“My king.”
He yanked her close and took her mouth in hard, vicious kiss. One that was both punishing and erotic at the same time. Lust swirled in the air, overpowering every sense. She answered by scoring her nails across his back and biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. The coppery taste slid over his tongue, mixed with her essence and the wine she must have drunk earlier in the day. He growled low in his throat, kissed her harder and had her pinned against the wall before he realized it wasn’t time for her to return to the Underworld. Not yet, at least.
He pulled back from her mouth, looked down into her dark and sinful eyes, and tamped down the lust, for a moment. “Your father let you go?”
A wicked smile curled one side of her lips. “I convinced him I was too miserable to stay on Olympus without seeing you for at least a fortnight.”
He knew that mischievous look. And he knew his brother. “You mean you whined so much he was more than happy to get rid of you for a few days.”
“Something like that.” Her eyes darkened. “Your females can’t satisfy you the way I can. Tell me, husband. Did you miss me?”
“More than life itself.” He dipped back down to kiss her again. Stroked his tongue against hers until she moaned. He had his pick of females when she was gone, but he preferred her to anyone else. And it wasn’t all that fun toying with his slaves when she wasn’t around to watch…or interact.
She tightened her fingers against his shoulder and lifted one leg, wrapping around his hip, kissing him back with every ounce of passion he was showering on her. The heat of her mound pressed against his swollen cock, and she pushed her hips forward and back, rubbing herself against him. Her dress fell down her leg. He ran his hand up the sweet, sensitive flesh until he found her ass, then squeezed.
“Little minx. You’re going to make me spend in my pants.”
“Not yet, husband.” She tipped her head so he could bite her neck, then sighed even though he knew it had to hurt. “I’ve something to tell you. I didn’t come back just for this, though this is more than enough to draw me home time and again.”
“No?” He closed his lips over her earlobe and tugged.
“No. I came to tell you our son works against us. He moves to take Prometheus’s daughter and the fire element for himself. They are one in the same.”
Hades’s lips stilled against her throat. He pulled back to look into her dark eyes. “How do you know this?”
“I overheard Zeus and Athena discussing strategy. Zagreus recently visited Epimetheus. Suspicions rise that the elder god told our son where the fire-girl is hiding.”
Hades slowly lowered his wife’s leg to the floor. “How would the ass-hat know that?”
“Because she travels with an Argonaut. And Argonauts also recently visited Epimetheus as well.”
The Argonauts. Fury flared in Hades’s veins. He let go of Persephone and stepped back. The meddling heroes were always fucking with his plans. And because they were now hiding Maelea—the Stain—from him, he had no more use for them. He should have ground them all to dust when he had the chance.
“Where?” he said between clenched teeth. “Where is she hiding?”
“I don’t know exactly. But Zeus’s Sirens tracked Zagreus and his satyrs moving north. We know the Argonauts have joined forces with the half-breeds. Athena suspects they move toward the half-breed colony.”
Of course that was where the Argonauts would be hiding the girl. He wasn’t sure why they weren’t protecting her in Argolea where the Olympian gods couldn’t cross, but he was thankful for the fact she was still in the human realm. It was easier to take her there than to have to slink around Argolea. Even though he and Persephone—not technically Olympians—could cross into the blessed realm of the heroes, there were places there inaccessible to them. Like the queen’s bloody castle.
No one knew where the half-breed colony was located, but if Athena was tracking Zagreus north…
Another shot of boiling fury whipped through Hades’s veins when he realized who else had betrayed him. His brothers—Poseidon and Zeus—were moving on their own, without contacting him. Against the pact they’d agreed to.
Fucking shagging pile of shit. Not that it surprised him, but it did royally piss him off.
He turned his rage toward his queen. “Our son will be punished for this.”
“Of course. And the element? What will you do with her when you have her?”
She was Prometheus’s daughter. As far as Hades was concerned, the elder god had gotten off easy being punished by Zeus in the human realm rather than locked in Tartarus with Krónos and the other Titans like he deserved. His daughter wouldn’t be so lucky.
“She’s mine.”
Persephone’s eyes flashed. “Only if I get to watch.”
Lust reignited in his groin—a lust he’d have to delay, at least for now. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Come, Kore. We have a battle to begin.”
Chapter Fifteen
Natasa turned a slow circle and took in the large room with the curved floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out at the black lake and the sun moving higher in the sky. A long table surrounded by chairs filled the space. Against the far wall sat a sidebar. It was some kind of formal dining room built to seat at least thirty. Or an interrogation room designed to intimidate.
The door closed with a snap, and she turned to face the leader of the Argonauts. The same man—hero—who’d kicked her out of the colony weeks ago when she’d come looking for Maelea. Her body temperature rose with every second that passed, but unlike the last time they’d faced off, now the fire inside was stronger, and a sense of purpose pulsed through her.
His face was hard, his jaw tight. He was as big and muscular as Titus, but his hair wasn’t as long, and there was no humor or kindness swirling in his eyes.
He didn’t step farther into the room, just crossed his arms over his broad chest and widened his stance while he stared at her.
“You’re the unquenchable fire all the ancient texts talk about, aren’t you?”
She lifted her chin. Refused to back down. She’d been imprisoned, tortured, burned. She wasn’t afraid of one measly hero. “My father’s lasting gift.”
“Why were you in Argolea?”
No sympathy from the hero. Well, that would make this easier, she supposed. “For the same reason I came here originally. To find Maelea.”
“To destroy her with your fire?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
He shrugged. “The gods don’t care for her.”
“I hold no ill will against Maelea. I went looking for her to see if she knew anything about where my father is being held.”
Doubt darkened his eyes. “Why?”
“So I could find him. Contrary to what you might believe, being the destined destruction of the world isn’t a hell of a lot of fun.”
“Are you saying you’re not working for Hades and Zagreus?”
“I’d have to be mental to work for the God-King of the Underworld, or his son.”
“That remains to be seen. Answer the question.”
No humor either. This guy had to be a real joy at parties. “No, I’m not working for Hades or Zagreus.”
“Who are you working for?”
“Myself.”
Silence spread across the room like a vast ocean. He was debating whether or not she was telling the truth. She didn’t care. She only cared about keeping Titus safe.
His eyes finally narrowed. “How can the fire inside you be stopped?”
It can’t. But Titus can slow it.