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Enda was doing a good job of keeping his nerves under control. The Underworld wasn’t a bad place if a person didn’t mind black walls that seemed to pulsate and a light source he couldn’t see. He didn’t imagine the room he was in was all the Underworld had to offer, but it was enough for Enda.

He’d just finished his hot chocolate when Folsom announced that Lord Hades and Consort Ali were ready to see them. Giorgio helped him up, zapped away his mug, and hand-in-hand, they followed Folsom through the doors, which had to be twenty feet high. Apparently, Sarah and Mitchell weren’t as keen to meet an actual god, but a couple of demons persuaded them, insisting that they be respectful.

The throne room was an extension of the waiting room – more black walls, although the light this time came from a huge fire pit that was set against one wall. “Don’t go near that,” Giorgio whispered as he led them to the stage at the far end of the room that housed two large thrones.

Imposing. Very grand. Enda squinted his eyes and noticed the thrones were made out of bones. If Lord Hades was going for the intimidating effect, he would win the gold medal.

Overall, the decor was very black, very dire, and one would assume terrifying for souls waiting to be sentenced, but Enda didn’t feel that way. Maybe it was because of Sarah and Mitchell and the fact that they couldn’t use their phones in the Underworld. That gave Enda a sense of security he hadn’t felt since he’d been rescued.

It could be because Giorgio was by his side, keeping a firm hand around his, or the comfort of the hot chocolate still resting in Enda’s belly. It could have been the consort himself, who was a small man, a shifter if Enda’s senses were working right in the unusual realm, who was perched on his throne in a kilt, boots, and a bright pink muscle shirt that had been bedazzled. An unusually colorful note to find in the court of the Underworld.

Reaching the stage, Giorgio immediately bowed low, and Enda quickly did the same. As Giorgio straightened, he said, “My Lord, I would like to introduce my mate…”

Lord Hades held up his hand. “Introductions aren’t necessary. We’re aware of who you’ve brought before us today, and I must confess, despite what you thought, this is an issue we’ve not dealt with before.”

“It’s cute, though, isn’t it?” Consort Ali smiled, showing perfect teeth. “Another one of our hellhound’s has found their mate, even if they’re not claimed yet.” Enda would call the look the consort gave Giorgio accusatory, and he could feel Giorgio’s discomfort.

Enda quickly spoke up, ducking his head and nodding again. “Honored persons, we both acknowledge the connection between us, however we only met last night in extreme circumstances, and we’ve just not had the opportunity to take things further between us.

“However, my bird tells me that Giorgio is mine, and he has promised to explain the hellhound process for mating as soon as our troubles are resolved. We both hope that will be soon. With your respect and blessings.”

He quickly bowed again. Enda hadn’t met a god before, so he wasn’t sure of the protocol, but Consort Ali smiled at him, so that had to be positive.

Lord Hades looked strained and tired, although when he said, “I have children that require attending, let’s make this quick,” Enda understood.

“My mate is a machine,” Consort Ali said brightly. “You’d never believe he had twins again last week. Just a few days before Kolton and Simon had their baby boy, isn’t that a wonderful coincidence?”

“Congratulations,” Enda said quickly, bowing again.

Giorgio nodded again and then explained the situation quickly, and, at least in Enda’s opinion, very efficiently. “There was a situation at my last job. A lot of innocent souls were killed, left dead for Mitchell and me to find.

“I heard Enda make a noise, he was the only one who survived the concoction the victims were given in their plane trip to their destination. When I went to pull him out from under the bodies piled on top of him, he indicated there was a bomb underneath his body.

“My Lord, I admit I acted impulsively in the moment, and I confess I did not think things through as quickly as I should have done. My only focus in that moment was to protect Enda. However, Mitchell had come there with me, and I could not, in good conscience, allow him to die simply so I could rescue my mate. So, I pulled him out with me, and we translocated to my home in London as the explosion went off. We fully expected, both Mitchell and I, that the agency that we had been working for would believe we were deceased.”

“A reasonable assumption,” Lord Hades said gravely. “What were your plans for going forward, seeing as you had apparently died? I presume you had a future plan to relocate, both for you and for your colleague?

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead in that moment,” Giorgio admitted. “However, I did feel that as I have relocated numerous times and set up different identities for myself that it would be possible to do the same for myself and Enda. I believed that it would be the safest for Mitchell and his partner Sarah to also relocate, and I didn’t see the harm in providing them with identification that would help them lead a totally new life, either.”

“That’s not your issue, though, is it?” Lord Hades looked at Mitchell and Sarah, who were being held between two demons.

Giorgio shook his head. “I’m sorry, my lord, but clearly my paranormal origins were impossible to hide due to the translocation. In my defense, I did believe Mitchell and his partner to be completely trustworthy. However, Sarah was apparently concerned about getting into trouble with the agency that we work for and told them we were still alive. When I got concerned, she threatened to out myself and Enda to the agency as paranormals, in the hopes the agency would disregard the fact that Mitchell wasn’t actually dead.”

“And in the meantime, you haven’t claimed your mate, either,” Consort Ali said.

“Enda and I both agreed we’d prefer to do that when this matter was resolved.” Enda looked up to see Giorgio looking at him, the affection evident in his expression. “However, I was wrong to trust my non-paranormal friends, and because of that lapse of judgment, I will take whatever punishment is due to me for that. I will not apologize for saving my mate.”

Stunned, Enda looked between his mate and the god and his consort. “Wait a minute. You can’t be punished for doing the right thing. You’re my mate. You were just trying to keep me alive.”

“My hellhound is right, Enda,” Lord Hades said. “While saving your life was clearly what the Fates intended, he has revealed the existence of paranormals to people who could not be trusted. And that is a very serious issue. I’m sure you can imagine and know for yourself how important it is that paranormals be allowed to live in secret. The world is not ready for that revelation yet.”

“But punishment?” Enda’s stomach threatened to evict that hot chocolate he’d enjoyed, and his bird was fluttering madly.

“This is a serious matter,” Lord Hades said. “Mitchell and Sarah stand before me.”

“We’re not here,” Sarah said staunchly. Her eyes closed, and she was still grimly clutching on to Mitchell’s arm. “This is just some form of a fever dream. We’re not in the Underworld, there’re no demons hanging onto my arm. This is just not happening. I don’t know what was in that omelet, but something’s going on, and this is just a fever dream, and we’re not here. Paranormal rubbish, that’s all this is. My brain suffered a shock, thinking Mitchell had died and for some reason, concocted this shit show. I do not believe it, and I will not believe it. You do not exist!”

“Did you think we were all going to disappear just because you don’t want to accept the consequences of your actions?” Lord Hades sounded amused, and Consort Ali was almost doubled over laughing.

Although his next words were chilling. “You explicitly threatened both my hellhound and his mate with revealing the existence of their paranormal identity to the agency in exchange for them letting you free of any crime that you feel that Mitchell might be charged for.”

“This isn’t true. It’s just not true. None of this is real. La-la-la-la. See, I’m not listening to you.” Clearly, Sarah was determined, if she hung onto her version of the truth, she could make it happen, but Mitchell was looking more and more uncomfortable. Enda wondered what happened to people who used their knowledge of the paranormal world to harm others. Do they just disappear?

Lord Hades sighed. “It’s already been a long day, and frankly, this is getting ridiculous. Giorgio, I am not saying that you didn’t act with the best of intentions. You acted in the best way you knew how in an extremely stressful moment, and I can understand your lapse of judgment. You have always been one of the hellhounds who has shown the most heart when it comes to matters dealing with humans, but you are bound by the same non-interference laws that gods are. We absolutely cannot interfere in human lives.”

“I genuinely believed I couldn’t let Mitchell die, sire,” Giorgio said strongly. “I agree with the non-interference laws and realize how important they are. But you sent us to live life on Earth. To interact, to live as human. I chose to use my time to help people. That’s why I have worked for the agency for so long. This situation was so random. It was so unusual. It’s not like this is the sort of situation I face every week. My actions might have been reckless, but my intent was pure. All I’ve ever wanted was to help people, and I could not let Mitchell die if I could prevent it.”

Mitchell made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a groan, and Enda remembered that Mitchell had said Giorgio had saved his life more than once.

“I am aware,” Lord Hades said. But then Enda felt the weight of Lord Hades’ gaze on him. “But you have not been strictly honest with my hellhound, have you, Enda Cochrane?”

Enda was stunned to hear his full name, a name that he hadn’t used or heard in years. He mutely shook his head. “I didn’t lie. That is impossible to do to a mate. However, I was unsure of Mitchell and Sarah’s motivations and frankly, did not trust them even before this latest issue came out, so, there were parts of my story that I left out. My intention was to tell Giorgio about those details when we’d had a chance to claim each other.”

“Your distrust was well-founded,” Consort Ali said brightly, although he was glaring at Sarah and Mitchell. “But you are among friends here, and it could be prudent to share those details now before my mate makes his judgment.”

Enda really didn’t want to say anything, but with Lord Hades being an actual god, there was a good chance he already knew what Enda had been trying to hide. “I overheard some of the conversations the men had – the men who created the body pile in the warehouse. I told Giorgio that. What I didn’t tell him is that I believed I recognized one of the voices – one of the men who wanted me dead. But none of this has anything to do with Sarah and Mitchell’s betraying us to the agency and letting them know that Mitchell and Giorgio were still alive. They are two separate matters.”

“I understand that you didn’t feel you could tell me everything at the time,” Giorgio said quietly, resting his hand on Enda’s shoulder. “It’s been a rough twenty-four hours. I find it hard to believe it’s barely been a day since I saw you for the first time, and yet I feel as if I’ve known you forever. I’m confident that you would have told me in time.”

“I promise I intended on telling you after we’d claimed each other.” His stomach still quaking, Enda faced the Lord Hades, lifting his chin and taking a deep breath. “I did not disclose that information because I did not want to believe it was true. I do not know the link between that person and the agency that Giorgio worked for or how they could be connected.”

“Once again, the ways the Fates weave their threads are a mystery to all of us,” Lord Hades said. “However, I believe the Fates intended for you two to be together, although it would appear they were cutting things close in this instance, given you were literally a sneeze away from death.

“It’s also my belief that if Giorgio had simply saved you and left Mitchell behind when the bomb went off, you would have found the space and the confidence in Giorgio to tell him the truth of what you’ve heard. That would have been something that you two investigated together.

“However, because Giorgio has a caring heart, and he did care deeply enough for Mitchell to save his life, we are now in a difficult situation. Giorgio’s revelation of his paranormal status was a huge gift to two mortals who have since shown they didn’t deserve it. Unfortunately, that is a fact of life.”

There was something chillingly final in what Lord Hades had said.

“But what will this mean? How can this be fixed? What can we do? That person…if anybody finds out I’m still alive…the person who tried to kill me…”

“You will be safe with my hellhound,” Lord Hades interrupted firmly. “I need to talk to Giorgio. I also have to deal with the two mortals that you have brought into my presence, who would not be here unless they had committed evil deeds and then died. Believe me, this is one of those times I wish I was a figment of Sarah’s imagination, however that is not the truth of this reality.”

Leaning over and patting his consort’s arm, Lord Hades said warmly, “Ali, my love, perhaps you should take Enda out of here. There are some things his fragile soul does not need to see or hear. I promise you, Enda,” Lord Hades added, “Giorgio is one of my favored hellhounds. No harm will come to him, and he will be returned to you shortly. But I suppose in the words that mortals use, this is above your pay grade, little bird, and I think it would be more pleasant for you to spend some time with my consort.”

Ali jumped up from his throne, rubbing his behind. “Those cushions are definitely not protecting my butt the way they used to,” he said to Lord Hades, as he skipped over and grabbed Enda by the hand.

“Come on. I’ll show you around the mansion. We have family dinners here every Sunday, and once you and Giorgio are claimed, then you’ll be invited, too. You’ll be the seventh hellhound mate. Won’t it be fun meeting the others? It’s so exciting that our hellhounds are all finding their mates in such a short period of time. Makes my little heart glad to see it.”

“Giorgio?” Enda reached for his hellhound, but Giorgio shook his head.

“Everything will be fine, Enda. I’ll be there with you shortly, but in this case, I have to tend to my Master. Go with the consort. I promise you’ll be safe.”

But Enda’s bird started to panic the moment an overly excited consort led him away…and his bird wasn’t the only one who was upset about the separation.