by K. F. Breene
A breath rushed out of me and my whole body shook. My expression must’ve matched Kieran’s and Dylan’s wide-eyed stares. Even Bria seemed to have gone more rigid, as if in utter disbelief that we had been allowed to witness all of that. None of that seemed like it was for human ears.
“Well. That was annoying.” Hades dusted himself off like he’d just wrestled in the yard with his brothers. He turned back to me, his eyes sparkling with glee. “I’ve always hated rules. So. Let’s see how much I can meddle before Zeus sticks his big nose in again, shall we? You need training, and I am the only one who can do it. So that’s still on the list. And then there is this…”
He shoved his hand toward me, and a rush of power infused my every muscle. It pushed at my skin and sparkled through my muscle and bone. My heart leapt and I felt like laughing. Or like exploding my magic out in all directions.
Our chairs disappeared and I fell on my butt, not having expected it.
After I stood, the rest of the room roused.
“Listen to me,” he said to everyone, his voice filling all the available space, full of power and authority, nothing like how he’d been with his brothers. “You will squabble over Alexis Price no longer. From now on, with my power and my blessing, she is Demigod Alexis. Have a care with her—she does not like being bullied.”
He waved his hand over me, and something heavy touched down on my head. It felt like a crown.
For a great many reasons, I was too stunned to speak.
He looked into my eyes and grasped my upper arms. “I will supply you with gold and jewels and whatever you need to get started. You will truly be your own woman. Your little gremlin should be pleased. Maybe now she’ll accept a blood offering and get a little protection. She’s fun to watch—I’d hate for her to join my kingdom too early.” My heart glowed. “Your fortune will be up to you to maintain, however. You will be on your own after this.” He cocked his head. “With money, I mean. I’ll be hanging around. If you need help with money, ask your Demigod. People of Poseidon are very good with conserving money. But by the dark places of the world, buy a piece of property worthy of Hades, would you? It pains me to see you in that tiny hovel. Now, to honor the facet of your magic that you, and only you, have embraced…” He paused for a moment. “I have a gift for you.”
Jack was yanked across the room until he was standing beside us. Hades snapped, and what was once spirit became flesh and bone. His bronze skin was dull in the harsh light, not shimmering or translucent like it would be in the ultraviolet light of the Line. Real skin, existing in the world of the living. He lifted his hands, eyes wide with awe, and wiggled his fingers.
My breath caught in my throat and my eyes teared up.
“I’d ask if this was a dream, but…I don’t have those anymore,” Jack said. “I don’t sleep.” He looked around the room. “But seriously, is this really happening?”
Donovan stepped forward, disbelief and longing written across his face. The rest of the guys exclaimed their shock, and Bria’s face lit up.
“What’s happening?” Jack asked. “What’s happening?”
“It’s beyond rare for a spirit who’s been released from a blood oath to stick around to help his Demigod,” Hades said. “You had nothing tying you to this world but your love and your loyalty. I’ve felt your struggles, and I’ve seen your sacrifice. You earned your place in this world. Welcome back. I trust this time your mistress won’t allow someone to take over your body with their spirit.”
I made sure to hide my shock and confusion. Apparently I could give my people some sort of spirit protection. That would’ve been nice to know before Jack had been possessed…
“Alexis, I give you leave to…well, leave,” Hades said, his hand still on my arm, the crown still on my head. “You have no more dealings at the summit this year. Demigod Kieran, Demigod Alexis, you have shown your true characters, and those characters are shining examples of what Demigods should aspire to rather than all this petty infighting and one-upmanship. Go home and plan that wedding. Don’t invite me—unless a certain Necromancer plans to get drunk and let down her guard. In which case, definitely invite me. Oh, and Zander—where’s Zander?”
“Here, my lord.” Zander stepped forward with a pale face. He bowed so low that I wondered how he didn’t fall over.
“Zeus types are so obnoxious with the bowing,” Hades muttered. “I’m sure you realize that Dylan will be staying where he is, and that Zeus himself will take it as a personal insult if you continue to dabble in his business?”
“Of course, my lord, yes. I’d come to that conclusion, yes.” Zander bowed again.
Hades slid his hand across my back, pulling me in for a sideways hug. Before he left, he leaned in and said, “You never tried to control me, not once. You never stepped over the boundaries I’d set, even when I knew you wanted more training. You’re a helluva woman, Alexis Price, and I will personally make sure your mother is invited into my kingdom’s elite. You, however, have been given immortality. I hope you will stay topside and change this ridiculous Demigod culture, one century at a time. If you offer your blood magic to your Demigod, he will also be blessed with immorality. See what I did? I one-upped Poseidon, that cheap bastard. He’ll give an inch, but he won’t give a pound, or whatever that saying is.” Damion flew to his side like a rag doll. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll take him down with me. Maybe he can have a better life as a spirit than he had as a man.”
He summoned the Line, and it became clear to me that he was the one who’d given it a life of its own earlier, and probably also in Lydia’s mansion.
“Wait,” I said before he stepped into it. He turned back with raised eyebrows. “Why did you set Thane off? Was it so he could help if I needed it?”
He laughed, holding his belly. “You should ask Lydia about what set Thane off.” He covered his mouth for a moment. “Oops. You can’t. She’s dead.” He laughed again. “There are certain magical creatures with flair, I’ll say that. Be thankful for them; they helped you in the end. This worked out exactly as it should have. She was of my line, but she strayed a bit too far. I’ll need a little heart-to-heart with that one.”
With that, he and Damion were gone.
I let the breath gush out of me, deflated, exhausted, confused. Red’s body lay at my feet, her soul in the hands of Hades now. I knew he’d treat her well. Jack was at my side, and the Six would be reunited again. I couldn’t ask for more than that.
“Alexis—”
It was my father who’d spoken, but Kieran strode toward me, his eyes on fire as he held his hand out to cut off Magnus. “Demigod Alexis, you mean, Demigod Magnus. Hades himself has boosted her magic to Demigod status. She is one of us now.” He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “My heavens, did that all really just happen?” he murmured.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, sir.” Jack clapped his hands, not worried about his lack of clothing. “I’m standing here, in my own flesh, back from the dead. Yeah, that just fucking happened.”
25
Kieran
Kieran walked through the gardens with Alexis’s hand in his and all of his people at his back. He hadn’t wanted to take the golf carts directly back to the lodge. He needed time to process the revelations of the day. They all needed it.
He hadn’t been born a Demigod?
He hadn’t been born a Demigod?
He might need a few months to process that, actually. A walk through the garden wasn’t going to do it.
He’d thought one thing all his life, only to find out…he was god-touched. His mother had been a favorite, and her people had loved her so much that their righteous indignation on her behalf had drawn the attention of a god.
Kieran was god-touched.
On second thought, maybe it would take longer than a few months for him to accept the truth. All he knew was that his gifts felt more special to him now. They felt precious.
He wandered along the path, ignoring everyone he saw.
He didn’t care about status right now. He didn’t care about politics. He cared only about the woman sharing this lovely walk with him, and the misfit family behind them.
Alexis had been silent since they’d left the destroyed meeting hall. She’d allowed him to lead her down the hallway, past the flocks of staring people, and out the closest door into the sunshine. All of their people had followed at a respectful distance, stunned out of their fucking minds.
Hades had given Alexis Demigod magic and therefore Demigod status.
Hades had been training her!
Hades!
After Hades left, Magnus had fallen all over himself reminding Kieran that he was the one who’d guided Kieran through feeding Lexi energy via the soul link. The power boost had allowed Alexis to handle the Soul Stealer situation on her own.
But wow, to see a guy like Magnus yapping at Kieran’s heels…that was surreal. All of this was surreal.
Souls lingered in the trees. Kieran could feel them now. Alexis’s magical boost had bled through the soul link, giving him more of her magic. Which likely meant she’d be able to access more of his abilities, too.
She waved her hand and her magic rolled through the trees. People groaned and someone screamed.
“Crap,” she whispered, curling her fingers. “I need to get used to the heightened power.”
She stopped dead, staring at nothing for a moment.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Kieran…am I a Demigod?” She paused for a moment. “Was that really Hades? It wasn’t Harding, I know that now, but…was it… It couldn’t have been…”
She continued to stare at nothing, and he couldn’t help chuckling. None of their team said one peep, not even Daisy. He took a deep breath and pulled her into his arms.
“It was really Hades, yes. And yes, love, you’re now a Demigod. I can’t imagine there is a story like this in all of the history books—a woman born to nothing, discovered on the streets in a forgotten place, and then crowned by Hades himself as the best Demigod the world had ever known.”
She pushed away from him and delicately touched the golden crown sitting atop her head before she started walking again. “The biggest clusterfuck Demigod the world has ever known, you mean.”
“Yes. That’s probably better.” He laughed, feeling so light, like a huge weight and been lifted. They wouldn’t need to be so vigilant about her protection now. If anyone did attack her, she would be equipped to handle it by herself.
She would need some help with money matters, though, and political maneuvering, and all the things he’d been learning since he was a boy. But they had time for that. Being god-touched would grant her at least a few decades of high status. The vultures would forgive her almost anything in those first years. It would give her time to prepare, and Kieran had every confidence that he was right. She would be the best Demigod the world had ever known.
He glanced back, finding Jack in the middle of the pack, his face turned up, his eyes closed, and a serene smile on his face. Daisy walked next to him, her arm looped within his, and Mordecai had taken the other side, contentment plain in his movements.
“Is this real life?” Lexi said softly, and she must’ve plucked those words right out of Kieran’s head.
“That’s my line,” Dylan said, directly behind them. “I just saw the almighty Zeus, lord of the gods. He said I was a better subject than the Demigod I was sworn to. He chose to save me and not her.”
His voice held all kinds of awe, like a boy who’d shaken hands with his hero.
Kieran shook his head, looking over the clearing at the wide-open ocean. Poseidon resided in there, somewhere.
His chest constricted with emotion.
How many guys could say their mother was a favorite of the gods?
He looked at beautiful Lexi.
If they had a son, there would be one more.
“Give us a minute,” Kieran said over his shoulder. “Actually, head to the lodge. We’ll meet you there.”
Kieran pulled Lexi into the trees and then beyond them to an empty bench hidden within a beautiful array of flowers. When he was sure the others had moved on and they were alone, he took her into his arms and kissed her.
“I need to teach you how to mark me,” he murmured against her lips. “To make it fair.”
He flitted his tongue into her mouth, and she yanked at his belt, her movements hurried and desperate.
“I can probably figure it out,” she said, panting, the air between their mouths heated. “You need to teach me the blood magic thing. I don’t want to live forever by myself.”
A swell of passion and emotion raged through him. He bunched her dress over her hips and ripped off her panties. She moaned as she pushed down his pants, allowing his hard length to spring free.
“Take me,” she begged, wrapping her arms around him.
He held her tightly against him and thrust, plunging into her. Her fevered lips were on his, their tongues swirling together.
She swung her hips into him. He clutched her tightly, plunging as deep as he could go.
“I love you,” he said, their bodies retreating and coming together in a delicious dance of lust and power. Their connection spiraled and blossomed, deep and solid. “Be mine for the rest of time. Together we’ll never go wrong.”
“Yes!” She swung and retreated, passion and love drenching their soul link. She groaned, and then fire sizzled across his skin in the most sensuous of ways. Her mark. “I’ll always say yes.”
He let go, reveling in the feel of her soft skin and the sharp bite of her magic. His magic seared across her as he soaked hers in, boosting the effectiveness and pushing them higher.
“Oh, Kieran,” she said, wild now, moving against him, he within her. “Yes, Kieran!”
Their combined power joined and then sizzled, the marks becoming one and encompassing them both, binding them together. Skin and soul, internally and externally, they merged as only two Demigods could. As only two equals could.
He soaked into the sensation, frenzied and wild, so damn in love. He buried himself in her one last time and called her name, exalting in his release. She shuddered against him, groaning in pleasure.
Breathing hard but not ready to be separated, he let her push off his jacket and throw it down on the bench. He sat with her on his lap, still within her, needing a quick reprieve and then fully intending to go for round two. With their combined magic, he had no fear of their safety. No one would sneak up on them. No one would get close.
“I might like a garden like this,” she murmured, her lips still close to his. “It’s a pretty spot to make love in.”
“You should buy a place out in the country.”
“It’ll have to be enormous or Harding will just make fun of me.”
“Harding?”
She shrugged and leaned closer, trailing the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip. He was already stirring within her. “It is too crazy to say the other name. I figure…I was introduced to him as Harding. Might as well stick with that. It’s a reminder of what the last guy could’ve been if he’d been in charge of his own destiny.”
He curled his hands around the swell of her hips and lifted before pulling her back down, the slick slide revving him up again. “Hmm” was all he could manage.
“A place in the country sounds nice, with huge gardens. We could go there to get away.”
“I’m in.” He kissed her slowly, sensually, moving within her again. “If it’s anything like today, it’ll be a crazy eternity.”
Warmth and love bled through the soul link. “Yes, it will, and we’ll spend it together.”
Epilogue - Daisy
“You ready?” Mordecai asked Daisy the next day as she entered the kitchen of the lodge. Most of the Six crowded the space, with Jerry and Dylan lingering on the outskirts.
“Nearly. Where’s Zorn?” She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before peering around Jack to see what he was cooking at the
stove.
His big arm flared out, pushing her away. “It’s a surprise. Go away.”
“Is that any way to talk to the favorite gremlin of the almighty god Hades?” Donovan asked, standing beside Jack, working a different pan.
“The almighty is Zeus, Dylan says so,” Boman said, leaning against the sink.
Jack turned from the stove, spatula in hand. “Well, Hades brought me back, so he gets my vote.”
“Yes, and Zeus would’ve left you dead, so he gets my vote,” Donovan said.
Thane stroked his beard. “The way I see it, Zeus brought Dylan back, and Hades brought Jack back—Poseidon is the turd in that threesome.”
“But Poseidon turned our fearless Demigod into a fearless Demigod. Without him, there would be no us.” Boman shrugged. “Tie.”
“Yeah, like you guys wouldn’t piss yourselves if they all appeared again.” Daisy drained half of the water.
“We weren’t the only ones starstruck,” Jerry told Daisy. “We may have been frozen in place, but I saw your expression. I’ve never seen you so befuddled.”
“Don’t pick on the cherished gremlin, Jerry,” Donovan said.
“Yeah, Jerry, or the gremlin might kill you in your sleep,” Thane added.
“I cannot believe you kept that secret, though,” Boman said to Bria as she mixed a drink. “How in the… What in the…”
Bria shrugged. “My girl needed training. Besides, who would have believed me?”
The guys nodded. It was probably true.
Zorn stepped into the room and jerked his head at Daisy. “Let’s go.”
A flurry of butterflies took flight in her stomach. Before she could put her water down, though, Henry stepped in behind Zorn, his folded-up laptop in hand. “I’ve got news.”
Kieran entered the kitchen, followed by Lexi. Both of them practically glowed—the aura from their Demigod marks was like a radiant light, making them both even easier on the eyes. It would take some getting used to.
