AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * * *
Bertha muttered a curse as she wrestled her way through the thick vines. Since following Hades into this secluded dimension, she’d been drowning in vegetation. Not only from the looming trees that blocked out the sky, but the tall grass that reached up and wrapped around her ankles. As if it was deliberately trying to trip her.
Normally, she loved nature. She wasn’t a fey creature, but what was better than a lush meadow? Or a craggy mountaintop. Or even a view of the ocean. Majestic.
But this…this was nature on steroids.
And while it was uncomfortable and sometimes painful to wriggle her extra-large body through the thick brush, she was thoroughly annoyed by the mold that covered her from head to toe. She didn’t mind a bit of fungus, but this was ridiculous. It would take weeks to scrub away the green stains.
And if that wasn’t aggravating enough—and it was—she had to watch Hades nonchalantly stroll ahead of her, the damned plants swaying to the side to give him a clear pathway. Not one blade of grass dared to brush against the crimson robe he had wrapped around himself, and the vines curled away in fear.
The sight not only a reminder that he was a god, but that he was way out of her league.
She swallowed a sigh. “Where are we?”
He slowed his pace, allowing her to catch up with his long strides. “Some would call it the beginning of time. Just as the underworld is the end of time,” he told her, his exquisite face hard with a tension that made her stomach clench. “Neither is accurate. We each have our original source of power. This is Gaia’s.”
She glanced down at her moldy skin. “It does have a primordial vibe.”
Without warning, Hades came to a halt, turning to face her. “Can I offer you a suggestion?”
Bertha stilled. She was old. And set in her ways. Some might even say that she was pigheaded. She didn’t like anyone telling her what to do. Including this gorgeous, sexy-as-hell god from…well, from hell.
“You can. I don’t promise that I’ll like it.”
His ebony eyes smoldered with power in the shadows, holding an unspoken warning.
“You won’t. I think it would be better if you changed into your human form.”
“I don’t have a human form,” Bertha instinctively protested. She was a gargoyle, not a shapeshifter.
A faint smile curved his lips. “You do now.”
Bertha frowned before realizing he was referring to the human shape he’d forced her into to defeat the ifrit. It took nerve to remind her of being in such a weak and vulnerable form. But while she wanted to chide him for his past behavior, she was suddenly intrigued by his blithe assumption she could shift into that form anytime she wanted.
“I don’t need your magic?”
Flames danced over her. “It’s already inside you.”
His magic was inside her? Should she be mad? Probably. But it wasn’t anger that tingled down her spine. She liked the thought that she carried a portion of this male with her. It was… Comforting? No. It did comfort her, but that wasn’t the exact word. Exciting, yes. Arousing, definitely.
More than anything, it was inevitable.
She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about her complicated relationship with the god of the underworld. Not when she could feel a terrifying power humming just below her feet. As if they were standing on top of a nuclear reactor.
“Why do you want me to change form?” she demanded.
He hesitated, clearly choosing his words with care. “Gaia can be temperamental.”
“A temperamental god?” Bertha rolled her eyes. “Shocker.”
“Even more temperamental than most.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“She insists on any petitioners always being lower than her,” he reluctantly admitted. “Which means you will have to crawl on your belly if you stay in your current form.”
Bertha narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me. Did you just say crawl on my belly?”
