Page 12

Chapter twelve

R une exhaled when his next step landed on the paved street that ran through the center of the village, the coldness of the stone seeping into the soles of his bare feet.

They had made it home.

The moment they were through, Keegan and Noah jerked apart, cradling their arms against their chests, both tired and hurting, but wearing identical smiles of triumph.

The doorway shimmered for a moment longer, its shape wobbling before it finally folded in on itself and disappeared.

Hopefully for good.

Those who had come through before them cheered, high-fiving and hugging each other in celebration.

“You did it.” Wrapping his arms around Keegan’s waist, Rune lifted him off his feet and spun him in a circle.

“You were incredible. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“It was kind of a team effort, you know.” Noah tilted his head.

“I helped.”

Chuckling, Rune reached over and ruffled his hair.

“Yes, you did. You were both incredible.”

Noah smirked, his eyes dancing with mischief as he stared up at his brother.

“He likes me.”

“Actually, he thinks you’re hideous,” Keegan shot back, wrapping his arms around Rune’s neck.

“I am literally wearing your face.”

“Nope.” Leaning back, he looked at Rune with an arched eyebrow.

“Right?”

“Absolutely. Grotesque even.”

Noah dropped his head and grumbled under his breath.

“I hate you both.”

“I leave you alone for five fucking minutes.” Deep and resonating, the voice reverberated through the village, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Everyone quieted, backing away from the street and averting their gaze as Hades strode forward, Orrin and Erus following close behind.

Wearing a black leather jacket with spiked shoulders, his mane of silver hair blowing behind him in a ghostly trail, he looked every bit the pissed-off god he was.

Lowering his mate to the ground, Rune stepped forward, shuffling Keegan behind him.

“Noah,” Keegan hissed.

“Get over here.”

Hands clasped in front of him, head bent, Noah shuffled his feet across the stones as he hurried to join his brother.

“Well?” Hades came to a stop in front of him and rested his hands on his hips, parting the front of his jacket to reveal a bare chest covered in colorful ink.

“Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on around here?”

And by “someone,” he clearly meant Rune.

“Maybe it would be better if we took this conversation somewhere else,” Orrin suggested, forever the diplomat.

“We can go—”

Hades waved his hand, but instead of transporting them to the diner or the castle, everyone else on the street vanished.

“Talk,” he demanded.

“It’s my fault,” Keegan piped up.

Rune growled. “Quiet, kaelaer .”

“No, no, let the kid speak.” The god waved his hand again, and in the next heartbeat, Keegan materialized in front of him.

“Go on.”

Twisting his hands together, Keegan glanced over his shoulder before taking a deep breath and beginning his explanation.

“See, my brother died, and I didn’t get to say goodbye. Then I died, and Noah—that’s my brother—got sucked into a mirror. But Hades—that’s you—was gone, so we didn’t know how to get him back. Then I got sucked into a mirror, which I do not recommend.”

Rune resisted the urge to look away from the train wreck as he swallowed back a groan.

His mate was clearly nervous, which he had sympathy for, but that had to be the most incoherent babble he’d ever heard.

“How am I doing?” Even Keegan’s inner voice shook as it floated into Rune’s mind.

“Maybe skip to the end.”

“We found some more souls,” Keegan continued, speaking faster, the words tumbling one over the other.

“Then we figured out how to open another portal, and Rune fed that crazy bitch to some shadow monsters.”

This time, Rune did groan.

Really, though, he had no one to blame but himself.

He’d said to skip to the end of the story, and his mate had certainly accomplished that.

Any embarrassment or anxiety he felt, however, vanished like smoke when Hades reached out to grip Keegan’s jaw, forcing his head to the side.

His upper lip pulled back from his teeth, a warning growl rolling in his chest as he took a step forward.

The god’s head shot up, his obsidian eyes locked on Rune and blazing with fire.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to.

That one look alone had halted Rune in his tracks.

Once Hades had finished examining Keegan, he dropped his hand and cocked his head to the side.

“You,” he called. “2.0. Come here.”

“Me?” Noah squeaked, still hiding behind Rune’s back.

Then he, too, vanished, only to rematerialize beside his twin.

“Now, let me see if I have this straight.” Linking his fingers together behind his back, Hades began to pace, glancing at the twins from the corner of his eye occasionally.

“A human female stole magic and used it to break into my house so she could traffic souls to sell on the black market.”

Rune sighed.

So, he already knew the whole story.

The asshole just enjoyed the theatrics.

Pausing mid-stride, Hades looked over at him with an arched eyebrow, a subtle reminder that the god could hear his every thought.

Not usually a big deal, but at the moment, his mind wasn’t the most charitable place to be.

Smirking, Hades lowered his head again and resumed his pacing, continuing his monologue as if the interruption hadn’t occurred.

“Being the resourceful gentlemen that you are, you two managed to save the day by opening a doorway between the primordial void and the Underworld.”

“Um, yes?” Noah responded, his voice lilting at the end.

“And now the female is dead.”

“Very dead,” Keegan confirmed with a nod.

Hades came to a stop in front of the pair.

“How did you open the rift between the realms? Show me.”

The twins seemed less than thrilled about the command, their bodies tense and radiating with nerves.

But when the King of the Underworld gave an order, no one argued.

Facing each other, they locked hands, jolting when the magic flared through the tether once more.

Despite the lack of a mirror or any other reflective surface, the air next to Rune shimmered and swirled, crackling as it emitted golden sparks from seemingly nowhere.

“That’s enough,” Hades said, his voice quiet, thoughtful.

The twins let go of each other with a pained grunt and stumbled back a step.

The air stilled, the spark vanished, and everything returned to normal.

Yet, the demonstration confirmed what Rune had already suspected.

The rift might be closed, but it wasn’t sealed.

Keegan must have realized what it meant as well because he said, “We promise we will never, ever open another doorway into the void.”

“No,” Hades agreed.

“You won’t.”

Rune tensed when he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, but instead of divine retribution, he removed a sanded stick with colorful, braided thread tied to each end.

Though he had never seen it personally, he guessed it to be the talisman the female had used to tether the brothers in the first place.

“Correct,” Hades said without looking at him.

“And just what we need, I think.”

Pinching it in the middle between his thumb and index finger, he held it casually, the way one might balance a baton.

The result, however, was immediate.

The lines of magic etched into the brothers’ skin shimmered to life again, the light dim but growing brighter as it reacted to Hades’ summons.

Like sand scattered by the wind, the scars disintegrated, bleeding off their bodies in a stream of golden light that flowed into the relic.

It was over in a moment, leaving both males staring at their hands in disbelief.

“That should do it.” With a satisfied smile, the god tucked the stick—now carved in ancient sigils and alight with dark enchantments—back into his pocket.

“Now, go away.”

“Yes, sir.” Noah bobbed his head enthusiastically as he backed away, pulling Keegan with him.

“Thank you.”

“Yes,” Keegan agreed.

“Thank you.”

But Hades was already gone.

“Holy shit,” Keegan breathed.

“I totally thought we were going to die. Again.”

Orrin strode forward then, a bright smile lighting his face.

“Welcome back.”

“Good to be back.” Joining his mate, Rune wound an arm around him, pulling him close.

“How long were we gone?”

“Not long.” He smiled sheepishly.

“I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t even notice until a hole opened up in the sky, and souls started spilling into the street.”

“That’s understandable, asteraki .” Erus smoothed back the prince’s silvery hair and leaned in to press a kiss to the side of his neck.

“No need to apologize. You were…otherwise occupied.”

Orrin’s cheeks reddened, his expression scandalized as he smacked his hand against his mate’s arm.

“Erus!”

While Rune didn’t begrudge their flirting, he was tired, both mentally and physically.

He needed a shower, a nap, and food in no particular order.

“Come on, kaelaer . Let’s go home.”

“Yes, please.”

“I’m going to head to my apartment,” Noah said, backing away and angling toward the Tower.

Keegan stiffened. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m exhausted, and I have a feeling you’re going to be—” His gaze flickered from Orrin to Rune, a crooked smile curving one side of his mouth.

“— otherwise occupied. Don’t worry, I’m not going to disappear.” Grabbing his brother’s shoulder, he pulled him into a brief but tight hug.

“I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

Though obviously reluctant, Keegan nodded.

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”

They parted ways there in the street, Noah heading in the direction of the high-rise while Orrin teleported the rest of them to the front steps of the castle.

Although he had the ability to phase them directly into the foyer, kitchen, or even their own rooms, he never did.

Something about it being bad manners.

With a muttered thanks, Rune pushed the door open, pulling Keegan behind him as they trudged through the corridors to their room.

Neither of them spoke as they undressed and stepped into the shower together, their experiences in the mirror world still too fresh to pretend everything was fine.

Nor did they speak as they scrubbed each other clean beneath the spray of hot water, washing away bad memories along with the dirt and blood.

Afterwards, they tumbled into bed, coming together gently with soft touches and tender kisses.

There was no urgency or desperation, no frenzied hands or growled commands.

This time, it wasn’t about unfettered desire, but about connection, a reclamation of what they had almost lost. They moved as one, their bodies in perfect sync, staring into each other’s eyes as they fell over the edge together with quiet moans and contented sighs.

Even after the high faded, they clung to each other.

Wrapped in a tangle of limbs, they drifted to sleep, secure in the knowledge that not even death had been able to keep them apart.

If they could stare into the mouth of the void and come out on the other side, they could face anything. Together.