“I’ll heal,” she said, parroting him as she threw herself into his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”
He grunted, even as he kissed the top of her head. “I love you. There’s nothing to forgive, darling.”
“I wimped out. I let your greatest enemy go. I—”
“No, no, no. I’m not letting you blame yourself for this. I let him go.” He cupped her jaw. “Now tell me what I want to hear. What I need to hear.”
“I love you, too.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, his relief palpable. “We’re staying together.”
“Yes. If you’ll have me.”
“What do you mean, if I’ll have you? I told you, you’re first in my life.”
“I know.” Slowly her lashes lifted and then she was peering up at him, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. “You gave up a victory for me. I can’t believe you did that.”
“I would give up anything, everything for you.”
“You really do love me. You mean it. Won’t grow to hate me, won’t let war come between us.”
“Is that what’s been worrying you?” He snorted. “Darling, I could have told you those things.”
“But I wouldn’t have believed you. I thought winning was the most important thing in your life.”
“No. That’s you.”
She smiled radiantly up at him. But that smile faded as the murmurs of the other Lords filled her ears, reminding her of what she’d done. Or hadn’t done. “I should have told you to lock him away forever. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He needs to be stopped, I know that, but there at the end, I just couldn’t bring myself…couldn’t let you…I’m so sorry. Now he’s going to cause even more trouble.”
“It’s all right. It’s all right. We’ll deal with it. We’ve severely handicapped their army.”
“Not sure how much good that will do us. Galen found Distrust,” Anya said. “He’s trying to place the demon inside someone else’s body, hoping to create an immortal soldier he can control. He was pretty confident about his success.”
Distrust, once Sabin’s best friend, Gwen remembered. If Distrust were on her father’s side, would Sabin be able to hurt whichever body it resided in? No matter what kind of destruction that person inflicted. She didn’t want her man faced with the same type of decision she’d just had to make.
Sabin smoothed a hand through her damp hair. “I don’t know what I’d do,” he said as if he’d read her thoughts. “But I do now understand how difficult your decision must have been. If you need that bastard free to make you happy, then free he’ll stay.”
“Hey,” several of the warriors muttered behind him.
“We get a say in that,” Reyes growled, rifling through the pockets of the fallen Hunters.
Gwen sighed. “I’ll come to terms with his capture, I know I will. Seeing him for the first time was just too shocking to process. Don’t worry, though. Next time I’ll do better.”
“Yeah, but worrying is what I do best.”
“Not anymore. Loving me is what you do best.”
“That’s the truth.”
“Let’s go home,” she said, squeezing him tight. “We’ve got some kids to soothe, artifacts to find, Hunters to kill and a box to destroy. After you love the breath out of me, of course.”
EPILOGUE
Once they were home, their injuries healed, they were able to make love like wild animals. Afterward, Gwen had too much energy to sleep. She popped up and started jumping on the bed, daring Sabin to do something about it. He propped himself against the headboard, watching her through bright, amused eyes.
She tsked under her tongue. “Look at you. Just sitting there, unable to keep up with a little girl who—ahhhhhh.”
He’d kicked her legs out from under her, sending her tumbling to her back. Grinning, he dove on top of her. “Who’s the tired one now, huh?”
She was laughing as she rolled him over, her hair falling around them like a curtain. “Not me, that’s for sure.”
“Let me see what I can do about that.”
And he did.
A long while later, she found herself snuggled back into his side, having trouble catching her breath. “So what’s next, hmm?” she asked, happier than she’d ever been. Who would have thought Gwendolyn the Timid would hook up with the fiercest Lord of the Underworld, throw herself into the midst of a war, and like it? Not her, that was for sure.
For the moment, though, things were calm. All the couples were safe, secure and reunited. The women (and Legion) were finding new homes for the children, both the ones Gwen had captured during their Budapest battle and the ones they’d rescued from Hunter High. Anya even had a favorite, the one she called “Ghost Boy,” and Gwen suspected the goddess would place him with a loving family here in Buda, where she could keep an eye on him.
Torin was searching for the people on Cronus’s list, and the other warriors were plotting ways to find Galen—and Distrust. Gideon was still healing; that would take a while. Legion disappeared periodically, and both Paris and Aeron were acting strangely.
“What’s next with us?” Sabin asked. “Well, after my heart starts beating again, I’m going to crawl my way down your body and—”
“No,” she said with a laugh, batting his hand away as he tickled her stomach. “With the Hunters.”
He sank deeper into the mattress, his arms tightening around her. “Danika thinks Galen is going to try and pair Distrust with the woman in the painting with him. If he succeeds, it’s gonna be a free-for-all when it comes time for the next battle. They won’t merely try to injure us, they’ll go for our heads. They’ll want our demons free so they can pair them with new hosts of their choosing.”
She’d suspected that, but still shuddered. “Brilliant of my…Galen, to place a piece of your beloved friend inside the body of your enemy.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have expected anything less from the man who fathered you. Your sisters wouldn’t happen to have come into their powers or whatever it is, would they? If so, maybe we can convince them to stay.” Sabin traced hearts along her spine. “I’ve heard that every Harpy develops some sort of ability after living a few centuries. An ability like time travel. It’d come in handy, that’s for sure.”
“Only Taliyah. She can shift into other forms, as her own father could.” Talking about her race was becoming easier. She wanted Sabin to know about her.
“Even better.” He sighed. “We’ve gotta find those artifacts before Galen does. If he hasn’t already found one. That snake-whip…the more I think of it, the more it reminds me of the creature that was guarding the Cage of Compulsion. The same kind of creature that supposedly guards each of the artifacts. As he’s the keeper of Hope, I don’t think he’d have any trouble convincing even a monster to help him.”
“If he has one, we’ll just steal it. I mean, you’ve got a Harpy and the goddess of Anarchy on your side. The odds are in your favor.”
He chuckled. “Maybe you and I can visit the Temple of the Unspoken Ones. Something there told us about Danika, the All-Seeing Eye. Maybe whoever—whatever—it was will help us find something else.”
Gwen traced her finger over his chest, loving the contrasting tones of their skin. “And if we find those people listed on the scrolls, we can convince them to help us. You don’t have to worry about Doubt causing trouble. He knows I’ll spank him.”
“That he does.” He kissed her temple. “But yes, I’ll do anything—within reason—to win this war, including convincing criminals I helped incarcerate to help me. And actually, that should be easy. After all, I convinced the fiercest Harpy of them all to give me her heart.”
“And would you do anything—within reason—to keep that Harpy happy?”
“Don’t you know it.”
“Do I?” She grinned up at him. “Prove it.”
“My pleasure.”
She was on her back in the next instant, giggling like a schoolgirl, her body and soul Sabin’s, just the
way she liked it.
LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD GLOSSARY OF CHARACTERS AND TERMS
Aeron—Keeper of Wrath
All-Seeing Eye—Godly artifact with the power to see into heaven and hell
Amun—Keeper of Secrets
Anya—(Minor) Goddess of Anarchy
Ashlyn Darrow—Human female with supernatural ability
Baden—Keeper of Distrust (deceased)
Bait—Human females, Hunters’ accomplices
Cage of Compulsion—Godly artifact with the power to enslave anyone trapped inside
Cameo—Keeper of Misery; Only female warrior
Cloak of Invisibility—Godly artifact with the power to shield its wearer from prying eyes
Cronus—King of the Titans
Danika Ford—Human female, target of the Titans
Darla Stefano—wife of Dean Stefano; Sabin’s lover (deceased)
Dean Stefano—Hunter; Right-hand man of Galen dimOuniak—Pandora’s box
Dr. Frederick McIntosh—Vice President of the World Institute of Parapsychology
Dysnomia—Greek, goddess of Lawlessness
Galen—Keeper of Hope
Gideon—Keeper of Lies
Gilly—Human female, friend of Danika
Ginger Ford—Sister of Danika
Greeks—Former rulers of Olympus, now imprisoned in Tartarus
Gwen Skyhawk—half-Harpy, half-angel
Hera—Queen of the Greeks
Hunters—Mortal enemies of the Lords of the Underworld
Hydra—Multiheaded serpent with poisonous fangs
Kane—Keeper of Disaster
Legion—Demon minion, friend of Aeron
Lords of the Underworld—Exiled warriors for the Greek gods who now house demons inside themselves
Lucien—Keeper of Death; Leader of the Budapest warriors
Maddox—Keeper of Violence
Mallory—Grandmother of Danika
Pandora—Immortal warrior, once guardian of dimOuniak (deceased)
Paring Rod—Godly artifact, power unknown
Paris—Keeper of Promiscuity
Reyes—Keeper of Pain
Sabin—Keeper of Doubt; Leader of the Greece warriors
Sienna Blackstone—Female Hunter
Strider—Keeper of Defeat
Tabitha Skyhawk—Harpy; mother of Gwen
Tartarus—Greek, god of Confinement; Also the immortal prison on Mount Olympus
Themis—Titan, goddess of Justice
Tinka Ford—Mother of Danika
Titans—Current rulers of Olympus
Torin—Keeper of Disease
Tyson—Human; ex-boyfriend of Gwen
William—Immortal, friend of Anya
Zeus—King of the Greeks
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The Darkest Whisper lotu-5 Page 35
