Unrest filled the room. Luke and Solos shifted their gazes, no doubt having second thoughts. Deacon looked like he had no idea how he’d ended up in this room, and Olivia was slowly shaking her head. Only Aiden, Marcus and Seth looked resolute.

“You’ve stopped the Titans before,” Aiden said, voice level and calm despite the rising tension. “And there were many more than one at that time.”

“It took all of us to stop the Titans, one at a time. And if we manage to stop Ares, we will be down one,” Hades responded. “So it wouldn’t be easy.”

Apollo squared his shoulders. “You offer him paradise. He will behave.”

“You think?” Hades folded his arms again. “And I thought you weren’t really down with this plan?”

“It’s not the best thing, but it is all we have, and you know that’s true, so stop posturing. What do you want in return for releasing Perses?”

Hades’ jaw worked like he was crunching bone. “And for offering him paradise?”

The Sun god looked like he wanted to toss Hades at the sun. “Yes. And for that.”

Here it comes, I thought. What could Hades possibly want that we could give him in return for his assistance? The souls of our firstborn children? A giggle rose, but I squelched it, because it seriously could be that.

Seconds turned into an eternity, and then Hades finally spoke. “You.”

I blinked, at first having no idea who he was speaking to, but then I saw his attention fixed on Aiden. My heart thumped against my chest like a caged bird.

“What?” I demanded, my voice too thin.

Hades’ lips curled into a smirk. “I want him.”

A flash of bewilderment raced across Aiden’s features. “You want me?”

I had no idea where this was going, but I did not like it.

“He doesn’t swing that way,” Apollo commented, his blue eyes alive with amusement. “And I didn’t think you did, either.”

Someone, I suspected Seth, choked on a laugh.

Hades shot the other god a scathing look. “I want his soul.”

CHAPTER 13

I was seconds away from discovering what would happen when an Apollyon hit a god with a bolt of anger-fueled akasha. Seth sensed my fury. Hell, he had to be drowning in it. He was edging along the wall, coming closer and closer to me.

Or the exit.

“No,” I said, and then louder, “Hell to the no, you cannot have his soul.”

Hades whipped toward me, and the tense pull to his lips told me he didn’t like my tone. Well, he wasn’t going to like my foot up his ass, either. “I would’ve asked for yours, but Apollo wouldn’t have allowed that.”

I so did not care. “You cannot have his soul. I don’t care what we need you for.”

Apollo heaved a heavy breath. “Alex.”

“No!” I spun on the god. “No way.”

Hades’ smirk infuriated me. “But you haven’t even heard the details.”

I stormed up to the god, already tasting his blood. “You can take your details and shove them up your fake British—”

“Alex!”

Clamping my mouth shut, I tensed my shoulders as I turned to the one person in this world who could get me to shut up. Aiden stood to my right, and the moment our gazes locked, I saw it. He wanted to hear Hades out. Knots spiraled tightly in my stomach.

“No,” I said again, my voice a pitiful whisper. “I don’t want to even hear it.”

He held my gaze for a second longer and then turned to Hades. “What are the details?”

The god oozed smugness. “I want your soul.”

“I think we’ve covered that,” I snapped.

Hades ignored me. “Your soul would belong to me once you’ve died to use however I see fit.”

I took a breath, but it got stuck. However he saw fit? My hands itched to get around his thick neck.

“I could always use a guard with your boldness and skill,” Hades continued.

Images of the guards of Hell, in leather and astride giant warhorses, flashed through my mind. I couldn’t—wouldn’t picture Aiden as one of them.

“And I wouldn’t take your life,” Hades went on while I started to picture myself lopping his head off with a giant sword. “When you die, not by my hand or through any trickery on my part, I will have your soul. I give my word.”

I thought of what Solos had told me. Snakes. “And we’re supposed to believe that?”

“He’s not lying,” Apollo said, eyes narrowed. “He gave his word. It’s unbreakable.”

I laughed, and the sound was coarse. Trust a god’s word? Were they on meth? I twisted halfway and saw Deacon’s expression as he stared at his brother. Stark. Accepting. Oh gods, he knew. I whirled on Aiden. “No! We’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way.” Aiden crossed the short distance between us and gently placed his big hands on my cheeks. “You know that.”

“No.” I gripped his wrists. “There has to be something else.”

“Is there? Minutes ago, Perses was our only option,” Hades oh-so pleasantly reminded me.

Outrage caused the akasha in my veins to start begging to be used. Loudly. “It’s your soul, Aiden. When you die, you will have to go to work for him or worse. You won’t go to the Elysian Fields. You…” I broke off, unable to say what was so selfish but true.

We wouldn’t have eternity together.

When I died, barring I didn’t kill Hades right now, I’d go to Elysia, and Aiden would not be there. He’d never be there, not until Hades allowed it. And he would never allow it.

Tears filled my eyes as Aiden lowered his forehead to mine. “I don’t plan on dying for a long time, agapi mou. We have today, and we’ll have many tomorrows, but only if we get Hades’ help. We won’t have any of that if we don’t stop Ares.”

“But—”

“This is bigger than both of us.” His thumb caught a tear that had snuck out, wiping it away before anyone besides Seth noticed. And there was no hiding how I felt from the First. He was standing close to us, his expression devoid of its usual smirk. Aiden smiled, but it hurt. “We have to do anything and everything to stop this.”

“I don’t care,” I whispered.

“Yes, you do.”

I shook my head. “Not if it means this, I don’t. I don’t care.”

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that we had to keep making sacrifices. We could possibly face losing a mortal life together, and now we wouldn’t even have an afterlife? Sorrow rose in me swiftly. “You wouldn’t want this for me.”

“I wouldn’t,” he admitted, “but that’s not the situation, and we need this.”

“You do,” Hades cajoled, and I wanted to claw his face into tiny, bloody pieces.

Seth shifted closer. I didn’t see him, because I couldn’t look away from Aiden, but I felt him. “Aiden is right,” Seth said quietly, but it was still intrusive. “You know there’s no other choice.”

“I don’t want you to have to make this choice,” I insisted. Yes, I was being selfish, but it didn’t just affect me. It also affected his brother and his family. If Hades didn’t allow it, he’d never see his mother and father again. This was too much.

Aiden’s striking face blurred through the haze of tears. “I know.” His lips brushed the corner of my lips. “But we have to.”

I opened my mouth to protest more, but he took advantage of that moment. He deepened the kiss and kissed me like we were the only two people in the room, in the world. Tingles shot up and down my spine in a wave of electricity. I leaned into him, kissing him back with everything I felt. Aiden tasted of salt, of mint, and of love.

Someone, maybe my uncle, cleared his throat.

Aiden slowly lifted his head, and the room came back into focus. My cheeks burned. “By doing this, we are giving ourselves a future together. Okay? We have to do this. I have to do this, and there’s nothing that can be done to change that.”

“Oh, this conversation is so not over,” I promised, blinking back tears. “I’m going to spin-kick you in the head for this one later, but okay. Okay.”