Oh, no. Ohhh, no-no-no.
Where’s my staunchly self-controlled Professor Kane when I need him most?
And why do I already know there won’t be a quick answer for that?
Chapter Fifteen
Maximus
The dark worry in Kara’s gaze says so much. But also asks too much. She’s begging me for restraint, backing her visual plea with a vise grip hold around my forearm. But she’s asking for the impossible. She has to see that. Hades isn’t going to offer us tea service and a civilized summit. The only shreds of humanity in his skull are what he’s stolen straight out of others. He’s the Don Corleone of the gods, a savage in a silk suit. Getting through to the former won’t be accomplished unless I’m willing to rough up the latter. And by now, Hades has to know I’m not afraid of a little dirt.
Yet even in this roaring wind-up of a moment, all my logical lamps are cranked on full. I’m no longer the skittish newb who sat down with him at Honey Bacchus’s bar. I’m the half-god nephew who’s had a steep learning curve in this side of the universe and has been fairly crushing it so far. Surely even he sees that by now. Even the god of chaos has to respect the power of perseverance and give it a place at his bargaining table.
“That got you feeling a little better, Uncle?” I insert into the silence that’s oozed on for too long. “Now that you see we’re all clear about who the big man in the room is, can we move on?”
The second I verbally dot it, a small hand digs into the back of my elbow. I’m not scoring points with Kara, as she’s clearly conveying.
“Maximus.” Her half hiss only gets her my outstretched hand, grabbing her in gentle admonition. As much as I want to give her more than that, I don’t dare. Trusting Hades once cost me a chunk of sanity. The second time, the price was much steeper. Now, I’m not about to take my eyes off him.
My intensity doesn’t derail his slimy serenity for a second.
“Cute.” His charcoal gaze maintains enough of a peeved spark to keep the beast battalion squirming. But not for long.
They all jolt in their seats when the dark god clasps his hands at the apex of his stiffened stance. I almost expect a jewel-encrusted cane—or a fire-wrapped sword—to materialize beneath his stacked palms.
“Of course we can move on,” he says, again with too much congeniality to believe. “This is home, nephew. I’m more than content if you are. Besides, we’ve been having some reasonable levels of fun around here lately.” He tilts his head and scoots his gaze around to Kara. “Isn’t that right, love?”
Now the captains aren’t the only ones twitching. But my violent shift likely has a much different motivation—and intention. Kara, already sensing it, tightens her grip at my elbow. This time, she hooks around the whole crook. My every blood vessel, exploding like ignited hydrogen, doesn’t care. My vision is painted red. My senses are nothing but rage.
The stuff’s so thick and potent, I barely notice when Gio lurches in, all but spitting in my face. “Stow it, son.” He slams a harsh hand to my sternum. “He’s baiting. You know this.”
The last corners of my mind blare in agreement. The sections of me that remember every part of my woman that this monster has seen. Her naked body. Her bared mind. The heights of her ecstasy and the gloom of her despair. Shame that he brought her to in the name of his goddamned fascination.
The visions keep frothing, swelling into blacker clouds of rage, but I cling to a shred of perspective. Hades is anything but a simple character. He’s been alive for millennia, which gives his evil more dimensions than I can fathom. He can’t be underestimated, though that doesn’t mean he can’t be understood. And right now, understanding is one of the few tools I have left. If it gives me just one more weapon to outwit him…
I just have to dig deeper.
What’s he after?
I mean, beyond the obvious choice of what’s in front of him right now. If Kara is the ultimate treasure, he wouldn’t still be so fully engaged now. He’d have left Gio and me to his capable horde and moved on. Even Charlena has already implied that we’re just passing entertainment until a shinier interest comes along.
Right now, I’m assuming that shiny thing is named Persephone.
How much longer until the goddess of the underworld is back? If this place hasn’t messed too heavily with my sense of passing time, I determine that their reunion must be imminent, on the day of the autumnal equinox. But that’s assuming the tall tale of the ancients is close to true.
In the last week alone, I’ve been to a cocktail bar in a portable realm, watched hellish statuary transform into moving beasts, and been ambushed by my own flashback of life in Olympus. So buying into Persephone doing the earth-underworld commute every six months isn’t my most massive stretch. It actually makes the next thought easier. I now see Hades in a brand-new light. He’s just a sad, bored husband waiting for the love of his life to come home.
But with that assumption on the table, is he really going to risk that prize for some temporary amusement? Pawns he’s going to forget once his true love walks through the door?
Waiting around for that answer isn’t a good idea. No way are we going to figure out how long it’ll take for him to throw us away. And he’ll not have a moment more of Kara’s thoughts so long as I’m here and able.
The resolve spurs me to take a protective step in front of her. My height and bulk already create an imposing barrier between her and Hades.
The movement inspires another smirk from Hades. “You truly think you can protect her?”
“I can. And I will.” I roll my stance higher. “You’ve enjoyed your sick voyeur moments, haven’t you? That’s the only reason she’s here, right?”
He smirks. “New experiences are always exciting. But even when they’re not new, they’re…useful.”
I clench up both my hands. It’s my only defense against showing him what I’d find useful right now. “You’ve had your fun,” I spit out. “Now let her go home and we can be done with this.”
“Hmm. Just like that?”
“This doesn’t have to be hard.”
He shakes his head with a deepening smile. “My word. You do have your father’s sense of entitlement, don’t you? You actually think you can bound into my kingdom and take my subjects. And what authority would you be invoking for that exactly? A lover’s passion? A professor’s intellect?”
I push toward him, fists still formed. “I’ll fight every lackey you’ve rallied here if that’s what it takes.”
“And you think that’s what makes you deserve her?”
“That’s the difference between us, Uncle. I already know I don’t deserve her.”
His nostrils flare. “She’s mine. Mine!”
The last proclamation rattles more books from their shelves. But by now, his temper only riles my own. Kara may not be mine to possess, but she’s mine to protect. To love and worship and save from a vicious fate she doesn’t deserve.
My muscles coil tighter. My gut clenches hard. There’s thunder in my ears as I take another threatening step toward him.