Page 21 of Summer's Seduction

Morpheus huffed a disbelieving laugh. “Hardly. You were headed in the wrong direction. The Darklands are northwest, not east.”

“I know that,” I gritted out. “Those of us without wings must be clever when traveling north.”

He quirked a brow as he glanced down. “And you think creeping through the wastelands of the gorgons to be acleveridea?”

So, that’s what awaited the mysterious lands beyond Elysium and across the river Styx. I shrugged, not wanting him to realize I had no idea about the gorgons, how to cross enchanted rivers, or what I’d been about to get myself into.

“How was I supposed to know Hades would let me search for my sister after keeping me locked in The Dark Palace forever on the pretense of safety.”

Morpheus’s shoulders tensed. It was only a moment of his arms around me tightening and his heartbeat skipping, but the way he fixed his eyes on the approaching horizon had the fine hairs on the back of my neck rising.

“It appears even Daddy Darkness realized he couldn’t stop you from going.” That cocky smirk was back in place, but it looked forced—too tight around the edges. “With Lady Persephone insisting we keep you safe despite your best efforts, it seems we’re fated to be spending a lot of time together.”

I narrowed my eyes, sensing a vast number of words left unsaid. “Has Hades finally accepted I’m not a threat, or is my punishment having you glued to my side?”

“I don’t think anyone’s foolish enough to underestimate you, little monster.”

Morpheus spoke with the same arrogant tone he used when he decided to be particularly annoying, although I was beginning to think it was a ploy to mask his true intentions.

My power of persuasion was far easier to wield when I knew the person. Small details about their life, mannerisms, and personalities helped strengthen my magic. Getting a sense of people had become routine. So, when my instincts were pricking, I listened to them. And right now, they were telling me I’d missed something.

For all his efforts in explaining his motives behind the bite, in the flashes of shame and pity beneath Morpheus’s words of supplication, he was still the son of Hypnos.

Tilting my head, I peered up, ignoring the icy bite of the wind and the lavender hue of the sky behind him, and focused on his expression. “Shouldn’t Hades be preparing for war?”

“He is.”

“I thought it was too dangerous to travel when Hypnos was free,” I countered, recalling Persephone’s earlier words. “Hecate was?—“

“Hecate discovered nothing about where my father is,” Morpheus cut in, letting some of the pretenses of the clueless prince persona slip. “And now Hades and Persephone, the two beings who had the best chance of stopping this before it got out of hand, are forced to enter a war with their hands tied behind their backs. Make no mistake, Zeus would gladly watch his brother fall.”

My stomach twisted at Morpheus’s harsh words. “But Hades would regenerate, right? Gods can’t die.”

“No, but they can be unmade for a time, their life threads frayed and tattered until they are woven once again.”

The first rays of light broke through the horizon at our backs, illuminating the valley below. Elysium was beautiful and composed of stretching fields large enough for a soul to get lost in. Other parts were filled with life. With love. Small homes were clustered around pristine streams, lush gardens arising from the trees for those who wished to have them. When the sun was fully up, I had no doubt that families would wake with joy, celebrating their eternity together.

But how long would that last? If Hypnos continued to drive mortals mad, succeeded in destroying the Realm of The Living, and overthrew Hades, how much of this peace would be left?

“Do you know where he is?” I asked the words in a breath. I hadn’t anticipated the bite of Morpheus’s polished nails into my thigh and shoulder, but I should have. “If you care about this realm, about any of the infinite souls here, you’d stop your father.”

Morpheus’s great, leathery wings beat, thrusting down to raise us higher and send us faster as we banked slightly toward the right. We were still heading north, but not nearly to the degree I’d anticipated.

“Where are we going?” I asked, glancing down to find the end of Elysium slipping away. He didn’t answer, didn’t bother acknowledging I existed at all.

Despite my suspicions, I didn’t think Morpheus actively supported his murderous father. It was more that he had the ability to help and chose not to. For most things, I did the same. ‘Not my fucking problem’ was a motto I’d adopted long ago, and it was one that had kept me alive. When I forgot that, when I intervened or shielded others from things that hadn’t involved me, I always felt depleted and used.

But some things were worth sacrificing your soul for, weren’t they? Keeping Persephone as safe as possible, rescuing my sister—saving the realms—all things I would pay the cost for again.

“Hypnos’s seat of power is in The Slumber Kingdom, right?” I waited for an answer or nod, but Morpheus’s lips pressed thin. Biting my cheek, I weighed my next words, hating that I’d have to admit to needing his help. “My sister is somewhere in his territory—inyourterritory. I won’t delay finding her, but I have no idea where to start looking. If she was his prisoner, maybe finding him—the one who imprisoned her in the first place—is the best thing to do. Hades gets Hypnos’s location, I get my sister, and the realms are saved.”

He didn’t answer, but I could see his eyes swirling with calculations, evaluating my idea. After all, I’d rather not save Psyche only to deliver her to The Realm of the Living that had been plunged into madness, and The Underworld in the middle of a war.

After the silence had stretched, I realized that I’d get nothing more from him and eased back into his chest, letting the fatigue of the day catch up to me. Normally, my tainted blood allowed me to go a few days without sleep, but even with my advanced healing, I still felt drained. Closing my eyes, I rested my cheekagainst the soft black fabric covering his chest, knowing there was nothing more I could do.

Only when I was on the edge of consciousness when the land of dreams and reality blurred, did I hear Morpheus speak.

“Sleep, little monster. I won’t be able to protect you from what awaits, from the heartbreak and betrayal to come. But here, in this moment of in-between, I will keep you safe.”

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