He stepped.
Enyo leaped onto the fallen stones.
Below her, Thanatos twisted Oizys to face him, his fiery blue eyes glowing in the darkness. He grabbed the front of her breastplate and lifted her.
“You will pay for the shame you have brought upon your family.” Thanatos’s deep voice rolled over the battlefield.
He didn’t get the chance to mete out justice to his youngest sister.
Keras slammed into her, stealing her from him, disappearing in a swirl of black smoke.
When he reappeared a short distance away, barely a split-second later, Oizys hung limp from his left hand, the lower half of her body dragging along the ground as his black eyes scoured the fray.
He snarled, his gaze landing on Nyx where she stood over the body of Apate.
Threw Oizys at the goddess of night.
Nyx was quick to dodge. She turned murderous eyes on Keras.
Keras bared his fangs at her.
For a moment, he looked as if he would attack her too, but then his head whipped to his right, towards the palace.
His scarlet pupils narrowed.
Enyo knew who he had sensed.
Eris.
She tried to beat him to the raven-haired goddess, but the moment her golden eyes locked on Enyo, five Keres descended on her. Enyo grunted as she raised her arms and tried to block them, as fire lashed at her with each vicious slash of their claws over her exposed skin.
Thanatos hurried to her, managed to cut down one Ker with a mighty swipe of his black broadsword, giving her an opening to reach for her own weapon. She gave him her back, silently thanking him whenever he shielded her with his wings, taking a blow meant for her.
“You can reach him, I presume?” Thanatos growled. “We need Eris alive.”
“I know,” she bit out.
Hades would want someone to punish for all of this.
If she failed in her mission to reach Keras and pull him back from the darkness, she feared she would be the one spending the rest of her days in Tartarus.
She sliced through the thigh of a Ker as it tried to move away from her, followed it with a thrust of her blade. Her sword plunged into the female’s side and Enyo tugged her forwards with it, seized hold of her arm and held her in place as she yanked her sword free. She shoved the Ker back and spun, bringing her sword up at the same time, cutting clean through her neck.
“That was the last of them.” Thanatos broke away from her, heading for the palace.
She kicked off in that direction too.
Eris’s twin daggers flashed brightly as she lashed out at Keras, driving him back, keeping some distance between them, her golden eyes wild and her desperation tainting the air.
It was no use.
Keras grinned and shadows lunged for the goddess. She swiped at them, managing to cut the pointed tips of several of them, but there were too many. She screamed as they plunged into her legs, as red arcs of lightning chased up them and coursed through her, and lost her grip on one of her daggers.
As the arcs faded, she weakly slashed at Keras with her one remaining blade, her actions sluggish as he advanced on her.
Eris’s face scrunched up and she grunted as she hurled the dagger at him.
“No.” Enyo’s heart shot into her mouth as it embedded in his chest, knocking him back several steps.
Keras looked down at it, his black eyes narrowing as he frowned. He lifted his hand with visible effort and fumbled with the blade, taking several attempts to pull it free of his armour.
It came out glistening red.
He turned a glare on Eris.
She screamed as his shadows ripped into her legs.
“Stop,” Thanatos barked and beat his wings, shot towards Keras and grabbed hold of him.
Keras roared and attacked him, using Eris’s blade against the god of death. He slashed at Thanatos’s bare chest, catching him across his left pectoral, leaving a deep diagonal groove that rapidly spilled crimson.
Thanatos swore.
Enyo cursed too as she felt her barrier go down. She didn’t have enough energy left to cast another one. She glanced at the horizon and loosed another curse when she saw that her barrier wasn’t the only one that had gone down.
Cassandra’s had too.
Eris clawed at the shadows, tears streaming down her face as she desperately tried to free herself. Keras continued to battle Thanatos, managed to land more blows on him with the dagger, cutting across his arm and his hip. Thanatos was pulling his punches.
A huge mistake.
“We need her alive,” Thanatos growled and dodged backwards as Keras swiped at him. Keras grinned as the god of death unwittingly backed into waiting shadows. They snaked around his legs and rapidly rose to seize hold of his wings too, pinning him in place. Thanatos twisted, trying to break free of them. “We must take Eris to Tartarus for your father, Keras.”
Enyo ran up behind Keras and grabbed him, hauling him backwards just as he lunged forwards with the blade, stopping him from stabbing Thanatos. “Keras, listen to me.”
She grunted as he elbowed her in the sternum, her breath seizing in her throat as it closed.
He easily broke free of her and thrust the dagger at Thanatos’s chest.
He meant to kill him.
A golden blade swept upwards, knocking the dagger from Keras’s grip and sending it flying into the air.
She couldn’t believe her eyes as her brother stepped between Keras and Thanatos, his blue eyes darker than she had ever seen them as his fair eyebrows pinched hard.
“Turning on your own side?” Ares spat and lowered his sword to his side. “Even I know that is beneath you.”
Keras bared fangs at him.
Her brother smiled slowly. “You wish to fight me. Nothing has changed then.”
Ares lifted his free hand, the light of the crimson bolts of electricity that struck the ground around them bouncing off the gold plate of his vambraces and his breastplate, and turning his heavy blue cloak a strange shade of purple.
He crooked a finger at Keras.
No.
She couldn’t let them fight. She couldn’t bear it.
“Brother,” she said, but he wasn’t listening, didn’t take his blue eyes off Keras as he spread his feet shoulder-width apart. She looked at Keras instead. “Keras. Please?”
Keras tossed a snarl over his shoulder and launched at her brother.
She didn’t want to watch as they clashed, as Ares jammed an elbow into Keras’s face and got a fist in his throat in return.
Thanatos finished freeing himself of the shadows now that Keras was distracted. The mountain of a god twisted away from the fight and grabbed Eris, bundled her up into his arms and beat his wings, lifting into the air with her.
Keras roared as he noticed.
Shadows barraged her brother and Keras broke past him, stepped but didn’t teleport. Black ribbons swirled from his shoulders and he twisted and turned, growled as he took in his surroundings.
He was too weak to teleport.
Ares slammed into his back, his golden armour a stark contrast against Keras’s black armour. Light against darkness. Her brother wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled backwards, gripping his wrist to choke Keras.
“You are being unreasonable,” Ares muttered.
Keras smashed a fist into his groin.
Ares grunted and released him, staggered backwards as he clutched himself and glared at Keras. “Now you are really being unreasonable.”
“Calm yourself, Keras. Listen to my voice.” Enyo rushed to him, but didn’t reach him before he kicked off and collided with Ares again.