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"Come, Orrin. I will give you a tour, and we can discuss the details of your new position.”
Orrin, the fucking traitor, didn’t even hesitate. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
Erus watched them for a moment, his head a jumble of conflicting ideas. On one hand, he knew he should be grateful that Hades seemed fond of his mate. On the flip side of that, he also had the visceral urge to rip the god’s arms off and beat him with them.
“Erus?” Hades called over his shoulder.
“What?” he snapped back. If the asshole didn’t stop touching Orrin, he was going to—
“Are you coming?”
The jealousy instantly drained away, and he sighed as he rubbed the knotted muscles in the back of his neck. Something had changed. Not just with Hades, either. There was something in the air, a lightness that hadn’t been there before. He had no idea what it meant, but he got the sense that it wasn’t fleeting or temporary.
Whatever was going on, the Underworld would never be the same again.
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I’m coming.”
Chapter Ten
“Orrie!” Sprinting across the entryway of Nightstar Castle, the hem of her pale pink dress flapping around her ankles, Iliana launched herself into his arms with a giggle.
His sister had the most infectious laugh of anyone he had ever met, and he chuckled as he lifted her off the floor and spun her in a circle. “I was only gone for a week.”
“Yes, but I missed you.”
Barely past her second decade of life, she was young and precocious, idealistic about the world and the people in it. She was equally kind and intelligent, eager to make a difference, and when the time came, he had no doubt she would be an amazing leader for their people.
“What did you bring me?”
Having been detained in conversation with Tyr and the other Guardians, Erus chose that moment to stride through the open doors. Dressed in a three-piece suit with a gold tie, he was devastatingly handsome, and clearly, Orrin wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Iliana clapped her hands together and bounced on her toes as she watched him approach. “Yes. I accept.”
“Sorry, little one.” Since the day she had entered the world, he had doted on her, spoiled her. This time, though, he wasn’t sharing. “He’s mine.”
Her pale blue gaze immediately flickered to the side of his throat where Erus had marked him, and after a heartbeat of silence, she squealed loud enough to wake the dead. “Oh, that’s so wonderful.” Throwing her arms around his neck, she squeezed him tight, rocking them from side to side. “Congratulations!”
“This is Erus, my mate,” he announced proudly when she finally released him.
Erus bowed his head and gave her a charming smile. “A pleasure, Princess.”
“Whoa.” The brat fanned her face with both hands as she looked him up and down. “I don’t know where he came from, but I want one.”
Orrin couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics. “Behave, Ili.”
Her playful expression fell, replaced by worry lines as she glanced between them. “Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Not yet.” They were about to find out, though. “Where are they?”
Iliana worried the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and twisted her hands together at her waist. “In the library.”
He took Erus’ hand and nodded. “Then, let’s not keep them waiting.”
Standing tall, he pulled his shoulders back, projecting a confidence he didn’t feel as he led the way through the wide, lavishly decorated corridors to the library. With every step, he reminded himself that it wouldn’t matter if his parents agreed or not. He had already made his decision, and they wouldn’t change his mind.
They were his family, though, and their approval meant a great deal to him. He also hoped to be welcomed back with open arms instead of begrudging tolerance when he returned to visit in the future.
Seated beside the fireplace in matching armchairs, King Corson and Queen Rowena looked up from their books when he entered the cavernous library. With big, arched windows of stained glass, and crowded shelves that reached all the way to the twenty-foot ceilings, it had always been his favorite room in the castle.
