Chapter Twenty

"Nemesis has recruited Philotes and Nyx to help us fight against the Titans." I informed flatly, arms folded over my chest as I faced a room full of kids and Lucifer.

Adrian's face drained of color and Malachi frowned instantaneously, turning to look at Adrian, who averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Charon just stood absolutely still, staring at me blankly while Alexion glanced at him warily.

"How... How did she find them," Cerberus asked, bewildered, "We couldn't even find them. Nyx has been in hiding for as long as I can remember. Christ, she was in hiding when I was created. That's a really friggin' long time." I shrugged, leaning back against the wall.

"Philotes is Nemesis's sister, and Nyx is her mother. She'll always know where they're at and Nemesis is the goddess of vengeance. It's in her nature to be loyal. She'll always hide them, despite Zeus's constant bitching." I answered. Ambrosius frowned, folding his arms over his chest.

"Nemesis is the goddess of vengeance? Can we trust her?" He asked.

"Of course, she's the goddess of vengeance. She was more than happy to help."

"Help you. Why would the goddess of vengeance help you?"

"We like the same bands." I replied flatly. Ambrosius scowled, not really satisfied with the answer, but thankfully he knew better than to ask me, of all people, the same question twice. He remained quiet and leaned on the sofa over Thorn, who was giving me that awkward stare that meant he knew why without asking. It was such a pain in the ass that he was smarter than Ambrosius and Lucifer combined. Then again, it probably wasn't so much intelligence as it was innocence. To Ambrosius, who would dare have sex with me? Someone would sooner fuck a porcupine than me. And Lucifer's thought process was... How could a brother do that to his own kin? It was impossible. It could never happen.

And I envied them that innocent ignorance. What I wouldn't give to have that back. To be able to go back to thinking everyone had goodness in them... back when no one, but the Titans hated me.

Even though my parents had loathed me, at least I had my siblings to fall back on.

Now there was no one.

"I take it Nyx will bring Erebus?" Charon asked at least. Cerberus and Alexion looked at him with concern, and honestly, a bit of concern was biting at my heels as well. Charon's parents had abandoned him for the safety of themselves. What would his reaction be if they actually showed up here together in his face?

"Most likely," I replied with a frustrated sigh, "Erebus would follow Nyx to the ends of the earth. Literally. So I'd prepare for them both to arrive with Philotes in tow. Or are we going to have personal problems get in our way?" Charon frowned.

"No." He answered briefly. I didn't believe it for a second, but I didn't feel like antagonizing him any further on the subject. Adrian looked a bit uncomfortable, and I knew exactly why. The little shit had known where Philotes was hidden all this time. I'd always known it was him from the way he ditched Malachi every weekend and never said a thing during the reports on her whereabouts. He was protecting his mother, which anyone with a mother would understand.

However, I had no one I called mother, so his blind faith in a woman he'd only met a few select times disgusted me. But it wasn't in Philotes nature to be treacherous, which is why she'd fled during the Titanomachy and had only been caught because she was trying to save her husband during the war. She was a goddess of affection. She was by nature caring and loyal. While that was good for us, it concerned me that she was willing to fight back her own husband, family, for just one son she'd never even really gotten to know until just recently. They were still strangers, or at least, in my eyes. Who knows? Maybe they were closer than I thought.

"So we have our allies then," Lucifer said, "I've already told the guards at the Portius gate to let them in." I frowned, glancing.

"Did you give them any specific names?"

"I told them to let the Greek allies in."

"Riiiight," I said slowly, "Good on you, Lucy."

"What now?"

"Nothing," I muttered dryly, "Nothing at all. In the mean time, everyone stop going out to party. In case you're forgetting, the Titans are destroying my realm. We're at war, not on vacation. Start strapping on your armor and training. I'm tired of walking into an intense make out session in the kitchen. That's where people eat, not sex." Without another word, I left the room, feeling a migraine beginning my temples.

Of course, Lucifer would forget the names of the Greeks we'd recruited. Hell, he probably didn't know how to pronounce them. So it was easier to say Greek allies, instead of which Greeks. That must have been how Zeus got past the gates and into Lucifer's palace without getting detected. I just thanked the gods for that sound barrier, otherwise, things would have gotten really messy. The last thing I needed was one of my sons bursting into my room and catching Zeus in the act. I might actually just kill myself over the humiliation.

I shook my head, heading to the kitchen for a container of yogurt when I approached my room and saw the door open. I cursed under my breath and went inside to see Lucifer inspecting the busted bedpost before he turned to face me, frowning.

"Why is the bedpost broken?" He asked. I knew I should've fixed that instead of meandering around town after Zeus's attack. I had just wanted a distraction. And a distraction is what I got. I sighed in frustration, taking a bite of yogurt.

"I hugged it too hard." I replied. Lucifer scowled.

"Hades, what's going on? Something feels wrong in here."

"Your presence?"

"No, someone else's." Lucifer replied testily. I hesitated. I hadn't expected Lucifer to be so observant about this one little thing and dismiss everything else. I cleared my throat, moving to sit on the bed, folding one leg over the other and looking up at him as I placed the yogurt on the nightstand.

"It's Nemesis's."

"It doesn't smell like a woman."

"That's just creepy."

"In fact," Lucifer said, and the bedroom closed, making me narrow my eyes as Lucifer moved around to stand in front of me, looking rather pissed off, "I'd say it was a certain male we ran into on Olympus." I leaned back on my hands, looking up at Lucifer dryly.

"Well, you told the guards Greek allies. Zeus is a Greek and he could easily take ally onto the end of that to make it legit." I offered. Lucifer appeared peeved, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say there was a glint of jealousy deep in those celestial blue eyes. Now that was interesting. The only reason I knew jealousy when I saw it was because I'm sure I showed it one way or another. But why would Lucifer be jealous of Zeus's visit? Ah, the rumors. That's right. I forgot about the most important aspect of my life. He must believe the rumors of my seducing Zeus. Great.

"Why would Zeus be here?" Lucifer asked, voice hard. I shrugged, averting my eyes and tilting my head back to avoid him as I lowered myself back onto my elbows.

"Dunno. Maybe I called him in here for a quick romp." I offered. Lucifer's eyes flashed red for a split second before returning to normal. A smirk crept onto my face at that. Oh yeah, that was jealousy if I'd ever seen it.

"What's that look for? Don't tell me you're the possessive type," I laughed, rising up to sit up straight, tilting my head back to look up at him as he watched me with that insidious glare, "I told you once and I'll tell you again. I was using you to scratch a biological itch. You know the rumors of my seducing Zeus, which means you know the rumors that I'm actually just a really horny slut." Lucifer clenched his teeth and I saw anger tic in his jaw, making me cock my head curiously. I drew back, however, as Lucifer leaned down to get into my face, slowly laying me back on the bed. Irritation flitted through me with a combination of fear and disgust.

"I don't like being in my back." I warned.

"Apparently you do," Lucifer said dryly, making me glare at him, "I'm not basing things off stupid rumors. You're not a slut. You're just stubborn. You don't whisper things like I'm not okay to everyone you have sex with, Hades. You finally admitted something, and it was to me."

"I'm not okay," I repeated icily, "Because I don't like being on my back."

"Then why do you label yourself with rumors people have placed upon you?"

Because it was better than the truth. Better to be a slut than to be a pathetic god who couldn't even protect himself against his own brother. I was a god, all powerful, and yet all it took was one look from Zeus to make my skin crawl and my bravado to crumble. He could destroy my entire life with just one well-placed rumor. He'd already proven that. Worse still, if my sons figured out the truth, they would no longer back down from my threats. They'd probably laugh and continue to push me back into a corner.

To them, I wouldn't be Hades, god of the dead, of the underworld. I would be Hades, the little bitch who couldn't protect himself.

To hell with trying to protect them. People easily overlooked reasons and focused on actions. My reasons would be lost on them, on everyone.

"Hades," Lucifer's soft voice drew me back and it took me a moment to realize he'd gotten so close that his lips were brushing mine, causing me to suck my breath in sharply, "Stop holding it in. You space out too often. There's something going on in that head of yours. And I want to know what it is." I narrowed my eyes at him, bumping our noses together, my tongue brushing his bottom lip. He gasped quietly against my lips, blue eyes darkening.

"So you can use it against me," I murmured against his lips, watching his eyes flicker in surprise as I drew my hand up his arm and hooked it around the back of his neck to pull him down on top of me on the bed, "So you can control me. Because you like control. You hate it when someone has control over you. That's why you rebelled against God, isn't it? You hated the control He had over you. The control your own brothers had over you. You may not be able to control Heaven, but you can control Hell, and you want to control me. How fun would that be to tell all your friends? You tamed the almighty Hades. You can shove it in Michael's face, since he seemed so intent on being the one to hold my leash." Lucifer clenched his teeth and grabbed my face in one hand, forcing me to tilt my head up to meet his eyes.

"Hades, you're not a dog. You're not feral. You're not a beast to be tamed. We may not be human, but we still feel. We still hurt. You're hurt and I want to soothe it."

"Control. It all goes back to control. You'll expect me to be grateful, and I won't be. And that'll piss you off."

"What pisses me off is that you're playing with me," Lucifer told me sternly, forcing my head back against the bed so he could kiss the underside of my chin, making me sigh and close eyes at the feel of soft lips against my skin, "You play games to deflect. I'll play your game long enough for you to finally realize that I'm not doing this to control you, to humiliate you." I just smirked and let him kiss on my throat. I didn't care what excuses he threw in my face. In the end, his actions were self-serving. He wanted to control me. It gave him a thrill.

And I just liked sex, so why the hell not?

I hooked my leg around Lucifer's, grabbing him by the shoulders and flipping us around abruptly so he was on his back and I was on top of him, running my hands up his shirt and capturing his lips in a hungry rough kiss, fangs nipping at his lips. His eyes flashed red and he reached up to sink his hands into my hair, moving it back from my face so he could hold my face as he kissed me back. I rolled his shirt up and tugged it off over his head, tossing it aside. I ground my hips down against him and he groaned, reaching for my hips as he pulled me closer.

"I thought you only said once." Lucifer breathed against my lips, his fangs elongating. I scoffed.

"You provoked me. But this time, we're not doing your sweet little sex game. We're doing it nice and rough, like men are supposed to do it." I replied. Lucifer frowned, but I didn't give him a chance to try and talk me into some romantic play. I captured his lips and kissed him roughly, resisting the urge to flinch at the way his fangs cut into my lip. Blood rushed into my mouth and I savored it, drinking it up as we kissed before I pulled back and jerked the zipper on his pants down, freeing him of its confines. I dropped down and took him into my mouth, making him hiss and grab at my hair.

"Hades," He breathed, "Don't do this to hurt yourself." I ignored him, closing my eyes, sucking him wet before dragging myself back up along his hard body. I rolled off him to slide my pants off, but the moment they were gone, Lucifer was behind me, reaching around me to take me into his hand. I sucked in a sharp breath, squeezing my eyes shut as pleasure ripped through me. I tilted my head back against his shoulder and he dipped his head in to kiss and suckle at my throat. I groaned, reaching down to take his free hand, guiding it up to my chest and letting him rub my nipple.

"I like this," Lucifer murmured against my ear, "I like feeling you against me."

"Men fit with men." I mumbled, closing my eyes in bliss. Lucifer shook his head against me, his hair tickling my cheek as he dragged his tongue up along my jaw to my cheek where he kissed me.

"It's not an animalistic need, Hades."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"You help me sleep at night."

"How poetic. Now quit trying to sweet talk me and fuck me." I groaned. Lucifer wrapped his arms around me and swung me around onto the bed before climbing on top of me. I growled at that and went to switch our positions, but he shoved me back down on the bed and grabbed me by the legs, hoisting them up around his waist. I glared at him and he summoned a tube of lubricant, sliding it around his cock before squeezing a liberal amount down my crack. I hissed at how cold it was, and the slight tingle of it. He rubbed himself against me, gripping my legs before sliding himself deep inside me. I moaned, throwing my head back against the pillow and clenching the sheets in my fists.

Lucifer leaned over me, arching his hips into me, making me hiss through gritted teeth. He wrapped his arms around me as he leaned over me. My breathing labored, I tried to switch our positions again, but he did that stupid thing where he cradled my head and held me against his chest, my face against his throat. I bared my fangs before sinking them down into his throat. He seethed in pain, but didn't let me go. I buried my fangs into his flesh, letting his blood rush into my mouth before I withdrew to glare at him, panting hard as he thrust his hips up against me, skin slapping skin.

"I won't let you be scared." Lucifer breathed against my face, then kissed my forehead. A shudder coursed through me and I squeezed my eyes shut, sinking my fingernails into him. He leaned in and licked the blood away from my mouth, nuzzling my ear. I writhed against him, breathing hard.

"Stop." I groaned.

"You don't mean that."

"I don't want to be on my back."

"Because you're scared. You don't have to be. I'm not going to hurt you, Hades... You're okay." Lucifer encouraged. I turned my head away when he tried to kiss me. I wanted to get away from him now. It was feeling great, and while my body betrayed me and continued to tremble with anticipation for release, my mind screamed for it to be over. I didn't want to do this with him. Lucifer wasn't just trying to get into my pants; he was trying to get into my head and I couldn't let that happen. I wasn't going to let another person go there.

I'd mistakenly allowed Persephone past my defenses and she scorned me for it, even though she apologized years later, it didn't matter. The damage was done. Nothing sorry could fix. Eumelia had also broken down that wall and pretended to love me, but she'd pushed me away as well. And Atros... Atros had done this same thing. Cradled me against him and coaxed me into laying on my back to make me face my nightmares. He'd told me he loved me too, but when the time came when the truth was in his face, he'd spat at me and scorned me. Hell, the guy broke my nose. And I deserved it.

But Lucifer was going to do the same thing. He was going to start pretending to love me and then he would slam the door in my face and break more than just my nose. I'd already been treated like shit enough. Insanity was repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. As was stupidity. I wasn't going to fall for it again.

"Stop." I moaned as Lucifer dipped his head down to kiss me deeply.

"No." He breathed against my lips and thrust his hips up hard inside me and I cried out, biting down on his shoulder as my climax rode hot inside me. My body betrayed me and I desperately slammed myself down to meet each deep thrust. Lucifer shuddered and cradled me close as he came inside me. We panted, slumping down on the bed in exhaustion. I snapped my eyes shut and tried to roll away from him, but he caught me around the waist and drew me back against his chest. I writhed to get away from him, fingernails biting down into his arms.

"Get off me." I seethed. Lucifer shook his head, sliding his hand up my chest to get a better grip on me.

"No. Hold still. Rest."

"I said get off! You got what you wanted, we're finished! Jesus Christ, can't anyone understand the word no?" I demanded angrily. Lucifer gave me a curious stare.

"Who have you said no to?"

"A lot of people. You're not fucking special. Let me go." I seethed. Lucifer stared at me for the longest time and I glared back at him before he reluctantly released me. I yanked away from him and climbed off the bed, stumbling as pain shot up my spine. Lucifer started to get up and reach for me, but I slapped his hand away and he frowned, watching me snatch up my clothes.

"When you're done basking in glory, get the hell out or I will. I'm starting to think I'd rather be around the Titans than be here any longer." I snarled. Lucifer said nothing, just watched me in silence as I went to the bathroom and slammed the door shut so hard that the wall shuddered. I tossed my clothes aside and stepped into the shower, squeezing my eyes shut and I turned the cold water on to douse the rage that was boiling my blood. I wasn't even sure what made me angry.

The sex was fantastic, just like the first time I had with Lucifer.

Maybe it was the fact that he kept trying to get emotional with me. He kept trying to get me to confess to everything, just like I'd stupidly done with Persephone. And then he'd turn around and either pity me or would use it against me like Zeus did. I couldn't trust him, no matter what garbage he spewed. And if he betrayed Heaven, he would betray me without a second thought.

I should've never slept with him in the first place. It had been a stupid drunken mistake. Worse still, it was his fault I'd gotten drunk. It had been his goal. He wanted my defenses down.

He was a threat.

I finished my shower and changed into a loose pair of slacks and a loose fitting v-neck shirt with a hood. I was just pulling on a pair of boots as I came into the room again, then froze to see Lucifer still sitting on the bed, now dressed in his white uniform again. He looked up when I entered, then stood up.

"Hades--"

"I'm going out. Alone."

"Hades, I want to apologize--"

"Sure ya do. Unfortunately, I don't want to forgive you. So, bye." I said, moving for the door. Lucifer slammed it shut with a single thought. I narrowed my eyes. So that's how he wanted to play this game? Really?

I sent a blast of power coursing through the floor, creating a huge crack in the marble floor that led straight to Lucifer's feet. Lucifer clenched his teeth and moved for me, but I spun around and wagged my finger at him.

"Come any closer and next time, the crack goes somewhere else." I warned. Lucifer paused.

"Hades, I want to talk. You need to talk."

"I'm talking right now."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I don't. Leave me the hell alone, or I really will just go back to my realm, Titans or no Titans." I sneered. Lucifer said nothing, so I took my chance and left, relieved to finally be away from him and the tension he was causing me. Of course, it wasn't until I got to the end of the hall that more tension filled the air as Ambrosius met me there, looking irritated.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said. I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"Can I not get one moment of peace here? Jesus H. Christ. What the hell do you want?" I demanded. Ambrosius glared.

"You're sleeping with Lucifer."

"Big whoop."

"No," Ambrosius said angrily, "He's a good guy. He doesn't need you treating him like garbage."

"Are you trying to protect him? How sweet of you." I sneered and shoved past him, but he whipped around and grabbed me by the elbow, jerking me to a halt. I glowered at him, yanking my arm from his grasp.

"If you hurt him, I will find a way to trap you in Tartarus with those bastards. I'm not kidding." Ambrosius threatened. I wanted to laugh at that. How hilarious. Ambrosius fell for Lucifer's sweet and gentle persona just like everyone else, and admittedly, myself as well. To Ambrosius, Lucifer was a fragile delicate flower that needed protecting. After all, in his eyes, Lucifer was more of a father to him than anyone else. Of course he'd want to protect Lucifer.

And the pain of that seared me like a hot poker through the chest.

"Good." I answered briefly, turning away from him and heading down the hallway. Ambrosius didn't follow me, thankfully. I didn't need him riding my ass about Lucifer. I didn't need to hear him protect the person who was trying to destroy me. And the worst part was that I couldn't be angry at Ambrosius for it. How could I when he was right? Lucifer was more of a father to Ambrosius. It was only natural that Ambrosius would want to protect him.

It didn't matter that Ambrosius was my son. It didn't matter that it caused me inner turmoil. Nothing I said or did would change Ambrosius's mind.

Because he hated me.

Nemesis just wanted to see a connection between us. The only connection was blood. Otherwise, Ambrosius had disowned me. And I disowned him.

At least, I tried to.

The misery followed me all the way out of the palace and out into town. I'd found my way to Portius and managed to find a brothel. After knocking back a couple of drinks, I took a couple whores for an hour or two, but none of them made me ache the way Lucifer had, or Atros, or Persephone, or Eumelia. I was just lucky my body could lie to me as I hit climax a couple of times before becoming exhausted and sick to my stomach.

I returned to the palace shortly after night had descended. The palace was eerily silent when I returned. The lights lit up as I moved through the hallways back toward my room. Just before I could get to it, Theo stepped out of his room, making me frown. He looked a bit fidgety.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked with scowl. Theo duplicated my expression, folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"Uh, I just... I was told that you should go to a different room."

"For what?"

"Like hell if I know. I was just told to wait until you got back to tell you and take you to the room."

"I'm going to bed."

"And I was told to punch you if you said that."

"Are you going to punch me, Theo?" I asked, turning to face him. Theo took a step back. A sliver of pain cut through me. Don't tell me Theo was scared of me for once. Not Theo. Not my Theo.

"No," Theo said hesitantly, "But... I think you should really go. They said it was an emergency."

"Who's they?"

"Everybody? Whoever's in on this whole save the realms thing." Theo said dryly. I clenched my teeth.

"Fine." I seethed. Theo nodded and moved down the hallway. I followed behind him, a strange feeling passing through me. Something about this felt extremely out of place and random. If this was an emergency, wouldn't people be scrambling? It was awfully quiet for an emergency, and my suspicion only caused my imagination to run rampant.

My sons hadn't done anything stupid again, had they? Gone to the oneiroi to save them? Gone back to Zeus? Run away to avoid Nyx and Erebus? They weren't hurt, were they? Gods, please let that not be true. As angry as I was with them, I'd do anything to have the news not be that something happened to one of them. Wouldn't Theo be upset if something happened to them? He could spew all the bullshit about hating them as much as he wanted, but I knew the truth. He'd weep if something happened to his brothers.

We went downstairs and down a long curved hallway before we stopped at a door. Theo didn't open it, so I gave him an odd stare and he just shrugged. I rolled my eyes and opened the doors, stepping into a completely empty room. And then I felt it.

Hot power shot across the room in a barrier and I cursed, whirling around to bare my fangs at Theo, who stepped back from the door. I went to grab him, but my fist slammed into the invisible barrier and I snarled at him.

"You backstabbing piece of shit!" I snarled. Theo flinched and stepped back.

"I didn't--"

"I'm going to kill you! Do you fucking hear me?! Get me out! Take down the barrier!" I roared, sending a blast of power into the barrier, only causing it to twinkle before becoming invisible again. My breathing became labored with panic and rage.

"Don't let him get to you," A voice said, making me snap my head to glare at Jaques, who was approaching Theo from down the hallway, "He's just angry and confused." Theo glared at him doubtfully, but said nothing. I sneered at him.

"What the fuck do you shits think you're doing? Let me out!" I snarled and sent another blast at it, but the barrier only sparkled. Jaques frowned.

"You can't go into battle with your mind clouded by suicidal tendencies. Lucifer wants to clear your head and your conscience before we go into battle. We can't have you fighting with pressured judgement. Think of it as a therapy session."

"Take down the barrier, you pathetic fucking piece of--"

"You can go back to your room, Theo," Jaques said, turning to Theo, who tensed, "We're done here."

"Oh, we're so far from done," I sneered at them venomously, "When I get out of here, the Titans won't be the only thing you'll have to fear."

"Goodnight, Hades." Jaques stated, then left the hallway. Theo watched him go, then looked at me uneasily.

"Just so you know, I was against this idea. We took a vote. I was the only one on your side." He replied grimly. I glared at him.

"Then let me out."

"Sept was for it." Theo replied quietly. Of course he was. Because when it came to choosing between his father and that worthless Egyptian, the Egyptian always came first. To hell with me, right? I said nothing, just glared menacingly at Theo before he left the hallway. I sent another blast of power at the barrier, but it only rippled.

This barrier was powerful enough to hold me, which meant it was more than just Lucifer dropped this barrier on me.

My so-called sons had ganged up on me with Lucifer and his devilspawn.

And there was going to be hell to pay when I escaped this prison.