Page 73 of Hell On Earth
“She told Zotera he was but kept it a secret from the person who it would hurt the most,” I said softly as my mind raced.
Why take a lover she probably couldn’t even enjoy? She had to be getting something out of it. If it wasn’t sex she wanted from the God of Death, then what?
All the pieces fell into place, and I felt sick with understanding.
“How I found you… What she said to Zotera about granting your wish to stay with her forever…” I said, looking at Hades. “Thanatos gave her what she wanted most. A way out. Death. It would explain why he keeps trying to kill me now.”
Hades shook his head. “Impossible. If the gods could kill one another, my brother would have ended my existence long ago.”
“No, I think Ashlyn’s right. I think they found a way,” Megan said. “And not just for Persephone. All the gods and goddesses are gone. Well, except for you and Thanatos.”
Hades frowned again, and I felt another tremor pass through him. “It shouldn’t be possible. The gods would never willingly cease to exist. And if Persephone and Thanatos found a way to end an immortal life, they would have ended mine, not hers. Without me, she would have been free.”
I huffed out a breath in defeat because he was right. Persephone would have tried killing Hades based on everything I’d seen and heard about her.
So we were back to where we were with more questions than answers.
“Any chance Zayn would be willing to give working with us another try?” I asked Megan. “We can speculate all we want, but that’s all it is. Speculation. If we want answers, we’ll need to ask the god who knows.”
Her assessing gaze flicked to Hades. “You haven’t racked up that much calm time. I hope you have a long list of questions you want to ask Ashlyn.”
I tipped my head to look at him and caught the crooked tilt of his smile.
“I seek many truthful answers. Call your Zayn.”
“He’s not hers, and she’s not his,” Oanen said.
Megan shook her head at him and tried calling Zayn on speaker. It went to voicemail.
“Hey, Zayn. When you stop portalling around long enough to check your voicemail, call me back. Turns out you look exactly like someone Hades hates. That’s why he flipped out. He’s good now and would like to move forward with the tracking spell after you change your pants.”
She hung up the call with a smirk.
“How long do you think he’ll take to get back to you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Lately, he’s been good about calling me back within a few hours of my messages. It might take him a little longer this time.”
Nicolette’s phone buzzed. She looked at it, and her eyes flickered black.
“What’s wrong?” Eliana asked.
“Adira’s trying to influence our return to Uttira. Apparently, allowing two unmarked children of the gods freedom in New York will only delay them getting their marks,” Nicolette said.
Fenris hugged Eliana from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Good,” he said. “New York is noisy, and we’re missing the trees we both love. We don’t mind if we’re not allowed to revisit it.”
Nicolette lifted her phone like she was going to send that message.
“No,” Eliana said. “Tell her I’m strongly suggesting she not tempt fate. My hunger is increasing, and Fenris would be unbothered if I decide to feed properly as a real succubus should, whether it’s here, downtown Uttira, or on pack lands.”
“Look at you telling some read-between-the-lines truth, Chipmunk. So proud of you,” Fenris said, kissing her temple.
“Oh, I like where this is headed,” Megan said. “Make sure to send the full conversation to all the Council members so they understand the shit Adira’s attempting to pull.”
Megan’s phone began to ring. She frowned at it as she answered on speaker.
“Hello?”
