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Kol and Fritz screamed, their partners growled, and Orrin cursed under his breath. Even Thorne widened his eyes. The only person who didn’t appear surprised was Wren.
“Pepper! Come sit by me.” The menace shoved at Erus’ shoulder. “Move over.” Then he looked up to beam at Pepper. “Do you want some wine?”
They had met once. Literally fucking once. For two minutes during breakfast that very morning.
Pepper, of course, ignored him. “I have a message.”
He arched an eyebrow at his assistant. “And you couldn’t have emailed it?”
“I’m sorry.” Kol still looked pale but a bit more composed now. “Who are you?”
Pepper ignored him as well. “Your presence has once again been requested in the Underworld.”
“I still have more time here.”
“You can take that up with Hades.”
Having delivered the message, he disappeared again, leaving everyone else startled and confused.
“Is everything okay?”
Erus squeezed his mate’s hand. He honestly didn’t know, but he didn’t want to concern him unnecessarily. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
“It sounds like a big deal.”
Yes, it did. Hades never went back on his word. For him to summon Erus now wasn’t just out of character. It was alarming.
“Wait.” Fritz sat up straight, his eyebrows drawn together. “That was a real person, right? You all saw him, too?”
The other males nodded slowly, but no one seemed to know what to say.
He would leave it to Orrin and Wren to explain. “I have to go, asteraki.”
Orrin didn’t argue. He didn’t try to convince him to stay. “I understand. Be careful.”
“Please don’t worry. Everything is fine.” He hoped.
“How long will you be gone?”
Hooking his index finger in Orrin’s collar, he pulled him close for a chaste but tender kiss. “I will be back before you can even miss me.”
With that, he teleported himself directly to the banks of the Acheron River. Yes, he had access to the entirety of the Underworld, free to come and go from every realm as he pleased. The River of Souls was a port of entry for nearly all beings, however, and a natural landing place when he didn’t know where he was going.
Hades had summoned him, but that didn’t mean the god would just be waiting around for him to arrive. As such, he could be anywhere, including places outside of the Underworld.
Only, he wasn’t.
Seated on the edge of the water with his feet buried in the black sand, Hades looked like he had just rolled out of bed. A black tank top showed off the many tattoos on his arms, and red silk pajama bottoms gleamed from the light that illuminated the river. His long hair appeared tousled and tangled, and his slumped posture was that of someone on the edge of exhaustion.
“The Keres are completely out of control,” he said without turning. “Many have forsaken their posts and are wreaking havoc across the realms. Others are attacking any soul that wanders too close to the gates, whether they are trying to escape or not.”
Okay, yeah, that was bad. “Why don’t you do something about it?”
“Oh, no.” Rising to his feet, Hades spun to face him as he rubbed his hands together to brush away the sand. “This is your problem. You fix it.”
“I met my mate.”
“That’s wonderful for you. Clean up your fucking mess.”
