"Don't you dare blast those doors!" Lexi commanded from inside Hades's bedchamber. 

"I am not blasting anything!" Hades shouted, although he blamed this on adrenaline as he glared at the blond braid tied around the handles. "I need to know you're alright in there."

"I'm fine. I have Josef in custody and he's going to unlock the door for you."

"Very well. And I didn't blast any doors. That was Z."

"Someone had to take action. This is not a potions class." Z threw Melinoe a sidelong scowl, and she glared back at him from her position on the staircase. From the looks of her white knuckles, she appeared to be throttling the railing.

"Good magic takes time," she said casually, pretending not to care, although she wasn't fooling Hades. He guessed she had been shaken by Z's display of power downstairs. She also knew that her incubus was not the only one facing judgment.

A pale head appeared through the door and smiled politely, giving Hades a good look at the villain. He had striking gray eyes set inside rugged features, with locks of rippling, golden hair that actually glowed, illuminating his face like stage lights. A handsome villain. The worst kind, and Hades prepared himself for the worst as Josef untied the braid and jerked back inside.

The door clicked open, and Lexi greeted them in her linen shift dress, looking frazzled but unharmed. She held Josef captive with the sash, and Hades immediately noticed she held her other arm behind her back.

"Lexi, what happened to your arm?" When he reached for her, she flinched away.

"I burned it grabbing the sash," she said. "It was thrown into the fire, but I realized it didn't burn. So, I used it to capture Josef."

"Let me see the damage you did to yourself." Hecate pushed to the front of their group, pursing her lips as Lexi reluctantly lifted her arm. Her skin was flushed crimson and pocked with fresh blisters. Hecate clicked her tongue. "We need to get you healed straight away. Hades, take the sash from your mate."

Hades cursed himself for not acting sooner, and he extracted the sash from Lexi's grip as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I should not have left you."

"It all worked out," she said as Hecate hauled her toward the staircase. "The children are in the bathroom. You'll need Josef to set them free."

Hades stepped into his room and glared at the yellow braid securing the bathroom door. Now the voices of his children registered in his brain. They included a fussy cry from the crib, and Hades waved his brother toward it. "Will you see to Juniper, Z?"

"You want me to soothe a crying babe?" Z said as he shuffled grudgingly toward the crib. "She wants her mother."

"Of course, she does. Just dig deep. I'm sure there's a mother inside you somewhere." Hades jerked on Josef's lead, dragging him along as Ely's muffled cry guided him to the proper door.

"Daddy, we're trapped in the bathroom! I don't have my sword."

"Your sword is useless against magic," Elm scolded him. "It's plastic."

"You'll both be free before a sword is necessary." Hades stopped in front of the door and glared at his captive, the scoundrel who had turned his life into a three-ring circus. While Josef's aura was subdued under the sash's influence, Hades had to admit, the wings were impressive. "Open the door."

"Lovely children, you have," Josef offered as he hurried to untie the braid. "Clever as they come. But they would have to be, under the tutelage of a lord." He smiled and bowed humbly as the door clicked open, but Hades wasn't interested in Josef's praise. The villain had invaded his home and bedded his nymph. There would be no mercy coming from this lord.

Ely was the first to mimic Hades's sentiments. "You're a fiend," he said to Josef as he clung to Hades's pant leg.

"And you were almost brave enough to use this on me." Josef tugged on the sash wrapped around his ankle. "I could tell you were thinking about it."

"What's going on over here?" Z grumbled as he bounced Juniper inside his burly arms, causing her to hiccup in-between cries. "I thought we were taking the accused to the Lethe, not having conversations with him."

Hades glanced across the room, searching for Melinoe, but the hall outside his door appeared empty. "We're missing our witch."

"We don't need her now, we have the scoundrel in hand," Z argued.

"I want Melinoe to punt him down the Lethe."

A smirk grew behind Z's beard. "As her penance? Excellent choice, but she's going to curse you for it."

Ink came waltzing into the room with Blythe on his heels. "If anyone is interested, I just saw Melinoe escape upstairs," he announced.

"Will you keep tabs on her, Ink, while we get the household settled?" Hades asked.

"No problem, my lord."

Ink left the room, and Hades herded his children toward Blythe. "I hope you and your sister nymphs were not harassed during your internment."

"No sire, not until the front door exploded into the foyer." Blythe blinked innocent blue eyes at Z, who pretended he didn't hear her.

"Do you mind taking this babe to her mother?" Z said, lowering Juniper into Blythe's arms. As soon as the babe landed there, she stopped fussing.

"I hate to pile on, Blythe, but will you keep an eye on the twins as well?" Hades said. "I expect they'll be too excited to sleep until all of this is over?"

"Of course, my lord. We shall find ways to entertain ourselves."

"But I want to watch the banishment," Ely complained. "Momma said I could...if it isn't too dangerous."

Hades pondered Ely's request. Would Lexi consider a trip to the Lethe in the middle of the night too dangerous for her young son? If so, Ely would be sorely disappointed. "Let me talk to your mother before I give the okay."

"I want to see mommy," Elm complained.

"Hecate is tending to her in our bathroom," Blythe offered distractedly. Her gaze had been locked on Josef ever since she entered the room. No doubt, Sella had filled her in on the tales of her incubus lover. Not a story Hades would condone after tonight. He turned to Z and handed him Josef's sash.

"Keep an eye on him, will you?" he said. "I know where Melinoe has escaped to. I'll meet you downstairs."

Hades knew where Melinoe was because she had never grasped the concept of boundaries, and when he arrived at the dome room, he found her and Ink sharing his decanter of port. They appeared to be commiserating with each other, and his arrival had Ink nervously stowing his guilt as well as his glass.

"Lord Hades... I found Melinoe. Are you ready to make for the Lethe?"

"Feel free to finish your beverage," Hades said as he picked up the decanter. "I'll enjoy one with you."

"Melinoe and I were just talking about life in the underworld and how much we appreciate the solitude here." Ink downed his port as if it hadn't come from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal, choking out his next comment. "We're both loners."

Hades's gaze settled on Melinoe as she reclined on the chaise. She was watching him through her veil, looking much too smug for the circumstances, but he assumed this was because she knew the types of activities he enjoyed on his velvet divan.

"I'm glad you found a purpose here, Ink," Hades said as he filled his glass halfway, enough to soften the edges. "I have never entertained three small children at once, and I appreciate the extra time I'm able to do this."

"You're a fine father," Ink said, toasting Hades with his empty glass.

Hades acknowledged Ink with a nod as he began circling the room, speaking once he'd flavored his tongue with port. "It turns out Melinoe was the culprit behind the rouge spirits you were noticing. She was collecting them in preparation for her birthday surprise for Lexi. I'm sorry you had to clean up after her."

Hades didn't have to look at Melinoe to know her expression had changed behind her veil. He suspected it was no longer smug, and Ink just looked uneasy, which was understandable. He had already heard Hades rant about Melinoe.

"A lot of thought and effort was put into that surprise," Hades went on. "Definitely, a premeditated act. Combined with her history of similar crimes, I believe my punishment is fair."

Melinoe said nothing, refusing to be the one to ask. So, it was Ink who filled the awkward moment. "What is her punishment?"

Hades stopped pacing the room to look at Melinoe, making sure she knew his intent. "A trip down the Lethe. Melinoe hates the Lethe. She fell into it when she was a child and lost her memories."

"But she's a goddess. I thought gods were immune to the effects of the Lethe," Ink said.

"At thirteen, she was still vulnerable, so she forgot her early years. And the fear of losing more has never left her, in spite of the powerful magic she can wield now." Hades blinked his eyes at Melinoe, taunting her as she taunted him. "It is unfortunate she uses her sorcery to torment others. Sometimes I wonder if another dunk in the Lethe might set her right."

Melinoe had heard enough, and she pushed up from the chaise to yell at him. "You're a bastard!"

"And you're a liar!" he returned. "My punishment is nothing compared to the grief you caused my family. You were given a divine purpose by Gaia, and time and again I have seen you take this for granted. To disregard your duty and use your gifts with malicious intent, is to disregard Gaia's will."

"And you're still assuming I pulled off this prank," she offered weakly. "You could be accusing an innocent."

Hades laughed. "You are far from innocent. You already admitted Josef was your incubus. That alone is a punishable crime, and it would not take long to dig up other details of your guilt. But I want Josef gone now, and I want you to see him off."

Hades sipped from his glass, giving Melinoe plenty of time to retaliate, but she surprised him by remaining mute, her red lips thinning behind her veil. Was she finally learning? Melinoe may have had a satchel full of magic, but Hades held the staff of power. While he rarely touted his position as an Olympian, any ruler who allowed insolent behavior to go unchecked was no ruler at all. It was time to straighten her ass out.