Page 43 of Monster Song
“We all have equal rights down here, so I guess the Kraken is due.”
Tryphon just pulled me into a kiss.
“This castle has my favorite pool too.”
After all the crazy shit I’d done since Hades abducted me, I think getting into a pool with a naked Kraken actually made me the most nervous.
Chapter 24
River
T
ryphon’s bedroom was so Tryphon. There were swirling purple and green tapestries on every wall, and I was jealous of his makeup table. I think he had every color nail polish on it, and I wanted to borrow that sparkly purple I could see. His bed wasn’t the center of attention in his room. There was a pool of clear blue water at the center. I could see steps leading down, but at the center, it looked bottomless.
I knew a little about the rivers in the Underworld, and most of them were rumored to be pretty awful. Before I got in there, I needed to know this water would not do anything terrible to me.
“I’ve heard stories about the rivers in the Underworld. What will happen to me if I get in there?”
Tryphon just chuckled.
“Everyone focuses on the power of the rivers here, but no one ever bothered to write about what they feed into. Every river flows to the ocean. It was the same on Earth. Everyone always talked about the magical properties of the rivers here because a lot of them are negative. People feared the Underworld because they thought it was where you went after you died. The ocean here is quite lovely and has healing properties. It’s not as effective as the witches your father brought with him, but our team always took dips in my pool if we got hurt in the line of duty. I even let Pavlina borrow it when she started fistfights, and she does that often.”
I started pulling at the laces of my vest. I got through this without a scratch on me, but Tryphon had a few minor scrapes. The witches and warlocks would have been focusing on much more significant injuries. He stalked over to me and took over lace duty. I touched his black eye.
“How’d you get this?”
“They got tired of me heaving them over the cliff, so they bum-rushed me when I got distracted as Pavlina went over. They followed their friends, but there was one slippery little bitch who got a few blows in before I could grab her. I decided to eat her instead of tossing her over. Battle makes me hungry.”
Only the fucking Kraken would stop to have a snack while war raged in the Underworld. He peeled my vest apart and shimmied it down my shoulders.
“You look sexy in this outfit. There are plenty of women in the Underworld that would prefer Pavlina to retire from bodyguard duty and open a clothing shop. Still, I would prefer you out of these clothes now.”
His robes showed off plenty of sculpted chest and silver tattoos. I pulled his robe apart and ran my fingers down his silver markings.
“I wouldn’t mind you out of this either.”
“Patience, my pet. I’m unwrapping my present. I’ve been waiting for my pool swim for a long time.”
“It hasn’t beenthatlong.”
Tryphon caressed my breast.
“I should clarify. I’ve been waiting foryoufor a long time. We all have.”
I shivered as he ran his thumb over my nipple. He took his time ridding me of the rest of my clothes, but he wouldn’t let me touch his. He led me over to his pool and urged me to walk down the steps. The water was cool at my feet as I lowered myself down the steps. I sat on the bottom step and just enjoyed the pool.
Tryphon struck a pose on the top step and dramatically let his robe drop. He was fucking magnificent. The Greeks made some beautiful statues of the Gods, but they had nothing on Tryphon standing there wearing nothing but nail polish.
“Holy shit, you’re beautiful,” I sighed.
He lowered himself in the water until he was sitting next to me. He stroked my lower lip with his thumb.
“I imagined you here, but it’s so much more spectacular now that it’s real. I’m glad we ended up in the pool in the Elysian Fields castle instead of the Tartarus castle. It’s the same ocean, but a different atmosphere.”
“Is that where we are? I noticed things were much brighter here.”
“Yes. I’ll give you a tour when we both aren’t naked.”
