Page 11 of Shadowed Spirits (Haunted Magic #2)

CHAPTER 11

IZZY

I tug on my black skater dress in my seat, trying to make it cover more of my thighs. I didn’t realize how short it was. The black dress with dark purple lacy trim at the collar, sleeves, and hem must’ve shrunk in the wash because it wasn’t always barely long enough to cover my ass.

Giving up on pulling it down, I flop against the high-backed purple velvet dining chair. The dark wood table is massive, with twenty-four matching chairs. With obsidian walls, black and white floors, and dark furniture, the dining room should feel dim and oppressive. But light fixtures casting an inviting purple glow are interspersed through the large space, keeping it from feeling like a dungeon.

Levi is sitting to my left, next to his brother at the head of the table. Bishop and Cain are to my right. Luca is across the table from Cain, with Archer on his other side. Seph is sitting directly in front of Levi, with two empty chairs for her other mates between her and Luca.

As much as I’m enjoying waiting for the mysterious other people to join us, I’m not. I’m hangry, tired, and don’t want to people any more today. My short nap earlier didn’t do much to alleviate my bone-deep exhaustion. With a sigh, I ask Levi, “Who are we waiting on?”

“Us,” an unfamiliar, loud voice answers instead of Levi. I turn to look at the opposite door and see a large blond man with close-cropped hair and eyes the color of a lightning strike striding into the room. He’s followed by an equally massive man with shoulder-length ocean blue hair and deep blue eyes. They both make a beeline for Seph and give her lingering kisses.

Following the two huge dudes are two other bulky guys and three dainty women. One of the men has the same black and red eyes as Hades and Levi, with black hair streaked with navy and a close-cropped beard. The woman holding his arm looks like Seph, with golden blonde hair and dark gray eyes.

The other man has gray hair down to his shoulders and a matching full beard. His eyes look like molten silver, constantly swirling and changing. The first woman he’s holding hands with has white-blonde hair, that flows around her shoulders, and spring green eyes. On his other side is a woman with navy hair down to her waist and dark blue eyes speckled with what look like stars.

“Cool,” I comment dryly after I assess the horde of newcomers. The blond guy’s announcement doesn’t really help me any. “And who are you?”

He cocks an unimpressed eyebrow as he looks down his nose at me. Well, buddy boo, I’m not super impressed by you, either. “Shouldn’t you know, earth dweller?”

“Oh boy.” I close my eyes briefly, praying for patience I don’t have. When I open them, I tiredly rub the crease between my eyebrows, no closer to finding diplomacy I’ve never possessed. Snark it is, I guess. “So, here’s the thing, my dude. Today, alone, I’ve been under arrest for a crime that could lead to all my family and mates being executed, learned Hell was real, been transported to a different realm, almost got my dumb ass murdered by the ruler of the underworld, and found out I’m apparently not fucking human. So, how ’bout you cut me some slack and just tell me your freaking name, okay?”

The blond guy is gaping at me, but I don’t have it in me to feel bad. I’m sure he’s some important somebody or other, but I’ve had a long day. A long life, really. While I want to make Seph happy, no part of me wants to be involved in a dinner where I have to try to impress strangers.

Before the blond dude can respond, Hades cuts in. “I didn’t almost murder you, earthling. There was only a forty-three percent chance I would’ve killed you.” Seph softly groans at him before placing her head in her hands.

I, however, find him hilarious. “You raise a good point, not-so-kind sir.” I tip my imaginary hat at him, much to his amusement.

“Zeus Jove Kyrios! I did not raise you to speak to guests like that,” the woman with white-blonde hair chastises who I assume is the blond man.

Zeus looks kind of like a kicked puppy as he hangs his golden head and mumbles, “Sorry, Mama.” When she doesn’t say anything in response, he looks up from where he’s standing behind Seph. His mom arches an expectant eyebrow. He turns to me. “Uh, I apologize, earth dweller?”

“It’s fine.” I still don’t particularly like the guy, since he was an ass, but I don’t want to get in a fight with the god of the skies who’s known for smiting people with lightning bolts. I have no idea if my defensive dome would work against godly lightning, and I don’t really want to find out.

The seven newcomers get settled in their seats around the table. I stare at all of them curiously before Hades starts introducing them. “Earthling, meet Seph’s other mates, Zeus and Poseidon. Next to the two wolves are Saturn and his wife, Demeter. Across from them is Rhea, her mate Cronus, and Cronus’s other mate Ops.”

Saturn is the man who has eyes like Hades, and the woman who looks like Seph next to him is Demeter. Cronus is the other guy, Rhea has white-blonde hair, and Ops has navy hair.

All the people from Greek and Roman mythology are very messed up and do incredibly morally corrupt things, so I’m not super excited to be sitting across from a bunch of gods and titans.

“Nice to meet you,” I tell them reflexively, before realizing something. “Aren’t you guys all super related to each other?”

Zeus chokes on a sip of water from the silver chalice in front of his plate. Once he stops hacking up a lung, he looks at me incredulously. “Are you asking if I’m fucking my daughter, like human lore says?”

Well, when he puts it like that, my question sounds super rude. Oh well. “Uh, yeah, I guess so?”

Bishop squeezes his hand where it’s resting on my thigh and pinches the bridge of his nose with the other one. “Jesus Christ, Izzy.”

“You can’t be mad at me about this one.” I twist toward Bishop, ready to defend my totally not rude question. “He said I should know who he is, I assume because of Greco-Roman mythology. Going off those stories, everyone at this table, other than our group, is getting it on with their siblings or children. It’s a reasonable question!”

“According to mythology, you’re banging your great uncle, so you’re included in our incest fest,” Hades supplies unhelpfully.

“We don’t even know if I’m related to Seph. Besides, I haven’t banged him, so don’t include me yet,” I say for absolutely no other reason than I clearly hate myself. I’m sure everyone at the table totally wants to know about my lack of a sex life. “But… we’re not related, right?”

Hades snorts. “No. No one at this table is having sexual relations with their sibling or child, earthling. Saturn and Lua are Leviathan and my parents. Demeter and Iasion, fates rest his soul, are Seph’s parents. Cronus and Rhea are Zeus’s parents, and Cronus and Ops are Poseidon’s parents. None of us are related to the others in any way, other than mating.”

Zeus turns white as a sheet, like he just saw a ghost. I briefly check over my shoulder to see if Aggie’s there. When I see she’s not, I face forward again and find Zeus’s lightning bolt gaze trained on me. “You’re my great-granddaughter?”

“I sure hope not,” I blurt, which probably isn’t the politest thing to say. He’s just been rude this entire time, so I don’t particularly want to be related to him.

Seph tries to hide her laugh behind her hand, but she dissolves into giggles at our interaction. When she gets her mirth under control, she gives Zeus an I told you so look. “This is why you should be nice to strangers. Otherwise, you’ll end up pissing off your only great-granddaughter and the mate of your brother husband’s actual brother.”

Hades groans. “For the millionth time, Seph, we’re not brother husbands.”

“Leviathan’s your mate?” Zeus waits for my nod before he focuses his glare on Levi. “No. No way. Absolutely not. How old are you even, Izzy? You shouldn’t be thinking about dating anyone, much less mating, for another few millennia at least.”

“Bet you sure wouldn’t like to hear that I’ve found four other mates.”

Zeus’s face turns a fascinating shade of purple as he looks like he’s about to explode at finding out I have a bunch of mates. All the newcomers start talking loudly among themselves until the dining room is a roar of voices.

“Enough!” Levi’s sharp voice cuts through the cacophony of sound, instantly silencing everyone else. “As Isabel said, she’s had a long day. All of you need to tone it down, at least for tonight. And you, Zeus, need to cut it out. I get that you feel protective over my mate, but you don’t know anything about her. Get to know Izzy before you start trying to dictate her life. You’ll find that she doesn’t respond well to being ordered around. Don’t sabotage your relationship before it even begins.”

When he’s done thoroughly putting everyone in their place, he clenches his jaw and closes his eyes to try to calm down. I take his hand in mine and press myself against his muscular arm to comfort him. He looks down at me. I give him a small but genuine smile. “Thanks, screech owl.”

Levi squeezes my hand in his. “Always, little raven. As I told you, I’m always on your side.” I lean into his comfort and close my eyes.

“Izzy?” Zeus’s voice snaps me out of my short doze. I really am wiped.

Sitting up again, I try to let go of Levi’s hand. His strong grip won’t let me. Since I like holding his hand, I don’t fight it. I focus back on Zeus, whose eyes are swimming with sincerity. “Yeah?”

He blows out a harsh breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not any excuse, but I’ve had a long day too. I’m not at my best and didn’t treat you how I should’ve when we first met. Leviathan’s right. I have no right to tell you how to live your life or make demands of you. I’d really like to be part of your life, so, if you’d be open to it, I’d like to start over.”

“You don’t even know if I’m your great-granddaughter,” I protest.

He gives me a soft smile. “I know what my daughter looks like, and you’re the spitting image of her. Even if you weren’t, I’d still want to be in your life because you’re important to Leviathan, who’s like a brother to me.”

“Oh. Um, sure. We can start over.” I break eye contact, uncomfortable with Zeus’s sincerity. While I don’t particularly like him being a raging jerk taco, I have plenty of practice with how to respond.

“I’d also like to be in your life, Izzy,” Poseidon chimes in. He flashes me a megawatt smile that I might’ve found charming if not for the sharpness of his too-knowing gaze. He looks at me like he can see into my soul, and I’m not a fan of it. “I can’t really make any worse impression than Zeus, so hopefully you have no objection to that.”

I snort because he’s not wrong. “Yeah, I’m good with that.”

Servers start filing in before anyone can say anything else. Being in a different realm, I figured we’d be eating foods I’d never seen before. However, I recognize pretty much everything on the table. The main dish is a large bird of some sort. Sides include rolls, salads, mashed potatoes, assorted fruits, roasted veggies, and mac and cheese. When all the food is on the table, uniformed staff fill up each of our silver chalices with a drink from a separate pitcher.

Peering down into the cup, I see a mysterious swirling purple liquid in it. Holding my chalice up to my nose, I take a cautious sniff of it. I only get light citrus and floral notes, so I take a cautious sip. Tangy orange and smooth vanilla explode across my tastebuds from the drink that’s actually pretty good. I don’t know what it is, but I’m totally going to ask Hades for the recipe so I can make it at home.

While we eat, we keep the topics light. I mostly listen to the others talk, only speaking if I’m asked questions. Zeus and Poseidon ask me about my family, school, what I like to do in my free time, and other general get-to-know-you questions. Talking with the two of them is actually pretty easy. It’s still weird as all get out talking to my maybe great-grandpa and his mate group, who all look only a few years older than me.

I notice Hades staring at me intently every time I take a sip of my drink. I raise my eyebrows at him, but he just shrugs. After I’ve drained my cup, he doesn’t take his gaze off of me. I tolerate it for ten or so minutes before I eventually snap, “What?” It’s unnerving having the king of Hell watch me try to eat my dinner.

Hades startles at my sharp question before seeming to shake himself out of his thoughts. “Well, I guess you’re part cura .”

Tilting my head, I wonder how we got from him staring at me to him declaring I’m part cura. “Cool. What does that have to do with you staring at me?”

He gestures to my now-empty silver chalice. “I put water from the Styx into your drink, so I’ve been watching for any ill effects. Since you’re not dead, Leviathan was correct about your heritage. Congratulations.”

I blink at him a few times, at a loss for words, which is rare for me. “Are you congratulating me on not getting killed by you?” I’m pretty sure Hades didn’t think I was part cura , but he still had me drink something deadly. That’s super rude, if you ask me.

Flashing me a big grin, Hades nods. “I absolutely am, earthling.”

Before I can say anything to Hades, I hear a deep, bone-chilling growl from my right. Swinging around, I see Cain shove his chair back and stand from the table. Black flame-like wisps curl from him as his muscles seem to visibly grow. His normally green eyes flicker a ruby red as he stares down Hades while continuing to growl eerily, the sound making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Hades’s eyes go comically wide when he sees Cain. “Oh, fuck.” While the whole growling and hulking out thing is odd, I don’t think it’s that scary. Hades glares at his brother before hissing, “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you have a hellhound in your mate group?”