Page 3 of A Single Thread Of Hope

Chapter 2

DEMKE

The Goddess looked beautiful, the warmth of her light spreading through my bones, rejuvenating me once more. Her dark hair was like the softest curtain of silk. “My Demke, I miss you,” she whispered to me, her lips not moving as she looked down at me lovingly.

“I miss you too, my Goddess,” I breathed, turning my face to her palm. “It has been cold and barren without you.”

She stroked my hair from my face. I tried to look past her, but there was nothing but light. “That’s never what I wanted for you. I regret that I couldn’t stay for you, for your brothers, but the sadness was too much for me to bear.”

I shuddered at the echo of pain that tried to break through the happiness she was surrounding us both with. Shaking my head, I smiled softly at her. “I understood. Their loss was too much. I felt that ache too.” There’d been so many more of us when the great battle happened. Brothers, lovers, friends. All dead at the hands of greedy new Gods.

Even as the bitterness built in my chest, it was swept away like debris in a warm breeze. “You were always so much stronger than I, Demke. So steadfast, so protective. You lovedyour subjects enough to stay, and I’ll always be thankful for that strength.”

Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye?

“The wheel is turning, my Goddess. You could return?” We could try again, be together again, but even as I thought it, something niggled at the back of my brain. A part of me rebelled at the idea. I couldn’t remember why, though…

The sweet tinkling laugh I knew in my soul surrounded us. “Oh, Demke. My time has passed. But yours is just starting again. She is what you need going forward. She will give you a new life. A happy life, if you let yourself grasp the joy she hands out so freely.”

Who?

“No, Goddess, I’ve only ever been devoted to you.”

She was shaking her head, her smile sweet and sad. “You were the most devoted follower, the most steadfast lover, but our time is done. You must let yourself feel again.” Gently, she gripped my chin until I was forced to look into the deep amber of her eyes. “Your soul isn’t mine anymore, Demke. I know you’re scared; I can see it casting shadows on your soul, but you need to be brave once more. She is your future. Be her strength, because she will need it.”

I wanted to ask her again why she doubted my devotion, but as I parted my lips, only one word slipped past. “Wren.”

I woke to chaos.There was a Hellmouth in my courtyard, small fires burning everywhere, a loud argument, and the God of the Underworld himself standing above me.

Hades raised an eyebrow. “You are in so much trouble, my friend,” he said with a laugh, obviously amused by whatever was going on around us.

What the fuck was Hades doing here?

I sat up, and it took me only a split second to realize a battle had taken place while I’d been dead. I should have known they’d strike on the Solstice. I’d hoped we had more time, and none of my sources had even suggested they’d been launching an attack.

Stupid. So fucking stupid.

I took a quick head count. Milo was still in his shifted form, raging like the bull he was at that moment. He was shouting at Teron, who was holding his hands out, like he could appease the beast when he had his blood up like this.

Tryp had a huge gash across his chest that Erus was tending to, but they both seemed okay. Cy was there, talking to Persephone, but I couldn’t see Wren anywhere.

There was no Néit either, and I frowned. Had she been taken?

“Wren!”

Everyone stopped to look at me, surprise quickly turning to annoyance. Even Erus and Tryp looked pissed.What the hell happened?

Hades was still chuckling. Surely he wouldn’t be laughing if something had happened to her, right? “Where’s Wren?” I demanded, mustering every ounce of authority I had.

Milo slowly turned his bull head toward me, and trepidation skittered down my spine. If Erus and Tryp looked pissed, then Milo looked livid.

Teron answered, “She’s in her room.”

“She’s okay?”

Milo charged toward me, and I scrambled to my feet. He grabbed me by the lapels of my shirt, lifting me into the air. Not an easy feat; I wasn’t a small man.

“She is, but no thanks to you.” He shook me a little, and I almost laughed. There was a time that Milo had worshiped me, bowed at my very feet, and now he was throwing me around like a rag doll. “She found you in stasis, and she almostdied,”he roared. “She was almost murdered by fucking Ekhidna and Typhon, because you thought it was best to hide the fact you die once a year.” He let go, and I dropped easily to my feet. “She almost died, because of your secrets. And now she refuses to speak to any of us.”

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