Out of Excuses Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 8) Page 5

  I could practically hear Hera's teeth gnashing together in outrage.

  My gaze traveled over to Hades. He sat with an ankle crossed at the knee, deceptively casual. His dark hair was mussed and the day's events showed in the slight lines of his eyes. He had never looked more handsome to me. I stood and walked over to him. He uncrossed his leg and I sank gratefully into his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist and he buried his face in the mass tangle of my hair. A deep inhale and he squeezed me tighter.

  It was kind of sweet when he smelled me.

  "Get a room," Artie groaned.

  I winked at her and leaned back into Hades' chest. His hand crept down to rest on my stomach and Baby Draco. It was both possessive and nurturing.

  "Let's get some rest," I said abruptly and felt his hand tighten. I'd say Hades agreed.

  Hermes gave me a lingering look that told me he knew exactly what kind of rest we were going to get. I smiled sweetly and fluttered my fingers at him in a wave.

  As soon as everyone was out of the room, led by Tilly, I let out a deep sigh.

  Hades lifted his head. "I know. It's a mess."

  "It's always a mess," I groaned.

  Hades held me a little tighter. "Something tells me we grow close to the end."

  I stiffened. "Like as in the apocalypse?" I blurted.

  His chest rumbled against my back. "No, fair Abby. As in peace."

  I lifted my hand and let it play through the dark thickness of his hair. "It seems so far away to me."

  "Because you are always right in the middle. The steps we've all taken, but especially you, have led us here. To a new dawning age of peace and prosperity."

  I sighed. "I think you're a closet optimist."

  "I think you worry too much." He tightened his grip and stood, holding me like I was his new bride. His lips swept down and brushed mine lightly. "Tired?"

  I gave him a wicked grin. "Never too tired for you."

  His footsteps sped up even as his eyes sparkled with heat.

  "Good," he growled as he kicked open the door to the bedroom, strode in and lay me gently on the bed.

  I stretched out like a cat and waited for him to lock the door. The quiet snick sounded and less than a second later, Hades had trapped me between his knees. He loomed over me, his dark hair falling rakishly over one eye.

  He was breathtaking.

  "I love you," I whispered to him

  He shut his eyes and let his forehead fall gently to mine. "I'm sorry I'm such an overbearing boar."

  I snorted and tilted my head to place a kiss on his lips. "You're worried. That's all."

  He nodded. "You carry our legacy, Abby. The future."

  His words sent a chill of worry down my spine. What would happen when Olympus was at war?

  His silvery gaze met my own. "We have plenty of time to think about what comes next." He lifted my arms above my head and slid his fingers into mine. "For now, worry about me and the terrible things I'm going to do to you."

  I let out a breathless laugh. "You wicked, wicked man."

  He huffed a laugh out next to my neck. "And you make me so." A slight nip on the tender spot below my earlobe shut me up for the next long while.

  Chapter 6

  In the middle of the night I awoke, a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I gently loosened Hades' arms from around my shoulders and wiggled out of bed as quietly as I could. I took a few deep breaths to clear the sleep fog from my brain and concentrated on the outside. I could sense nothing amiss.

  It didn't mean everything was okay, but it did make my shoulders drop a little and calm my heartbeat. I shrugged on a long robe and padded out into the hallway on bare feet. I glanced down both ways only to see Hermes bare chested, leaning against his door.

  When our eyes met, he motioned for me to come to him.

  I did and slipped inside of his room.

  Hermes shut the door behind us and pulled a chair out of the corner. I sat down, silent but alert.

  Hermes sat back down on his bed, his face ravaged with lack of sleep and stress. His blond hair was mussed and stood up in spikes all over his head. He was still one of the most attractive people I'd ever seen, though.

  "Very cloak and dagger, Hermes."

  He ran a hand through his mess of hair. "No sarcasm, Abby. Not right now. Not after what I'm about to ask of you."

  My heartbeat stopped for a second then flooded with heat and began pounding out a slow rhythm of dread. I nodded once.

  "I don't want any of this," he said.

  I could have pretended not to know what he was speaking of. I could have gotten up and walked away and changed the course of history by doing so, but Hermes was...my friend. My one-time lover.

  "I know."

  He lifted beseeching whiskey eyes to me and swallowed hard. "I have a favor to ask of you." He shut his eyes. "Not...a favor. It would be an act of war if anyone knew. This secret has to stay between us."

  I lifted one eyebrow. "Whatever you're going to tell me cannot possibly be that bad."

  So Hermes proceeded to tell me. It was even more than that bad. And over the course of the twenty minutes he spoke, my heart dropped right into my feet and my soul began to ache. What he was suggesting would cause a cataclysm. He spoke treason in the night with a woman slated to bear the first immortal child in millennia. And the fact that he trusted me to help him spoke volumes of the ache in his soul.

  When he was finished I sat back in my chair and studied him. Silence stretched between us. "You are asking me to give up everything."

  He shook his head. "No, I am asking you to step up and claim your destiny."

  "It's the same thing," I said quietly.

  "I know."

  Tears swam in those eyes as I mulled over everything he had just told me. What he was asking me to do would change everything.

  "Hades must know."

  Hermes' gaze held mine for a moment before he nodded.

  "And Artie."

  He blinked. "Why?"

  "Because I trust no one as much as I trust her and if you ask this of me, I'm going to need help." I lifted one shoulder in a gesture of helplessness. "In fact, I might need to tell Hera."

  He jerked. "You cannot."

  "She has a claim. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for eternity." I sighed and plunged headfirst into something I knew I would never be able to get out of. "Grant me this and I will assist you."

  Hermes swallowed hard. One short nod and Hermes held out his hand. I grasped his wrist and he murmured the words of binding.

  A gold shimmer appeared in the air and scattered the words over our skin. They flared in the dark night before they disappeared and burrowed into our very marrow.

  I stood, bone deep weary. "It is done. I hope you know what you are doing." I walked over and clicked the door open. "For all of our sakes."

  He stared. "Thank you," he whispered.

  I didn't respond as I stepped out and allowed the door to click shut behind me.

  Keeping his secret was equivalent to dressing up like James Bond and pretending a mere human could dodge speeding bullets. It was difficult, but oh so necessary. The next morning Hades and I spoke in quiet voices. He was incredulous at first and roared at me like he was a hungry lion.

  I merely stood there and took it.

  Then he went straight to denial. Straight to not believing it was the best decision of anyone, even when I confronted him with some hard truths of why it was necessary.

  And then it was weariness and reluctant acceptance.

  "I have no idea how we're going to do this, Abby. I am bound to serve in the Underworld."

  I nodded even as I stood on tiptoes to brush a kiss across his lips. "We will make it work. Somehow. Someway.”

  And that was all we said about it before we went out and faced another day. As far as anyone knew, it was a normal day and we were going to plan Hermes' second coronation.

  Not incite a riot which very well could lead to al
l out war.

  I pulled Artie aside after dinner. She stared at me with curiosity in her eyes when I told her I needed to see her in the library in ten minutes, but she offered a short nod before she returned to her chambers. Hermes' face was tight with stress the entire day. Only when he saw me reach out to Artie did it relax.

  I was already there when she made her way in. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, I sealed it, then sent out a tendril to see if anyone else was here and listening. Including Tilly.

  I felt the chill of the ghost’s presence hovering outside the door. Frowning, I sent a blast of power outside and heard her muffled shriek before she dissipated into thin air. Weird. What was that ghost up to?

  Artie sat across from me, tinges of violet exhaustion ringing her eyes. Her magic was slowly seeping away from her and, with it, all vestiges of her immortality. I sighed, deep and long, and met her gaze.

  “You aren’t going to like this,” I began.

  By the end of it, Artie was staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth gaping like a fish. She finally sat back in her chair, shut her mouth and blew a harsh breath through her nose. “This is insane,” she finally pronounced. “Even for you.”

  I nodded. “But for once it’s not my idea.”

  “That might make it even worse.”

  I shrugged. “But are you in?”

  She studied me. “I keep saying this is the last time. Eventually I’m going to have to mean it.” Something sad skittered across her gaze. “My power is running out. I’m trying to conserve it.”

  I shut my eyes in grief and heard Artie exhale decisively. “But I’m in. For Hermes.”

  “Thank you,” I said in a choked whisper.

  She gave me a short nod as she stood and exited the room.

  Two down. One more to go.

  And this one wasn’t going to be easy.

  Chapter 7

  Hera was laughing. A lot. Not in a sarcastic or evil way, but with genuine amused belly aching laughter.

  I was annoyed. I crossed my arms against my chest and waited until she got it all out of her system.

  It took awhile.

  Finally she wiped her eyes, rubbed a hand across her mouth and stared at me with bewilderment. "You're truly serious?" she asked me, her mouth agape, much the same way Artie had looked at me only moments ago.

  "I am."

  She tilted her head like a cat does when it's about to pounce on its prey. "And what would stop me from heading to Olympus right now, seizing control, and telling everyone about your madcap scheme?"

  I sat on the edge of the bed and hoped today wasn't going to be the day I died.

  "Because if you wanted to rule Olympus, you wouldn't be here with us."

  Her mouth tightened and I watched her face as it ran through a gamut of emotion. Anger, denial, rage and finally...something else.

  "Why would I agree to this?"

  I sighed. "Because you've lost your husband. Because even though you run through the motions, you have no desire to rule over Olympus." I paused and chose my next words carefully. "I think, Hera, that you and I despite all of our differences, might have always wanted the same thing."

  "And what is that?" she asked, a sneer spoiling the beauty of her face.

  "Freedom."

  She turned away from me with a huff. "Freedom. What do any of us truly know about freedom, Abby?"

  She was right. I'd been trying to be free forever and all it got me was tangled up even more in Olympian drama. But...it had also led me to the best friends I'd ever had and a love I would burn the world down for. "Sometimes freedom isn't necessarily being allowed to live where we want or make the decisions we want to. Sometimes it's being surrounded by people you love and people who support you no matter what you do."

  "And for those of us who've never experienced that?"

  I blinked. Sympathy filled my heart. "I hope to give that to you. Very soon."

  Hera turned, her blonde hair swinging gently against her face and her bright blue eyes stark against her pale skin. "You? You've given me nothing but grief, Aphrodite."

  She was right. "I know. But I also know that you haven't tried to kill me in several months. In some societies that almost makes us friends."

  Hera rolled her eyes. "You've disrupted the kingdom, killed my husband, coerced the Fates into doing your bidding...several times, and now you're asking me to commit treason."

  I shrugged. "For good reason."

  She let out a bitter laugh. "I need some time to think about it."

  I stood. "I understand. We don't have much time. Please hurry."

  Hera waved an annoyed hand at me.

  I left the room quietly, praying I'd chosen my allies wisely.

  My mother was waiting for me in the kitchen. I stepped right up to the coffee pot and started making the strongest brew I could.

  "Anarchy requires lots of caffeine, does it?" she inquired.

  I snort laughed. "Apparently being in the Underworld makes you quite the spy."

  She shrugged. "It's easier to slip around unnoticed here. My powers and Hades are similar. My kind of magic is easier to work around this place." She rolled her neck around on her shoulders. Hecate wore the maiden guise today. Her pretty face was illuminated by bright silver hair and her eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but being devious looks good at you."

  I frowned at her and added an extra scoop of dark roast to the filter before slamming it shut and hitting the brew button. "You're right. I don't want to hear that."

  My mother sat down at the bar and rested her pretty face in her hands. "It just means you are finally beginning to realize what it means to rule. And sometimes it's not forthright honesty."

  "All the important people know," I snapped wishing I could just snap my fingers and be sucking down copious amounts of joe. Which...I could, I guess, but it never tasted as good as when I brewed it myself. Probably because magic didn't quite recognize the art of a good cup of coffee. I instead glared at the pot, hoping my angry face could make it go faster.

  "I'm not judging you, dear. Quite the opposite, actually."

  "I hate this," I muttered.

  Hecate nodded. "It's because you spent your recent years being far too honest for your own good."

  I frowned at her again. "Can't you just lie a little to make me feel better?"

  "Sorry, darling. This isn't Leave it to Beaver."

  "You sure as hell aren't June Cleaver, are you?"

  Hecate let out a full-throated laugh. "I much prefer my cleavers when they're chopping through body parts, my dear."

  I blinked. "Umm. Eww. Sometimes full disclosure is not required."

  "Hmm. Not all the time and only on those most deserving."

  I raised a hand. "Don't want to know."

  Fortunately, the coffee pot saved me the awkward conversation on the fine art of dismembering. I pulled the pot from the burner and poured the brew into the spot reserved for greatness. Right into my enormous mug.

  "If you were human, I'd urge caution on drinking that much coffee during pregnancy."

  "Don't make me dismember you, Mother."

  She blinked and tears shone in her eyes. "A threat of murder and a term of endearment in the same sentence? Oh, Abby. You make my heart proud."

  I had called her Mother. I stared at her owlishly. I didn't mean to do it, nor did I even think about calling her that. It was even a little bit snarky which made it sound that much more natural. I tried to play it off. "Well you are my mother, aren't you?"

  One of her eyebrows rose. "Last I checked, I have the stretch marks to prove it."

  I frowned. "Immortals don't get stretch marks."

  "Oh darling, how little you know."

  I said some very creative curse words inside my head. Stretch marks? The hell? I'm the first immortal to give birth in no one can remember how long and I get stretch marks for it?! The world had no justice.

  My mother stood and winked at me be
fore she disappeared.

  Wait. Was she screwing with me?

  "Hecate!" I screeched, but she was nowhere to be found and if she was listening, she wasn't answering me.

  I took an angry sip of coffee and muttered unflattering things about my mother while I waited for the caffeine to hit me.

  Hermes took a step into the kitchen and paused one foot in the air when he saw my face. "Uhhh, should I come back?"

  "Do goddesses get stretch marks?" I snarled.

  His eyebrows went straight up to his hairline and he immediately disappeared.

  I growled at thin air.

  "Stay out of the kitchen," I heard him bellow.

  "Jerk," I muttered.

  The kitchen was empty for the rest of the time I stood in there being angry.

  Chapter 8

  Hades finally found me in the study staring blankly at the wall. I jerked when the warmth of his hand touched my shoulder. He squeezed gently and sat down beside me.

  "Rough night?"

  I grunted.

  Hades' chest rumbled against my arm.

  "How about we get married?" he asked quietly.

  I stilled. "Aren't we already supposed to do that?" I asked him.

  From the corner of my eye I watched him nod. "But we don't have to do it the traditional way."

  A little sigh came from my chest. "What do you have in mind?"

  He took my hand and helped me up from the couch. "Come."

  I let him lead me.

  We stepped into a room I'd never seen in an area I'd never been in before. Soft yellow lights blinked above me and blue swirls flowed through the walls. An ancient language I couldn't read formed words all around me. I'd never seeing anything like this.

  "It's breathtaking," I said.

  Hades shrugged on a snow white robe. He handed one over to me and as I went to pull it on over my clothes, he shook his head. "Unclothed," he murmured.

  My gaze narrowed. "Did you bring me to a freaky sex dungeon?"

  One of his dark eyebrows rose. "Well...I hadn't, but if you're interested in one I can certainly make it happen."

  "Why do I have to be naked and you aren't?"