Page 101 of Hades

Behind him, Cassandra bickered with Daimon, and his white-haired son looked as if he was at the end of his tether as he argued with her, probably about her being part of the fight. His son was right about that. This battlefield was no place for a pregnant woman, even if she was a powerful witch.

And just when Hades thought he couldn’t be more surprised, two final males leaped through the gate as Cassandra set to work closing it with Cerberus’s help.

Zeus and Poseidon.

Hades stared at his brothers across the fray, unable to believe his eyes.

Zeus regally dipped his head, the twisted band of gold that encircled it catching the light and glinting across his forehead and through his wavy brown hair. His worn, tanned face cracked in a rare smile as his golden eyes met Hades’s gaze and then light sparked to life in his right hand, flashing over the gold plates of the armour he wore over his short white robes.

He held his hand up and a lightning bolt formed in his fist, and he launched it at the nearest daemon. It incinerated the female on contact.

Poseidon raised his arm, light glinting off the moulded muscles of his turquoise breastplate, and earned himself a glare from Esher as he held his golden trident aloft and gathered the water to himself instead, twisting it into five spears that shot outwards in all directions to impale several daemons. Hades’s blue-haired brother was unrepentant as he attacked again. When one of the spears missed its target, Esher swept his hand out and took control of it, guiding it with perfect aim into the back of a daemon. The two of them were swift to join forces, ravaging the battlefield together and causing huge plumes of steam to hiss into the air whenever the water they commanded struck the rivers of lava.

Persephone stopped before Hades, her emerald eyes bright with relief as she took him in from head to toe, and he grunted as she pulled him into her arms and squeezed him in a tight embrace that threatened to break his fractured ribs. She instantly pushed him back and set to work, placing her hands over his side and spreading warmth through him as she attempted to heal him.

“Save your strength, my love,” he murmured, not wanting her to expend her precious energy on him. She looked so tired. He feathered his fingers across her cheek and forehead, brushing rogue strands of her scarlet hair away from her face.

Keras growled and they both looked at him.

The reason for his outburst became clear as Enyo said, “You should not be here. You are not well, Nikos.”

Hades looked at the sons of Poseidon. Enyo was right. Nikos’s normally golden skin was paler than usual and his aquamarine eyes were dull with fatigue.

His younger brother Demetrius huffed beside him and folded his arms across his chest, over his turquoise and silver breastplate, his lavender gaze narrowing on Nikos and then Enyo. “You try stopping him from fighting. The moment he heard you were all in trouble, he just had to come running to the rescue.”

Demetrius sounded as impressed with his brother’s antics as Enyo looked. The weakness that ravaged Nikos didn’t stop Keras from baring fangs at him, or possessively placing his arm around Enyo’s waist to tug her against his crimson-edged black armour. Hades knew exactly why his son was feeling aggressive towards Nikos, and felt partly responsible for the fact Enyo had been engaged to the son of Poseidon. If Hades hadn’t sent Keras away, his son might have found the courage to act on his feelings sooner.

But the Moirai had foreseen the calamity Mnemosyne was trying to bring about and Hades had been forced to act to protect the Underworld.

“It was a long time ago,” Enyo said, a little defensively, “and it was not my idea in the first place.”

That had Keras’s near-black eyes shifting to drill into the god of war—her brother, Ares—where he fought beside Thanatos a short distance away, dealing with Harleena.

“Argue about it later,” Hades snapped and Enyo, Nikos and Keras all looked at their feet. He pulled his bident from the ground and pointed towards the enemy. “Go.”

The four of them moved off as one, heading for the daemons who were swarming around Cass, Daimon, Cerberus and Mr Milos as the gate beyond them closed. Calindria touched his arm again, her blue eyes seeking his, and when he nodded to let her know he would be all right, she ran to join Thanatos. Persephone stared at his arm and then at him, relief blossoming in her eyes. He was glad their daughter had overcome her fear of touching others too.

Thanatos looked as if he didn’t want the help as the god of war continued to interfere in his fight, coming dangerously close to cutting the male down with his long sword more than once as he attacked Harleena. The silver-haired demigoddess desperately threw any daemons she reached into his path as he stalked towards her, her eyes wild and face splattered with crimson streaks.

She pivoted and ran when she discovered she had moved out into the open, where there were only dead daemons. She sprinted hard, her legs and arms pumping, her fear palpable as she cast a panicked look over her shoulder at Thanatos as he kicked off, launching into the air.

Running wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

Thanatos was too fast as he beat his wings, rocketing towards her. She broke left, stumbling over one of the bodies, and tossed a glance at the sky. A shriek sounded. A Ker. Harleena was controlling one. The ghostly fiend dive-bombed Thanatos.

But it wasn’t quick enough to save its master.

Thanatos’s sword punched through Harleena’s chest as he landed behind her and he lifted her on a growl as she cried out, her skin paling as she fumbled for the blade.

The Ker shrieked again and grabbed her instead, ripping her from Thanatos’s sword and unleashing another keening cry as it tore into Harleena, spilling her blood and entrails across the black ground.

Thanatos glared at the creature, looking as if he might attack it for stealing his kill from him, and then his rigid shoulders relaxed and he looked over his shoulder at Calindria as she reached him. The corners of his lips twitched slightly, and he swooped her into his arms and kissed her quickly before setting her back on her feet and heading with her for the next group of enemies.

Hades gathered his strength and his shadows.

Preparing for one last fight.

He gripped Persephone’s hand and pulled her with him, heading for Cerberus. A flash of red caught his eye, laced with gold, and he growled and shifted direction, heading towards Mnemosyne instead.

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