The Iron Queen (Daughters of Zeus) - By Kaitlin Bevis Page 0,30
in a blur of pink. Artemis regained consciousness, sputtering for breath. She lurched forward, but he had her back in the chokehold in seconds.
I caught Persephone’s phone out of reflex. It took me a second to place the picture of the mangled mass of flesh on the screen as something humanoid, much less recognize it as my wife. My stomach lurched.
“There’s some great videos on there too,” Zeus informed me. “In case you need some incentive to change your mind.” As if on cue, Persephone’s screams burst from the phone’s tiny speakers.
I yanked on the power of the Underworld, ripping it through the earth in my rage. Artemis’ eyes widened as she realized what I was doing. “I swear fealty!” she cried as the ground split beneath her. Her dark eyes met mine, and before I could say anything to stop her she added, “To Hades.”
Her power flashed through me, knocking me off balance just long enough for the shield above Zeus to flicker. He growled and threw her to the ground.
“No!” I shouted as Zeus leapt into the air and vanished.
Artemis stood and faced me, movements slow and deliberate. “You were going to trap me with him?”
I pocketed Persephone’s phone and dropped the shield around Artemis’ boyfriend.
Artemis’ gaze didn’t even flicker in his direction. “Answer me!”
“You wouldn’t like what I have to say.”
“Diana!” The hunter ran to her, but she held out a hand, keeping him at arm’s length.
“I wouldn’t like what you have to say? You were going to trap me in Tartarus with that sadistic son of a bitch, and all you can say for yourself is that I wouldn’t like what you have to say!” Her dark eyes blazed with fury. “What the hell is wrong with you, Hades? We go back, way back. I thought we were friends, but you were willing to abandon me, for what, some slip of a girl you just met?” She held her chin up, using every inch of her five feet to try to make me feel small, but I wasn’t having it.
“You could have teleported!” I threw my hands in the air. “You could have escaped before he so much as touched you. What the hell were you still doing here?” Her gaze flickered to the hunter then back to me, the movement almost imperceptible and probably unintentional. I let out a dark laugh. “Protecting your latest human pet? I kept him out of the line of fire for you, but since you were so determined to swear away your sanity, I sure as hell wasn’t going to put my wife on the line to stop you. Here—” I stepped forward, grabbing her shoulder and shoving her powers back into her before breaking the bond of fealty with a snap.
She stumbled and suddenly a hand yanked on my shoulder. “Don’t touch her!” The hunter shouted, fist flying toward my face.
I caught it in a bone-crunching grip.
“Stop!” Artemis darted between us. “Oh, Ryan—” She took his hand, and I felt a pinprick of power flow between them as she healed him. He stared at her, wide-eyed.
“What the hell is going on?”
“It’s a long story.” Her shoulders slumped, and she returned her attention to me.
“He comes with us.”
“Like hell!”
“I’m not stupid, Hades. Zeus has your wife, and you want him dead. I’m one of the few people who can make that happen.” She tilted her chin up, eyes glittering with defiance. “If you want my help. He comes too.”
Chapter XXII
Persephone
“I’m impressed.” Zeus still looked like Hades as he stroked my cheek. “I didn’t expect you to hold out this long.”
Thinking of the pearl Aphrodite offered me, I realized she’d been right all along.
Death could be a mercy. The torture blended together in such a painful haze that I’d lost the ability to distinguish between the waking world and dreamscapes. Propped up against that familiar wall of mist, my hand clutched my necklace. I was crushing the poor plant, but I couldn’t seem to loosen my grip.
I’d been prepared for pain when Zeus stormed into the room, but he seemed even more agitated than usual. And he’d taken it out on me.
Gods, I was in so much pain. It was probably a dream. If he wasn’t electrocuting me anymore, I was most likely dreaming.
“The question is how are you still refusing me? You’re not this strong.”
Sometimes he looked like Hades when I was awake though. It was hard to tell. Was I awake, or was I sleeping?