Page 46 of Gods and Graves

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

RAFAEL

W e unanimously agree that our next stop will be the compound.

It’s time to visit Ares and demand answers.

I’m not as…attached to the God of War as my brethren are. Then again, I don’t truly care for anyone except for my brothers and Thea.

Zaid may think of Ares as a father figure, but I know the truth.

He’s nothing but our owner, and it’s about time we fought back.

I wonder how easy it would be to torture a god.

Would he scream if I cut off each of his fingers, or would they grow back right away?

What is his tolerance for pain? I know ordinary measures won’t kill him, but if I discover he’s behind what happened to my little bird, I’ll find a way.

I’ll scour every book I can get my hands on, speak to every contact I possess, try every method I have at my disposal.

Something will stick. I’ll make sure of it.

“Are you sure you guys can’t stay one more day?” Persephone asks, staring up at us with wide, creepy-ass eyes.

“No, sorry.” Thea winces, her features creasing with sympathy as she regards the Goddess of…Spring, maybe?

Fuck if I know.

Persephone’s face falls. “Oh.”

“But maybe we can come visit in the future,” Thea tacks on tentatively.

I turn to stare at my girl, incredulous.

Willingly visit the Underworld? Fuck no.

But when Persephone’s face lights up, and Thea gifts her a smile in return, I understand.

Thea sees herself in Persephone. Someone who’s trapped and alone. Who knows what the fuck Hades does to Persephone when no one’s around to stop him?

“I packed you some sandwiches for the road,” Persephone says, thrusting a basket into Thea’s hands.

“Oh, thank you.” Thea puts aside the picnic basket, a frown drawing her brows together.

“Please. Let us know if you need anything. Hades and I will both help you. He may seem like a grumpy bastard, but he’s a big teddy bear underneath it all,” Persephone continues earnestly.

“A teddy bear from a horror movie, maybe,” Krystian murmurs from beside me.

I snort in agreement.

Thea still seems hesitant, but she promises to get in touch if we run into any issues. I don’t know how the fuck she expects to do that, but then again, I don’t care. Not my problem.

“Be safe!” Persephone chirps, pulling my little bird into a tight hug.

I growl and take a threatening step forward, seconds away from cutting the goddess’s arms from her body, but Thea is already untangling herself, her smile tight.

“It was nice meeting you, Persephone.”

Tears cascade down the goddess’s cheeks as she sniffles. “Please return.”

Conversation ceases as we step up to the portal that should take us to the mortal realm.

Persephone begins to goddamn wail as we step through one at a time. I always suspected the goddess had a few screws loose, but this confirms it.

Like recognizes like, after all.

I step through last, feeling the air shift and distort around me. The Underworld fades away, and in its place is a familiar building—the compound.

“This is where you grew up?” Thea asks, peering up at the unassuming structure with its gray walls and vaulted blue roof.

“Where we grew up,” Everett corrects quietly, and Thea’s expression twists.

It’s still goddamn insane to realize that we grew up with Thea. Knew her. Cared for her. Probably loved her, if I’m being completely honest. Yet all of those memories were stolen from us. Was it the sleep that caused it? Ares? The god or goddess behind this entire fucked-up situation?

I want answers.

And blood.

Do gods bleed red like the humans and supernaturals they look after? Or is their blood golden? Silver? Black?

I’m certain I’ll find out.

“Remember, we don’t know if Ares knows anything about what happened to Thea,” Zaid says, obviously trying to think the best of his “daddy.”

“But if he does…” I warn.

I need Zaid to be okay with what I’m about to do. I need them all to be okay with it.

A bloated storm cloud ripples across Zaid’s face, darkening his features. “Then we take care of him.”

A smile tugs up my lips instinctively. I fucking love it when my brothers embrace their dark sides. They’re just as twisted as me sometimes, though they’ll never admit it.

“Krystian, put the glamour on Thea,” Everett instructs.

Krystian salutes the shifter and then turns towards our reaper. He concentrates for a long moment, his eyebrows drawn together, before he nods and turns away.

“Done.” A cold smile unfurls on the elf’s face—one of the many indications that Krys is present as well.

Krystian would be a little more hesitant about spilling a god’s blood, but Krys? He’ll relish the opportunity, especially if the bastard hurt our girl. Krystian finally came to terms with who he is— what he is—and we have Thea to thank for that.

She saved him, just like she saved the rest of us, and now we’ll burn the world down if that’s what it takes to keep her safe.

“So it’ll be like it was with Aphrodite? You guys will be able to hear and see me, but Ares won’t?” Thea asks.

“That’s the plan,” Krystian says.

“But what if it fails like it did in the Underworld?” She nibbles on her lower lip.

“It won’t,” Krystian assures her. “I should’ve taken into account that the magic down there is different from up here. Weaker. But my glamour will hold up perfectly, at least for a couple of hours.”

“Let’s go,” I snarl, anger flooding my veins, dark and caustic.

I want to rip Ares apart limb from limb.

Gouge his eyes out.

Slice off his tongue.

Castrate him.

The list is endless.

I try to remind myself that Zaid is right—he could be innocent in this mess—but my gut says something different. And I’ve learned to always trust my intuition.

After all, it’s what declared Thea as mine from the very first meeting.

I kick open the door and stalk forward, trembles reverberating through my body.

Ares is sitting behind a desk in the far corner, a pile of envelopes in front of him.

He glances up when we enter, surprise on his face, which quickly morphs into anger.

“There you guys are! It’s been days without a single word!” He stands, seven entire feet full of rippling muscles and malevolent energy. “We have hundreds of cases lined up, so get your asses over here for a debriefing.”

“Remember. We need to be subtle,” Zaid whispers.

But fuck subtlety.

“What the hell did you do to Thea?” I demand, the words a guttural growl.

Ares stares at us in shock. “Who?”

“The reaper,” Krystian interjects angrily. “Blonde hair. Perfect body. Perfect face. Perfect everything.”

“Awww,” Thea coos from where she has moved to stand off to the side, watching the exchange.

“Thea?” Ares’s brows draw tight together, and then a look of realization dawns on his face. His cheeks drain of color, and he stumbles backwards. “Do you mean…Winnifred?”

“Winnifred?” Thea pops her hip to the side, aghast. “What type of name is that? Was my name seriously Winnifred once upon a time?”

Krystian turns towards her, seemingly forgetting she’s supposed to be invisible to Ares. “Thea isn’t your real name?”

“Of course not.” She throws her hands up in the air. “I didn’t have a name, so I gave myself one. Thea was one of the first souls I reaped, so I stole the name for myself. I thought it was pretty.”

“Winnifred…” I murmur, and flashes of images barrage me.

They occur too quickly for me to analyze them, but I see a flash of golden hair and plump pink lips.

Winnie.

“You know, maybe it’s good you have no memories of me from before. If one of you mumbled Winnifred in your sleep or during sex, I probably would’ve murdered you,” Thea says seriously.

“Even now that we know it’s you?” Krystian asks, amused.

“What can I say? I’m a jealous, petty bitch, even of myself.”

He snorts and looks away, but I can tell he’s charmed by her. We all fucking are.

Fortunately, Ares is too lost in his own thoughts to realize Krystian is having a conversation with someone who isn’t there.

“It’s impossible,” Ares whispers, dropping his face into his hands. “She’s dead. Winnie’s dead.”

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Everett demands, stalking closer. “What the fuck did you do, Ares?”

“I didn’t hurt her!” Ares insists, whipping his head up. “I would never hurt her. I loved her.”

Stunned silence settles over us all. Thea is staring at Ares in shock, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted.

Did we…? Did we get it all wrong?

Was Thea in a relationship with Ares, not us? There’s no way she was with all five of us. Ares doesn’t share.

“Krystian, drop the glamour,” Thea instructs, her voice unexpectedly hard.

Krystian shakes his head wordlessly, his eyes not leaving Ares’s forlorn, devastated face.

“Krystian…” Thea warns.

He finally peels his gaze away from the god and turns towards our reaper, his eyes subdued.

Thea takes a step closer and grips his hand. “Trust me.”

He hesitates, indecision swarming in his dark-blue eyes, before he nods once. “All right.”

I can tell the exact moment the glamour hiding Thea dissipates.

Ares’s head whips up, and shock widens his eyes. He looks like he’s just seen a ghost.

Or…a reaper.

“Winnie.” His tone is soft. Reverent.

I want to fucking kill him.

And when he stands and steps towards her, his arms extended? I decide that I’m going to. Fuck the consequences. I’ll find a way to move him far away from my little bird, then I’ll cut out his heart. He may not die from it, but it’ll make me feel better.

“Winnie, it’s you.” Disbelief makes his voice low and husky.

Or maybe that’s just the lust emanating from his normally cold eyes.

He grabs at her arm.

And Thea abruptly tenses and seizes up, her eyes glazing slightly.

I lose my goddamn shit.