Chapter Twenty-One

“Angel,” Dominic's voice lured me out of slumber.

“Why do you call her that?” Darius grumbled.

“Because she saved my life, asshole!”

“Can you two please stop bickering?” Declan drawled. “She's complained several times already. And now, here you are, waking her up with more of it.”

“What he said,” I mumbled as I sat up. “Ugh, I hate it when I fall asleep in the middle of the day.”

Binx, who had no problem sleeping at any time of day or night, got up, resettled on my pillow, and started kneading it like sourdough.

“I brought you a mug of tea.” Dominic held out a steaming mug. “Mint with sugar, not honey.”

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Darius muttered and walked over to the table to sit down. “She gets it—you know how she likes her drinks.”

“Thank you, Dom,” I said and took the tea. “And I appreciate you remembering. It's nice when a man pays attention to the little things.”

Dominic grinned at me, then looked over his shoulder and stuck out his tongue at Darius.

Darius rolled his eyes. “There are sandwiches over here, if you're interested, Amélie. And scones.”

“Scones?” I got up and headed over. “What kind?”

“Chocolate and plain. But there's butter and jam for the plain ones.”

“No clotted cream?” I teased.

“Clotted cream? That sounds disgusting.” Dominic made a face as he and Declan joined us at the table.

“It does,” I agreed. “And honestly, there's not a lot of flavor to it. It's just thick cream.”

“Leave it to the British to come up with a tasteless condiment,” Darius said.

“Hey, now. That's not fair. The Brits have some very tasty food,” Dominic argued (I suspected just for the sake of playing the Devil's advocate. Or Hades's advocate).

“Like what?” Declan asked, sounding legitimately curious.

“Fish and chips!” Dominic declared.

Declan made a face.

“And?” Darius asked.

“Uh.” Dominic frowned and looked down. Triumphantly, he snatched up a chocolate scone and said, “Scones!”

I snorted. “He's got you there. My favorite British food is sticky toffee pudding, with beef wellington coming in at a close second. In fact, I'd love them as a meal. In that order. Maybe with some popovers on the side.”

“A girl with her priorities straight.” Darius grinned at me. “I like that.”

“It's simple chemistry,” I said. “Your brain signals your body that it's full after it's had enough protein. So, if you eat dessert first, which is mainly carbs, you'll have room for both your main dish and the dessert.”

“Holy shit, that's brilliant!” Dominic declared.

“Is that right?” Darius frowned at Declan.

Declan had a pensive look on his face. “Well, that thing about protein is true, at least for humans. So, her theory is sound. I don't know if our bodies work the same way, though.”

“I rarely have trouble fitting in dessert,” Dominic said, as if in agreement. He leaned in toward me to add, “But I'm gonna try starting with dessert first. Then, maybe I can have two desserts—one at the beginning and one at the end of the meal.”

“You should be eating more protein,” Declan said. “As shapeshifters, it's even more important to us.”

“Sure, Dad.” Dominic rolled his eyes. “Hades put us back here, in these immortal bodies, to protect the world. We're always on call. So, I'm gonna enjoy all the perks of my divinely formed body whenever I can. I think it will be fine with double dessert instead of double protein.”

Declan shrugged. “We were talking about physical requirements, so I pointed that out. Frankly, I don't give a shit what you eat, Dom. And I'm sure as fuck going to eat whatever I want.”

“That's right!” Dominic held out his fist for Declan to bump.

Declan snorted a laugh but obligingly bumped Dominic's fist.

“Do you guys have to work out?” I asked.

Dominic grimaced. “Technically, no, but it helps, so we do.”

“I like to work out,” Darius said. “It makes me feel strong.”

“Of course it does.” Dominic rolled his eyes.

“Fuck off. These bodies may be immortal and work more efficiently than human bodies, but that only means we should appreciate them even more. I like honing my body until it's the best it can be.”

“Go preach it to the Marines,” Dom huffed. “I work out because Declan makes me.”

“I don't make you,” Declan said.

“You badger me. You go on and on about how even immortal muscles need honing and lifting weights is good for the mind as well as the body, blah-blah-blah.”

Declan looked at me. “It is.”

“You see?” Dominic jerked his head at Declan. “He makes me. But I'll bet if I didn't. I'd still be buff. I've got the mark of a god on me. Hades isn't about to let us get beer bellies.”

“Speaking of which, are you going to tell me what Hades said?” I asked.

They instantly went grim.

Darius swallowed his bite, set down his sandwich, and brushed off his fingers. “The Olympians are outraged. They see it as an attack against all of them.”

“Really? That's good, right?”

“Oh, it's excellent. Far more than I expected from them. Frankly, I'm shocked they're backing us.”

“I'm not,” Declan said. “Without us, the world is in jeopardy of being overrun by escaped and lost souls. The Gods don't want that. This may not be their home, but it's their favorite place to play.”

“And they like to fuck with humans,” Dominic added. “Fuck with and fuck. They couldn't do that if a bunch of souls were messing with the ambiance.”

“Plus, Hades is a major player,” Declan said. “If a lesser god can strike at him with impunity, it makes all the Olympians look weak. They can't have that.”

“Now, that I get,” Darius said. “If there's one thing the Gods don't like, it's a blow to their ego.”

“So, what are they going to do?” I asked.

“So far, they've lifted one of our laws,” Declan said.

“They lifted a law?” I huffed. “That's all?”

“It's the one against us killing humans,” Darius explained, his stare grim. “We've got carte blanche now. No holding back. And not just our team—all of them. All around the world, Cerberuses can kill if they want to. It doesn't even have to be in connection to this situation. The Gods didn't specify.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “That could go badly.”

“No, I don't think so,” Declan said. “You need to remember that all hounds are chosen for their skill, but also their honor. None of us will abuse our power.”

A shiver ran through me. I knew Declan was telling the truth. A god had chosen them, all of them, because of the quality of their souls. Just being a hound was proof enough of a man's morality. And I had three of them looking out for me. It made me feel . . . well, blessed. I was beginning to see how fortunate I was to be drawn to them instead of focusing on all the negatives. Three good men. All for me. Forever. It was overwhelming, yes, but now it was in a good way.

“The Olympians offered to send soldiers to help us, but Hades refused,” Dominic said with a smirk. “He knows we can handle it.”

Declan grimaced. “More like he's too proud to accept help. This attack may make the Olympians look weak if it's not dealt with, but within the Olympians, Hades will look weak if he requires help from them to do his job. We can't fail him.”

“No pressure then,” I muttered.

Darius snickered. “None at all.”

“But don't worry, angel,” Dominic said. “Now that we can go full-Cerberus on them, there's no contest. The Host is as good as gone.”

“Are you forgetting the fact that they've all had a god upgrade?” I looked from hound to hound. “They're as hard to kill as you are, and they're supposed to be stronger too.”

The men looked at each other and shrugged.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“If we can be killed, they certainly can,” Darius said.

“But you don't even know what that increased strength means.”

“It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, we have to deal with it. We're attacking tonight,” Declan said.

“Tonight?” I gaped at them.

“We need to get to Silas before he moves the Host,” Dominic said. “And we need to nip this in the butt.”

“The bud,” Declan drawled.

“I know.” Dominic smirked. “I like my way better.”

I tried to smile as I chewed on my chocolate scone, but the food was turning to clotted cream in my mouth—a tasteless sludge. Something bothered me about this. But then I remembered that I could help.

“All right,” I said. “If you're going tonight, I'm going to make you as strong as possible. Maybe I can get you your edge back.”

“What do you have in mind?” Dominic waggled his brows at me.

“You'll see.”