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Chapter 16
Poseidon
Ares had found Catina. My heart beat with excitement knowing we had a location where we could corner the bastard. It was a turn of events that left me as surprised as the rest of the guys. Of all the people who could have found her, Ares wasn’t someone I expected to do the job.
But he was starting to step up and prove he was worth his spot on the team, and no matter who found the human girl, we could finally do something to improve the situation.
Although no one knew if she was still alive, except she had to be. X wouldn’t have taken her to the Underworld only to kill her. Even if Elyse worried about the possibility. And I didn’t blame her. Death trapped her best friend, so of course, anyone would jump to the worst possible conclusion. Including me… but I held out hope that we’d find her alive.
Elyse had gone to the bathroom. Apollo slouched on her sofa, and I stood in front of the television. Not only were the couches too small to sit on—they were human-sized, but they were all big boys, so the seat looked like a toddler’s toy with Apollo’s ass parked in it.
“What’re we going to do to stop her from entering the Underworld?” I asked. “We can’t give X what he wants.”
“We can’t stop her,” Apollo responded. “Not unless we trick her somehow. You know how she is, and I’m not going to do that.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. He was right; we couldn’t stop her unless we betrayed her. I wasn’t willing to do that either, but I worried we were delivering her to X, which was exactly what he wanted.
“What if she gets hurt?” I hesitated.
“We’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Apollo said. “If we all go, maybe we can make a difference. Remember that time we all stood together when X hounded her? He backed down.”
“He did. But he found a better way to get to her. I’m sure this is because of everything that’s happened, because of how strong she’s become and the fact we’re all on her side. He didn’t plan for that.”
“None of us did.”
He was right. We hadn’t planned on getting involved with her fight. Or to fall in love with her. It was why we were all here, ultimately. But now she was in our lives, it was our fight, too.
I bet X was furious about our involvement, and it explained why he’d pulled out all the stops. But he hadn’t seen the kind of war a god willingly waged when it came down to love. And Elyse was one-of-a-kind. X had at least three gods on his case with us all fighting for Elyse.
Who knew where Hades stood and where his heart was in all of this. He loved her, but what was he willing to sacrifice? How much was he planning to fight against someone who was essentially part of him? How that worked exactly I wasn’t sure, but we’d find out if he came with us.
Then again, he hadn’t done anything about X so far.
The bathroom door opened, and Elyse appeared, dressed in her workout gear. She marched into the living room, moving differently, stronger in the way she carried herself. She was lithe, light on her feet, and you only had to look at her once to know she was a warrior. Gone was the scared girl I met when I’d first came to Earth.
Everything had changed now. She became less and less human after her deaths. Which was the only reason I was even remotely okay with taking her with us to the Underworld. Still, my gut twisted that things would go wrong. This was uncharted territory for all of us.
“I know you guys were gossiping about me.” Elyse flopped down next to Apollo, and he wrapped an arm around her back. Even with barely any space left on the loveseat he occupied, he shifted, making room.
“We were just talking about going to the Underworld,” Apollo explained smoothly. “You know we worry.”
Her cheeks flushed in an adorable way. “I know. But I’ll be okay.”
“We’ll make sure of that.” I squared my shoulders.
Easier for all of us. She might have been brought up to battle on her own, but things were different now. To succeed, we’d work as a team.
Apollo glanced at me before speaking. “And you think we’re going to sit back while you’re in danger? Ain’t happening.”
Elyse chuckled, clearly happy with Apollo’s response, and leaned back against the couch. I couldn’t help but slide my gaze over her body. She was beautiful in so many ways. But a fit, fighting body was a delicious thing to behold, and Elyse was as toned and strong as they came.
My dick punched up in my pants, and I squirmed a little. Elyse glanced at me. Something shifted in the atmosphere. I wasn’t sure what I felt, but it was powerful and intoxicating, fogging my brain.
I sat in the armchair closest to Elyse. She lifted her body away from the couch as if an invisible force pulled her toward me. And I was drawn to her, too. Whatever was going on, it was like a magnetic lure I didn’t want to ignore. Our energies seemed to fluctuate around Elyse, they seemed to fluctuate lately, calm some days, and lustful others. Just like now.
Her power flared, and the room filled with electricity, so thick, I breathed it in when I inhaled. The hairs on my nape lifted.
Apollo moved his hand and put it on her leg. He was aware of the change, too. I’d never felt something like this with any woman I’d been with. Not even with Elyse our first time. This was new, and it reminded me of lust but even more forceful. It was riddled with her power, and mine rose to match. Apollo’s magic grew, too. Something had changed between us, and I remembered the shift in the air when we all touched after we comforted Elyse in her apartment.
