But I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t swallow, and I could feel my lungs as they were compressed and crushed into oblivion. It was all I could concentrate on, as the desire to fight grew weaker and weaker.
My body jolted aggressively as I felt myself lose control and Hades resumed power. He reached out my hand with a strained effort, brushing my fingertips against the thickest part of the smoke. Like I was grabbing another edge to pull myself up over, I felt myself grab hold of the smoke and hold it in my palm, a suction drawing the magic back into my body.
The power, when it was expelled, felt cool and icy; but as it returned to me, it gushed in hot waves like lava, scalding my insides; leaving no inch untouched.
My knees shuddered as I fell to them, only one hand holding me up, as I crouched on the ground. My back arched painfully as a scream ripped itself from my lungs. It felt like the smoke was tearing me apart from the inside slowly. Horrible and unforgiving, chunks of my insides expelled themselves from my body as I screamed toward the ground.
My vision went white, blinding me, as my whole world became the pain. The magic filled me once more, replacing my blood with its presence. What, in truth, only took a few seconds, felt like an eternity when I finally felt the hold slacken and my body crumpled to the ground. I convulsed a few more times compulsively, before exhaustion bogged me down and I laid there in the fetal position waiting for the fire to burn out.
Hades let go of his hold at the same time, and I was left deserted. The worst part of it all, was the silence that followed. Every single noise that had once filled the air all at once disappeared; leaving me feeling deaf too. I forgot for a moment the purpose of this torture. I forgot I was immortal and no amount of pain would kill me. I felt like this was death and I was on the threshold of an eternity of darkness.
Then, I felt Valentina. There was a kind of warmth, much different to the last, engulfing me and replacing the ache that was always a part of me. I knew it was her because it gave me the same butterflies that she normally did. It made me feel whole, like I did when we were in the same room. She told me to stand, to be strong—for her.
With a deep breath, I pushed myself up to my feet, with an effort unlike any I’d ever known. Once there, I looked around and realized that the smoke was gone. Twisting around to look back toward London, I saw the smoke of fires in the distance but nothing else dangerous.
I’d done it. I’d managed to save everyone.
I was a hero. I was a good guy, a good God.
I didn’t know the extent of the damage Soren had managed to inflict on the world. I had no way of knowing how the rest of the world fared. I could only hope that the smoke had begun in one place and he intended for it to make its way around the world, consuming everything in its path. If that was the case, then maybe, just maybe, I had saved millions of people from death by suffocation.
I had to get back to the throne room where I’d be able to see the effect of Soren’s revenge. Turning back to the cavity leading into the Underworld I lowered myself once more into it, holding onto the ledge as my legs dangled through.
Taking a deep breath, I didn’t bother to count to three as I let myself drop. My back slide down the hole, vacuumed through the darkness as if sliding down a slide; and I landed on my feet at the bottom. I wouldn’t have known there was a rocky ledge if not for the fact I’d climbed it moments ago.
Brushing myself off, I made my way back into the darkness, feeling the life looming in the shadows that folded around me like a cloak while I passed. The more I used my magic and acquainted myself to the feeling of it, the more aware I found myself growing of the life that resided in this place of death.
Just as the walls shifted to my whims, the hallway, as I passed through it, gave way to a short cut, leading me directly into the throne room. I hoped Valentina had managed to herd everyone to the guest rooms with ease. Her presence hummed in the walls, our combined magic awakening the sleeping demons that dwelled in this realm, but it was our presence that contained them.
To me, this place felt closer to home than my own had ever felt. It belonged to me, the first thing in the world that truly did. Others might shy from accepting the realm of the dead as their own, but for me, I knew, this is where I belonged.
The hall shifted as I walked through it, contorting and dancing to my whim. At the end of the hallway, a new entrance opened and as I crossed through, it I looked onto the lake outside of the throne room. The bloody stalagmites pulsed and, this time, I could feel their life in my heart, beating in time. They seemed to quiver as I passed, as if acknowledging my title in this place. Where the stone floor broke off and turned to inky black water, I walked over it like it was an opal floor and nothing more.
Each footfall, created ripples that seemed to keep track of the beating I could feel; belonging not just to myself, but everything else in this place. There were things about it I might never understand, but I saw now that the Underworld didn’t just respond to me—it was me.
This was the place I had spent years being trapped in by the drugs that ate away at my mortal body; and now, it was a reality that I was to live within.
It was a place that used to frighten me and chase me in nightmares. Now, it only brought comfort. Here, was I understood and forgiven for my faults. Only in this place, was I accepted for what I was, a place where I could escape my demons. In this world, they had others to haunt, new places in which they could play.
I understood it better now; I’d mistaken this for a personal hell. I imagined it was a place that I had been cast into as punishment for a sin my God had once committed. But Zeus hadn’t created this world—Hades had. Just as Olympus was once molded by the imagination of the Sky God, so too, was the Underworld formed of the craftsmanship of its patron.
There was nothing hellish about this place; in truth, it could have been made to be a veritable Elysium for those who passed through its gates.
If not for the corrupt and sick mind of Hades and myself. We were the poison that had created this dark place; for within, we would find ourselves.
Chapter 15
The crossing over the water made my descent into the throne room quicker than before. As I walked in, the group that was huddled in the middle of the room broke apart and turned to look at me. Valentina moved away from them, unable to suppress the grin on her face as she came to me and threw her arms around my neck.
“You’re okay,” she breathed in relief, her lips hot against my neck. She clung to me like I had been gone for hours, when surely it felt like mere minutes.
“Hm.” Was the most intelligible thing I could muster as I hugged her back, my body growing hot with desire as we stood so close.
She must’ve felt it as she pulled back, a rosy blush painting her cheeks as she smiled in her reserved, shy manner before she took my hand and half-dragged me back to the group.
Why had she forgiven me so easily after I’d locked her in that apartment for so long? I hadn’t had the chance to ask her yet and it was a question still playing on my mind. From the first moment she’d seen me upon escaping, she’d just put everything past her and forgiven me without my having to beg for it. It proved to be another reminder of why Valentina was too good for me. I didn’t deserve her and given the look on Savannah’s face she was likely to agree.
“I suppose it worked then,” Aidan said, raising his eyebrows in question. I nodded my head.
“I’ve retrieved the smoke again,” I said, more to Valentina than the rest of the Gods. She smiled proudly at me, giving my hand a quick squeeze before looking back at her friends.
“Do you want to tell Griffin the plan or should I?”
“It’s your idea, you can tell him,” Savannah addressed Val, but seemed reluctant to even acknowledge my presence. I felt myself grow hotter with embarrassment, wishing, once more, to go back to that night in the club bathroom and stop Hades from losing control of his jealousy.
Something about Zeus pushed his buttons unlike anything else in th
e world. Not even Persephone could get under his skin the way his younger brother did. Perhaps the case was simple: he hated the fact that his little brother was the more powerful of the two. Perhaps, he envied Zeus, not only his status and his Queen, but also the reverence that came with, it while most mortals called him Satan or the devil, imagining him to be someone to be feared and not revered.
“Well, thanks to you,” Valentina spoke deliberately, trying to play it as thought I had purposefully hidden her away in the Underworld. She was attempting to win me points of favor with Savannah and Aidan, but I doubted it would help. “I have the ability to go back to Olympus, as do you and Aidan. We need to get up there and get the key back from Soren before launching into any kind of assault.”
I nodded my head, unable to hide the small frown that creased my forehead.
Valentina noticed but carried on anyway, “if we can get the key away from them, we could cast them out of Olympus like they did the Gods and bring the Olympians back. What is it?” She finally said, turning to look back up at me impatiently.
“It’s a good idea, in theory, but the trouble is that we have no idea what the key looks like… I—have no idea what the key looks like.” I felt foolish admitting it, I could almost hear the thoughts of the others. What point had my staying behind with the Titans served if I couldn’t even give them the information that they needed to get the upper hand in this battle.
“If Soren had the key it’s changed into something so subtle that none of us would actually suspect it’s an object of such power.”
“What do you mean by ‘if’?” Savannah finally spoke to me, our eyes meeting in a moment of awkwardness. At that moment, I knew she didn’t forgive me. But she had accepted that if any of this was going to work, if we were going to win, the two of us had to play along, otherwise mutiny within our own ranks might happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hated me forever, but she needed to trust me, if only to show Aidan that I was trustworthy.
“Well, Soren might be running the show and while the key is essential to ruling Olympus it’s not necessary for anything else. I suspect that Oliver might have it, as Soren’s second in command, because Soren wouldn’t need the key to rule over the others. He’s so charismatic, like any other dictator that they all follow him blindly and believe in his cause without question.”
“So, if Soren has the key, what do you think it would look like?”
“A lighter,” Valentina said, looking around the small group. “Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to the mortals. It’s his defining tale, the only one by which people know him. Oliver struck me as an arrogant kind of person, he would cling to whatever fame he felt he deserved, so, a lighter makes sense; or a pack of matches. But I imagine a very fancy lighter would be what he’d choose.”
“If it is Oliver with the key,” Aidan said doubtfully, rubbing his face with impatience.
“So we need another plan, we need to draw the key out of Olympus and maybe find a way to track it or find it.”
“Do you really think they’d be dumb enough to take it out of Olympus?” Savannah said with a slight air of annoyance.
“I think they’re arrogant enough to do it,” I said sharply, looking back at her, as if daring her to question me again. The silence that hung between us this time, was much more electric than the last.
“No.” Valentina finally said, breaking the tension. I looked down at her in surprise, “no, they won’t. Everything up until now, from the sounds of it, has been very calculated. If Soren did give the key to Oliver, it was because he trusted him not to do something stupid like having it on him or bringing it back to Earth. If Oliver has the key, it’s hidden somewhere in Olympus.”
She wasn’t looking at anyone as she talked through her train of thought, shifting from the idea to idea. Her brow furrowed together as she thought about her plan, considering her new options against the old ones.
“We still need to go to Olympus, it’s the only option. Even if they brought the key down to Earth, it doesn’t help us get back up there where the Olympians are the strongest. The battle must take place in one of two locations: there or here. It can’t be in the Mortal realm, there would be too many casualties for our side. If we get back up to Olympus for the fight, we would be stronger, but if we could get them to come down here, we could trap them.”
“In Tartarus,” Aidan said, an edge of excitement lacing his voice.
“Yes, but also because anyone who enters the Underworld cannot leave without Griffin’s permission. Or mine, I suppose.” She frowned, at odds still with her Goddess. “If that were to happen, we’d have to have the Gods out of here. Being trapped in the Underworld doesn’t mean they lose their power.”
“No, but I have ways of ensuring they couldn’t use their magic against anyone but themselves.”
“How is that?” Savannah asked, crossing her arms over herself almost in a hug.
“The Underworld is a part of me, I just find a piece of myself that I can trap them within. Create a new room that is for their prison and nothing more.”
“Okay, so the plan, then, is to get them down here and the Gods back on the mountain. Which brings us right back to where we were: we have to find the key.”
“Is there anyone else who wants to help us with this?” I asked, looking around the room as if other Gods might suddenly make themselves known. I expected a few more Olympians at least, who would be interested in fighting their way back to their rightful home.
“They’re coming, we wanted to have a pre-meeting. With the Head Council,” Valentina said with a slight grin.
“Head Council?”
“You know, King and Queen of the Heavens.” She pointed
to Aidan and Savannah, “Prince and Princess of the Underworld.” She pointed to us.
“Prince and Princess…” I repeated back slowly, making her grin more, “It’s fitting.” I finally admitted. I didn’t feel like a King, and she didn’t seem ready to be a Queen. Hades might not like playing second fiddle to his brother, but right now, I was more than content letting Aidan take full control of everything that was going on. I was getting way more credit already than I wanted or deserved. My shoulders had enough of a load to bear without having everyone taking my commands.
“My prince,” she swooned playfully, slipping her fingers into mine and squeezing my hand. I looked down at our entwined fingers before looking back up at her, self- consciously glancing at Aidan and Savannah. Savannah, though, I was sure wasn’t impressed with Valentina’s choice of Prince, did seem to appear pleased the eighteen-year-old was happy. My eyes caught Aidan’s and I could read in them, the idle threat that would become active should I hurt her in any way.
I smiled back at her as my eyes returned to her face, she was oblivious, as ever, to how her friends felt about our situation. A situation, I wasn’t entirely sure of because I still needed to sit down and figure out if this was all for show.
I worried that she was just trying to prove to the others she had come to terms with her Goddess. I worried that she didn’t feel anything for me but was just putting on a show to appear happy with the choice fate had made for her. Was she secretly reluctant to accept that we were fated to be mates because of who our souls belonged, or was she truly happy with me?
I couldn’t believe anyone would genuinely be pleased to find out I was their soulmate. I had nothing to offer a girl like Valentina, except misery, I was sure. Whatever my offerings were, it was inevitably up to Valentina to accept them, if she wanted them.
“Here they come.” Valentina broke through my thoughts and I looked up just as Royce led a group of Gods through the door from the bedrooms into the throne room. Behind him was Zane, Charlotte, Nicola, and some lesser Gods I didn’t know off hand. For the most part, any Olympian with a connection to war, fighting, or some other skill that would prove helpful to our plight, had come through for the meeting. They all gathered around in front of us, some of them eying me uncertainly.
> It was in my favor that Aidan and Savannah were at my side right now; at least it would look like they trusted me, which was all we needed.
“Thanks for coming,” Aidan began, addressing the group. “We’ve been discussing what the best course of action is. Of course, we would like to work together as a group to come up with a solution in which everyone may find their part.” I had to admit, I admired his ability to stand in front of a group and sound as convincing as he did. If I had tried to lead this discussion, I would’ve ended up looking awkward and distant, it wasn’t the kind of charisma that was necessary for a leader.
“We’ve decided that the first thing we need to do, is return to Olympus—” briefly the room broke out in discord as they expressed the obvious; no one could return to our immortal home. Aidan held up his hands to stop everyone in their speeches, “of course, there are only three of us at present who may return to Olympus: Me, Griffin, and Valentina.” All eyes in the room seemed to turn to me and an awkwardness took hold of the silence.
I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what they all were thinking about. They were, no doubt, questioning my fealty and whether my display in the Olympus throne room had been real or not. No one knew where I truly stood, and the longer the silence lingered on, the more aware I grew of the fact that everyone—even Aidan, Savannah, and Valentina— was waiting for me to say something to address these doubts.
“I, uh,” it was a timid start. I was certainly not at the level of audience enrapturing as Aidan was, “might’ve put on a convincing show on the night of the takeover. I led most of you to believe I was working with the Titans. I regret, deeply, my part in the loss of two of our own, but it was a necessary thing. They were trapped, soulless and lifeless, in their own bodies with no reprieve. I might’ve ’killed’ them, but what I was doing, was ending their suffering. Sometimes death is necessary; and in their case, what I did was merciful. I hope that you can all forgive me and understand I did what I had to do to lead the Titans to believe I wanted to work with them. Through that convincing act, I could gain their trust and help Valentina reach Aidan to free him and bring us all together. I am on your side, I always have been. First and foremost, I am an Olympian like you.”
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