Page 89 of Hades

A foul curse rolled off his tongue.

Persephone muttered one of her own, drawing his gaze to her. Her scarlet hair was twisted into a braid around her head and she still wore the supple leather armour he had given her, and in her hand was a sword. She had pressed the point into the black earth and was using it to steady herself as she glared in the direction of the gate, her green eyes fierce.

Beyond her, Calindria’s blue eyes scanned the plains and the soldiers that were gathered there, a calculating edge to her gaze as a light breeze toyed with her golden hair.

Hades had never imagined he would view his wife and only daughter as warriors, but they were. Both of them looked ready to throw themselves into battle, no trace of fear on their faces as they waited for him to give the command to attack.

Waited.

Something Hades had said they would do, but something he wasn’t sure he could do now that he had seen Cerberus and could hear the three-headed beast’s pained whines and fearful growls.

He willed Thanatos to hurry. The god of death had gone to gather his twin, Hypnos, and their mother, Nyx, and her men. They needed their strength if they were going to win this. The two legions Hades had brought with him weren’t enough, just as he had expected.

Part of him wished now that he had agreed to allow Esher, Calistos and Daimon to fight with them, but he silenced that quiet voice that whispered he needed their help. What he needed was for them to protect the gate in Tokyo should Mnemosyne attack that one too. Hades had given Esher strict instructions to guard it with his brothers, placing him in charge of that team.

The first order Esher had issued had been to Aiko.

He had sent his beloved to the pocket realm with Megan, Adora and Eva.

Calistos had wanted to fight with the main force—with his twin sister—but had muttered something about Marinda and Tokyo, and Cassandra. Marinda had insisted on staying in Tokyo with Cassandra, which meant Calistos would have to leave her unprotected if he fought in Hades’s team. A harried Daimon had returned upon receiving word about Cerberus and had relayed that Cassandra refused to go to the pocket realm with the other vulnerable females.

That hadn’t surprised Hades.

By now, Marek would be nearing Cape Matapan with one of Hades’s finest legions, and his hybrid female. Hades’s mood darkened at just the thought of Caterina, and he reined it in before Persephone noticed. His wife was right, and it wasn’t Caterina’s fault that she had been tainted with daemon blood.

It was Mnemosyne’s.

Cerberus loosed another terrified whine as the men hauled him closer to the gate, his fear shredding Hades’s soul.

He couldn’t stand by and let them hurt Cerberus, or open that gate.

One look into Persephone’s eyes was all it took for him to see that she was with him, even when she knew the odds weren’t in their favour. She nodded, silently letting him know she was ready. Calindria nodded too. Hades glanced over his shoulder at his two commanders, and Ares and Valen, all of whom wore black plate armour similar to his own, only theirs was edged with crimson and their claws were tipped with that colour too. Enyo stood out among them in her black and silver breastplate and slatted skirt and vambraces. All five of them dipped their heads.

Hades looked to his right, to Keras.

Crimson ringed his eldest son’s emerald eyes as he glared at the men hauling Cerberus towards the gate, that colour matching the edges of his own breastplate, gauntlets and boots.

From a distance, the two of them could probably be mistaken for each other, something which might work in their favour on the battlefield. Keras’s wild black hair matched his, and his plate armour was similar in design. Shadows writhed restlessly around Keras’s pointed boots too. The only striking difference was Keras wielded a sword while Hades wielded his bident.

Keras whispered, “It will not be easy, but when is it ever easy?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth, brother,” Ares murmured in response, warmth in his deep voice. “We doing this?”

“Hell yeah, we’re doing this,” Valen put in, sounding as if he was going to enjoy the fight.

Hades took in the number of warriors below him and the darkness purred in approval. He was going to enjoy this too.

He focused on Cerberus, gripped Persephone’s wrist and teleported.

And went nowhere.

“Witches,” Hades growled and glared at the black dirt. He pressed his hand to it and felt the power humming through it. It had to be a ward of some kind, and it probably wasn’t the only one. His shadows were still with him and he didn’t feel his powers had been shut down, not as they had been at the tower. Not that having his powers taken from him would have stopped him from saving Cerberus and stopping Mnemosyne. “Be on your guard.”

He flicked a look at Persephone.

“Stay close to me.”

She nodded.

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