Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

LIVIA

" Y ou look serious and it's ruining our romantic meeting place."

Jinks makes me jump, and I know the sneaky bastard came up here as a cat so I wouldn't hear them and then shifted back. They are in their female form now, all long white curly hair and pretty eyes. I'm not sure which gender I like the most, but I know I'm deeply attached to everything Jinks.

Jinks has a way of appearing any time that I'm upset, or just appearing in general when I leave my room. They bump my shoulder as they stop at my side, looking over the Spirit Court. It's dark out, the sun long past set. "I didn't tell you about Florence yet, and I want to. She was beautiful and brave, and I liked her from the moment she told me she didn't want to be a queen and she wasn't marrying any man."

They softly smile at me. "Sounds like a woman who knew her mind. I take it she is in the afterlife now?"

I nod. "She died in the earth test, while I was thrown to the West to be protected by the castle. I don't blame the castle, but I wish it took her too." I look at the stone under my hands. "Arty killed her, and sometimes when I see her, I want to get revenge."

"Say the word and I'll do it for you," they offer. They aren't joking, and it makes me smile that they would murder for me.

I shake my head at them. "It's complicated and I know Arty…well, I think Florence would tell me to forgive her. It's just hard."

"Forgiveness is an easy word but an uneasy emotion to accept," Jinks adds, covering my hand with theirs. We stare at each other for a long moment, and my eyes drop to their lips, which are painted red and remind me of exactly what Jinks is. A demon. Maybe it's normal to be this insanely attracted to an ancient seduction demon who looks at me like they want to eat me literally all of the time. I find myself searching for them in every room, at every meal, and I barely stay in my room anymore because there is more chance of finding Jinks outside it. "Are you concerned about tomorrow?"

"I am. It's good that Lysander passed the first test, but tomorrow's fire, and Elle's going with him. That can't be a good thing."

Jinks looks away at the sky. "King Arden won't let anything happen to his mate, but I know how much you care about her and this court. I don't know if a demon praying is worth anything, but I will pray for your queen to win this all with her kings."

"Did I ever tell you that I became slightly obsessed with how incredible she is?" I mutter. "Jealous, maybe."

"You've got no reason to be jealous. You are incredible," Jinks firmly finishes. "Livia, I?—"

"Ah…there you both are," Elle's grandmother interrupts without a care in the world that I desperately want to know what Jinks was going to say. Hera is wearing only a white dressing gown, with a sunflower snap claw holding her hair up in a mess. I don't even want to know what she just finished with her creepy god mate she brought here. "I need a bit of your blood, Jinks and Livia. Let in the god I'm about to summon."

"Why?" Jinks questions, cocking their head to the side. I almost forgot that these two have lived together for a long time. She kind of treats them like a wayward teenager she had custody of for a time. It's cute.

"We need Phobos here. It turns out a bit of blood from hell's creatures and Cronus's special touch can make a potion to summon any god to this world through the barriers. These are the rest of the ingredients." She shakes a vial of red liquid. "Chop chop, kitty cat. I have a mate to return to and plans to set in motion."

Gross.

I clear my throat. "Does Elle know he is coming?"

"No, it's a surprise. Don't ruin it." Hera waves me off. "And for heaven's sake, stop worrying in that mind of yours. Yes, he is the god of horror, but he can behave. He has a new mate now, who's human. So he knows what it's like to have someone to lose, plus he's very fond of Elle, and she is his niece. He's brought her up with me, and we need all the family here now for what's coming."

Jinks doesn't hesitate before offering her their hand, and Hera cuts their fingertip quickly with a sharp spike of one of the many rings on her hand, before plopping a drop of their blood in the vial, which glows a burning red before she smashes it on the ground. The vial sends red smoke soaring until a portal appears, and a flutter in my chest warns me someone is coming through the barrier. It's easy to stop him if I wanted, just to connect to the magic and will it to snap shut.

When the ward fell, so did I. It felt like someone tore a hole in my chest and I couldn't breathe. It was a spell, and it didn't last long once Aphrodite left. I put the ward right back up and thanked the good gods in the sky for being lucky enough not to die.

The smoky portal clears with the wind, and on the other side is a stunning, dangerous-looking man sitting on a pumpkin in a forest. Dark hair, long legs, and all in black, with something terrifying in his dark eyes that makes me shiver. Jinks moves closer and I'm thankful for them.

At his side is a young woman who looks like she lives in a Halloween shop. She has a checkered skirt that stops at her thighs, fishnet tights, a dark black crop top that matches the colour of her dark hair, all curled up at her back of the neck. His hand is possessively around her waist as he looks through and sighs, rising to whisper in her ear. They kiss passionately for a minute, and I look away. When I look back, he's walking through the portal alone. It snaps shut behind him. "I gather there's a way I go back soon?"

The world feels darker, more sinister, the second he is here.

"Go back whenever you want, after you've killed people for your niece." Hera grins and it makes her look young. "Darling, it is always a pleasure to see you. Thank you for coming."

He crosses his bulky arms. "I trained Ellelin to kill a fuck ton of people on her own. Why can't she do that and I go back to my mate?"

"Phobos."

"Mother."

They glare at each other before she hugs him, and he clearly gives in, even when he doesn't hug her back. Hera pats his arm before she steps away. Phobos drags his eyes to Jinks. "Are you behaving, cat?"

They bow their head. "Always."

The god of nightmares looks at me, and I feel like my blood freezes in fear. I can barely move under his gaze. "Is this the mate you came through for?"

The shock of that statement makes me force myself to look at Jinks with a will power that apparently can defy the gods. What the fuck? "Mate?"