Two monsters in love.
Chapter Forty-seven
Asteria
It tookus much too long to pull ourselves away from each other’s mouths and get up to keep moving. It was only the knowledge that we were literally in Tartarus and not exactly in the best place to have sex that enabled me to shake myself from the haze of lust Calix managed to bespell me into near constantly.
Having sex in Tartarus wasn’t exactly the most romantic of locations. Though it did soundinteresting…
I shook myself. We had a job to do. And that was probably super disrespectful or something, right? We did have to meet the actual gods at the end of this.
And fuck, I hadn’t allowed myself to consider that at all yet.
What would it be like to meet agod?
I was frankly terrified, but I didn’t allow myself to dwell on that. It was too surreal a concept, despite the fact we were walking toward it.
Calix seemed to be in better spirits, at least. He hadn’t let go of me since I’d assured him, I was just as monstrous as he was, just with less opportunity to showcase it. But the darkness had shown me exactly the kind of monster that lived beneath my skin. One that wanted to rip Cyrus to shreds along with anyone who helped him.
Maybe I could even use my teeth.
The thought brought a sick thrill of pleasure, and I pushed that right back down into the depths of the darkness within me.
I had a feeling that was going to be a lot harder now. Facing your demons made it much more difficult to hide them away.
I’d made a practice of pushing things I didn’t want to think of away, but once you’ve invited them in…
At least I could distract myself with Calix. His arm was wrapped around my waist as we walked to the next portal. It was looming straight ahead of us now. We just needed to go through to Elysium once more before finding the next portal to a different section of Tartarus, and then the city of the gods awaited through the final portal.
After all this, I would be happy to never see another portal again for as long as I live.
I would be doubly happy not to have to visit the Otherworld again until I was actually taking up residence.
Stepping through the portal to Elysium, I blinked against the much brighter light. Unlike before, when we emerged onto a grassy hill, we were standing within a sparkling cave. I blinked once again, unsure if I was seeing what I thought I was.
But yes, I was. The entire cave was made out of diamonds. They shimmered with the light coming in from the cave’s opening. We stepped out into that light and found a pavilion of sorts awaiting just beyond. We trudged forward, entering to find the place full of people.
We both paused, looking at one another before a voice rang out.
“Asteria Earendel.”
“Calix Erebus.” Another voice called.
“We welcome you both.” The first voice said, and two figures stepped forward.
One was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Similar to Titan, only his hair was at his shoulders, or Aelius, except his face was much kinder. He wore a golden robe that looked ceremonial, with elaborate white embroidery depicting the sun.
The other man had white hair, deep purple eyes, and the same sharp bone structure I was so used to seeing on Calix. His black robe sparkled with silver embroidery depicting the moon.
“Thank you, ancestor,” Calix responded, bowing his head. I quickly followed suit, bowing my own, unsure of the proper procedure here.
How does one greet the ancestors of the family they barely know to begin with?
“I am Raka Erebus. The founder of House Erebus.” Calix’s ancestor introduced himself. “It’s an honor to meet you, Calix. This is, of course, very unusual. We don’t usually meet new members of our house until their deaths.” The man chuckled warmly.
“And I am Aarush Earendel.” The blond man smiled at me, and it was strangely comfortable, reminiscent of the feeling I got curling up with a book and a cozy blanket. “I am the founder of House Earendel. And I must apologize to you on behalf of our house for the pain your father has caused.”
“That’s not your fault,” I argued, shaking my head and making my dark hair fall over my shoulder. I moved to push it back and paused, before shaking my head. The contrast of this light on my dark hair was causing strange effects.
