Page 56 of Ignited Spirits
“Hi! I’m Seph,” I hear Seph greet someone to my right.
Looking up, I see her gray eyes trained on my brothers. Rhys is standing there stoically, his hazel eyes squinted in distrust. Aiden fidgets uncomfortably, shoving a hand through his blond hair.
When Rhys doesn’t say anything, Aiden sighs. “Hey. I’m Aiden.” He gives Seph an uncertain smile and hitches his thumb at Rhys. “And this mountain man over here is Rhys.”
I snort at Aiden’s introduction of Rhys. My oldest brother is bulky for a mage, with his six-foot-two frame packed with muscle. Compared to my wolves and Levi, though, he’s slimmer.
“It’s so nice to meet you, boys. Your mom has told me so much about you.” Seph beams at them, looking like she’s going to explode she’s so excited. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and I can’t help the small smile playing around my lips at her happiness.
Aiden nods and seems to hunt around for something to say. “Sorry to be rude, but who are you?”
I snort at my brother. “That’s our great-grandma, Persephone. She’s Gran’s mom.”
“Oh! Um. Nice to meet you?” Aiden looks over helplessly at me, wordlessly asking what he’s supposed to do in this situation.
I just shrug at him. It’s not like I have a secret cheat code for what to do when you meet your billions of years old grandma who looks like she could be your sister.
Seph reaches out her arms to him before pausing. “Can I hug you, Aiden?”
“Yeah, sure.” He barely gets the words out before Seph is crushing him to her. It’s a comical sight—my six-foot-tall brother being squished by a woman who’s probably five-foot-three on a good day.
When Seph eventually releases a bewildered-looking Aiden, she moves to stand in front of Rhys, giving him a soft smile. “May I hug you, Rhys?”
Rhys’s hazel eyes flick between hers for a long moment before he eventually nods. Seeming to be able to sense that Rhys is the more closed off of the two, Seph gently wraps her armsaround him. He’s stiff for a moment before cautiously returning the hug.
While Rhys is loving, caring, and open with the people he trusts, he’s almost as distrustful of strangers as I am. I don’t know if he’s always been this way, or if it’s because of the constant threat outsiders posed to our family due to my forbidden magic. Either way, Rhys is more reserved with Seph, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
Seph eventually pulls away and notices me watching the whole thing. She skips over to me and wraps her delicate arms around me. “It’s good to see you again, Izzy.”
“You too,” I squeak as I try to pull in air past her doing her best to crush my lungs.
When she lets me go, I try to subtly gulp in air, not wanting to make her feel bad.
Luckily for me, Seph is already crossing over to Hades. He has a soft smile on his face as his mate approaches. When she’s in arm’s reach, he snags her around the waist and tugs her to him.
It’s always weird watching Hades with his mate. He seems almost normal while he’s holding her. It’s like she consumes all his focus, making him forget that he’s supposed to wear his unhinged mask.
After a long kiss, Hades pins me with his black and red gaze. “Is there a reason for this family reunion, earthling?”
Seph smacks him on the stomach and levels him with a glare. “Call her by her name, Hades.”
He sighs but indulges his mate. “Fine. Is there a reason you’ve invaded my home yet again, Isabel? And when will you leave?”
Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Seph shakes her head at Hades but doesn’t attempt to chastise him this time.
“There is indeed a reason, Hades. Believe it or not,Infernusand your castle aren’t actually my favorite places to be.” As cool as traveling to another realm is, I would give almost anything to just have a day at home in my room with my mates. Without any problems or crises to solve.
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Care to share with the class?”
“My family needs sanctuary from the mage council, and I need to find a way to stop Lua from draining the Earth of its magic.”
Hades blinks at me for a few seconds, shocked into silence. “Come again? I must’ve misheard you, earthling, because there’s no way Mommy Dearest is really trying to drain an entire fucking planet of its magic.”
“I wish I were joking.” Part of me is still clinging to the hope that this is all a bad dream that I’ll wake up from soon. The rest of me knows the unrelenting insanity is just part of being me. “But that’s what Angerona said the spell Lua’s attempting is likely for. And it tracks with what we know about what she’s been doing on Earth for the last couple hundred years.”
“Angerona? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in millennia. I don’t know why I’m surprised the old bat is still alive.” Hades shakes his head before pinning me with an expectant stare. “So, how are you going to stop her?”
A giggle edged with hysteria escapes my mouth before I can stop it. From the corner of my eye, I see my mates giving me concerned looks, but I try to ignore it. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
