Page 5 of Underworld

She rolls her eyes. “You revealed yourselves before I could agree or not.”

I grip her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. “So what is your answer, Princess?” She tries to look at the others, but I refuse to release her chin. “We are waiting, Princess.” She stares me down for what feels like forever before there is a slight tilt to her lips.

“I’ve always been yours.”

Glancing up, I find the guys smiling. I pull away and bow slightly to her before looking into her eyes and proclaiming, “Then long live the Queen."

Chapter Six

Jane

I stand there shocked and in awe when I notice that the other guys are also bowing their heads slightly. “The Queen?” I repeat. What the hell are these boys talking about? Jace straightens in front of me, a smile on his face. Is it Jace or Hades? Fuck, I need to ask them about the names.

He smirks as he says, “You are now the Queen of the Underworld, Darling.”

The way he says darling makes me want to shiver. I never really thought of my boys in a sexual way because, well, we were kids back then, but damn, the way he growls my name turns me on. Fuck! Get a hold of yourself, Jane! I mentally slap myself. You seriously just got your boys back, and now you're inserting them into a sexual fantasy! Focus on what’s important right now! I try to remember what he just said. Queen of the Underworld. The Underworld? Fuck, does he mean the entire empire they built? “I’m the Queen of the Underworld?” I ask in disbelief.

Jace laughs. He shrugs and says, “Well, you are the Persephone to my Hades. Seems only fitting.”

I arch a brow. “Persephone?” Howe steps up beside me, grinning.

“We all have code names and use them when working. No one knows our real names. Well, except for you. We only use our real names when we are at home. But we spend most of our time here at the cave,” Howe explains and shrugs.

“So I shouldn’t use your real names here or in public? Just when we are at your house?” I ask.

Howe nods. “It will be your house now too.”

I freeze at the thought. I’ll be living with them now? The idea doesn’t freak me out as much as I think it should. I’m more surprised at the thought of actually having a house to call home. But wait, they said they spend most of their time here. “But you said you spend most of your time here. Where do you sleep when you’re here?”

I feel a presence step up behind me and look over my shoulder to find Zane and Alec. Wait, should I still call them Thanatos and Charon in my head so I don’t accidentally say their real names out loud? Fuck, this is getting confusing! I massage my temples, trying to stave off the headache I feel coming on. “Actually, before you guys start answering questions, can we go somewhere safe where I can say your names? I’m too shocked to keep real names versus code names from popping out of my mouth.” The guys laugh, and Jace shrugs.

“Sure. I need to let the Hellhounds know who you are anyway, so they don’t think you’re a threat.” He turns, walking to the door I entered through. With a smile, Howe grabs my hand, threading his fingers through mine and guiding me to follow.

My brows furrow. “Hellhounds?”

Alec threads his fingers through my other hand and gives it a soft squeeze. “They’re our guards. Had to continue with the Underworld theme we have.”

I nod and glance behind me, wondering where Zane is. Finding him directly behind me has me jumping. I hear him snicker and growl at him, not seeing them scaring me funny at all. I silently follow behind Jace with the guys. It’s a few minutes before we enter another room. As we enter, I gasp. This time, Howe snickers beside me, and I elbow him. This room is every computer nerd's wet dream. It has to be the room Howe spends most of his time in. When we were younger, he was really into cybersecurity and hacking. There are monitors everywhere, and I can see every inch of the cave compound from here. I watch as Jace makes his way over to a high-tech walkie-talkie.

He brings the device to his mouth and says, “Attention, Hellhounds. This is Hades. We have a new member in the Underworld compound. Persephone has arrived. I expect the same protections to be given to her as you have given to us. I need Alpha and Beta to the security room to be briefed.” After he is done talking, there's a pause before two distinct people reply, “Affirmative,” over the comms. He nods and places the walkie-talkie back on what looks like a charger before leaning against the desk.

“How long do you think it will take them to get here?” Howe asks beside me. I quirk a brow in question, but they ignore it. That’s fine. I don’t know what the hell is going on anyways. I snort at the unintentional underworld pun.

Zane walks over to stand beside Jace and shrugs. “Shouldn’t take too long. They just did a perimeter check about five minutes ago.” Just as he finishes, two men walk through the door. They both look young, but the gasp that escapes my mouth isn’t due to that. No, it’s due to their fucking eyes!

I lift a finger, pointing at them. “What the fuck is wrong with their eyes?!” The guys beside me burst out laughing, and I look over to find Zane grinning as he tries not to laugh with the others. I turn to the two men who walk in smiling. “What?!” I screech. “It's a totally reasonable question! Their fucking eyes are glowing like a fucking cat’s!” The two men pull out what look to be matching pairs of glasses from their sleeve pockets and cover their creepy eyes.

Jace is still grinning as he comes up beside me. “First, Alpha, Beta, this is Persephone. Persephone, meet Alpha and Beta. Alpha is the one to your left with the A on his shoulder. He is the head of security and the boss of my Hellhounds. Beta is to your right with the B on his shoulder. He is second in charge. When Alpha isn’t here, Beta is in charge of everything.” He turns to his men. “I expect you to explain to the others what she looks like and who she is so there is no confusion.”

Both men nod. “Yes, Hades,” they say in unison.

Jace turns back to me and grins. “As for the eyes, Darling, they are high-tech contacts. They allow my men to see in the dark. It's why most of the hallways have low lighting. They also spend much of their time in the darker parts of the compound for security purposes. The glasses they now have on allow them to see even with all the bright lights in the room.” He shrugs. “Think of the contacts like night vision goggles. They allow my men to do their jobs without oversized equipment preventing them from proper movement in a life-or-death situation.”

“So, why were their eyes glowing when they came in?”

Howe bumps my side and answers, “It was the reflection of the contacts that created the glow. We also provide contacts that change color when they are outside in the sun. Their eyes will look almost black because of them. We try to ensure our people have the best technology on their side so that they can do their jobs properly.”

I nod, thinking about it. That makes sense. If the guards can see in the dark at night and in the light during the day, that would make it hard for enemies to sneak into this compound. I still think their eyes looked creepy, though. I’m sure they look weird during the day too. I go to clap my hands together, a nervous habit of mine when I feel awkward, but realize that I am still holding Alec’s and Howe’s hands. Well, now I feel even more uncomfortable. I groan, then ask, “Okay. Well, can we find somewhere to talk now that I feel thoroughly awkward?” The two guards bow and leave the room. The guys grin but don’t comment on my outburst as we make our way down the hallway and some stairs. We immediately turn down a hallway to our right and enter the first room on the right.

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