Chapter Eighteen

“Jakob? How’s your Greek mythology?”

“Good heavens. I suppose it’s passable. I could get Calder, if you like. He is a distant descendant of Poseidon.”

“I think we need a scholar for the book stuff before we need the family gossip. Besides, we have Hades for that. Just don’t want to send him off on a false trail.” Simeon sat next to Emily on the opulent couch, the remains of room service between them. Every time he looked at her, she stared back, something unreadable on her face.

I’ll fix it. Whatever I did wrong, I’ll fix it, but I have to be alive—well, alive-ish and on this mortal coil—to fix it.

“What can I do?” Mr. Minegold asked.

“In Greek mythology, did Zeus have other wives before Hera?”

“Oh, yes. There’s Metis, of course, his first wife, the mother of Athena. He ate her by goading her into assuming the form of a fly—she was pregnant at the time. Zeus developed a raging headache over the following months. Hephaestus hit him on the head and split open his skull. Out popped Athena, fully grown and clothed in armor. I suppose Metis was slain. There’s no other mention of her after she bore a daughter. There was a prophecy which stated that if Metis bore a son, that son would kill Zeus. That’s why Zeus turned on her. After a daughter was born—even after Metis had been swallowed , I doubt he would risk allowing her to live and perhaps have another child.”

“I hate this guy,” Emily muttered.

“Any other wives? Not talking about his random relationships with mortals or even immortals where he went out and knocked ‘em up,” Simeon clarified.

“Ah. Well. While Zeus’ siblings were in his father’s stomach—”

“What is it with this family and eating relatives!?” Emily demanded, flinging herself off the couch and starting to stalk around the room.

Minegold continued as if he hadn’t heard. “— Zeus took his second wife, Thetis, but they didn’t remain together. Some say they parted amicably, but if one reads between the lines, it’s likely that Zeus’ affair with her sister, Mnemosyne, the Titaness of time and memory, actually has something to do with it. Some say they were married for years, while others claim it was only nine days. She bore him the Nine Muses.”

“Nine babies in nine days?” Emily squawked.

“God stuff.” Simeon shrugged.

“It was likely nine days to the gods, but a thousand years is a day in their sight. I believe that may have something to do with Mnemosyne’s powers. She can manipulate time—but also memory. One might think they’ve only been married for a short time because she wishes it to be seen that way, while others who can see through her powers might realize it’s longer.”

Simeon met Emily’s wide eyes, watching them narrow. He’d seen that look up close. Target acquired.

The huntress senses the prey. I’m so glad I’m not the one she’s waiting to stake this time.

His cock twitched hungrily. But I want to feel her prowling after me. Pouncing. Catching, chasing, fuck, yes—

“Simeon? Simeon, are you there?”

“Hm?” He almost dropped the phone as Minegold’s voice repeated insistently in his ear.

“Very little is known about Mnemosyne other than that. She’s not in many myths. I suppose she’s only considered important as an attachment to Zeus.”

“A pawn. An immortal pawn, devoted to Zeus,” Simeon mused, voice hushed.

“We need to call Hades and find out where she is.”

“If she can manipulate memory, then he might not know where she is!” Simeon pointed out.

“I’m going to get off the phone now and do a bit of my own research. If I find out anything useful, I’ll call you, Simeon. Godspeed and be careful, won’t you?”

“We will, Jakob. How are things at home?” Simeon saw Emmy’s shoulders jerk.

Home. One little word about does her in. He came to stand in front of her, fingers lightly brushing her hair back from her face.

“Things have been lovely and peaceful. Lots of preparations for Halloween—and you’re not here to enjoy them, my dears.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Emily cut in firmly. She rose as Simeon ended the call, pacing again. “Things shift to the West. The Goddess of Agriculture is in Idaho. The Goddess of Marriage has a flashy Manhattan bridal boutique. The King of Gods trots around Washington D.C. and New York City. Where would Mnemnosyne be?” Emily demanded.

“We don’t have to guess. We’ll just call Hades and ask—but let’s not give him too many details. If he tips off Zeus, Zeus will tip off his cast-off, and if she does have Persephone, she’ll move her or hide her or something. This has to be subtle.”

Emily nodded. “You’re actually very good at subtle.”

“Are you kidding me, love? You blend in anywhere, with anyone. It’s what makes you a consummate hunter.” He slid his hand over her hip, loving the way she melted into him, loving the way she studied him, lips parted, nostrils flaring. His mind cast back over memories of the younger Emily, the more ruthless, oddly less human Emily.

“Saw you in London one night. Little red dress. Painted on. You had two big vamps eating out of your hand, following you into an alley, thinking they were about to ‘split a drink.’ All that they ended up sharing was a pile of dust on the pavement.”

“You saw that?” Emily backed away, a faint blush climbing her neck and settling into her cheeks.

“You looked like a party girl. Every man’s dirty little fantasy—but you looked dead when you weren’t hunting them. Dead in the eyes. No smile. Just a robotic thing.”

Emmy let out a harsh huff of air. “That’s why my father said you were so dangerous. He said you’d slip inside someone’s soul—know them too well. To kill a vampire, you have to think like one—but you never lost your ability to think like a human.” Her head cocked. “That’s why you could make someone fall in love with you.”

His absent pulse seemed to tick back to life, just for a minute. What was she saying? That he made her fall in love? Tricked her?

“Maybe some folks, Huntress—but never you. No one has ever made you do anything you didn’t want to.”

Emily let out a hollow laugh, swaying with him. “Except life. Except my father.”

“Every time you live like a person and not a killing machine, you’re breaking all of his rules, Emily.” His head dipped. Hers lifted. There was a slow, hypnotic slide, eyes watching eyes, living, blushing lips dancing so close to chalk-tinted ones.

“Did you fantasize about me? Back then?” Emily asked.

The question startled him—but he told the truth. “No. That started later. When I saw the soul inside the shell.”

Her hand tapped his chest. “And you don’t have one. So even if you love with all your heart—you’ll never love the way a human can.” Her lower lip seemed to shiver even as she blew warm breath on him.

“No. I s’pose I won’t. But maybe the memory is enough? I knew how to love when I was a human. It’s what got me into this mess in the first place.”

Emily swallowed, pulse in her neck standing out like a beacon of light to hungry eyes.

“Maybe,” she answered, sliding her arms around his neck.

There was a kiss, a press of his hips to hers, and a long, slow separation that made Simeon want to slide back inside of her and plant his fangs in her neck, too. Not to kill. To take her heartbeat into his mouth, to feel the way her blood ran hot and pulsed hard when he was making her come.

Maybe, she says.

If I do this little thing for Hades—he’ll grant me a boon.

I could wish that Emily finds what she’s always wanted, that she heals, that her mother... maybe that her mother never died to begin with. That we rewind everything—or just her life.

Then Emily would never have been brought up like this. Never hurt like this. Never feel less than human and more like a robot, someone’s legacy, someone’s tool.

Would I get to keep my memories of her though? Would we all rewind?

Could I live like this, knowing she’ll never know how much I loved her?

Yeah, I could. For her. As long as I get to remember these months...

“Call Hades,” Emily murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. “I wonder if he’ll be able to remember anything about her.”

“I wonder the same thing,” Simeon whispered.

“Mnemosyne? Zeus’s Titan sidepiece?” Hades sounded shocked. “Most of the Titans are dead or in Tartarus.”

“Yes, but is she? We need you to check, and you need to do it very discreetly. If we’re right, and she has something to do with your missing wife, you could tip her off by nosing around. Then she might move Persephone.”

“You... you think Mem has my wife hidden somewhere?” Hades’ voice was so powerful that a small crack appeared in the hotel’s wall. “And you expect me to sit idly by while Seph is—”

“Just chill out,” Emily snapped, jumping into the conversation.

Simeon winced. Well, we really need to work on those self-preservation skills, don’t we?

“Mortal! How dare you tell me—”

“I want to help you find your wife! I don’t want you to tip off her kidnappers. There—does that make sense?” Emily hissed angrily.

For a moment, Simeon wondered if the god would materialize and break Emily’s beautiful little neck, but instead, Hades’ voice changed tone and direction.

“Zag? Zagreus! Come here, son.”

“What’s up, Dad?”

“Pop down to Tartarus and do a quick check on what Titans are there. Or rather, check specifically for one. Ask the guards if you have to, but keep it casual. On the down low, I think the trendy youths say.”

“Dad, please. Don’t.”

“Find out if Mnemosyne is there, but don’t make it obvious. If you do—your mother’s survival could be in peril.”

“Auntie Mem? The really stacked redhead?”

“Zagreus!”

“I’m not a little kid anymore, Dad.”

“Then why are you calling her auntie?”

“Because she told me and Milly to call her Auntie Mem when she was down here the last time.”

“The last time? This is our domain, you don’t let people come and go as they please!”

“Mom was here. She was always extra nice to Zeus’ exes, you know that. She said they were all victims of a master... master baiter?”

“No! That is not the word your mother used, I know that.”

“Master manipulator!”

“Yes, yes, that’s far more likely. Now, make haste. Go. But again—on the download.”

“ Down low . I... I’m going. Please stop trying before you hurt something, Dad.”

Simeon and Emily waited, muffling half-hearted chuckles as they heard the exchange between father and son.

“Auntie Mem,” Emily whispered.

“I’m more interested in the stacked redhead part of the conversation. I have a feeling Zeus wouldn’t let that sort of hobby go so easily.” Simeon gave her a lascivious stare, one eyebrow arched.

“And nine kids together, jeez.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Hades grumbled. “The amount of offspring means nothing to my brother. Trust me. I very much doubt he even knows half of his children. He is an indiscriminate sower of wild oats. He is every locker room jock’s definition of— Zagreus, easy, son! I’ve told you not to run through the Isles of the Blessed. Your mother worked so hard to get the orchids to take root.”

“Mem isn’t there. Guards can’t recall when they last saw her.”

“Where would she be if she’s not in Tartarus? Why was she in Tartarus to begin with?” Simeon demanded.

“Zeus demanded she be placed there. She took the opposing side in one of our many, many immortal wars. Squabbles of the bored, I call them. Now, me, I have no time for such things. If more gods truly worked at their appointed careers, Olympus wouldn’t be such a soap opera.”

Simeon rolled his eyes and asked, “If Zeus put her there, how come she’s out?”

“Oh, he often lets out the pretty things he wants to—Zagreus, go and talk to Charon for a minute, Daddy’s talking to the nice vampire.”

“My dad is trying to say that Zeus would get mad, put his exes in Tartarus until he got horny, and then let them out when he was bored and wanted something to bang.”

“Zag!”

“Dad!”

“Both of you stop! Where would she be? If Zeus let her out, and the guards can’t remember when she left, how can we find her without tipping Zeus off?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Zag spoke up. “Vegas.”

“What? Vegas? Las Vegas?” Simeon looked at Emily in surprise. “That’s a major city, there are hundreds of thousands of people there, millions coming in and out each year!”

“A wonderful place to hide someone—especially because Mnemosyne’s devotees hold sway there. It’s a place where all time moves differently, people walk about in a haze of alcohol and bad decisions. Memories of who they should be and what they should do fade—and when they leave—they rarely speak of what happened in that wicked city. You know how they say ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?’”

“Yeah.” Simeon nodded.

“Her high priestesses make sure that’s so. Vegas is a perfect place to hide someone who can’t remember where she is or who she is,” Hades whispered, voice thick. “I never thought of Mem. She has no reason to harm Persephone! Seph... My Seph was so kind to her! To everyone.”

“But if Zeus promised Mnemosyne that she’d be his queen one day, that they’d get back together and she would rule Olympus with him, maybe that would be enough to make her switch sides?”

“What would be the purpose , though? Why? Why would Zeus and Mem kidnap my Seph? I stay out of Olympian dramas. I don’t have any say in who Zeus weds and beds,” Hades cried, voice raw and grating with pain and rage.

“Not always, mate. There was one time—one very important time—that you directly got involved and cock-blocked Zeus. Cock-blocked him permanently. Took the girl he was after and made her your wife.”

Emily was the one who was brave enough to say the stomach-turning truth. “Did you say you made Zeus swear on the River Styx that he would never lay an unwanted hand on Persephone?”

“Yes! And that’s an oath a god cannot break, not even Zeus, no matter what I may have done to sabotage him in the past!”

“So, in a thousand years of trying—Seph still hasn’t wanted his hands on her. But Zeus doesn’t seem like a quitter when it comes to this one area. He’s been trying to get Seph since before she married you. And if Seph can’t remember that she’s married and has to get home to her loving husband and children, he stands a better chance. It’s not like he’s sitting around idly pining, either. He has plenty of other distractions, doesn’t he? Whenever he gets bored, he can go back to his ‘project.’ Project Persephone.”

A noise that sounded like an inhuman growl rattled the tasteful art hanging in their expensive suite.

As Hades roared, Zag’s voice broke through, clamoring for action. “Let’s go! Let’s go, Dad! I’ll get Milly, you summon the hordes of the undead, and we’ll have Mom back by morning!”

“Ah ah ah! As lovely as a zombie apocalypse in Las Vegas sounds, we have to save that as a last resort,” Simeon warned. “If Mem knows she’s about to be tumbled, she could move Persephone—providing she even has her. Let us investigate first, and if you don’t hear back from us in twenty-four hours, unleash the hellhounds and whatever else you’ve got handy.”

Hades hesitated. Finally, in a grim voice that seemed to send frost spiraling into the room, he agreed. “Very well, vampire. Twenty-four hours, no more. And when you find her... tell her I’m coming to take her home.”

“Will do, Hades.” Simeon hung up and looked at Emily. “Well, well. D’you still have that little red dress, Huntress? You might need it in Sin City.”

“We’ll have to go shopping so we can blend in.” Emily smoothed a hand over her slender form, fingers lingering as she trailed down her hip. “Las Vegas, here we come.”