Page 74 of The Queen & the King

One down, on to the next.

My next encounter is about two miles away, but this time, the Titans I come across are much less interested in being discreet. I roll my eyes from behind a tree, watching them. This time, I don’t have the luxury of hiding in an alleyway. They’re in public, blending poorly into a crowd of patrons outside a bar in Olympus. Luckily, they’ve not caused any harm yet.

It surprises me that no one has noticed them. They’re so different from the divine beings in the bar. They are taller and more monstrous, but they’ve concealed their red eyes somehow. Then again, it’s clear that everyone standing outside the bar is less than sober, and all seem to be distracted.

I need to figure out a way to draw them away. My idea is juvenile, but it will probably work. I pick up a stone from the ground and throw it at them, hitting the closest one on the head. His head snaps around, and I quickly duck behind the tree to avoid him seeing me.

His growl vibrates the air, and I hear his heavy footsteps as he moves closer. I dash to a tree deeper in the shadows, needing to move this fight further from the crowd.

I peek around the trunk, seeing that he is searching where I just was as his friend watches from their original spot. I throw another stone, hitting him right between the eyes, and then run to the field. This time, I let him see a flash of my back, wanting him to chase me. I climb up one of the trees and form a trap with my vines. Now that they’re black, they’re much harder to see. In the darkness, and without the thorns and leaves, they’re practically invisible.

I pant, adrenaline coursing through my veins, and my stomach twists when I feel a heavy body collide with my vines, followed by a loud snarl. His friend appears a moment later. Growling, he rushes to assist his friend. I jump down from the tree, smiling at them.

“Hello, boys.”

The look they give me is venomous. The one trapped in the vines is struggling, and I can see my death in his eyes. I widen my stance as the other Titan starts toward me.

He lunges at me, and I quickly side -step him, lifting my hands to summon my vines. I push my hands out, and they pierce his chest, the thorns exploding inside him. He snarls and throws a dagger at me. It slices my arm, and I feel the gold ichor soaking my shirt. I snarl, pushing my hands apart, and the vines spread inside him, effectively cutting him in half.

A heavy weight hits my side, the other Titan taking me to the ground and pinning me. I groan in pain as he straddles my hips, holding me down.

He smirks. “Can’t wait to tell Kronos that I am the one who did it. I killed the queen.” He wraps one of his hands around my throat and squeezes. I struggle in his hold, his power stifling me a little. He lifts his other hand, brandishing a large serratedblade, his eyes flashing in delight at the kill he’s about to bag and the energy he’s about to consume.

I feel weakened beneath him, his Titan abilities stifling me, but I can’t give up. This cannot be the end. Some stupid, inconsequential Titan will not defeat me. I tunnel down into my weakened powers, drawing on them, and I cry out as I unleash them. My spines burst free of my skin and penetrate him every place he’s touching me.

The Titan screams, trying to move off me, but my spikes have him pinned. He drops his dagger, and I grab it, stabbing him in the stomach. He slumps forward on me, and I consider how I’m going to contact Hades to take them. Luckily, a moment later, they disappear into nothing.

I glance at my arm. It is already healing, even though the dagger was definitely lined with some kind of poison. From the intense pain, it would have killed most. But I am not most. I am the Queen of the Underworld.

Hours later,I glance at the sky, noticing the glow on the horizon. Sunrise.

Ten Titans are all safely back in the cells in my realm, and Olympus is ten Titans safer. I watch as the latest dead Titan dissolves into nothing before I head back toward my mother’s house.

I hurry back, but my anxiety about her catching me has dissipated since my memory returned. She has always loved her hold on me, but it is now broken. I no longer fear her. It is useful for me to remain in Olympus just now to monitor Gaia’s power. I need for her to remain in the dark about my memory comingback, or she may take it again. At least I know that my tie to Hades, my love for him, is so strong that she can never steal them permanently.

When the house comes into view, the sun is just beginning to breach the hills, and I see people bustling about inside, getting ready for the day. I walk to the side of the house and look up at my bedroom window.

“I wonder…” I ponder before lifting vines from the ground and wrapping them around my waist, directing them to lift me up the side of the house. They gently place me on my feet in my bedroom. I stroke one of the golden leaves before waving my hand and sending them back.

Exhaustion hits the second I sit on my bed to take my boots off. I hear my phone vibrate, and I pick it up. I get a new surge of energy when I see his name pop up on the screen.

Hades

Proving a point?

I smile,my bratty heart fluttering.

Persephone

Yes.

I see the speech bubble appear, the three little dots jumping up and down as he types before they stop. I pout a little, but then the screen fills with a photo of his face along with the words:Incoming call from Hades

I make him wait for exactly three rings before I answer, my whole body tingling with awareness when I meet his sapphire gaze. He’s laying in bed, and he looks devastatingly handsome, but also like he has not slept.

“Still upset with me?” he asks, his gaze holding mine. I’m sure he stayed awake to ensure the Titans I sent were firmly locked in their reinforced cells, and I know he was worried about me.

My sweet God of the Dead, I love him so much, but yes, I am still upset with him. I stand and move to my dresser, propping my phone up before pulling my shirt off, utterly comfortable knowing my husband is watching me undress. I want him to.

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