Vala Eminence (15 page)
Authors: J. F. Jenkins
“There are three-hundred floors. Lucien has placed traps in the lower ones. I'm sure you can understand why. He knew that eventually you'd learn about who you are, and he needs to keep you away from your father if he has any hope of taking your inheritance. However, the traps shouldn't be anything you can't handle.”
“Yeah, I kind of already set one of them off,” he mumbled. “Missed getting turned into a pancake. Let me tell you, it was a lot of fun.” He pressed his lips together as he thought.
I wonder if my magic connects me to the castle itself. Maybe I could use it to sense the traps up ahead.
A small smile crept across Ceete's lips. He was pretty sure she was reading his mind then.
Why not read my mind, right?
She laughed and nodded. “You are quite funny, my lord.”
“Stop flirting with me, we're family,” he teased.
“We are,” she said in all seriousness.
Pulling his knees closer to him, Denver studied her features to see if he could find some kind of genetic resemblance to her. “How exactly are we related? It'd be awesome to know.”
“Your mother was my sister. She was quite a bit younger than me â at least a couple of thousand years. She's also a different kind of demon, and a creation of one of Hades the First's much later descendants.”
Not many things could make his jaw drop in surprise, but that was one of them. “My mom is a demon?”
“Yes, a lesser one. I believe a demon of lust. Her purpose was to cause the human men to stray. She and your father spent a lot of time with one another in the underworld. One thing led to another and you were born. They were married for convenience and political reasons. They enjoyed one another so it worked out well enough, but it wasn't a marriage of love.”
Ceete stood and crossed the room, stopping in front of him. “Your father was not one to have long-lasting relationships. A trait you seemed to have acquired until recently. They both cared for you. He loved you with all his heart, and you were possibly the only thing that she came close to loving.”
He chuckled. “I have memories of her rocking me. Being the son of a demon explains a lot. I know I had a curse on me, but there are other things. My desire to drink blood, among other things.”
Ceete laughed as well, her head fell back and her vibrant red hair landed in front of her face. She blew the strands away. “Blood, yes, the euphoric taste. Oh, how she loved to drink. That was what she liked most about your father, his blood. The stronger the connection, the sweeter the taste, the greater the high.”
“Great, so that's why I like to drink from Cheyenne so much.” He shook his head. “She's literally my drug, the whole high-based-on-intimacy thing is at least slightly romantic. At least I like to think so.”
“You are as prepared for this journey as you can be. Except⦔
He raised an eyebrow. “Except?”
Ceete gazed at him with such intensity even he was startled by it. She grabbed his hands. “You must still go through the final bath to bind the soul of Hades the First to yours.”
“Oh, that. Right⦔ Denver had been hoping he could avoid that part of the reincarnation process. After he'd done it to Cheyenne, Persephone kept trying to take control of her body. He didn't want Hades to try and do the same thing to him.
“If you are to make things right again, it must be done,” Ceete insisted. She forced him to stand. “I've prepared everything needed to perform the spell now. You have nothing to fear.”
“Not so sure about that,” he muttered, but he didn't see a point in arguing with a demon assassin. Allegiance or not, she could still break his neck with her pinky if she wanted to, or render him unconscious and perform the spell on him anyway. He grabbed his coat; he knew exactly where they had to go.
****
Under the gazebo was more than just a tunnel with pretty wall art. On the other side of the tunnel was an exotic garden. Denver only liked it because it reminded him of Cheyenne. She smelled like flowers and cinnamon candy, a curious combination of softness and spice.
The garden in the cave was where Ceete took him.
“Hades the First built this place as a shrine for his love,” she said as they walked through the tunnel. She gazed up at the mural and Denver could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes.
Denver nodded as he listened. “Not surprised. Chey likes flowers, so I'm sure every heir to Persephone that's ever existed loves them too.”
“It was to show her the promise of her greenery that can be found in the underworld now. To show that he could create life anywhere and out of anything. The water here will be pure enough for us to perform the spell.”
“I remember that much,” he said. “About the water, I mean. This is where I brought Cheyenne when I bonded her to the soul of Persephone the First. Something tells me I did it wrong, though, because of all the nasty side effects Cheyenne is having.”
Ceete shrugged. “We'll see.”
The scent of flowers filled his nostrils as he entered the garden. Denver took off his shoes and socks so he wouldn't disturb the lush grass under his feet. Not to mention, he loved how the grass felt between his toes. It was soft and cool against his bare skin. All around him were flowers spanning every color of the rainbow. Most were far larger than a normal flower should have been, some being big enough for him to use as a chair. Tiny pink buds decorated vines all along the walls of the cave. So much life in such a small space.
Positive energy surrounded him. Denver didn't have the same kind of connection with the flowers as Cheyenne did, but he had a suspicion that the plants liked his company â if only because of her. She had told him they knew more than most people did. Perhaps they knew who he really was and how important he was to their mistress.
He looked over at Ceete. “Do you care if I strip? Wet jeans are not my thing.”
“Whatever is most comfortable for you. I certainly do not care. I swaddled your naked body when you were an infant, so it's not like I'd be seeing anything new,” Ceete said, walking to the pool of water toward the back of the cave. There was a small creek running through the cave, which emptied into the pool. The soft trickle of water always relaxed him for some reason. Even before he'd met Cheyenne, he had enjoyed going to the cave. It had been his escape from the real world, a place untouched by Lucien and his darkness.
Denver scoffed. “There's a big difference between a baby and an adult body.”
Giggling, Ceete pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “There is nothing about you I would lust over.”
“Good.” He pulled off his shirt and tossed it into the grass before wiggling out of his jeans and kicking those away. The boxers stayed on. Normally, he wouldn't care about how much anyone saw of his body. Ceete wasn't anyone.
Once he was undressed, he stepped into the water, glad that it was as warm as the rest of the cave. “Okay, let's get this over with, shall we?”
Ceete walked into the water and without any warning, she forced him under it. He barely had time to hold his breath.
She's not going to kill me. This is all part of the process.
He had to remind himself over and over again. Ceete was only doing the exact same thing he'd done to Cheyenne. He'd held her under the water until she had passed out. Not one of his finer moments, that he was sure of. At the time, he would have done anything to get out of Lucien's employment.
Denver refused to miss out on the adventure by being weak. His lungs felt as if they were on fire, but something else was happening inside of him as well. Unable to hold his breath for any longer, his lungs filled with water â and it was like he took in the richest, most satisfying air, in his entire life.
Thank you,
a soft voice said inside of his head.
Denver was almost whole.
Passing out in the pool of water hadn't been something Denver had intended on doing. He'd done it anyway, he was sure of it. Because the last thing he remembered was gazing up at Ceete through the water, feeling more alive than any other time in his life, and then the next thing he knew he was lying in his bed back at the dorm room. Unlike Cheyenne, he remembered what had happened. Ceete hadn't performed a second spell to make him forget the whole thing. Denver was awake and aware of his ancestor, Hades, living inside of him. His head throbbed, but the rest of him felt amazing. Energy coursed through his entire body.
Not wanting to waste it, he rolled out of bed, and jogged to his bathroom. Two painkillers, and a shower later, and he was as good as new. Too bad it was a weekday. He'd have loved to take Cheyenne out on the town and made the most of the day. However, being awake in time to get breakfast from the cafeteria before classes, for a change, was a plus. Usually, he skipped breakfast and kept a snack in his bag.
Denver hadn't even realized how early it was until he glanced outside his bedroom window and saw the sun had just risen.
What time did I wake up?
This is crazy.
He gathered up his things and ran outside. The urge to do flips through the courtyard tempted him. What would people think if they saw him acting so happy?
Probably that I'm either possessed, or high.
He snickered.
His good mood deflated when he noticed Cheyenne walking through the courtyard with Zes. Not just walking, clinging to him. Her arm was draped on his arm and she was laughing at one of his stupid jokes. Zes had a crummy sense of humor. Unless she was laughing at his “adorable”quirkiness. Either way, Denver didn't like what he was seeing.
Gag me.
If the two had just been talking, Denver wouldn't have felt a need to stalk across the courtyard in a jealous rage. Given what he was seeing with his own eyes, he was pretty justified in his reaction.
“Eh-hem!” Denver cleared his throat loudly. She rolled her eyes, which was not like her at all. He especially didn't think Zes would have been capable of giving a glare so sharp it gave even him shivers.
Zes folded his arms in front of his chest. Cheyenne didn't bother to let go of him. She touched his shoulder, petting him like he was a dog.
“What do you want?” Zes snapped.
Denver ignored him. “'Sup, Chey?”
She scowled. “I'm going to eat. Repeat, what do you want?”
“To see my darling girlfriend,” he said and put an arm around her waist. She pulled away, and he noticed how dark her eyes were. Her eyes were supposed to be blue. They were quite possibly the most beautiful pair of eyes he'd ever seen. Instead of blue, he saw glossy, black irises. His heart sank.
Sighing, Cheyenne let go of Zes, holding a hand up as if to signal him to stay. She then grabbed Denver's arm rather roughly and dragged him off to the side.
He glanced back at Zes and snorted. “You going to give him a treat for being a good boy, later?”
“What I do with him isn't your concern,” she snapped. Her voice took on the same gravelly tone it had the other day in the hall when Persephone had taken over.
“Actually, it is my concern because you belong to
me
.” Pain unlike any other was in his chest â like his heart was being ripped to shreds. The last time he'd confronted her on the issue of her⦠thing⦠with Zes, he'd been hurt, but not to the point where he almost couldn't breathe. Did he finally have a heart full of light? Or was it the heart of Hades beating and bleeding inside of him.
Why would anyone want to fall in love when it hurts this much to lose?
For a brief second, the blue returned in Cheyenne's eyes, and he saw her fear. She didn't understand what was going on. Furious didn't even begin to describe his emotions. When the black returned to her irises, his fists clenched together.
“I belong to you?” Persephone asked, using Cheyenne's body. “Your affair with this girl is over, boy. I have no use for you, and regardless of how she may feel for you, I find you filthy and disgusting. You aren't my king.”
Let me try,
a voice inside of him urged. It had to belong to Hades. Relinquishing control over his life was not something Denver wanted to do, but he'd do anything to save Cheyenne.
“Persephone,” he said in a soft, gentle voice. “I'm more than you think I am. Remember our garden? I planted it with my bare hands and magic. We made the mural together. That
thing
who forced you into a marriage agreement isn't your king anymore than that boy who you're using.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You can't know about any of that. It's impossible.”
With a tentative hand, he reached out to stroke her cheek. Denver may not have been in complete control over what he was doing, but he was glad to be aware of it. If he blacked out the same way Cheyenne did, he'd be having a lot of words with his hijacker.
“Persephone,” he said again. “I've longed to say your name to you in person again for millennia. We're finally together, and you're fighting me? There's a reason you haven't been able to accept my imposter. You know in your heart that Lucien is not who he claims to be. Let the boy go. We can talk. I can prove to you that I'm telling the truth. I just need the opportunity for you to listen to me.”
“I-I⦔
He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but his lips never connected with her skin. Instead, he was shoved aside by Zes. Hades snapped out of Denver, once more giving him back total control of his body.
You're the fighter.
Convenient timing for Hades to step away, but Denver didn't mind too much. He did like to fight, and he'd been itching for a rematch with Zes ever since their quarrel back in February when Denver and Cheyenne had first been caught making out next to a tree. At the time, Denver had gone easy on the guy. He'd deserved what he had coming to him. Now, the gloves were coming off.
Zes got in one more, hard shove. His strength was unbelievable, and he was able to knock Denver to the ground. Denver even slid a few feet back over the snowy gravel. When he lifted his gaze to see what Zes was going to do next, he noticed the other teen's eyes were a glowing shade of gold. Even more peculiar was how there was a red light pulsing from out of Zes's jacket sleeve on the side where his arm was branded.
