Unbound, a Paranormal Romance (Book 2 of the Spellbound Series) (4 page)

“Yes master.” Bion’s eyes never left the ground.

“I will be in my office, my sweet. Please find me when you are satisfied. I will await you there.” Hades lifted my chin before he planted a soft kiss on my lips. Then he turned and vanished into a cloud of black smoke. I was frightened but I figured he left that way for the dramatics.

“This way, Miss.” Bion said, still looking at the ground.

“Why do you do that? Why don’t you face me when you speak? And why do you bow to me?” I asked curiously.

“I cannot look you in the
eyes,
Miss. Master Hades has forbidden it.” Bion shook his head. “And you are a lady of nobility and grace that is why I bow to you.”

“Very well, however, I want to go by Hades’ office before we get something for me to eat.” I tried to wrap my head around his comment about my nobility and grace as reasons for bowing in my presence, but hey, who was I to judge?

“But—”

“Didn’t Hades say to give me anything I desired?”

He nodded.

“So, I desire to go to Hades’ office to find out what this Circe wants and what’s so important we had to...” My cheeks flushed as I ceased talking, then a devious smile touched my lips. I was a bit jealous of Circe, as well as curious. I knew the gods weren’t above sleeping with each other, after all.

“Very well, Miss, this way.” Bion walked into the dark hallway, and I quickly followed. It remained dark for a moment before a female voice became apparent.

“This is good. I will meet you back in the room with the food,” I whispered.

Bion nodded, and I leaned against the stone wall to listen.

“Enough with the pleasantries!
Who sent you and how did you find me?” Hades demanded.

“Now, now, Hades, is that how you greet anyone else from Olympus? You wouldn’t want to make Zeus or Persephone angry now, would you?” Circe asked with a giggle.

“No, I wouldn’t. Let me try this again. To what do I owe this visit, Circe?” Hades said in a very different tone, less harsh and light.

“Much better, thank you.
I am here because you have someone here with dark magic.”

“Whatever do you mean, my dear Circe?” Hades asked, still in a polite tone.

“Oh Hades, you have someone here that is a descent from a witch of my true blood, though not a direct line. The magic she uses is dark,” Circe said, her tone suddenly harsh.

“A witch descent of your blood,” Hades repeated. “That would mean that you have gone against the rules of Olympus to conceive with mortals.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yes, it is true, as you know I am the loveliest goddess and the goddess of magic. All true witches come from me. I may have had a tryst here or there but that is irrelevant. I am here about the dark magic,” Circe said in almost a whisper.

Oh, how I wish I could see this loveliest goddess,
I
thought as the more appropriate term “
slut
” came to mind.

“Yes, there is a witch here that happens to have given me her soul. As you very well know, I keep all souls that give themselves to me and all soul of the mortals that die. So yes, a witch or witches that possess dark magic may be in the underworld and they belong to me. Now, as much as I have enjoyed this visit, you must go,” Hades said, sounding final.

“You know very well that I mean in this temple, where we stand, not the underworld.”

Silence between the two gods lasted longer than I cared for; I wished that I could see inside his office.

“Yes, there is a witch here but she has given her soul to me.”

“Very well Hades, but I will return to take her power if the balance of nature is interrupted,” Circe threatened.

“Give my best to everyone at the Mount,” Hades said sarcastically.

“I surly will…even to your wife,” Circe added with a laugh just as she reached the door of Hades’ office.

I ran down the hallway in the opposite direction. Everything she had said was whirling in my mind.
Persephone, witch, wife, dark magic, of her blood, balance of nature
—and then
wife
again. When I made it to the bedroom, I was angry. I put my hand on Bion’s shoulder, staring at his bent head. “Who is Hades’ wife, Bion, and why is she not here?”

Bion grunted before he answered, “Persephone is his wife. She is with her mother, Demeter, right now on Olympus, I believe. She only spends half the year in the underworld. It would be wise not to mention her name, because you may summon her here. I doubt that you or Master Hades wants that.”

Our eyes met, and I saw a flash of familiarity on his face. I knew him, but my brain was foggy with the details. He quickly broke eye contact and bent his head once more. Something in his gaze made me sad and I felt my head swim thinking about how I knew him.

“Thank you, Bion.” My voice was soft as the sadness rattled me.

He placed the tray of fruits, vegetables, and wine on the bed. I grabbed a glass of wine, gulping it down as my mind started racing.

I picked up a strawberry and ate it as I wondered:
Why would Hades want me if he has a wife?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I wasn’t in the habit of sleeping with married men. I prepared to go to him, sick with the news that I was no more than a mistress. I turned to walk toward Hades’ office. I stood in the hallway in front of Hades’ office before placing my hand on the door. It was amazing how that the mildew smell had just become natural to me—I didn’t think twice about it anymore. I pushed open the door and walked in.

“I was waiting for you, my sweet,” Hades said the moment he saw me.

The anger I had felt dissipated at the look in his eye. He smiled as I walked slowly over to him behind the black glass desk. I outlined the edge with my finger before I took my place in Hades’ waiting lap.

“So was your visit with Circe a good one?” I asked. He turned me to face him and moved a small strand of hair from my face.

“It is the same with all of the gods and goddesses. They always come with threats.”

“Well, my love, don’t worry about them. I am all you need to worry about. I just came to say goodnight. I am tired.” I lay my head on Hades’ shoulder. My words were true—he did need to worry about me leaving his ass.

“Did you eat well, my love?” He caressed my shoulder, and I nodded. “Well, I will wait for you in the morning, my love. I must go to the underworld to take care of some things.” My eyes widened and as he confirmed that, we were not in the underworld after all.

“Goodnight, my love.” I leaned into a soft kiss, smiling as our noses touched.

We stood, and he took me by the hand. I had the chance to bring up the question of Persephone, but I didn’t.
Maybe I do like being his mistress and I’m just fooling myself thinking I’m better than that
... Hades seemed genuine in his love for me, but really, a mistress? We walked out of his office and into the hallway, where Bion now waited.

“Goodnight, my sweet.” Hades kissed my fingertips. “Bion, show my sweet Antonia to her room, I must go to the underworld. Please attend to her every need.” He placed my hand in Bion’s and we began to walk down the hallway. I glanced over my shoulder and saw black smoke swallow Hades, leaving a grey, smoky residue in his place. I turned my head and we were back in the room in which Hades and I had made love. Bion stopped at the door and released my hand. I did need to rest after the day I’d had, but I was angry and needed answers. I put my hand on Bion’s shoulder.

“Take me to my friend, Annie the witch,” I said sternly, sure that Annie would still be willing to help me.

Chapter 3

Antonia

“Miss, the witch that
was
your friend.”
The way he said it alarmed me, because I still wanted Annie as my friend. He turned to walk down the dark dreary hallway and I followed.

Since I sent her away, I realized that she might not want me as a friend anymore. My thoughts flashed back to Annie and
I
as roommates and best friends in college, then to her standing smugly as she reversed the spell on me just hours before giving me the memories of my past life back. Now, she sat in a place only the gods knew where, that smelled pungent with mildew.

I nodded for Bion to continue, and he opened the door to stairs leading down into the darkness of a dungeon. When we reached the bottom, I looked around the dark stonewalled room that housed two cells with wrought iron bars that looked ancient. It was dark. The only light was from two candelabra that dripped with wax on the stone floor at the bottom of the stairway. I found Annie still bound by the wind Hades had used to bind her from her powers. My old friend’s eyes widened as fear jumped into her eyes. The dark circles and frown seemed like exhaustion but she began to shake her head as I stepped closer. 

“Annie?” I walked toward her, concerned by her fear. A muffled mumble was all I could hear. I looked at Bion “Release her mouth please.” I nodded for him to free her from the binds.

Reluctantly, he released the binds by capturing the wind in his hand and throwing it to the floor of the dungeon. With her mouth unbound, he stepped away from her as she gazed up at me. She looked like she’d been in a fight, dark circles under her cornflower blue eyes, her black hair tossed about. She appeared drained.

“Toni, what are you doing down here? Hades will kill you.” Her panicked tone showed in her voice, and it was enough for me to know that my callous tone from earlier didn’t end our friendship.

I laughed, my voice echoing throughout the dungeon.

“Please, call me Antonia. And if Hades wanted to kill me, he would have done so instead of having you give me my life and my memory back. What you fail to realize is that Hades loves me and I him!” A soft smile touched my lips and air escaped the lungs of Bion as he stood before me in horror from my words. “I needed to speak with you about dark magic and what you know about the goddess Circe.” I walked over to where she stood to meet her eyes.

“What?” Annie shifted uneasily and looked away. I assumed she was playing coy and it annoyed me.

“Don’t play these games with me,” I said cruelly.

“Dark magic is the kind of magic I practice.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“Annie, why are you here? And where are we?” I asked, frustrated with the conversation.

Annie shook her head, her body trembling.

“Stop with the dramatics!” I shouted. I walked toward the stairs, where the candles were lit and I picked up the candle and walked back toward Annie. I stood beside her as tears fell down her face. “Fire is your power right? How badly do you want it back?” I raised an eyebrow and blew out the flame.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I mean, it’s not my fault! But now what am I supposed to do in these binds…?” she rambled. My scatter-brained friend had not changed. I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes on her.

“Annie, let’s start with one question at a time. What do you know about the goddess Circe?”

“Nothing” Her voice was small and she seemed intimidated by me. That made me smile a little since my stature was now slightly smaller than it used to be.

“And why dark magic?”

“It’s the book of magic spells that I have they are all dark magic so that’s what I practice. Zelma wanted me to stay away from it and only practice the light magic but it’s so boring.”

I shook my head as I set the candle down. I knew what she meant, Annie always liked drama; she seemed too thrive off it. In fact, she said she felt power come from it so I can imagine it light magic being boring. “Where are we?” I smiled to reassure her that we would be okay.

“We are in the
Nekromanteion
temple in the city of
Ephyra
, in Greece. I’m here because when you left Utah with Ben and you told me Hades said, 'I knew you would come back' in your dream. It all clicked that
you
were the one Zelma was trying to protect. I was in contact with a minion of Hades…that’s who I was speaking to the night that you
came
to my room, and I told him about you.” Tears streamed down her face. “I felt bad for you. I mean, I thought it was romantic that you ran off with Hades to escape some fixed marriage thingy…so I came here to help.” Annie sobbed.

Her story, paired with the tears, pulled at my heartstrings. I wanted to hug her, but I was still angry that she took it upon herself to make a decision for me—for
us.
Plus, she had that wind binding.

“You didn’t have to do that, Annie!” I paced the floor. “I want to be able to trust you, but you can’t make decisions for me. I once trusted you with my life, and I want to be back in that place.”

She nodded as I stopped in front of her to brush a piece of matted hair from her face.

“Bion, help remove her from her bindings,” I ordered.

“Sorry, Miss, but Master Hades does not wish to free the witch,” he said reluctantly.

I sighed. My peace gesture had just been struck down.
Great.
“Very well, you both follow me, and help her if she needs it,” I ordered as I marched up the stairs to return to Hades’ office. Once there, I dismissed Bion and led the bound Annie to the black glass desk. “I need to understand why I am feeling pain for Ben.” I looked at Annie as Ben’s name left my lips. My heartbeat became stronger and louder as thoughts of him clouded my mind.