Page 70 of Muzzled

Ryan’s eyes snappedopen as a faint ripple of energy pulsed through the room.

“Hades,” he whispered, easing his arm out from under Micah’s pillow and tucking the comforter tighter around her to shield her from the constant whirl of the air conditioner. “What—”

His boss watched his every movement, his gaze finally resting on the sleeping woman. “Where are the others?”

Grabbing a pair of basketball shorts from the closet, he hiked them over his hips and walked to the window to scan the area. “We’ve been patrolling in shifts,” he replied. “Alex is on right now. Bo should be in his room.”

“Get them.”

Glancing at Micah, he hesitated.

“I’ll keep watch,” Hades murmured, sitting at the table, his broad shoulders hunched. “You have my word.”

Sticking his room key in his back pocket, he crossed the hall to Bo’s room. He banged on the door, listening as his brother stomped over, cursing the whole way. “What the fuck is it and can I kill it?”

“Hades, and no, probably not a good idea,” he replied, keeping one eye on his room. “Could you get dressed and grab Alex? I left the boss man in there with Micah.”

“On it. We’ll be there in five.”

He returned to his room, sat on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Micah’s leg, her stillness reassuring him the shade had gone silent for the time being.

“Her continued existence holds weight for you,” Hades mused, his expression holding more interest than the usual apathy he held for his most trusted canine.

“I thought that was made clear when you threatened her life and I signed the contract,” he countered, thinking back to his discussion with Micah hours earlier. “Signed a deal with the devil for her, didn’t I?”

His master nodded slowly, a faint smile crossing his face before he schooled his expression. “You understand your immortality is bound to the underworld?”

“There are worse fates than death,” he muttered, smoothing the blanket across her calves. “Bo and Alex don’t seem to be suffering with the idea.”

“Bo and Alex have partners who are following the Pantheon and will be ferried into our realm upon their deaths. They’re guaranteed a reunification, and by extension, continued immortality. Would your artist?”

“Hope not.”

Cocking a brow, his master leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Why?”

“The moment love gets involved, she dies,” he answered tersely. “All I’m after for her is freedom from the shade, freedom from the Pirithous, and freedom from Seph.”

Hades looked pointedly at Micah. “Then what’s the purpose of bringing her to your bed?”

“Because in a year, in a decade, in a century, I can pull from the thousands of memories I have of her. And I can sit on the banks of that stinking, foul river and remember how it felt every time she grabbed my hand and dragged me around the streets. How she sucks in her cheeks when she focuses on a canvas. How her nails are always tinted from her paints.” He chuckled humorlessly and looked over at his boss. “Most of my shirts have paint and oil stains on them now. My jeans, too.”

There was a sharp knock on the door, and he stood, conscious of Hades watching him as he let his brothers into the room. They sat on the empty bed, dark circles under their eyes from lack of rest. Their master remained silent for a few minutes, his attention on Micah’s sleeping form.

“Persephone is unable to recall the shade,” he finally said, refusing to meet their challenging gazes. “She bound it to her prior to passing on the Eidolon powers and as it strengthened, she began to lose control.”

“No shit,” Bo grumbled.

Ignoring the comment, Hades continued. “Although her reasoning for her actions made sense to her in the moment, she has admitted she acted recklessly. I know you boys have jokingly referred to her as an overprotective mother at times, but I don’t believe any of us fully understood the lengths she was willing to go to keep you tethered to her.” He looked over at Ryan. “As the others have peeled out of her grip recently, you’ve borne the brunt of it.”

Alex leaned back on his hands. “Did she send the shade after Micah?”

Hades frowned in contemplation. “Initially, it was ordered to track Orion and report back, to read his memories without detection. Unfortunately, my wife took it a step further once she realized the woman was replacing her for your loyalty and bestowed more power on it than she could handle.”

“She sicced a rogue Eidolon on a human?” Ryan snarled, wincing when Micah stirred. “Deitiesstruggle to maintain their sanity against an onslaught from Eidolons for a day.”

Bo grunted in agreement. “I still have fucking flashbacks and nightmares about that. Hades, that chick there has been through hell for weeks, thanks to Seph. We need to fix this shit and fix it fast.”

Hades dropped his elbows to his knees. “Persephone used the waters to communicate with the shade, as a channel for it to share the memories it stored. The final time it heeded, it showed her the last Pirithous.” His eyes fell on Micah again. “I’m truly sorry, Orion.”

---