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I gesture with my head for Elmer to leave, and once he shuts the door behind him, I stand up to greet my brothers.
Hades has been visiting more often, even though he is still full of secrets, mysterious and dark. Dionysus, on the other hand, only comes when he wants to discuss something serious, as he doesn't want to anger his fiery redhead by coming home late at night. Cici, his wife, seems sweet as a pot of honey, but she has a hell of a temper and is one of the few people I've seen to date with the courage to stand up to my brother.
"A visit?" I ask, directing my question to Dionysus. "Bored with married life?"
He doesn't tell me to fuck off, as he normally would. Dionysus is completely dominated by his wife, crazy about her, and he has no problem in admitting it.
Neither of them says anything, and it only takes a few seconds for me to understand that something is wrong.
"What the hell is happening?" I ask, already standing.
"Your cell phone is turned off."
"No, it—" I pick up the device and see that the battery is dead.
Shit!
"What’s wrong?" I ask, because I know they're not bringing me good news.
"Serenity."
I feel my blood run cold. "What?"
"She’s been hospitalized. We need to go to New Orleans.
Serenity
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hours later
NEW ORLEANS
I hearmy phone vibrating on the side table next to the hospital bed, and when I reach out to pick it up and see who the message is from, all the numbness I've been feeling since I woke up disappears.
Ares:Don’t you dare leave the hospital before I get there.
Brute. Authoritarian. Arrogant.
And yet, he makes my heart race.
How is that possible?
Is he coming to see me? Maybe I should have tried to die sooner.
Yeah, my mood is dark. Why would it be different? Someone put a scorpion inside my bag.
The message is from about four hours ago, which means he should arrive any moment.
It's already dawn.
He left everything in New York to come see me?
I reread the message three times, trying to guess what it will mean for my future.
I don't show it to Debra, who arrived from Europe a few hours ago, or even to JeAnne, whose eyes are red from crying. She has hugged and kissed me so many times to make sure I'm really okay that I no longer know what to say to comfort her.
Debra convinced her to go to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat, because she hasn't left my side for a second since she got here.