by Meg Xuemei X
“No,” my mates answered in unison, and Héctor didn’t even bother to respond.
I almost rolled my eyes. Why would we reveal our trade secrets? We’d have to be careful of what we said, since I figured the prison had eyes and ears everywhere. But that didn’t stop me from craving a private moment with my father.
“May I have a moment alone with my father, Tartarus?” I asked nicely.
“Sure, Princess. The floor’s all yours,” Tartarus said and vanished in the air.
Yet I still got a pricking feeling between my shoulders blades. I knew he was somewhere watching us with keen interest.
Hyperion rose from the bench and positioned himself an inch from the bars. His long lavender hair flowed around his shoulders. So I got the hair color from him.
“May I?” he asked, his shaking hand poking out of the bars.
He wanted to touch me to make sure I was indeed in flesh, standing right in front of him. I swallowed and held back my tears as the thought of him being locked in this pit alone for eons turned my stomach.
My mates stepped forward in a silent warning, and Hyperion slanted them a curious glance.
“It’s okay,” I told my mates. “He’s my father. He won’t harm me.”
Hyperion smiled, his fingertips traced my cheek.
“You’re truly my daughter,” he said, savoring the moment. Then he withdrew his fingers. “You can’t linger in the realm if you don’t plan to stay, child. If you stay longer, the Void will make you its anchor.”
My parents hadn’t raised me since they couldn’t, yet they had my best interest in their hearts. They hadn’t tried to bind me to them, instead giving me what they thought was best—freedom. And for that, I was grateful.
I nodded. “Mom said the same thing.”
A longing deepened the shade of Hyperion’s green eyes at the mention of my mother, and a tremendous sadness swarmed over me. Being imprisoned for so long, Dad had lost his Titan spirit. He didn’t fight for what he wanted anymore. He just accepted his fate.
As if reading my thoughts, he said, “I won’t endanger your mother or you.”
“We’re okay,” I said.
“That’s all I want,” he said.
“But this is no way for you to live. I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”
“No, child. Don’t worry about me or your mother. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to raise you. I wasn’t able to protect you while you were out there. All I can do is not bring any attention to you. We were meant to hide you and let you have a normal life.”
“How could a hybrid of Titan and demon have a normal life?” I said. My cover had been blown when Axel had taken me to the Academy. But if it weren’t for him, someone else would have found me. If it were Ares or Lucifer who had gotten to me first, I wouldn’t have the life I had today. “That was wishful thinking, Dad. I’m okay and I’m here now with my four mates. They protect me.”
Hyperion scanned my mates again, who nodded at him politely in acknowledgment. It was never easy for all the pure alpha males to be together in the same space. Dad had been the true king of Titans. A tiger would always be a tiger, even caged or wounded.
“Descendants of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—my enemies,” Hyperion announced.
“Father, they don’t regard me as an enemy! Without them, I’d be trapped in Hell, suffering endless torture. They’re my true mates and protectors. They’ve proved themselves to be worthy of me over and over. Even Mom said so. And you didn’t raise me, so you have no say on whom I date and mate. Don’t judge my men!”
“My fierce daughter, just like your mother,” Hyperion said in approval, and there was such sorrow and love in his voice, too. “You’re very protective of your demigods. I wasn’t judging them, even though they’re half-bloods. I just want to make sure they know what they get and treasure you with their lives. And I also want to point it out that they should court and marry you before deflowering you.”
I ran a hand over my face. “Dad, this is a bit embarrassing. We don’t say deflower anymore. The world is a new place now.”
“We’ll marry my Lamb properly when we return to Earth,” Héctor said. “It’ll be the wedding of the century. You don’t need to worry about that, Hyperion. And we’ll even invite you to the wedding if you can break out of here. My Lamb deserves the best and more.”
“And we’ll pluck the stars for my Rosebud, no matter if she wants them or not,” Zak added.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Dad nodded in appreciation. “Make sure the wedding is awe-inspiring, as befits a child of the true Titan king.”
Dad had been locked up in the Eternal Prison for eons, yet when the opportunity called, his vanity trumped it all. The gods, the Titans, and the immortals just couldn’t help themselves. They were vain to the bones. My demigod mates functioned the same way.
“I’m not a completely useless father,” Dad said. “I’ve hoarded a hidden treasure, enough to buy an entire galaxy. That treasure will be my daughter’s dowry.”
The dome was suddenly deathly quiet. My mouth hung open, and my mates looked around.
“Come close, Celeste, my beloved child,” Dad said. “I’ll tell you where it is. It’ll be to your ears only.”
“I’m not poor anymore. I have enough to get by.” I fretted. “I don’t want your money, Dad. My mates are all loaded. They’ll share with me and we—”
“All we have is Cookie’s too,” Axel said. “That’s never a question. We’ll add her name to all of our properties, Mr. Hyperion.”
I shook my head at the absurdity of the situation. We were in a prison visiting my Dad, trapped in the Void with dangers all around us, yet Dad fixated on discussing my wedding and financial arrangements with my mates, as if those were the only things that mattered.
We hadn’t been together that long. None of us had even had a chance to go out on a date.
“Good call,” Dad said to my mates. “I can see that you’re all good kids.”
My mates shared a puzzled look. They might not be as ancient as my father, but they were a planet away from being kids, especially Zak and Héctor.
“Celeste,” Father called.
“Huh?” I blinked, losing my train of thought.
Hyperion lashed out his hand, striking my forehead. I yelped and staggered back. But when the burning sensation vanished, a map to an unknown galaxy imprinted in my memory bank. Dad had shown me the location of my dowry.
But I wouldn’t go. It would be too much work.
My mates dashed forward to stop my father, assuming he wanted to hurt me, but he’d withdrawn his hand since the imprint was done.
“It’s fine, guys,” I called. “I’m fine. And Dad, you don’t need to—”
“Which parents wouldn’t give their children the best?” Hyperion said with a smile.
I didn’t point out that many Titans had tried to eat their own children, and their children had retaliated and imprisoned their forebears. And look at all the bad parents around me—Ares wanted Axel dead so he could take me for himself; Poseidon abandoned Paxton like his son was trash; Zeus treated Zak like second class; and Lucifer whipped Loki in the dungeon.
My father trained his piercing stare on Héctor. “You’re Hades’s heir. Why are you a mortal?”
Dad hadn’t lost his touch. One look and he had known all of my mate’s origins. There was still hope for him to function outside the jail.
“Dad, that’s the biggest reason I came here,” I said. That might hurt his feelings, but I wanted to be honest and hoped he could deal with the truth. “It’s super important, and Mom said you’d know the answer. We need to restore Héctor’s immortality.”
“Héctor gave up his demigod power to save me,” Zak said. “Please save him if you can, King of Titans.”
“Lamb, I’m fine with what I am,” Héctor said.
I glared at him while tears filled my eyes. “I’m not,” I snapped hotly. “I want to be with all of you all the time, forever. None
of you will escape me.”
“My lamb with fangs,” Héctor sighed.
“You like my fangs,” I said.
“I do, and always will,” he said with a smile, his arm around my shoulder.
Dad gave my mates another full-measured look. “But the wedding—”
“Dad, this isn’t about the wedding,” I said and snapped my fingers, which echoed sharply in the vast dome. “Focus. We’ve moved to way more important subject matter. I must know how to reinstate my Héctor’s immortality. ”
“Four of them are better than three.” Dad nodded to himself. “One more powerful demigod to protect my daughter. And with the renewed death power in the death demigod…”
He switched to a language that sounded like gibberish.
“Father—” I reminded him impatiently.
And the coded words flowed into my mind like a stream of liquid light.
“Look who we got here.” A sinister, gloating voice crowed, breaking my connection with my father. I spun and so did my mates, their hands on their swords.
Ares materialized on the platform next to Tartarus. On his other side stood the three original gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.
They aimed their legendary weapons at us.
CHAPTER 13
“It’s whom instead of who, Father,” Axel said, narrowing his amber eyes at Ares in distaste. “And we’ve got or we have. Your grammar is as bad as your parenting.”
My father tensed behind the bar and let out a threatening growl. Yet trapped in the cell, he couldn’t do anything to protect his only daughter.
Both Mom and Tartarus had informed us that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades could be here anytime. But we hadn’t expected them to show up now. And Tartarus led them right to us.
At my furious glare, Tartarus spread his arms to play innocent.
Politics, he mouthed. Nothing I can do. Sorry, lass.
Evidently, he was the go-with-the-flow type, always ready to let others fall while he stood with the winning side.
I darted my gaze to the original gods, our immediate threat.
The God of Sky positioned himself in the center of his pals, a red cloak draped over his broad, armored shoulders. Power rolled off him in waves, his blue eyes that looked just like Zak’s flashing storm and lightning.
How did the original gods keep their powers while the Void stomped out my demigods’? Even Lucifer and Ares had been powerless in this realm.
As if hearing my thoughts, my father whispered in my ear in a hush and made sure only I heard him while the gods were distracted by the sons they hadn’t seen for ages. “They’re the founders of the Eternal Prison, so they can carry their powers in Tartarus and the edge of the Void where they open the portal. They don’t risk going anywhere else in the Void. Even so, this plane will drain their powers if they stay. Strike them when they become weak. Don’t trust anyone here other than your mates. And no matter what the gods offer, don’t take their deal.”
Héctor and Zak wheeled toward their parents and uttered at the same time.
“Hello, Father,” Héctor said to Hades, a frown between his long, dark brows.
“Father, I didn’t expect you.” Zak regarded Zeus with a neutral expression.
Paxton stared at Poseidon with barely contained hostility, and the God of Sea, who shared Paxton’s violet eyes, barely spared his son a glance.
Poseidon wore partial armor that exposed his bulky biceps and thighs. His long, blond hair was tied in a manbun at his nape. He held a silver trident, current twirling the tips. Could he conjure up the ocean to the Void?
What were the gods’ weaknesses?
I understood my demigod mates’ powers and had them inside me after I mated them. My mates’ powers originated from their godly parents. So, how much more potent were their fathers’ powers?
Dark magic surged toward me. Hades had made the first move.
The God of Death was all darkness and death, yet his power didn’t feel like Héctor’s. When Héctor touched me, life blossomed in me, though his touch was lethal to others.
Hades’s probe chilled me to the bones as I peeked into the depth of his essence—the collector of souls and ultimate Grim Reaper.
Instinctively, I shoved back Hades’s magic with a follow-up punch before it slammed into my shield, and a surprised look flickered in his eyes, darker than the blackest sea, meant to swallow all light.
A trace of greed and envy sank deep in him. The God of Death had tasted the iceberg of my power and grew an instant obsession.
Héctor glowered his warning and pulled me against his chest to shield me, but he no longer had wings.
“I see you’ve taken a mate, son,” Hades said, a lock of his wavy brown hair dropping to his pale chin. He wrinkled his nose. “And you share the same female with your cousins. Even more disappointing, you’ve became a mortal for her.”
“It’s an unlawful union,” Zeus chimed in with the sharp tone of finality.
Who wanted his opinion?
“I second my father’s ruling.” Ares lifted his golden spear. He stood a few paces behind the three gods as a second-generation god. “Zeus is the King of the Gods and the supreme Ruler of Sky, Lightning, Thunder, Law, Order, Justice, and many more!”
“And a tyrant,” I said under my breath.
As soon as the original gods showed up, I knew this wouldn’t end well. So I might as well be my mouthy self.
The gods regarded themselves as the ultimate law of the universe, above anyone and anything. They even treated their children as their properties, pawns, or weapons. Zeus had forced Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Love, to marry his ugly son Hephaestus. But if he thought he could dictate my mates’ and my life, he was seriously kidding himself.
I’d allow no one to take my mates away from me.
Once upon a time, I might have stayed quiet like a mouse, trying not to bring any attention to myself so no one would discover the hateful demon blood in me. But my origin was in the open now. And even if Ares hadn’t ratted me out to Zeus, the original gods would still sense my true nature.
I flashed the god king a wicked grin. “I’m a woman from an era of free dating and free marriage. We choose whom we want to be with, regardless of their gender, age, class, and origin. Maybe you should keep up with the modern world and upgrade your old system. I’ll be more than happy to mail you all the information and brochures if you’re inclined to leave an address.”
A shocked expression twisted the gods’ perfect faces. I bet no woman had talked to them that way. Too bad I am Marigold—badass number one.
Hyperion chuckled in pride and delight inside his dark cell. He hadn’t warned me not to piss off the original gods.
“You’re a child of the true Titan king, Celeste,” my father declared. “You’re no lesser than the Olympians, than any beings.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Hyperion,” Poseidon hissed. “We won the war and you lost. And this time, you committed an even worse crime by breeding an abomination.”
Zak and Paxton stepped forward to shield me. Axel and Héctor guarded my sides with my father’s cell at my back.
“You brats will go against your godly fathers for a demon spawn?” Hades puffed out an icy breath, shadows twirling under his shoes.
“We’ll defend our mate to our last breath against anyone and any force!” Zak declared, his righteous voice booming and echoing in the dome, rage beating like the storm in his every word.
“Well said, brother,” Héctor said, clasping Zak’s shoulder.
Paxton bared his teeth, and Axel snarled, a primal challenge to the gods.
My mates raised their weapons in front of their chests, and I eased out from its sheath the archangel sword gifted by Mom, sparks of fire dancing on the crimson runes etched on both sides of the blade.
Thunder rolled all around, striking the ceiling and the abyss.
“Leave my daughter alone!” Hyperion roared. “I warn you, Zeus!”
“Let
the trial begin!” Zeus announced in his thunderous voice. “All Titans must attend.”
The King of the Gods slammed his scepter into the platform. Lightning blasted from its spearhead and struck the walls all around. Blinding light illuminated the platform where we stood like it’d caught fucking fire.
The Titans stomped to the front of their cells and bellowed.
The burning light and lightning from Zeus’s scepter illuminated the cells against the walls on all twelve floors. There must be a hundred or so Titans contained in the dome.
“Titans,” Zeus roared. “Today I grant you the right to decide the fate of Hyperion’s daughter, born unlawfully.”
The majority of the Titans bawled their enthusiasm, and a dozen echoed my father’s boos.
How dumb were these Titans? The original gods locked them up infinitely, and they were now siding with the gods? This must be that Stockholm Syndrome shit, and even the once-powerful Titans weren’t immune.
“The judgment day has come.” A voice that sounded like a broken war horn drowned the cheers and boos. I traced the voice and spotted a giant Titan with a full beard and greasy hair in a cell a few floors below the platform. “I’m Cronus, the King of Titans, King of Time, and King of Cosmos. My firstborns—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—have come to enact justice on my behalf, because of the illegitimate and outrageous fornication between Hyperion and the demon queen, which produced an abomination that dares to breathe and stand obnoxiously in front of you—”
What kind of speech was that? Cronus must be really, really old.
“Shut up, Cronus, you fucking usurper!” Hyperion shouted. “You’re insanely jealous. Lilith, the Queen of Beauty and Light and All Goodness, chose me over you, no matter how you tried to seduce her. You have no fucking shame! And you have nothing to offer her!”
“How did the demon queen even get into the Eternal Prison in the first place?” Hades demanded, training his harsh stare on Tartarus.
“Great question, my Lord.” Tartarus bowed to the death god. “And that remains a mystery. During your absence, the former Queen of Hell, now Queen of the Ivory Tower, found a path into the Void after her quarrel with her former consort, Lucifer, the King of Hell.”
