of his wings. His small body was captured in the arms of his smiling father. Hades. Only in this time the God had long black hair and a brilliant smile filled with an overabundance of love and amusement. His features were so similar to Pothos’ that it wasn’t hard to imagine her male with a winged boy of his own. Her heart clenched at the thought. This was love. She felt it rolling from them both as father taught his son to use his wings.

  In a dizzying shift, time moved a few years ahead. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she did.

  Now she looked at a Pothos of ten summers, standing in a sleeping room, looking out a balcony to a starry night. She tensed as she felt the boy’s power unleash, his small wings lifting from the back of the child when a male and female appeared before him. Ares and Artemis… That information filtered in her head as she looked on. She could feel the twisted, tainted blood in their too pale bodies. The strength of their evil soulless power mixed with their sinister laughter. She tried to get to him, to yell for him to run even though she knew it was a dream. A memory. Just as they reached for him, a furious roar rocked the stone floor beneath his small feet. Out of nowhere Hades appeared, his massive bulk and unfurled wings an impenetrable wall between Pothos and the evil two. His twin blades sliced through the air as he unleashed some unseen power that made the two shriek in pain and fury. Pothos was lifted out of the way by a reassuring warrior, but watched as his father battled the evil duo. Witnessed as blood spattered onto the balcony. She felt the worry that choked the boy. Just as she felt the way his father sent him soothing energies even amidst a vicious battle. Her very soul ached at the beauty of their bond.

  Time flickered ahead once again as she fought emotion and the desire to learn more.

  This time he was older, maybe sixteen summers, with two youths of about the same age, both blond. A pixie-like female with violet eyes and a broody male that she recognized from the lake. The other boy had deep green eyes, and somehow, in her mind, she knew this was Drake. They were sitting beside a sunlit lake when green shimmery wings tore from Drake’s back, and she felt Pothos’ excitement at the idea of soaring with his cousin. With that surge of emotion came a rush of power that immobilized both his friends. He tried to call it back, shamed and embarrassed when they only stared sightlessly back at him. Her heart broke for the boy when they were finally freed. The girl, she felt in his mind that her name was Sirena, tried to reassure him, but he closed in on himself, disappointed and sick at his lack of control.

  Another jump as her heart rushed to her stomach.

  Pothos at around twenty summers, sitting with his father in a long room of warriors. A fight broke out at the end of a firelit hall. A female was involved and he worried for her. Brianne… The
redhead from the lake. His power lashed out powerfully and for a moment no one could move. The warriors were completely at his mercy until they came to in a daze. A power-hungry male would have relished that kind of ability. Her male hid it, hated turning friends and powerful warriors into sightless shells, unable to control the blasts. His father slipped the hold and sent calming energies to his son, and finally the warriors came back to themselves, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

  More years passed.

  Females and males surrounded him. Mortals drawn to him with glazed eyes. They were captivated by the power that slipped from him without his intent. He tightened his hold on the ability before leaving the area to teleport to sit atop a mountain. Away from everyone so he could relax his hold.

  A sequence of years tracked by.

  Battles where he fought with beautiful yet deadly skill. His blade cut true as he fought at the backs of many a warrior. His hold on his power had grown more secure, but he still sought the solitude of the mountains to be free when the battles were over.

  Time shifted again. She saw Pothos arguing with his father over the fate of the world, over the fact that the other Gods were destroying it with their madness. They needed to find the artifact to call the Creators back. She gasped at the knowledge that the Creators of his world had given them such a huge gift. She’d never come across such a thing. Her own sires had left and never returned to Thule. They’d said it was impossible. His father demanded that Pothos trust him to take care of it. Pothos was infuriated by his father’s arrogance, knowing that three good Gods against nine who were unspeakably evil was asking the impossible no matter how strong Hades was.

  Another flash of time.

  He stoically stared out to an island in the distance. Impenetrable. There were imprisoned Immortals being experimented on behind the protections. Being bred like animals by his uncles Apollo and Hermes. They were amassing an army. A moment later a blond male broke through the waves with two young females. Dorian… The young Immortal females gasped for air as Dorian gently handed them off to Pothos, and Gefn noticed the females’ intense reaction to her male’s closeness. He teleported them to the sanctuary in his father’s palace, and she felt the knowledge that his relationship with his father was strained, yet he was still confident that Hades would do what he could to protect those who came to him. And these females needed safety.