Page 79 of Summer's Seduction

Their broken bodies had piled high along the cliffside, forming a bloody extension of the ledge beneath the portal. It was clear they were spelled. Only madness could cause humans to dive into The Underworld and splatter their bodies against the rocky shards again and again until enough survived to turn their attention toward the fighting. They moved like a deranged swarm, running and tumbling down the last of the slope and racing right for us.

“Morpheus, Dark Prince to The Slumber and Nightmare Kingdom,” Lucius called, stepping forward from the other with a hard solemnity to his features I’d rarely seen. “We were once like brothers, sharing the same dream of uniting The North and ushering in a new era of peace.”

My jaw ticked as his eyes darted from me to Psyche, to the failing line held by my little monster.

“And yet, here we are,” I said, drawing his attention back. He may have tried to spare Larkspur in Lycia, but it meant nothing if we were going to die in what remained of her broken kingdom.

Lucius’s lips twitched as he twirled his sword. I tensed as he stepped forward, preparing to meet his blows with my own… only for him to kneel.

“I pledge my loyalty to you, Morpheus of The North.”

I blinked, watching in stunned disbelief as the rest of the army followed his lead.

“To be your blade in battle, your confidant in the palace, and your friend in life.”

I blinked, stunned at the turn of events. Just moments prior, I’d been ready to duel to the death, to cut down the last semblance of family I had. I was ready for blood, for loss, but loyalty?

There was a lot of shit Lucius and I would need to work through before trust could be established, but this was a great fucking way to start. Swallowing, I stepped forward, placing my hand on his shoulder. “I accept your vow.”

A cry rose from the army, swords clattering against their shields as Lucius stood. That cocky smirk of his was firmly in place as he shouted commands. They broke off in groups, split between the three points of attack.

“I know we have much to discuss,” Lucius said as we surged forward, bolstering the division heading toward the manic humans. The sheer volume of the horde was by far our greatest threat.

“Much,” I echoed, lifting my blade as the first human reached me. Dark rings circled his wide eyes, his cheekbones protruding, and his skin pulled taut over his skull. His hair had fallen out in places, his body thin as if he'd been starved for weeks, and there were stains of red across his worn clothes. Somehow, he managed to lift his blade, murmuring intelligible words as he threw himself at me.

I ducked, ending his life with a quick flick of my wrist. “Was this Hypnos?”

“In part,” Lucius grunted, slicing through three of them as his blade whirled. I paired the next wave, the two of us moving wings-to-wings as bodies piled up around us. “They were already mad from lack of sleep, but Aphrodite is the one you need to look out for.”

“Aphrodite?” I asked, using my foot brace against the chest cavity of a body as I slid my sword free.

“Why do you think Egerius betrayed us?” Lucius swiped with his sword as he spun, the taloned tips of his wings shredding through others. “Aphrodite enchanted Melpomene to fall in love with Achelous. She nearly drowned chasing after him.”

“Achelous, as in the river god?” My brows furrowed as I cut down ten more, my blade slick with red, but more kept coming.

Lucius nodded grimly, using his wings to slice through another wave. He glanced toward the portal, still teaming with humans. “She was hit with a golden-tipped arrow, but it’s the black ones you need to watch for?—”

“Look out!” I called, diving forward as an arrow shot straight for his chest. It moved with imaginable speed, cutting through the air with a deathly wail. I flitted forward, spinning as I knocked Lucius out of the way.

“Where the fuck did that come from?” I growled, looking down to find the shaft protruding from my gut.

It had sliced a thin slit through my wing, the cut already healed. I gripped the arrow and pulled, tossing it to the muddy ground. The once pristine banks of snow were now covered in bodies and gore. I raised my sword, only to stop short at the horrified look etched on Lucius’s face. It was only then that I noticed the arrow was tipped in black.

MORPHEUS

The pain in my gut twisted as if a hook had latched onto my flesh, and I was nothing more than a fish being dragged to my death. I turned, heeding that poisonous command, searching the throng of raging humans until I found her.

Golden hair flowed freely, drifting past her petite waist, the tips of curls just brushing the top of her ass. Her skin was smooth, reminiscent of a doll, and her light brown eyes had flecks of hazel in them. She should be beautiful, the classic definition of what most would consider irresistible. I could feel her magic weaving through my body, seeping out from where the arrow pierced, coaxing me to drop to my knees for her.

“Resist her,” Lucius said, his voice harsh as he tried to turn me away. “If you go to her, you’re dead.”

“Come to me, my dear Morpheus,” Aphrodite whispered in my head. “Pledge your life to me, and I’ll reward you.”

“I’ve already bound my life to another’s.” My fists clenched as I bared my teeth. “And for her, for my queen—my goddess—I would see you sent to Tartarus to burn for eternity.”

Lucius huffed out a disbelieving laugh, a body crumbling to the ground, and he drew back his sword. “I can’t believe it. No one has been able to resist…”

His words fell away as Aphrodite’s beautiful smile topped in a halo of gold twisted into a fearsome snarl. She raised her hand, palm outstretched as she held my gaze.

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