The familiar setting eased her, and she took in his appearance. Late twenties and with clear blue eyes, he was alooker. He had slight bags under his eyes and tousled hair. He almost looked like James Dean, an appearance he could choose.
“Hades,” she said, bouncing on the bed. It felt normal. The temperature, the dust motes floating through the air—it all felt normal. Comfortable. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Why are you bothering me?”
She’d first seen him at the Demigod convention when everything went to hell. Since then, he’d hung around occasionally, working with Lexi and her magic. He liked to listen to the guys poking fun at Daisy and each other, but usually he didn’t engage with Daisy directly. He was usually too enamored by Bria.
“Because you’re a favorite of my favorite, why else?” He leaned back and stretched, yawning as he did. “I got an invitation here, did you know? These fae have their own god of the afterlife. It’s a different sort of place than what I run, but it’s okay. Too pretty for my tastes. With beings that are too…fucking arrogant, if I’m being honest. It’s like hanging out with an entire race of Zeus wannabes. What. A.Nightmare.”
She struggled to make sense of what he was talking about. She felt so…tired. So ready to rest eternally.
“Why’d you get an invitation?” she asked.
“Because you lot are very entertaining. Lexi is, as we all know, and now you? The gods here are placing bets and undermining each other. It’s great sport. But”—he leaned forward—“I have a little skin in the game myself. I couldn’t help myself. If I lose, I have to be a toy. They didn’t specify what that meant.” He gave her a deadpan look. “It’s a fuck-toy, isn’t it.” It was a statement more than a question. “They essentially want to make me a fuck-toy for a while.” He lifted his eyebrows but leaned back. “So we obviously can’t have that. I like to call the shots, not the other way around. If I win, I get to abduct the god of my choosing and keep her for a while. That is also code fora fuck-toy, just so we’re on the same page. I already got her all picked out.”
Daisy’s eyebrows settled low. “You guys have problems.”
“I’m well aware. But eternity gets boring, so you need to live on the edge. Anyway, where are you going?”
She looked around in confusion. Nowhere. This was home.
Wasn’t it?
It no longer felt like home. It felt like a memory.
The snap drew her focus. Hades waited for her to look at him before speaking. “Lexi came for you, did you know?”
Confusion bled into her again.
He nodded. “She isn’t the type of woman to let a different realm stop her from protecting her own. I hear she got you into this mess. Well, magic comes at a price, kid. Now you know. She didn’t have it easy either. Know what I mean? But if you listen real hard, you might find that taking an eternal nap might not be the right choice.”
A voice echoed in the sudden darkness. Her room had cleared away into a strange violet field. Hades was back to leaning on a doorframe that wasn’t there. That voice reverberated all around her. Called her name. Offered her comfort.
Lexi.
“She…came for me?” The shroud of confusion started to lift. Memories of her life filtered in. Panic threatened, pulling at her. Turning her in circles. She knew where she was. Feared the unknown of it.
Daisy…
That voice was so familiar. So comforting. More so than the call of eternity. Than peaceful sleep. That voice was home. It was love. It was life.
She was rising without knowing where she was going. Without knowing how she was doing it. Hades rose with her.
“She’s being cock-blocked,” Hades told her. “The god of this place had a big bet that once you crossed into his domain, he’d keep you put. He knows what magic she has, see, and he’s swinging his dick around. She’s fighting him about it, hence her voice getting through, but he’s got more power. You’ve got to do your part. Help her, help you. Go back to that dreamboat of a fae. Come on, kid. I am not interested in being a bored god’s fuck-toy.” He jerked his head right and tensed. “I gotta go. I’m cheating pretty badly right now, and soon I’ll get found out. Do me proud, kid. You’ve got some of my magic, after all. You’ve been initiated into the troublemaker clan. Make your own rules.”
With that he was gone, and she was left floating in nothingness.
Daisy…
Lexi
“I feel her.”Sweat ran down the sides of Lexi’s face. She didn’t dare look at Kieran and the healer fae’s efforts. She didn’t dare look at Daisy’s deathly pale skin, cooling to the touch. “That fucking bastard keeps blocking my attempt to grab her, though. I need more power.”
“Here.” The male fae picked up one of the items at his feet.
“No, no!” Another fae, much older and with jewels or something in his gray hair, hurried forward. “No, those are the wrong chalices for her. She’s spirit, right? Here.” He held out two items with a glowing amethyst hue within their depths. “These are the most powerful of the spirit chalices. They’ll give you more power—until the little human’s magic completely fades away…”
She took the objects and ignored his words. She didn’t know about the magic, but Daisy would not fade away. Lexi would break through in time. Shewould.The prongs were nearly rebuilt. A little bit more and they would hold. The body just needed a soul.
“Push your power through it and pull it back into you before using it how you normally would,” the younger male said.
