Prologue

PROLOGUE

HERA

M any would stumble through surprise portals that open right below them, but the wolf queen, she steps through with enough grace to make every soul stand to attention. The wolf queen, who has ruled this world for many years, holds her head high as she faces us. I'm used to humans and mortals, who show little respect to gods these days, but she still comes across as respectful even as she faces us down. She's dressed casually in soft brown clothes, and yet there's an eerie sense of dark magic tied to her soul. It comes from her mates, from the dark god they are bound to and his pit of hell. This wolf is tied to Persephone, and I know enough of that goddess to know she would not have bound herself to a wolf shifter she didn't know was good.

She brushes her long blonde hair over her shoulder and looks at both Cronus and me. Cronus tightens his fingers, woven between mine, and I let myself glance his way for just a second. Cronus was my first love, and to this day, I can see him how he looked when was young, and yet I think he is handsome either way. I remember the day I met Cronus for the first time, how his dark gaze swelled my heart and made it burst open with joy. How I knew deep down we were meant for each other, bound by the fate of love and all the stars that lined up to bring us together for just that moment. It wasn't to be. We couldn't be anything to each other back then. The world was at war, and I was hidden away in another world. I loved my time on Earth, and I loved my human husband very much. He was the father of my child, and I will forever cherish the time we had together, but sometimes, I found myself dreaming of Cronus. Wondering if he dreamt of me.

He told me he did. That he never stopped searching the world for me. Cronus is the one that I truly fell in love with first. Our fates were divided, torn apart, and yet here we are; we found each other again in an old world, and we will not be parted until Hades accepts us both into the afterlife.

Even locked in here, thousands of miles from her mates, a frightening howl echoes through the air. Queen Mairin smiles. "They will rip you apart when they get here, and it will not be long. I would quickly decide why you opened a portal in my granddaughter's bedroom and summoned me here. I was watching her."

Cronus smiles at the queen, who is young and nothing more than a child in our years. Cronus told me he watched her from the shadows as she saved this world and made sure that peace is all the world will know for generations. Out of respect for her, he called her here, even though he hates most people other than me. "I believe introductions may be in order," Cronus begins. "You may have been linked to Persephone's soul, and I can still sense her power throughout you, but do not test my patience by using that power here. As for your mates, they can be greeted by my guards."

"Cronus," I gently warn.

"I would not call that power in my presence. I admire you, Queen, for the fight you had on your hands in your early years, but I am Cronus, and this is Hera. We are gods and we will not be tested," he continues in a more pleasant tone.

I tug my eyes to hers. "Cronus means to say you are not in any danger, and we want to speak to you about an important matter. Tell your mates you will be returned shortly."

Her eyes flash green for a moment, and she crosses her arms. "They will come for me no matter what I say, but if they are harmed…I do not care what kind of god you are, you will die." She threatens the father of gods, one of the most powerful beings in the world, without an inch of fear on her face. "I'm well aware what gods reside in my world, Cronus and Hera. I'm unaware of why you've called me here."

"I see why you like this one. She's sharp and to the point." I lean my head on Cronus's shoulder, noting his mint scent. I slip into Mai's mind, as she likes to call herself, to see if she can be trusted and find my answer quickly. She is loyal and trustworthy, and she hates lies. I can read all of her mind, just slightly, and yet it's still like a brick wall is wrapped tight around her innermost thoughts and those concerning her mates. She's had a past full of pain, but she knows love. Love is exactly how we are going to get her to help us.

"My daughter and granddaughter are in trouble, and while I reside in your world, I cannot help them," I begin with brutal honesty, because from glimpsing into her mind, I know she can sense lies like a superpower. "Cronus took me from my granddaughter, but now we are mated. We are family and he wants to secure her world alongside me."

Mai turns her knowing gaze to Cronus. "Is this true?" She needs to hear it from him, and I don't blame her.

He looks right at me, and my heart leaps. "I am devoted to Hera."

I lean in and kiss him softly before turning to Mai. "Mai, I need the staff to return to Ayiolyn and to my family. There are two gods who are both extremely dangerous, and if we don't stop them in Ayiolyn, then they will come to other worlds. They will bleed into the universe and spread nothing but horror and war. Your world is at peace. Let us go back and secure another world of peace."

"Was Princess Ellelin not able to do this herself?"

I think of the flash Cronus showed me of the spirit castle, under attack by dragons and men. "No, she needs help. She shouldn't stand alone. Let us show her how to fight with gods against gods, rather than gods winning an unfair battle. I will not see her die. We're going to go through with Cronus's dead army, secure the lands, and live there peacefully."

Mai tenses at the mention of the army. She didn't know about it. "You want me to send you, two powerful gods, through with an army, to another world, with the assurance that you're not going to take over because you have family there?"

"Child," Cronus growls. "Are you aware of who you stand before? I've sat in your world for a very long time, and I have not interfered when I could simply send my army out of these doors and take over. I watched you rise from the girl who couldn't shift and was in love with four men bound to Hades, even when she knew they couldn't be hers. I watched your life with your memories gone, I watched who hunted you and who loved you. I witnessed your darkest and greatest moments, and they are still nothing but a blink of time to me. If you wish to call me a liar, you will find only you hold that title, Mai."

Her eyes widen and she goes still as she realises just how powerful my mate is. A smart queen would want us out of their world as quickly as possible. Loud, dark growls echo from outside the doors. Her mates are impressive to get here so quickly. Cronus sighs. "Your wolves are going to damage my castle."

Mai arches an eyebrow. "Let them in, then."

Cronus laughs. "If you want them dead, then?—"

"No," I interrupt Cronus before he can say another word.

A silence echoes between us, only the sound of wolves hounding at the door to fill the silence. Queen Mai is smart, and she doesn't shock me. "If I say no, you'll come and get the staff either way, I assume."

"That is correct. We're showing you respect, considering you were respectful to our kin," I explain. "And Cronus told me you are nothing short of a hero to this world. I do not want to leave here on bad terms and break the agreement my granddaughter put in place. She gave you the staff, and that deal is worth a discussion before action."

The doors break down and four massive wolves run in, straight to their queen's side. She holds her hand up. "I'm okay and I just made a deal with these gods. They are leaving our world."

The biggest black wolf presses against her side before all of them wait for her next move. I'm impressed they have gotten past all the magic barriers Cronus lazily leaves lying about. I have a suspicion he really didn't try hard to keep them out. She holds out her hand. The staff appears, shimmering within a bright red magic. "One of my mates hid it really well in this bracelet. There are many magical devices he makes, but this locked it away." I sense its horrid power now. "I will send you through, but the staff stays in this world. That's not changing. We are closer to destroying it once and for all, and then there will be no way back. Do you understand?"

"We are not returning," Cronus answers for us both. We have discussed our plan in length after Cronus explained he can break the magic protection on Ayiolyn to stop me from entering. "We are ready when you are, queen of the wolves."

Mai holds the staff up in the air, and magic blasts out the top like a star bursting in the night sky. A huge glowing portal spreads across the far wall, and beyond it shimmers another world. It's not Ayiolyn at all; it's one I don't know. It's not Earth either. All I can see is a shimmering expanse of blue sea with dozens of islands dotted around. Each of the islands looks like they're a different season. But winter seems huge, and right in the centre, the icy white trees spreading out like a wave to the other islands. She taps it again with green glowing eyes, and it shimmers, changing to the Spirit Court castle from outside on a field marked with dead dragons, ash and more death. We may be too late. Cronus hears and feels my heart racing, and we both rise to our feet as he links his arm around my waist.

The doors slam open next to the portal, and an army of literally dead skeletons start clicketing their way through the main hall to the portal. Queen Mai's eyes are widened slightly, but she doesn't show any reaction to using the staff or the army. She is very powerful to hold that staff so easily, but as I look closer, I see her wolves glowing the same colour, and they are all tense. They are sharing their power with her to control it.

I walk over to her and bow my head. Her eyes glow and she smiles once. "We won't be back to this world, and no one ever will. Have an everlasting, peaceful future, Queen Mairin of the Wolves."

I don't look back as I join Cronus and walk with his army into the world of dragons.