Page 139

Hades’s magic manifested like tendrils of smoke, one snaking around Poseidon’s neck and yanking him back. The sudden move forced him to loosen his hold on Ariadne. She bolted for Dionysus.

“No!” Poseidon growled, and suddenly the yacht pitched again. Ariadne fell to her knees and rolled, crashing into the wall. Dionysus rushed for her, but as he did, the windows shattered, glass rained down on them, and water began to pour into the boat as it was tossed about on the sea.

“All this for a mortal who called you a name?” Hades’s voice carried over the storm.

“I could say the same to you,” Poseidon said.

Dionysus could tell when Hades struck Poseidon with another blow because the fury of the storm lessened. Still, he stayed focused on Ariadne, and she crawled toward him.

When they reached each other, they were on their knees, and he took her face between his hands.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded, and Dionysus helped her to her feet, though it was almost impossible to stay upright with the way the yacht heaved.

They fell again, and as Dionysus hit the floor, he saw Hades looming over Poseidon, his hand on his head. Beneath his touch, Poseidon trembled. His teeth were bared, the veins in his neck strained, and then he managed to summon his trident, breaking whatever hold Hades had.

Poseidon rose and swung at Hades, who vanished, reappearing some distance away, but Poseidon followed. While they charged each other, Dionysus reached for Ariadne again, but as he did, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she went limp in his arms. Her body convulsed as water poured from her mouth.

“No!” he growled. “Hades!”

But when he looked to the brothers, Hades had ceased to fight. He seemed to be frozen, stricken by Poseidon somehow.

“You are here fighting for a woman who does not even belong to you while yours suffers at the hands of my sons.”

Poseidon’s voice reverberated throughout the cabin despite the roar of the storm. Dionysus did not know what the god meant, but he’d clearly gotten to Hades because his chest heaved and his body trembled.

Then he vanished.

Dionysus did not know what had happened, but he was now alone and facing Poseidon. He rose to his feet and summoned his thyrsus—a fennel-tipped staff—though he knew he was facing a god in his own realm, one of the three, and that his power was no match.

Still he charged and was thrown back. He crashed through the wall and was nearly swept into the sea, but he managed to grab hold of the rail of the ship.

The rain pelted him, and the ship rocked beneath him, but he managed to crawl his way back on deck. When he returned, he found Ariadne within Poseidon’s grasp again. He had her bent over a table, her legs spread, his hips pressed into her ass.

“I wouldn’t have made you watch,” he said. “I was satisfied that you would be tortured by merely the thought of my dick inside her, but then you brought Hades into my realm, and for that, you too must be punished.”

Dionysus’s anger burned, and his eyes locked with Ariadne’s, which glistened with tears. He had no power here, save one, and the only thing he could think to say before his magic hit her was, “Forgive me.”

He knew when the madness struck her because her eyes changed. They took on a crazed and feral look. She let out a sudden, horrifying shriek and found the strength to rear back suddenly, throwing her head into Poseidon’s face. The blow struck home with a loud crack, and the god released her, stumbling back. She whirled on Poseidon and began to claw at his body. Her fingers dug into his skin as if he were nothing but clay, and before he could stop her, she had ripped chunks of his flesh away from each arm.

It was horrifying. It was the nature of Dionysus’s magic.

Despite her frenzy, Ariadne was very much aware of what she was doing, though she had no control. There was no way she could ever forgive him for this, and he did not blame her, but he’d had no other choice.

A scream tore from Poseidon’s mouth, and Dionysus bolted forward, trapping Ariadne’s arms beneath his own as he held her against him, her bloodied hands still holding Poseidon’s flesh. She growled unnaturally and lurched as he dragged her back, still overcome with madness. If he let her go, she would try to tear the god limb from limb, and while Dionysus would not mind witnessing that, it was only a matter of time before Poseidon gained the upper hand.

Dionysus’s only advantage here was that he’d managed to surprise the god, but this was still Poseidon’s realm.

The God of the Sea seethed, eyes flashing with malice. He looked at each of his bleeding, mangled arms. His breath came quickly between clenched teeth. The yacht pitched on the sea.

Dionysus struggled to hold Ariadne at bay. Still underhis spell, she thirsted for Poseidon’s blood because it was the first she had tasted, and she would not rest until one of them was dead.

“If she manages to survive the sea, I will hunt her down and tear her to pieces in front of you,” Poseidon said. As he spoke, the flesh on his arms regenerated, and though he was whole, he was still covered in blood. “And you will be forced to eat each one, each slice of skin, each hot organ, and with each bite, you will know that it would have been easier to let me fuck her in front of you.”

And then Dionysus heard a crack, and the entire ship was taken under. Water filled the room with such force, the only thing he was conscious of was the way it stole his breath before everything went dark.

CHAPTER XXVII