Grace of Gods Boxset: Reincarnated Greek Gods YA/NA Series

by Kyleigh Castronaro

  “Yeah, but he was orchestrating most of everything that was happening. When the souls were released—this time around—he worked with Atlas to find the Titans. He leveraged his ability to persuade Atlas to work with him, by convincing him he was going to restore the Titans to their rightful power and he’d never have to bow to Zeus again. A millennium of servitude, I suppose, got to him. So Atlas helped him find all the Titans before we even came to Olympus. He gave us all missions before we even met any of you. To us humans, we didn’t really understand what we were being told, but the Titans inside of us understood the severity of what we needed to do. But Crius didn’t just want the Titans back in power. He wanted to be King of the Titans—a role he believed he was entitled to over his brother Cronos. It was only further cemented, when you killed Lincoln. To Crius, that was Cronos’ fault, he wasn’t strong enough to lead the strongest race in the pantheon. So he convinced himself that if he played along with Asher, he would be able to claim his throne once he was done doing the Demi-God’s bidding. But then, it became more than just ruling the other Titans. He wanted to rule the humans too, he wanted to prove to them—and maybe even himself—that the Titans were the rightful Gods that should be worshiped and loved. He wanted temples built in his honor, people throwing themselves at his feet. It wasn’t about power, it was about glory. He wanted the world to worship him, even the other Titans. But the more Asher saw him slipping away from the original plan—”

  “What is the original plan? You’re stalling.” I didn’t care about Soren or Crius, they were both dead and they didn’t matter anymore. Asher had to have a reason to kill Valentina, or at least give Soren the ability to kill her.

  “Asher’s plan was to infiltrate you, get you to trust and like him, while the Titans played the bad guy. But Crius lost control, he led us to do things that blew Asher’s cover. Like taking Valentina, that wasn’t a part of the plan. But Crius was starting to worry that once he had done everything that Asher asked him to, Asher would have no use for him anymore and would take his powers. It was Asher that taught us how to take powers from the others you see.”

  “How long was Asher on Olympus?”

  “From the beginning. I let him in on the first day I moved in. He lived in the shadows, watching us all, figuring out what your strengths and weaknesses were. No one noticed him, no one would. He made himself invisible to us. Only Atlas knew he was there, because Atlas had sheltered him in his office.”

  “But the plan, the full plan, what is Asher up to?”

  “He ran when I started hitting him with my lightning bolts, they were hurting him.”

  Soren nodded solemnly, “yes. He’s still not fully immortal and that’s his greatest weakness. He thought that if he took Valentina’s immortality from her, it might work, I suppose that’s why he ran.”

  “Because Valentina is also of the Zeus bloodline.”

  “Yes.”

  My stomach turned, she had been taken because of Zeus, and for no other reason than Asher wanted to try out a hunch.

  “He never intended for Earth to turn out like it has, that was… My doing.” Soren made a face, “the Titans resented the humans that Zeus created. They’re seen as lesser beings and yet our magic is intrinsically tied to their faith. Their power within their non-power.”

  “So?” Aidan’s tone was sharp.

  “Well, with the humans enslaved in the cities, and the monsters given free range, he’s going to use them. He knows you’re hiding down here and he’s coming with them. Minotaurs, Centaurs, other creatures that believe they have been wronged by the Gods and want to see their justice done. He’s going to use them to kill you and then, because you can’t really die in the Underworld, he’s going to take your immortality.” Soren looked up at Aidan with a grim expression.

  “You can’t die in the Underworld?” Savannah repeated.

  I shook my head, “no, it’s a realm of death, not life. You being here right now means you’re essentially dead, but you’re not, because I’m allowing you to be here. If you were to be fatally wounded here, your soul would be trapped in your body but your body would be dead. So you’re dead, but you’re not really dead.”

  “That’s complicated.”

  “That’s death,” I said with a soft murmur, looking over at Valentina. I needed to kill Asher. Soren might’ve been the one to kill her, but she would’ve survived if not for Asher’s hunger for immortality.

  “So, we need to kill Asher before he kills us, and we need to fix Earth before he kills off humanity and there’s no faith left for us all to survive.” Aidan ran his hand over his head before he shook it at the idea of everything we had to do with our waning timeline.

  “We have a lot of work to do,” Savannah said softly, turning to look up at Aidan.

  “And no time to do it,” I said, turning away from them to look down at Valentina. I reached out and took her crumbling hand in my own, running my thumb gently over it. How could I try and help the others save everyone else, when I couldn’t even save her? How was I supposed to go on without her?

  My knees gave out from under me and I sank to them, still holding her hand in mine, as I pressed my forehead to my hands. I didn’t have any more tears to cry, but I sat like that, eyes squeezed shut like I needed to hold back the floodgates.

  Time was running out, Asher could be on his way here right now and we were all sitting here, ill-equipped and waiting for him. If he came, could I even try and trap him as we’d originally planned to do to the Titans.

  No, I didn’t want to trap him. I wanted him to die.

  Epilogue

  I conjured wheels under her coffin, picturing it lighter than the gold and stone of my original conjuring. Everyone stepped up and set their hand on the hallowed stone holding her inside. Together, we brought more and more flowers until she was covered in them from head to toe.

  Hermes used his magic to place an image over the reality and lying there, as if she were no more than asleep, Valentina was in pristine condition. As beautiful as she’d looked to me that morning when we got out of bed together.

  We wheeled her carriage through the throne room and out to the River Styx. I banished the souls that teemed in the water, crying for reprieve and silence fell over our group. No one had anything else to say as we stood there at the water’s edge, listening to the sound of the waves crash on the shore. My stomach was in knots as I reached out and touched her face one more time. I didn’t want to let her go, I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t spend the rest of eternity with an emptiness inside and out.

  But this is what it meant to be the bringer of death. I was cursed, and I had touched Valentina with that curse from the very first time I put my hands on her. I am misery. I am pain. I am unhappiness. I am he who has been, and has yet to be, forgotten. I am Death.

  My hands were shaking as I reached out and laid the two gold drachmas on her eyes. She would come back here, but her body wouldn’t be with her. This was the only way to ensure her soul made it safely to where it belonged.

  The others stepped back as I stepped into the water, the coldness soaking the edge of my chinos as I guided her vessel into the waters further and further. The river tugged at her, wanting to drag her away from me.

  I was never meant to be happy.

  I leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead one last time. I felt the ashes under the magic cling to my lips, but I didn’t pull away. This was the last time I would ever kiss her.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t better for you,” I whispered the words that gripped my heart. The water pulled harder and she slipped from my grip, my lips brushing the rest of her charred skin as it pulled out from under me. My eyes closed, unable to watch her being taken from me once more, and I straightened up.

  When I opened them finally, she was gone, swallowed by the waves and the tides. I didn’t want to move, the urge to dive in after her and follow her to wherever she was going next, was too strong. But then, I remembered what she’d said to me last night:
>
  The good things of death: Lovers, separated by fate, can finally be reunited. A mother who lost her child before what was rightfully seen as their time, can once more hold them against her chest and tell them how much they were loved. As mortals, we understand death as an ending; but here, in our realm, it is just a beginning. They enter through death into our hall, and there, we open a door to another world of immortality that no mortal believes they could’ve ever achieved. Within that immortality, they no longer suffer, but find delight in quantities, they would’ve never believed possible. Death is just another stage, there is nothing to be scared or hateful of.

  I took a deep breath and nodded my head, “I’ll see you soon, Valentina, my love.”

  The Story Continues Next with Aidan…

  All Hail the King

  Chapter 1

  "Everyone out!" Over the simmering fear and anxiety in the pit of my stomach, I managed to conjure enough authority to make everyone move. Except they didn't. The fear boiled into anger and I lost it, "OUT!" The rocky walls around me echoed my voice, adding an edge to it I hoped hadn't been there. Silence followed my command only broken when several chunks of the wall fell out, smashing on the ground and sliding along the floor like ice. People moved after that, for which I was grateful even if it didn't show.

  I waited to watch everyone scatter, Savannah still firmly at my side while Griffin hovered nearby uncertain of what he was supposed to do now. I felt mild pity for the guy, he didn't know what to do without Valentina and I could barely relate to that. As much as I loved Savannah, there were times I needed to be alone - and this was one of them.

  "You too, Savannah." My voice was firm, leaving no room for argument for which she was keen to do. She gave me that look, the one that said if I did what I was about to do it would be the couch for me tonight but I didn't care right now. Thankfully too, Zeus understood and fell into stride with my needs. "Woman, if you have half a mind right now, get the hell out of here before I do something I regret." I was going to pay for that one, I had no doubt but she did as she was told, stalking out of the room to sulk and break things most likely. I took a slow, deep breath through my nose as Griffin turned to walk out on me. He wasn't going anywhere, I needed him.

  "Not you." I stopped him with the point of a finger. For a moment Griffin found his usually lacking spine as he offered me a challenging look. If he was anything like my God's brother, he was surely thinking up elaborate punishment for my arrogance but I didn't give him the time. "I need you to conjure a session."

  "A what?" Immediately he was on the defensive, what was this guy's problem?

  "A session, a tribunal... Whatever it is Hades conducts when souls are brought here and their destination is unclear."

  "Why?"

  "Do it, for Gods' sakes!" When I shouted at him this time I wondered if he could see the exhaustion I felt. As much as I gave the illusion of enjoyment when it came to my position in the Pantheon, there were certain facets of being in charge I found in time exhausted me. The constant challenging of my position, for one, but also in general the need to lead. People always turned to look at me, they couldn't do things on their own. I had to ask them to do it. But when I did there were those, like Griffin, who questioned me.

  Griffin took his sweet-ass time making his way to his throne and taking a seat. Instantly, the room filled to the rafters with souls. They might've been ghosts but they appeared like real bodies to fill the room. I couldn't hear them, I didn't care if Griffin could, I walked through them blindly searching their faces for one. I prayed she wasn't here. I didn't want her to be, who would? But if Soren was in control of New York, I feared maybe she wouldn't have survived.

  Each face I passed looked as grim as the next. Mournful, soulless eyes met mine. Unnerving brushes with the dead sent shivers crawling up my spine and a knot forming tight in my belly. How did Griffin handle these things daily? Did he see them everywhere like that kid in the Sixth Sense? How was he not perpetually creeped out?

  I would never understand that guy.

  "Did you have a girlfriend in New York?"

  He split my attention and I missed a face as she turned away from me. I moved to follow her but she was already gone, bolstering my annoyance. "Shut up," I snapped. Honestly, of everything he knew about me, how did he not know I didn't do girlfriends? Not before Savannah, at least. I passed face after face, searching for her but in a room full of people she wasn't one of them. "This isn't enough. I need more." There was a pleading edge to my voice, I could only hope Griffin didn't hear it. He would most likely become a smug bastard over knowing he had something over me.

  "These won't clear out until they have been sorted, that's how it works." I turned to watch Griffin for a moment as he descended the throne. I thought for a moment the spirits would disappear but they seemed to flock to him. It reminded me of the Pope or some other holy figure who people fell before them crying and begging to be touched. The spirits flocked to Griffin, but instead of begging to be touched they forced themselves on him. I thought maybe they were going to drown him but he didn't seem to feel it. If they weren't killing him, I didn't care. I continued to sort through the faces looking for the one familiar one that was eluding me.

  But with each passing face I didn't recognize there was a growing hope inside of my chest. Maybe she wasn't here. If she wasn't in the Underworld she wasn't dead, that's how it worked, right? Gods, I didn't know.

  "Where is she?"

  "Who? If she's in the Underworld, I should be able to summon her here." I gave up searching the faces, turning to look at Griffin hopefully. If he could summon her here, we would know for sure if she was here.

  "My mother." My throat was tight as I spoke, something clenching tightly in my chest. I tried to sound confident, the last thing I wanted was Griffin thinking I was a scared little boy who needed his mommy. That wasn't the case. I wanted to know she was okay, she was safe. The last time I had seen her was over a month ago in Olympus time, who knows how long I had been gone for on Earth. I had made it my job from a young age to watch over her and I couldn't bear the idea I may have failed.

  "Alright. I can try. What's her name?" He moved back to his throne and sat, settling in as he looked around through the faces like he would know who she was right away.

  "Rose Cartwright." I moved closer to him, shouldering my way through the spirits still occupying the room.

  "Rose Cartwright, I summon you to the throne room." I made eye contact with him as he spoke, the room grew eerily quiet as the spirits around us retreated. I waited, holding my breath for something to happen but at the same time praying nothing did. The silence lingered for an encouraging amount of time and as I felt the hope blossoming inside of me, a knock resounded through the room. Its echo shook right through me, making my entire body tremble as my stomach knotted tightly in my stomach once more. Fear and anxiety pitted itself in me after leaving Olympus only doubled now as I spun around to face the door.

  Another set of knocks rapped against the wood as if to confirm there was someone there. I knew what this meant but it didn't change the sudden urge taking me across the room to the door. I pulled it open and there, standing in front of me, was my mother. She looked weaker than when I had left her, there was less light in her eyes and her lips were cracked and chapped. Her hair looked greyer than the last time I had seen her and there was no mistaking the frailness of her bones.

  "Mom." I wrapped my arms around her, they sunk through the cold misty flesh of her form and came back against myself. "Make her real," I turned to face Griffin, summoning another command.

  "I can't. She's..." It wasn't what I wanted to hear and yet for all my preparation I wasn't ready for it to hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt myself lose all my bravado and confidence as I turned back to her. I had failed her in life, the least I could do was assure her a good afterlife.

  "She's a good woman, send her to Elysium. Let her be happy there." I wanted nothing more than to hold her hand, to hug her and co
mfort her. I wanted to apologize for leaving her alone against my father, for not understanding the art of war and how to wage it to win. Fighting him had only made things worse for her I saw now. I wondered if he had tried at all to save her from this fate or if he had been seven inches deep in someone else.

  "Alright. Rose Cartwright, your sentence has been passed and you have been found to be a good and loving woman. May you spend your days happy in the Summerland." As she smiled her body filled out, a warmth glowing from her as the color returned to her cheeks and despite the sadness in her eyes, it reminded me of the woman from my childhood. She was beautiful, no matter how broken and sad he had made her, she had always been beautiful to me.

  "Aidan," she moved toward me, her warm hand touching my cheek. It felt real, I wanted it to be real. Maybe I was a scared little boy who needed his mommy. "You're alive." I hated myself, for a fraction of a second, as I felt her pain and worry over me. All that time she had wondered if I was alive or dead, instead I was living it up in the lap of luxury on Olympus busying myself in chasing tail... Just like my father.

  The thought had an icy effect, rushing down my spine and making me feel disgusted in my own skin. But she smiled at me and instantly I felt better. Like chicken noodle soup on an upset stomach. My Gods, I was a scared little boy. What was I doing? How was I supposed to lead a pantheon of Olympians against Titans who were not just out for our thrones but out for blood?

  Her fingers caressed my cheek and brought me back to reality. I looked at her basking in the loving look in her eye. She believed in me, even if I couldn't believe in myself. That alone should be enough.

  "I'm sorry, Mom. There was somewhere I had to be."

  "Your destiny." She smiled and nodded, something knowing in her eyes. Imagine if she had known all along what my fate would be. Had she raised me with the intention of having a King of the Gods for a son?