Page 86 of Hades

“Get a room,” Ares muttered at the same time as someone let out a disgusted groan.

“No amount of acid can scrub my eyeballs clean,” Valen grumbled.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Calindria said, warmth in her voice that became laced with a hint of pleasure as she let out a small gasp.

Persephone cracked her left eye open.

“Not you guys, too. Come on!” Valen made a retching sound as Thanatos pressed the sweetest of kisses to Calindria’s throat from behind.

“Stronzo,” Eva murmured, giving Valen a chastising look.

“Stronzo, eh?” He pivoted towards her, a wicked and mischievous smile curving his lips. “I’ll give you stronzo.”

He lunged for her. The black-and-blue haired assassin squeaked and dashed for the door, rushing around Daimon and Cassandra and using them as an obstacle to slow Valen down.

“Children,” Keras sighed.

The commanders gathered around the table didn’t know where to look.

Hades set Persephone back on her feet just as Valen finally caught Eva.

“Enough! We must focus,” he boomed, and Valen shot him a look, one that said he was one to talk. Hades slanted him a black look in return.

Persephone sighed as she leaned against his arm, savouring how normal this behaviour in her family was becoming. She enjoyed the fact their sons had come back from their time in the mortal world less afraid and less reverential towards their father.

It was fun.

Hades wore a look that said he didn’t feel that way, so she stroked his arm and kept an eye on his irises. They were blue again, something she was thankful for, but she wasn’t sure how long that would last, especially when she said what she needed to.

“I still want to see the others.” She laced confidence she wasn’t quite feeling into those words, mingling it with a dash of yearning, and hoped that Hades would hear it and know how important this was to her.

He huffed, reluctance mixed with resignation in his eyes as he glanced at her.

“I’ll go tell them you want to see them.” Valen swept Eva into his arms and as they disappeared, he husked, “Need a moment alone with you anyway.”

Ares pulled a face.

One that didn’t hide that Valen wasn’t the only one thinking about spending some time alone with his wife. The heated look Ares slipped to Megan revealed he was close to whisking her away too.

Persephone shivered at the thought of Hades doing that to her, teleporting her to their bedchamber so she could keep her promise and let him peel her leather armour off her. The glance Hades gave her this time was sheer agony, as if he knew the path of her thoughts and she was killing him.

She shut down her desire, focusing instead on what was important right now.

Ending this war.

As soon as it was done, she was whisking Hades away somewhere for a few days and she wouldn’t let him leave until this ache for him that had begun the moment she had found herself alone in that tower was satisfied.

Which might possibly mean an absence of a lunar month rather than a few days.

She wasn’t even sure that amount of time alone with Hades would be enough.

“My love,” he husked, pain echoing in his bass voice now, and she pushed aside her naughty thoughts and peered at the map, struggling to think of something constructive and useful to say to break the heavy silence as everyone stared at her.

“I’ll go see what’s taking him so long.” Daimon mussed his white hair, a troubled edge to his pale blue eyes. “I already told them you were back safe. I’ll tell them you want to see them. I figure Valen skipped that part and went straight to the… well… I can stay there and protect the gate while they come visit. Maybe we should stay there with the others?”

Cassandra stopped petting the feral-looking scarred ginger and white domestic cat that was tucked in her arms, much to the feline’s anger. Mr Milos stopped purring to glare up at her.

“Just an idea.” Daimon brushed his fingers down her bare arm. “Mnemosyne might target the gate in Tokyo and it would be good to have more than just Marek, Esher, Calistos and Marinda there. Figured you might want to be there with Mari too.”

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