by Julia Mills
Lee thought about what they had all gone through when Roman’s feeder, Valentina, the woman responsible for giving the King her life’s essence until his mate and he were united, had lost her marbles and kidnapped Cynthia. It was all very crazy and something out of a trashy romance novel. Valentia wasn’t only exacting revenge for some centuries old family vendetta against the General, but also trying to kill Cyn to keep Roman for herself.
It reminded Lee that he needed to have his assistant get a hold of his feeder, Cristiana, and have her sign her release paperwork, get her severance check and choose the profession or school she wanted to attend to begin the next journey in her life. He would no longer need her services now that he and Juliette would finally be together and the Kings were sure to compensate those in their employ very well, for they knew what a commitment they were asking for, as well as demanding the employee’s unequivocal loyalty.
He nodded in agreement, even though Cynthia couldn’t see it and listened intently as she went on, “Your gonna need to go somewhere really quiet. Does that plane have a sleeping quarter?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then use that. Clear your mind and look deep within yourself. Find that little light that came to life the day your Juliette was born.” He could hear the smile in her voice and knew she was looking at Roman while she spoke. “You’re going to see a little path of light, almost like the jet stream a plane leaves in its wake as it crosses the sky. Follow that path, it will lead to your mate. Give her all the strength and encouragement she needs without speaking.” She again chuckled. “I know it sounds crazy, but she will know you are there and if she’s able, will speak to you. It’s the confirmation you need, to make sure there’s no doubt that she came to you.”
“How in the hell do you know all of this so soon after your conversion?” Lee couldn’t help but ask as he made his way into the sleeping cabin and secured the door behind him.
“Kat and I have been doing some research. We both agreed that there must be more to the Kings of the Blood than even Viktor knows. I mean you guys have been around a really, really, long time with only positive effects, do you really think Zeus stopped there, even when y’all did?”
She stopped speaking and as impatient as ever, Lee immediately replied, “No. And?”
“Oh sorry, Roman was just telling me not to bother you with the details and to let you get to the business of finding Juliette,” she snickered.
“Well, tell him I asked and that he had better learn to share you just a bit with his brothers. You two have a lifetime together. Hell, we haven’t even had a real party yet.”
“Yeah, sure,” She laughed out loud. “I’ll let you tell him that the next time you see him.” He heard his mentor asking what they were talking about in the background and had to smile at how efficiently Cyn blocked the General out as she continued, “But what I will tell you before I let you go is that we have found proof that some of the other gods dabbled a bit in the creation of each of your mates. And if my intuition is right, that is how your Juliette was able to make contact with you.”
Unsure what to say, Lee blurted out the first thing that popped into his mind, “Holy shit, what does that mean?”
“It means you need to get busy and find her.” And with that Cyn added, “Now, go. We’re here if you need us.” Before disconnecting their call, he heard Roman scold her by saying, “Now we will truly have no more time alone.”
Smiling to himself at what a difference just a few months with the keeper of his heart had made in the General, Lee put the phone on the bedside table, laid in the middle of the plane’s king size bed and tried to clear his mind. It wasn’t long before images of long brown hair with golden highlights and deep brown eyes, so dark they reminded him of polished onyx, filled his mind. He longed to touch her olive skin, tanned from all her hours spent in the out of doors and the beautiful curves of her full figure hugged by her cotton tank top and cargo shorts.
He had seen her so many times. Followed her across the world and back. Longed for the day she would come to him, to need him as he needed her and now, with her life on the line all he wanted to do was hold his dear Juliette in his arms. Taking several deep cleansing breaths, Lee looked for the light Cynthia had spoken of. The one he had protected against all others for nearly thirty-five years.
Following the trail of light, he prayed, “Dear Zeus, please let me find her. Please let her answer. Keep her safe. You know above all other, that I will cease to exist without her.”
Chapter Two
Sitting in the five-foot by five-foot cube of space that used to be her dig site, trying to see through the dense, suffocating darkness, the young archaeologist prayed to every heavenly body she could think of for the shifting earth around her to stay exactly where it was until Lee could reach her. Flipping the switch on the tiny flashlight Juliette always kept in her pocket, she hoped it had dried out enough to provide at least a small bit of light. It wasn’t that she feared for her own life, she would, after all, be reincarnated in a year or so and start the next five hundred years all over again. It was that she feared for Achilles, the one man she had loved for all her lifetimes. He didn’t have the time needed for her to die, be born and mature once again.
Holding the pendant her mother, Hebe – the Goddess of Youth and Beauty – had given Juliette the day the goddess had sent her to earth to save her from Zeus’ wrath, she had seen Achilles. His dark, blonde hair blowing in the breeze. His soul calling to her as it always did. She knew she shouldn’t have contacted him. That it went against all she had been taught but this was their last chance. This was the one life that was meant to be her eternity and there was no way she was letting it slip through her hands. There was no way she was letting Lee cease to exist as long as there was a chance she could save him.
Remembering what her mother had told her all those very many years ago, Juliette rubbed the amulet with her thumb and listened to Hebe’s sweet voice in her mind…
“Today is the day my sweetling, the day you will go to live on the earthly plane as a human.” Her mother kissed her chubby cheeks. “If it were that I could keep you with me, watch you grow, be there when you find the man of your heart, I would be the happiest of all the gods and goddesses, but alas, that is not meant to be.”
Hebe wiped away a tear. “My father, the King of the Gods would surely kill us both were he to know of your existence. You have been my blessed secret while you grew in my womb and for this first year of your life but it can last no longer. Zeus grows suspicious. So, the time has come that I must let you go but first you need to know of your father and the love we shared.”
Walking farther down the path, the goddess continued, “I was allowed one human year on earth. To see how the people lived, to understand those who we had dominion over. In that time, I met a wonderful man named Micah. He was a blacksmith who worked for the king and had lost his family at a very young age.”
“Since my father had given me the persona of a peasant, I told a similar tale of a long bitter life alone. Soon we became friends and not long after lovers. The more time we spent together, the more I wished to never return to Mt. Olympus. We were happy. It was a hard life but we had each other and that was enough.”
“Then the day came when a messenger from the king knocked on the door and Micah was called into the service of the great Grecian Army. It was a bittersweet goodbye, for it was his obligation to go, but I knew no matter how much I wanted to be waiting for his return, I would not be there after his many battles.”
“Kissing him goodbye was heartbreaking. I spent the next few weeks, until I was called home, preparing my clothing to hide the ever-growing proof of your existence and when the time came, I willingly returned to Mt. Olympus.”
“Thankfully, I was immediately given the position of Cupbearer with the privilege of serving the gods the nectar and ambrosia that ensured their immortality. It meant my time among the Pantheon and thus my mother and father was limited. The day you w
ere born, I gave you a single drop of nectar and one of ambrosia to ensure your immortality.”
The goddess placed the emerald pendant around Juliette’s neck while explaining, “Always keep this close to your heart, my beautiful daughter. It contains not only my love but also is the only way we will ever be able to communicate. Every hundred years, at the stroke of midnight on the anniversary of your birth, find the highest point in whatever land you may inhabit, hold the amulet close to your heart and think only of me. For a few fleeting moments we will once again share the bond of mother and daughter.”
Still a small child, but with the maturity and understanding that comes from having the blood of the gods in her veins, Juliette touched her mother’s cheek with her tiny hand and answered, “Yes, momma.”
Continuing their journey to the farthest point of the Alpheios River where the veil the Pantheon and the human realm are the closest. Mother and daughter spent the rest of the day simply enjoying one another until it was time for Juliette to make her way to the mortal plane.
Both anticipating and dreading the first rays of sunset, the time when the veil between the gods and the earth are the thinnest, Juliette turned to kiss her mother one more time but instead gasped as a monster of a man appeared out of the shadows. Dressed from head to toe in battle armor, with a large spear in one hand, a shield in the other, the man had hate pouring from his deep dark eyes.
Throwing herself in front of Juliette, Hebe shouted, “This is none of your business, brother. Go away. Take your war-mongering ways elsewhere.”
A menacing grin curled his lips as the giant smirked, “Not before I have been introduced to your little friend.”
Standing tall with her shoulders thrown back, Hebe answered with authority, “My friend is none of your concern.” The goddess took a step forward, motioning with the hand she kept behind her back for Juliette to stay put and added, “As I said, this is none of your concern, Ares. I am sure there are wars to be instigated or some other punishment to be doled out.”
With one quick step to the side the God of War skirted around his younger sister and stepped up to Juliette, looking down his nose with a sneer on his lips and an evil gleam in his eyes. Kneeling, he pulled the young girl to him and asked, “What is your name child?”
Answering the man with the zeal and innocence of youth, she said, “I’m Juliette and I’m going to my new home today.”
Picking her up and positioning her on his hip, Ares turned to Hebe whose eyes were filled with unshed tears and coyly asked, “Is this little halfling yours, sister dear?”
Falling to her knees, the goddess begged, “Yes, yes she is. Please let me send her to earth where she can live out her days in peace.”
Kissing her cheek, Juliette heard the god inhale at the same time and when he pulled back he snickered, “But you have not played fair, have you, Hebe? You made your little halfling immortal. You have shared the nectar of the gods with your little bastard, have you not?”
“Yes, yes I did, but only because I cannot bear to watch her wither and die.” Hebe wailed, “I love her, Ares, more than I have ever loved anyone or anything. I only did what any mother would do, I protected my child.”
“I see,” Ares nodded, turning and walking a few more paces away from his sobbing sister. Speaking over his shoulder, he smiled, “I shall let you send your child to earth but only after I have given her a gift.”
Jumping to her feet, Hebe ran to her brother, grabbing for Juliette and pleading, “Please, please, no, Ares, give her back to me. The time to send her to earth is now. Please just allow her the freedom the Pantheon would take from her should they discover her existence. That is all I ask.”
Spinning on the balls of his feet, he glared at his sister while speaking into Juliette’s ear, “You will have your immortality, little one, but it will come at a price that is twofold. First of all, if you have not found your one true mate by the time you reach your five hundredth year, you will die a tragic death and after one turn of the earth be reborn again with your memories intact. This cycle will continue until the day you become one with the other half of your soul.”
Hebe was inconsolable. She begged her brother to curse her and not her child but it was obvious the God of War had made up his mind. He would torment his sister by punishing her beloved daughter. Finally, Ares handed Juliette back to her mother but as he walked past, he once again kissed Juliette’s cheek and scoffed, “And lastly, your mate will be one of my father’s mighty warriors, a King of the Blood. Together, you will have the ability to save the omnipotent fraternity or doom it. The choice will be yours, little one.”
Without another word, the God of War disappeared into the clouds leaving Hebe hugging her daughter and promising, “I will find a way to break his curse. I swear it, my beloved daughter. Before your hundredth birthday I will have the answer.”
Shaking herself from her memories and trying her flashlight one more time, Juliette cursed out loud when she was still sitting in the dark and to date, more lifetimes than she wanted to remember later, had no idea how she and Lee could either doom or save the Kings. “Well, I guess it’s not gonna matter if I die in here,” she sadly chuckled. “His time will be up and I will come back alone and having doomed Zeus’ warriors.”
Shifting from one hip to the other, trying to keep the blood flowing to the extremities of her five-foot-eight-frame while curled into a ball, Juliette shrieked with joy as the ground around her gave a little shimmy. The whir of the engines and the movement of the terrain as the large equipment came up the hill was scary but also one of the sweetest sounds she’d ever heard. Lee was coming to her rescue. There was a chance she could save his life and together they could figure out her dysfunctional family issues.
“Oh, yeah, I can’t wait to have that conversation…” she mumbled to herself.
Hours ticked by as Juliette’s heart raced and sweat ran down her back and arms while she listened to the sounds of metal scrapping against wet earth and rock, praying her crew was still okay and every one would be rescued in time. Click…click…click…the demi-goddess nervously fiddled with the switch on her mini flashlight squealing in surprise when it finally turned on.
Shining the light around her tiny cube, her eyes lit on several shiny particles sticking in the mud. Pulling the small trowel, pick and brush her adopted parents had given her when she graduated with the first of her four degrees during this lifetime, Juliette forgot about the crew working overhead and went about trying to unearth the new treasure she’d discovered.
Her natural curiosity and excitement over absolutely all things historical had led the demi-goddess to pursue an education and later a profession in either archaeology or history in all her lifetimes. She attributed it to her less than normal genealogy and lifespan. Juliette had never begrudged Hebe what she’d done for her. As a matter of fact, the demi-goddess appreciated the incredible first-hand experience she had of life throughout the ages. The only ill will she held all these years later was for her nasty, piece of work uncle. All the tragic deaths and painful rebirths complete with the memories of all the lives that had come before, was getting a bit hard to bare.
Making headway inch by excruciating inch, Juliette finally unearthed a solid bronze dagger with a five-inch blade. Holding the tip of the handle of her flashlight in her mouth, the demi-goddess used what small pieces of her tank top were the cleanest to remove as much of the mud and muck from her find. The longer she polished, the warmer the metal became. It began to vibrate and she heard a faint hum rising from the artifact. Holding the handle, she took the torch from her mouth, clicked off the beam and gasped at the light radiating from the blade.
Turning it first one way and then the other, she slowly recognized the pattern that wound around the once-polished handle. Right before her eyes, what she’d originally thought to be pictures or some type of hieroglyphics turned out to be ancient Grecian writing. Switching her flashlight back on, Juliette pulled the dagger even closer to her face
and read aloud, “To one who unlocks the melody of the blade goes the spoils of war and the heart of the king.”
Staring at the letters, looking a second and a third time, unsure what to make of what she saw, Juliette was just about to put an early call into her mother and pray dear old grandpa was nowhere within earshot but the words died on her lips as a feeling of unconditional love and support filled her entire being. Despite her situation, the demi-goddess smiled and without a second thought whispered, “I knew you’d come…”
Chapter Three
Lee had been at it for hours. Meditating, clearing his mind, following the little light like Cyn had told him to do. It was incredibly frustrating to be forty thousand miles in the air when Juliette was trapped, only the gods knew how far, underground. It might have been easier if this was the only time his mate had put her life in danger, but sadly it wasn’t...not by a long shot. Over the years he’d chased her from one corner of the world to the other and in at least half of those situations she’d done something completely mind-blowing and absolutely death-defying.
He thought about the time in the Amazon when he’d coerced Sal, the youngest King and the most willing to bend the rules, to come along. They had arrived just in time to see Juliette zip-lining from tree to tree through a dense part of the rain forest. The sight of his mate flying hundreds of feet in the air, over treacherous terrain and every poisonous creature imaginable, not to mention a large section of the Amazon River, had Lee’s heart skipping more than just a beat.
To say the keeper of his heart was fearless would be an understatement. From the moment of her birth Juliette had been different…special. Not just because she was his mate, not just because she meant more to him than even his own life… it ran deeper than that. There had been a feeling akin to déjà vu when he’d first touched her mind. Something so familiar he’d been forced to asked Viktor, the first of their kind, about it.
