Page 36 of Left Hand of the Divine
“How are you holding up?” she asked as Apollo wrapped an arm around her waist and tucked her back into his side.
“Honestly? I don’t know.” Which was pretty accurate. “I’m not sure what to make of anything at the moment.”
I felt unsure and unsteady, like I was waiting for something to come along and rip the floor from beneath my feet.
“I am sorry for the punishment you received,” Apollo said, his voice low and smoky. “If there is a boon in my power to grant, I will give it if you ask.”
Well, that was handy to know, but why? I didn’t know the guy. “Just like that?”
“Yes,” he said with a curt nod. “You are important to Raevyn; that means you are important to me.”
Raevyn melted against him and placed a kiss on his cheek. Gods, they were cute together.
“How are things with the soul collecting going?” I asked, wanting to change the subject so I could think about anything other than the pile of crap I’d just been handed.
“They’re going okay,” Raevyn said, brushing her lilac hair out of her face. “We seem to be doing what is asked of us.”
The Deathwatch were the ones looking after collecting the trickier souls topside whilst Hades’ Royal Guard took on the standard collections during the investigation against Thane.
Which was another thing I needed to figure out…Would the Guild close the investigation because it was clear now it wasn’t Thane? And I still wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Atticus and his indenture to the Guild now that he was technically dead and bound to Death.
“That’s good,” I muttered, my heart not really in the conversation.
“We did have a tricky couple the other day; neither of them would come with us, and they put up a hell of a fight,” Raevyn said with a chuckle.
Apollo hummed in agreement. “They certainly did. I’ve never seen Nox so happy.”
I snorted. Nox was definitely at his happiest when violence was on the cards, but I was glad things were going smoothly for them. Even if I was a little jealous it wasn’t me doing the soul catching. I missed it. I missed feeling part of the life cycle, and a sense of uselessness crept into my mind.
“Hey,” Raevyn said as she took a step closer and placed her hand on my arm. “We all know this is temporary. You’ll be back to reaping souls soon, I know it.”
“Hopefully,” I said, but it didn’t feel like it at the moment. All I had were problems and struggles and puzzle pieces that didn’t fit together.
“You do know there are seven guys staring at you, don’t you?” Raevyn said with a concerned glance over my shoulder.
I didn’t want to look. “Like death stares? Or…”
She snorted. “More like ‘I want to get her home and away from the world’ stares. They look like they want to keep you all to themselves.”
“It’s impressive,” Apollo added with a smirk. “A Primordial, two Gods, a King, a—”
“Yes, I know who they are,” I cut in, making him chuckle. Even Raevyn smiled. “But for your information, the only two that are mine are Atticus and Hades.”
I hadn’t figured the rest of them out yet.
“Nonetheless, Roux, I don’t think it will be long before they are more.” Raevyn waggled her eyebrows at me, and I gave in and looked at the guys. She’d been right. They were staring at me fiercely and watching my every move. The fact that they were so concerned over my wellbeing was rather comforting.
And hot.
“I’d better get going,” I mumbled, knowing it wouldn’t be long before the others dragged me away.
“Come on, pet,” Apollo said softly. “We also need to go. We have to get back to Maleficavae to help find those witches.”
My head snapped up at that. “What?”
“Oh, there’s been a spate of witches going missing across a handful of covens in Witch Country. My old coven sisters reached out for help,” Raevyn said, her brows pinched in a frown and sadness woven into her words. “Why?”
“Shit.” I ran my hands through my hair, my mind racing a thousand miles a minute.
