She nods with a gleam in her eyes. “And if you think Typhon was insane, he had nothing on his murderous wife.” She leans forward. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and oh, little goddess, you have definitely fucking scorned the biggest bitch in this universe.”
She blinks out of existence, leaving us facing an empty throne and a new appreciation for the phrase ‘oh shit’.
13
Chapter Thirteen
Archan
I love her, not for her light, but for her demons that dance with my monsters.
Lust drips from the air, coating my skin in a sticky, tangible layer. I hate this level of Hell more than any other. I enjoy the game of seduction, the push and pull of two minds. Natia was the first to refuse me in centuries, and it made the eventual prize that much sweeter. Here, there is no game, no buildup to the fire coursing through their veins. There is an endless need to quench the lust in the eyes of those deemed unworthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Except their desires are never fully satisfied; the urge to be flesh against flesh, ceaseless.
The biggest threat here is ourselves; giving in and being lost amongst the temptation would trap your soul for an eternity. The test is to descend the level and not give into the pull; to ignore the tantalizing visual the realm feeds your mind to flood your system with addictive endorphins.
Zac huffs a laugh as a pair of red-headed twins swan past us, shaking their generous assets and looking over their shoulders with a shy yet sultry look. They disappear behind a black drape. They have nothing on Natia. For me, nobody could compare.
I lean over the edge of a wooden banister and scan our surroundings. Crystal chandeliers hang down the center of a large atrium, staggered at various levels to illuminate the rooms and alcoves set back. The realm is set in a spiral. The lower you go, the deeper the level of depravity. Over fifty floors of carnal sin. I narrow my eyes on the stone table sitting proud and central at the bottom of the level in the main atrium. I glimpse stormy eyes tracking my every move from an alcove draped in deep gold cloth.
“Three o’clock,”I communicate mentally.“Top level.”
Nobody falters in their steps as we follow the first curve and pass a few couples engaged in sexual acts, nothing beyond the typical vanilla other than their exhibitionism. But that’s the thing with lust; it reduces your inhibitions, lets loose the demons we all bury deep. It calls to your primal side. Lust persuades you to embrace your darkness. I am doing a fine job of that with Natia without some hormonal sin adding to the need that drives us both insane.“Zeus,”Jed confirms, snapping me out of my mind.
“And, fuck me, is that—?” Zac says. I frown as we descend upon our enemy. The raven haired beauty draped across the glass table in front of Zeus smirks with ruby lips as she catches my eye. She leans back and raises one knee. The black silk splits and showcases her long legs.
“Fuck me, indeed.” The Duchess is here, in all her terrifying glory. Where the hell had she been hiding all this time? I’d assumed she was dead.
A selection of Hell’s finest warriors surround the chair Zeus occupies, their focus on us as we approach. They could have the scariest of Hell’s legion at their back and we would still bathe in their blood. They’d also be slaughtered before this is over as Lucifer can’t afford to have fickle warriors who jump ship at the sight of the nearest apocalypse.
“Zeus is looking old,” Jed says. A stint in Tartarus would do that to most. In fact, he is looking well, considering the centuries we had buried him down there.
We stop a meter away from the table, my gaze narrowing in on Zeus. This is tricky. The problem isn’t that we don’t have the strength to kill him, it is that the laws Kay has bound us to forbid it. I could risk a cosmic event and slaughter him now, but that wouldn’t stop the monsters pounding their way through Hell.
Zeus waves his hand. Crystal glasses filled with amber liquid appear on the table in front of The Duchess. His stormy grey eyes assess me, his ever present trimmed and neat beard outlines his face whilst his body is clad in a sharp three-piece charcoal suit. Seems the God of Men had taken the time to primp and preen as he waited for us. “Archan, please, won’t you sit? We have much to discuss.”
I roll my eyes—something I’d picked up from my little badass—and fold myself into the chair, ignoring the debauchery surrounding us.
“Stop the monsters now,” I state. “Before I have to stop them and ruin your comeback party. I’ll leave you and,” I eye the murderous crazy bitch on the table, “The Duchess alone to wander the levels of Hell as you please.”
The Duchess blinks out of existence, then appears behind me, her breath tickling my ear as her hands skim my arms. My skin crawls with the touch of another. My body and my mind know it belongs to Natia. “I have a debt to settle with the self-righteous bitch who murdered my mate. Give her to me and I’ll consider withdrawing from this war.”
My lips tighten. Typhon was mated to The Duchess. I didn’t see that coming. My hand drifts up her arm; goosebumps dot her flesh and she shivers. My fingers wrap around her throat and in a flash, I slam her head on the glass table. It cracks down the center. I pick up my tumbler and sip the whiskey as The Duchess paws at my hand, her black painted nails scraping along my skin. I squeeze in warning; don’t want my little badass jealous for the wrong reasons.
I arch a brow at Zeus. “You need to get control of your little pet.”
He chuckles and leans back. “You and I both know that she won’t be controlled by anyone. Time may have passed, but the insanity sticks to her like glue.”
I lean over and get in her face. “The next time you threaten my mate, I will obliterate you; consequences be damned.”
She glares at me and I release her with a shove. She sits up, rubs her throat, and glances over my shoulder. Smirking, she then drops into my lap and licks up the side of my face before disappearing. My lip curls in disgust as I swipe at my cheek. Crazy bitch.
I feel her before I see her. My molecules realigning themselves to orbit around her, instead of my body chemistry. My head snaps to the right as the sting of the slap registers. Then her beautiful body appears before me as her fresh stormy scent chases away the clogging sin.
“Cheating, lying, bastard. It works both ways, you know. That’s how trust is gained. Monogamy isn’t a one-way street,” she spits out as her blonde wavy hair lifts with her power.
Zeus’s eyes narrow on her. I wanted to avoid this; him realizing who has captured my heart. It offers him a weakness I’d rather he didn’t have. And she is just that—a weakness. But I’ve come to learn alongside that which makes you weak, is the greatest power anyone could ask for. She squeezes her hand closed, the swing coming straight for my nose. I grab her fist at the last second and stare into her wild eyes, the raging storm rolling beneath them steals my breath. Darkness is inevitable, but the glow of her light will save us all. It’s what haunted me in her death; the pain, like nothing I’ve ever known, and the thought of never basking in it again, broke me. I was lost in a world without her. Never again would I face that, no, I will wear her love like armour.
“Another did not turn my eyes, Natia,” I grind out.
