Out of Excuses Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 8) Page 6

  "Who says I'm not?" he said with a wicked grin.

  "Oh. Magic," I breathed.

  He leaned in, a wolf smile on his handsome face. "Yes," he breathed. "Magic."

  "Get away," I whispered. "I can't think when you're this close."

  His nostrils flared as he scented me. With a growl he pulled away and let me dress. I took a shaky breath, released my clothing with a thought and slid the smooth silk of the robe around my shoulders. "I can't help but feel like I'm going to be sacrificed," I murmured.

  Hades snorted. "You become more sarcastic when you're nervous."

  "Do not."

  "Mmm," he agreed, but I knew he didn't agree with me at all.

  I stepped closer to him, the robe trailing behind me. "You're being very elusive."

  Hades raised his hand in the air and the top of the roof slid open.

  I gasped as I looked up and saw the Heavens above me. Starlight flooded the room, the bright blue white cascading in shimmers around us. Several planets loomed what seemed to be mere feet above us, the moons circling slowly around in orbit.

  "I am of the Heavens and of the Hells, of Olympus and the Earth," he said. "With a touch I can bring worlds down or I can lift them up, bring them to life or destroy them with a thought."

  Gooseflesh broke over my skin.

  "And with it comes the kind of burden and responsibility no one should ever have. My father is only of the Heavens and though he is a creator, he can only destroy through manipulation." The silvery gaze I loved so much met mine. "But I can destroy any time I wish and with no provocation."

  Hades sank to his knees and rested his forehead against where our unborn child lay. "But with that power comes the ability to love without end, and I've never been able to use it because my life is lonely. This much power destroyed any relationship I'd ever hoped to have."

  I ran my fingers through his dark hair.

  "Until you," he said. He held his hands against the slight swell of my stomach. "Never had I dreamed I would fall so deeply in love with a woman who frustrated me so profoundly. Who spoke in fluent sarcasm and who managed to bumble through immortality as much as you have."

  My hands stilled. "I'm about to experience a case of the hurt feelings," I murmured.

  Hades continued. "A woman who loves without parallel and gives that love to people who don’t deserve it. Who dispenses justice without remorse or guilt and who would do anything for those she loved. Someone who knows my flaws and loves me anyway."

  "Our flaws make us who we are," I whispered. "Our mistakes are due to love, Hades, not hatred. And I love you because you make me a better person. You've given me a gift no other could have. You might be able to destroy, but your fire is cleansing." I tilted his head up. "And to me, I needed to be burned to become who I am today."

  His silver gaze burned into mine. "A phoenix."

  "Your wife." I rested my hands on top of his. "From now until eternity, when the Heavens turn to dust and the Underworld lies in ruins, I will be yours and yours only."

  "I will love you until the world burns to ash, Aphrodite. From now until our souls weep with exhaustion. For the rest of my days, I will love you, honor you, and cherish you. I hope to make you laugh, bring you to tears with joy and raise our children in a loving home from now until eternity. This I pledge to you.”

  My skin began to tingle. "I am yours," I whispered. "From now until the end of the worlds, I will love you."

  His fingers entwined in mine. "I am yours," Hades whispered. "From now until the end of the worlds, I will love you."

  The words from the walls lifted and entwined around our hands as the bond we made to each other settled into our skin. I arched my head back and let the power of Hades' love flow into my veins. The vow roared into my soul and twisted itself into my magic. I gasped as power slammed into me. Hades' fingers tightened against my own and he stiffened as the unexpected happened.

  "Abby?" he whispered.

  Baby Draco was moving. I looked down at my stomach and saw Hades' wide-eyed expression. My stomach glowed with a silvery blue and golden light. Pulsing, a tendril of power reached out and touched my husband's face. Tears flowed down his face and he bowed his head. Love, such love as I had never known sang through my heart.

  Our son was speaking to us.

  Son.

  The Fates were wrong.

  Hades sobbed once and pulled me closer. He held me until the vow was firmly embedded within both of us, until our child settled down into peace once again.

  We were married.

  A bond as ancient as the world flowed between us for better or for worse.

  We consummated our marriage on the floor of the stone room, the robes serving as a soft and slippery cushion.

  Hades was right. The robes were a good idea. The quicker to get naked and all that.

  Chapter 9

  We crept back up to our rooms like naughty children, but we didn't get too far until Artie busted us. She took one look at us, frowned, then gasped.

  "Oh my gods. You two got married!"

  Hades and I exchanged surprised glances. "What?" I tried to pretend.

  She rolled her eyes. "You're practically glowing. What the hell did you do?"

  Hades shrugged. "Not quite sure."

  Artie tilted her head in curiosity. "So...you two got married and you aren't exactly sure how it happened?"

  I shrugged as well. "Ancient ceremony. Words on the wall...soaked into our skin. It was kind of like our bonding promises."

  Her lips thinned. "Playing loosey goosey with ceremonies like that is never a good idea."

  I could feel Hades getting angry. "Whatever we did felt right, Artie. We are bound together. Forever."

  A tinge of hurt flashed through her gaze. "So no ceremony?"

  Guilt racked through me. "Of course we will have a ceremony." I hadn't even thought about it afterward. I'd been so happy to be with him I hadn't thought about how it would look to everyone else that we excluded them.

  "Who's your Maid of Honor?" she demanded.

  I smiled at her, glad she had some of her fierceness back. "Who do you think?"

  "I'm not wearing a stupid frilly dress," she said.

  "Not even for me?" I asked.

  She rolled her eyes. "Go to bed, you two. Anyone who sees you right now is going to know exactly what you were up to."

  Hades gave her a blinding grin and pulled me along beside him. "That's right. We aren't finished either."

  "Gross," she mumbled before she hurried down the hallway.

  Hades pushed me into the bedroom and leaned back against the closed door. "We still have to have a wedding," he said in dismay.

  "A small one," I agreed. Then I thought about my mother. "Hecate is going to be so mad," I muttered. "Any way to hide the bond for a little while?"

  Hades shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe it will fade?"

  I took a look at my delicately glowing skin and snorted. "Doubtful over the next few days at least. We're like marriage beacons."

  His gaze softened. "You're my wife," he whispered.

  I nodded. "I am. Lucky man. Someone finally tied me down."

  He growled and took a menacing step toward me. "Keep talking and I'm literally going to do that."

  I placed my hands on the sides of my stomach. "Don't listen to your father, Baby Draco. He's speaking adult stuff."

  Hades snorted and gripped me around the waist. "We're having a son."

  "I know." I leaned my forehead against his chest. "I hope he looks just like you."

  "Me too," he sighed and snorted when I swatted him.

  "I hope we can have more," he admitted.

  I paused. "Do goddesses get stretch marks?" I asked.

  The next morning we awoke, refreshed and a little bit less glowy. It was a good thing. I had trouble getting to sleep last night because of our internal night lights.

  I stared up at the ceiling while I lay cradled in my husband's arms.

  Marrie
d.

  Underneath the heavens in an ancient binding ceremony we had triggered almost by accident. I knew Hades was taking me in there to say my vows, but I don't think either one of us had planned for the sheer power of it. Whatever had happened was huge. I think we both knew it, and I think we both hoped to tiptoe around discussing it for awhile.

  But...the end result was what we hoped for. We were married now. For better or worse. And we'd already gotten a head start on the family.

  A wide grin spread across my face. We were having a baby boy.

  My hand touched the slight bump of my stomach as I remembered the gift he'd given us last night. I'd never seen Hades more shaken than he was when our son let us feel his power. He was destined to do wonderful things in our world and part of me couldn't help but think all of this was coming together into one big ball of fate.

  I sighed. Clotho. I wondered how she was doing and if she was okay. We couldn't stay in the Underworld forever. We had the coronation to attend to.

  And that was its own big ol’ ball of issues in itself.

  Chapter 10

  It was always a little nerve wracking to see your current husband and ex-boyfriend being super chummy. Not that I had anything to hide, but I knew the minds of both men and I wondered what their conversation was about. I rounded the corner to see Hades and Hermes sitting across from each other both sipping a cup of tea and wearing wide grins.

  Nothing good ever came from gods grinning like that.

  I slowed my pace and approached them with caution. I wasn't sure I even wanted to know.

  "Good morning." I nodded to both of them.

  The grins didn't fall.

  "Morning," Hermes chirped. His gaze narrowed a little as he took in my still glowing countenance, but his expression abruptly cleared as he realized what happened. He blew out a long slow breath and whistled. "Damn, Hades. You finally managed to wrestle her down. I'm not sure whether to offer you condolences or congratulations."

  "Hardy har har," I said as I walked toward my new husband and shoved him over to make room for me on the couch.

  Hades slung an arm around me. "Congratulations today. Maybe tomorrow will be condolences. You never know with Abby."

  I discreetly pinched him under the arm. The girly yelp he let out was gratifying.

  "Soooo," I drawled. "What's going on here?"

  Hermes affected an innocent stare which immediately set my instincts on high alert. "Nothing," he said quickly. Too quickly.

  "Mmmm," I said as my gaze drifted over to my husband. "Hades?"

  "Can't two grown men chat without getting the third degree?"

  I snorted. "Two Olympians? No. No they cannot."

  Both of them shrugged before Hermes said, "Well, someone should document this for prosperity then."

  I sighed. "Fine. If you two idiots don't want to tell me what's going on, I won't pry. But if you ended up destroying the Underworld, you're going to have to listen to me tell you I told you so for the rest of eternity."

  Hermes shuddered. "You nagging for all eternity? I wouldn't want any part of that. Hades already signed up for that. Not me."

  I rolled my eyes, flung my husband's hand off my shoulder and left the room.

  Whatever those two were up to, it couldn't be good.

  I found Artie sitting cross-legged in the middle of Hades' ritual room when I stepped into practice some of my newer magic. Ever since the ceremony I'd felt weird. Zinged up like I was full of extra magic and I needed an outlet.

  She stiffened when she heard the door slide open and turned. Her expression softened from annoyance to recognition as I padded over to sit in front of her.

  "Hey," I said and stretched my hands out to her.

  "Hey." She took my offered hands.

  We used to do this many years ago when our powers were still new and we were still figuring out how to control it. Practically babies back then.

  Seeing her do it now made me sad for so many reasons, but the main one was because I knew she was losing her abilities. And I knew it was because of me.

  I sent a trickle of power into Artie and watched her eyes close and forehead pucker as she tried her best to push it back to me. A slight drop of power came back, and I swallowed down the tears that threatened.

  I tried again.

  Artie pushed back harder, but the result was the same.

  "Do you think it will hurt?" she asked me after a moment.

  "What?" I asked, even though I knew the question she was asking.

  "Once my powers fade and I'm completely mortal."

  "Did it hurt the first time you tried it out?"

  She smiled. "No. But my magic wasn't really gone," she admitted. "Clotho told me later she'd only suppressed it. It wouldn't have held for very long."

  I grinned. "Clotho is a tricky little minx."

  Artie nodded. "I embraced it fully because I thought it was gone. Maybe things would have been different if I'd known the magic inside of me was merely resting."

  "I don't think it will hurt," I said softly. "I think it will just...fade away." I blew out a breath. "Artie, I'm so so -"

  She held up a hand. "Apologies will not fix me, Aphrodite." Even though her words were harsh, her tone was not. "I don't think many things involving us are accidental. Perhaps I was meant to bear this burden. Maybe I am meant for the human world." Her eyes closed for a second. "I can do great things there."

  I squeezed her hands even as I dropped my power. "You can do great things anywhere."

  "The Fates think I may retain some of my powers. They aren't sure yet. Right now it's just a wait and watch game." She sighed. "At least it was until your father-in-law got a hold of them."

  "Yeah," I commiserated. "But they should be back to normal in a day or two."

  "What's going to happen to me once I turn fully mortal? Will I be kicked out of Olympus?"

  "Maybe if Zeus were still in charge," I admitted. "But with new leadership taking the throne, I can't imagine that will happen."

  Her shoulders fell. "What good will a mortal do here?" she wondered aloud. "I'd be a walking accident waiting to happen."

  I didn't know and when her gaze met mine I knew she knew it. Plus....with the Hermes thing, there was no telling how the future was going to go. "You can stay for as long or as little as you like." I smiled gently at her. "But I know where your heart lies, and it isn't here."

  She blinked tears away. "I know. But this was my first home and I feel like something is being ripped away from me."

  "None of us would ever take anything away from you. This is still your home and always will be. Even if you never return."

  "I'm scared," she whispered.

  "I'm scared for you," I admitted.

  Artie scooted closer to me and laid her head in my lap. Her hair spiraled all over the place and I reached out to brush it away from her face. "You are my best friend, my sister, and a fearsome goddess, Artemis, no matter if you're immortal or human."

  Her broken sob sounded against my leg as my heart broke into a thousand pieces.

  Drained, I made my way back to my bedroom and face planted into the soft mattress. But it wasn't to last because seconds later the door burst open.

  I sighed into the pillow and scrunched my eyes shut. "Go away," I muttered.

  "Now is that anyway to talk to one of the Fates?" a voice said.

  I sprang from the bed like my pants were on fire, tripping over the quilt. Soft laughter sounded as I stumbled trying to stand up straight and gather my magic all at the same time.

  Clotho stood in front of me, arms crossed over her chest, smiling at me and shaking her head.

  "How do I know you're really you?"

  "Honestly, Abby, do you think for a second Hades would have let me in here if I wasn't?"

  "Poseidon and Zeus managed to get in here before."

  Clotho rolled her eyes. "That was back before Hades knew better. He now has serious trust issues. Rightfully so."

  I still wasn't
certain. "Tell me a secret."

  She snorted. "That could take a while. Also, it wouldn't be a secret if two people knew it, now would it?"

  "Damn it," I muttered. I stared at her for a second as I thought. "Tell me the name of the bear you tuck underneath your pillow that you think I don't know about."

  Her mouth dropped open in outrage. "How do you know about Wuzzy Fuzz Ems?"

  I choked on my laughter. It was her. "Because you croon to Mr. Wuzzy Fuzz Ems every night before bed. I'd have to be an idiot not to have eavesdropped on you when I couldn't figure out who you were talking to."

  "You're terribly nosy."

  "Yes, well, you're terribly attached to a dirty teddy bear."

  She harrumphed and made her way into the room as I dropped my magic.

  "How'd you get away so soon?" I asked.

  Clotho let out a snort of derision. "Sheer anger, I'd guess. Lachesis and Atropos are back in the den still trying to shake the magic off." She smoothed her skirts over her knees as she sat on the edge of my bed. "Your father-in-law is a handful."

  It was my turn for my mouth to drop open. "How -"

  She waved a hand and rolled her eyes. "You're gleaming like the North Star. You two managed to announce your wedding vows to the entire paranormal world."

  "Shit," I said with a heartfelt groan.

  "Well," Clotho said, "it was bound to happen sooner or later. Regardless, you two are stronger as a team. Now that you're married you can draw on each other's power at will."

  I’d wondered about that potential side effect but hadn’t had the opportunity to test it out yet. I shuddered to think how much more dangerous my husband would be if he had yet another pool of power to access. But...it was also kind of hot.

  Clotho was snapping her fingers in front of my face. I blinked up at her. “What?”

  “Stop thinking about Hades’ hot bod and let’s talk about the next 48 hours.”

  “You think Hades has a hot bod?”

  Clotho let out an aggravated snarl and pinched the skin between her eyebrows. “You need medication.”

  I held out my hand. “It would have to be magical because of my immortal metabolism, but sharing is caring if you have some.”