Page 11 of Summer’s Seduction (Sinful Seasons #2)
MORPHEUS
I t felt like my entire existence had just been shredded by a horde of angry furies. I wanted to run after Larkspur, to explain why I had to do it, but all I could hear was the disgusting tittering of Zeus and Poseidon, making a mockery of the situation by talking about over-emotional women.
“You heard her,” Poseidon remarked to the young woman, refilling his glass for the third time. His cheeks had gone rosy from the wine, the tan to his skin taking on a shining, sweating quality. “She liked it.”
Everything in me wanted to flit across this table and smash that wine goblet over his head before dragging the shards across his throat. I could do it. I knew I could, but I wouldn’t have enough time to block Zeus’s retaliation. Nor Ares. At least not here.
I doubted the others would intervene, but I needed The Olympians gone as soon as possible both for Larkspur’s sake and mine.
Larkspur. Gods, my little monster was more extraordinary than I could’ve imagined. Her blood was honey-sweet with a touch of spice. It danced along my nerves, the warm liquid rolling over my tongue.
My little monster had done beautifully. The way her body coiled around mine, the thrum of her magic like gasoline poured over hot coals. And the sounds she made. Fuck , my cock was getting hard just thinking about it.
I felt her desire, her needy cunt yearning for my touch, but it was the fucking vulnerability pulsing through her that undid me. Because my little monster had trusted me.
But then my fangs sank deeper, control slipping out of my grasp as Larkspur’s shadows wrapped around my mind, coaxing me to take more. I’d never lost control, not in all the years of my long life. I’d fed from hundreds of dark ones. I was prepared for the rush of emotions and occasional thoughts that sometimes flowed between a source and their feeder, but it never felt like this.
Her deep, green eyes—it felt like they could stare straight through me. Larkspur was blood and darkness, peace and temptation woven together into an irresistible call that promised to satisfy my every desire, and yet still kept me wanting for more. Begging for another lick of her delicious essence.
Fuck, was she powerful. And so godsdamn beautiful. She wasn’t lying about never being fed from before. I could tell that much of the flash of betrayed surprise that flickered between us right before her magic surged. The others acted like Larkspur was a liability. Even Persephone shot her wary glances occasionally. They didn’t understand her.
It was infuriating.
Couldn’t they see all she had done? How every calculated decision had been for the betterment of everyone else, to keep those she cared about safe?
Larkspur was good. True love didn’t always look pretty. It was messy and raw, and infinite sacrifice took a toll on a person. Not many could do it—offer up pieces of themselves. But she did. Time and time again, she’d cut out slivers of her own flickering happiness, sometimes only burning for a few precious moments, and served it to others.
Larkspur was a fucking warrior goddess, a queen among peasants. And I’d just fucked up any chance I’d had of making her mine.
It was probably better this way. I cared for my people in the best way I knew how—by distancing myself from them. Even at a young age, I knew I wasn’t fit to be a leader. I was a leech in every aspect, and Larkspur was my current meal of choice. Better she’d seen me now than let that torturous flower of hope take root.
“…The hearts of mortals are already softening toward Hades and his fair queen.”
Fair queen? Ares’s voice cut through the ramblings of my mind. He wasn’t one for pretty words or politics of any sort unless it involved a duel to the death, but he spoke of Hypnos and the instability of the realms with the same hint of manic thrill that he got with any great impending war.
Ares turned toward Hades, oblivious to how the shadows flashed darker. “Your kingdom is already swelling with souls, and now you have the growing thanks of the living to add to your might.”
“Ares,” Hera whispered, shaking her head as her eyes darted from her husband to her eldest son. “Strategy is not your strong suit. Let your father and step sister worry about that.”
I caught the flash of surprise across Persephone’s face from Hera’s acknowledgment of Zeus’s infidelity. She was often depicted as a ruthless, jealous wife—which she was—but there were moments when I felt a tinge of pity for the goddess. For a being who prized marriage above all else, being bound to an unfaithful husband who broadcasted his indiscretions must have been not only mortifying but personally devastating.
“Where is Athena, anyway?” Cupid asked, the midnight flecks in his dark brown eyes gleaming as he glanced around the room. “I’m surprised her ego would allow her to miss such an event.”
Hermes snorted a laugh from her spot on the wall, the small sound causing Zeus’s shoulders to tense.
“She advised me to keep this meeting short,” Zeus snapped, his pointed nose lifting as the servants entered.
Golden platters were stacked with an array of dishes. Tender slices of steak were donned with fresh herbs, followed by roasted vegetable melodies, glazed carrots, and a large, fresh spring salad. Bottles of wine and sparkling liquid were next. Servants swept through the room, filling glasses as if it were a choreographed dance. I suppose it was, in a way. Despite the threat The Olympians posed, it was clear that each felt proud to have earned a spot at tonight’s dinner service. Even the stiff set of Hades’s shoulders seemed to ease as the temperature in the room warmed.
All the while, Zeus sat back in his chair, looking as if an infestation was overrunning him.
“Lost your appetite, Lord Zeus?” Cupid asked, not bothering to hide the twitch of his lips. He lifted the glass before, letting the red liquid coat his tongue before swallowing.
Electricity pricked as Zeus glared, the sentiment only causing Cupid’s smirk to stretch.
“Careful, boy,” Ares warned. “Or your life thread may be cut before its time.”
“And risk my mother’s wrath?” Cupid asked, shaking his head as he helped himself to a hunk of steak. “I think Lady Hera has been punished enough, don’t you, Lord Zeus?”
Fuck me, was Cupid feeling mouthy today. Normally, I wouldn’t have been captivated by such antics, but despite the tension mounting in the dining hall, I couldn’t stop thinking about Larkspur and if she knew what I’d glimpsed.
Had she felt my desire as I’d felt hers? To be fed from was intimate, especially a dark one’s first time. I hadn’t realized what I’d forced her to sacrifice in order to save her from Poseidon’s whims. But it felt like I’d been offered the sliver of her soul, a flash of what it could be like to know her. To hold her. And fuck if I wasn’t addicted after the first taste.
The temperature plummeted as the conversation that had been carrying on around me came to a halt. Shadows billowed around Hades, and I had the eerie feeling they were being held at bay only by Persephone's golden magic shining beneath her palm as she held Hades's hand.
“You think you can come into my realm and demand obedience ?” Hades seethed. The pupils of his eyes had expanded, consuming his gaze in a cold black. Thick ram horns swirled, his great, leathery wings rising as he stood.
Zeus’s eyes sparked, a current of electricity buzzing through the frigid air. “We agreed long ago to divide the realms equally, brother. Poseidon was granted the seas, you, The Underworld, and I, The Above. The Realm of the Living was meant to keep the balance between us, which has been threatened thanks to your wife’s antics.”
Spittle flew from Zeus’s mouth as he shifted his gaze from Lord Hades to Lady Persephone. She stiffened under his hatred but met his stare.
The entire room was braced for Lord Hades’s response, for an attack, but the dark shadows billowing around him stilled as time seemed to pause.
“Careful, brother.” Hades tilted his head to the side, his black eyes smoldering with a flash of malice. “I alone know your darkest fears.”
Zeus flinched, back hitting his chair before his fists landed on the table as he rose. “You fucking demon. There was always more of grandmother’s poison running in your veins.”
Hades grinned, leaning back in his chair as Zeus raged.
“Defeating Demeter saved the realms,” Persephone said, her voice strong despite the threat before her. “I restored balance.”
“No, Lady Persephone,” Hera breathed, her eyes filled with something that looked almost like regret. “Your actions were heroic. You saved thousands?—”
“And in the process, earned the mortals’ favor,” Poseidon finished. The legs of his chair scraped across the floor as he made to stand beside Zeus. It was a blatant display of which side he’d take if matters escalated. A warning that triggered the other Olympians into action.
Zeus’s eyes flashed with the promise of lightning as Hermes stepped forward, joining her father and uncle. Zeus didn’t like anyone having more worshipers than him. It spurred on his paranoia of being usurped, not that Hades wished to venture anywhere outside The Underworld. He could—by all rights, he and Poseidon could insist on a seat at the table of The Above like any other Olympian—but doing so would break the fragile truce between them. Every once in a while, Poseidon or one of the others would vie for more, stoking Zeus’s insecurities, though it seemed this time Zeus was well into starting a war on his own.
Ares stood, his hands coming to rest on the back of her chair as he looked to Lord Hades before focusing his gaze on Zeus. “Would Lord Hades not be the ideal choice to defeat Hypnos, whether or not that course took him into The Realm of The Living?”
“No,” Zeus interjected before Hades could answer.
Electricity pricked through the room, cracking where it met the billowing storm of frost and shadows emanating from Lord Hades. Ares dipped his head, but I caught the edges of a smirk on his lips as the two gods held each other’s gaze.
“The Underworld is your domain,” Zeus breathed, his eyes fixed on Lord Hades as his voice dipped with warning. “Leaving will be seen as an act of war against The Olympians.”
“Lord Zeus, please—” Hecate pleaded but stopped speaking as his electric eyes landed on her.
Ares watched with open fascination, waiting to see if the God of Gods would strike, but it appeared he had a soft stop for the first witch.
“I will not stand by while Hades intimidates even more mortals into worshiping him.”
“I thought my kindness earned their gratitude, Lord Zeus.” Persephone stood slowly, The Lord of The Underworld following suit as he let his queen speak for their kingdom. “If you’re going to slander our reputation, at least do so without contradicting yourself.”
Hecate sucked in a breath as electricity built. A plume of shadows billowed out as lightning cracked. Glass rained down upon the table as Zeus’s bolt hit the night sky display overhead.
I pushed back from my seat, quickly avoiding falling shards as I stepped closer to the protection of shadows, choosing my side. Ares slowly shook his head as I caught his stare, before joining Zeus. Cupid and Hecate hovered in the center, both looking for a way out of this mess, but the ring of light around Lady Persephone’s eyes blazed in the lingering darkness.
“You think to come into my realm, my home , and issue demands?” Persephone seethed. The marbled floors beneath us cracked, the shrieks of fleeing servants echoing as vines sprung forth. They crawled up the walls, weaving and twisting across what remained of the precious gems set along the ceiling. Great thorns and bright, poisonous flowers sprouted as she held Zeus’s gaze with the quiet, simmering rage of Lord Hades behind her.
Zeus’s eyes glowed in challenge as the table rattled.
“We will continue to keep the souls of our realm safe,” Persephone vowed as tendrils of roses wound up her arms, their sharp barbs piercing the fair goddess’s skin. “As well as those in The Realm of the Living, unless you’re offering to protect them?”
Zeus’s nostrils flared in the mounting silence, but it was Hera who answered. “Thank you, Lady Persephone, for your concern and protection of the mortals. After the horrid things Demeter has done, it is nice to see an earth witch care.”
The goddess was the only one still seated, eclipsed by her husband’s broad shoulders and towering frame. I wondered how often she was overlooked. What type of loneliness came from being so easily forgotten. But with just a few words, Hera had reminded Zeus of Persephone’s humble beginnings, lessening the threat the Goddess of Spring posed while also conceding that The Queen of The Underworld’s defeat of the former High Matriarch, Demeter, was appreciated.
“You and Lord Hades have done much for our worshipers,” Lady Hera said. “As suggested, I think it necessary for those in The Above to shoulder some of the burden.”
“You will remain here and clean up this mess, brother,” Zeus commanded, his tone causing Hera to close her eyes briefly as she sighed in exacerbation. “Or else I’ll be forced to restore balance the only way I know how.”
My heart shuddered as I glanced toward Lord Hades. Zeus only ever handled a threat in one way—with death. It would be eternal imprisonment if he couldn’t find a way to kill his opponent. Either way, it meant a war among the gods. But Lord Hades simply lifted his chin, the vast darkness of his eyes practically begging for Zeus to test him.
Zeus’s nostrils flared, but Hera was there in the next breath, her small hand placed upon his broad shoulder.
“Thank you for the lovely dinner,” Hera said, dipping her head toward Persephone before looking to Lord Hades. “Until next time.”