The Sea Queen (The Dark Queens Book 1) (21 page)

I inclined my head. “I know.”

With a chuckle, she vanished. But Dite remained just a moment longer. She glanced between us and sighed.

“I see great things in your future. A power to be reckoned with. I don’t think Zeus or Psycho—” she winked at me, and I giggled “—will ever attempt another coup of your realm, Hades. Not with your new guard dog at your heels.”

“Pft.” I flicked my wrist. “I am at no man’s heels. He rests at mine. Don’t you, sexy?” I winked.

He squeezed me tight.

“Okay then.” Dite shrugged. “It’s been swell. You kids have fun, stay safe, and don’t ever change for the world. Oh, I just adore you guys! You’re like my new super team.” Aphrodite vanished with a sparkle of light.

I turned to Hades. It was just him and me now.

“Thalassa?” He groaned.

And I knew what he wanted, what he was asking me. But I couldn’t leave. Not yet.

Leaning up on tiptoe, I kissed him. “I adore you, Death Boy. We’ll see each other soon, I promise.”

It was an ache when with a final nod, he hugged me tight, and then he too left me.

I stood in the center of that ruined hall, staring up at the azure skies, and this time, I did cry.

Chapter 18

Hades

It’d been a month since I’d seen or held Thalassa last. I’d hoped in vain that she would come to me at some point. Every night I visited the Lethe, speaking my truth to it. Imagining that somehow she was listening, that she heard me.

But not once had she replied.

Tonight was the final time I’d return to these shores. I stared at the sparkling waters under the midnight moon, remembering the moments we’d spent together, the two weeks that’d felt like both an eternity and no time at all, and shook my head.

“I miss you, Thalassa, each day, each night. My realm feels empty without you in it. I cannot fault you for remaining where you are. How could I, when I am forced to do the same?”

I closed my eyes as a gentle breeze rolled through, bringing with it the scent of roses, a flower I would now and forevermore associate with my goddess. I’d eaten the seeds and so had she. We’d pledged our souls—one to the other. I was bound to her eternally, but I ached, ached for what we couldn’t have again.

“You idiot.”

My eyes snapped open, and I gazed on in open-mouthed wonder as Thalassa walked across the water toward me. She wore a gown of sheer amethyst that sparkled like its namesake. Her soft green hair was piled high on her head, and twined through it was a riot of sea rose buds.

“So quick to give up on me? I see how it is.” She flicked at my shoulder when she finally stepped foot on land.

Grunting incoherently, I snatched her up, wrapping her in my arms, pretty sure I would never release her again.

“Oomph,” she hissed, banging on my chest, “Death Boy, can’t breathe.”

I eased my hold a little. A very little.

Just enough so she could worm her arms up and frame my face. Her touch moved through my body like liquid, burning me up from the inside with a crazed sort of fever.

“Thalassa, how, I thought—”

Rubbing noses with me, she laughed, and I swear the Elysian night sang with the sound of it. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of ghostly faces peeking out from behind the thick trunks of trees, staring at me in wonder.

I’d always been known as the broody god. To hear my laughter now must have terrified them.

“Did you think I put out those seeds for nothing, dill bag? I meant what I said when I ate them. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and yada yada yada. Six months out of the year, we swap back and forth, every night. I had time to think about this, Bubble Butt, and we can still run our kingdoms and keep our nights to ourselves. I mean, honestly, what could possibly go wrong at bedtime?”

I lifted a brow. In our world, everything could go wrong.

“Okay, okay.” She wagged her hand. “Forget that. So the world could come crashing down around our feet. Big deal. We’ll rebuild, start over. We’ll do whatever we need to do, but I can’t do this separation thing anymore. I’m not built for this. Do you know how many times I’ve had to pleasure myself—”

I growled. “No one may pleasure you but me. Not even your own hands are allowed down there unless I am present.”

She giggled, wiggling her lower body on my painful hardness. “Yes, Master.”

Groaning, I ran my hands over her bare back, ready to tear this flimsy fabric off her gorgeous body and have my way with her.

“Hades, guess what,” she squealed, eyes shining with what looked suspiciously like tears.

I paused in my exploration of her. “What?”

“We’re grandparents! Oh, you have to meet my little darlings, Uriah and Fable, they’re so precious and adorable and have my eyes and my hair and my little nose and—”

“Are you sure you did not birth them yourself, my love?”

She snorted. “Don’t be silly. But tomorrow, you shall come to meet them.”

“And tonight?” I asked with heat filling my words.

Her smile was pure wickedness as she said, “Tonight I brought carrots.”

Epilogue: 500 years later

Calypso

Today was the twins’ five hundredth birthday, and I wanted the babies to have a very special one. So I’d snuck them over to play with Cere while I set up their birthday tent in Elysia.

Themis glanced around, her hands on her hips, and nodded expertly. “Yes, I think this will do, Caly. You’ve got a dragon for Uri and a Pegasus for Fable.”

“Yes, yes.” I batted her words away. “But have you seen the pile of cupcakes I made? I learned from the master chef in Wonderland, a girl by the name of Alice who showed me that if you dipped the fruit in choco—”

“Eeeps!” Dite squealed, clapping her hands merrily the moment she materialized beside us. “Look at this place. Oh, the darlings are simply going to love it.”

“Dite.” I gave her a stern look. “You would show up at the last minute. Heffer, do your thing. You know we can’t get this party started without it.”

Beaming like the proud aunt she was, she nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Then, with an air kiss, she released her magic to the breezes, causing the night sky to dance with tiny jeweled lights that bobbed and glimmered like lightning bugs. I busied around in the tent, making sure the placement of the gifts was just so on the table.

I patted Linx’s tank. She hated coming to the Above, but my sister refused to miss the twins’ party. Neighing softly, she contented herself with munching on the jeweled candy grass Hades had crafted for her and flicked her tail happily.

Nim and Sircco would show up later. I’d warned the boy to wear his legs tonight, but I was sure he wouldn’t. For some reason he still detested the use of them. So, just to be on the safe side, I’d turned half of Elysia into a large wading pool so the maidens and he would feel comfortable here.

A strong pair of arms slipped around my waist, and the rumble of my man’s voice whispered in my ear. “Have I ever told you just how sexy you look when you’re acting all domestic?”

Twirling, I smacked his chest and laughed. “Hm. Why don’t you tell me that again.” I wiggled my hips against him.

Even after all these years, we still mated like rabbits. I’d come to the conclusion that I would never get my fill of this beastly man.

“Down, beast, down,” Aphrodite cried laughingly, sidling up next to us. “We have guests. Let’s keep this PG since there are kids present now.”

Sighing, I patted his cheek as he pouted. “No worries, my love, I’ve a field full of carrots just waiting for you.”

“Thalassa,” he growled, and then he shook his head and chuckled. “Woman, you will be the death of me.”

I snorted. “Not hardly, Bubble Butt.”

Then with a wave and a la-de-da, I walked over to greet the guests. Young and old, ghosts, mortals, maidens, Nim and my boy Sircco, even my elemental sisters showed up, though Tiera scowled the entire time. But they all came. Dite’s little Hephy made an appearance. Grumpy thing that he was, he’d still managed to craft gifts for both Fable and Uri, matching unicorns made of wood.

“All ye need to bring them to life,” he said, gazing at the twins, “is to whisper a name in their ear, and they will be forever yours.”

Fable, the granddaughter of my very soul, was a dark-skinned, dark-haired beauty with eyes of deepest bronze just like her father’s. Her skin was as dark as the deepest depths of an ocean trench and her lips like the reddest of roses. She was heart-achingly lovely, and all who knew her loved her. But unlike her rapscallion brother, she’d not been born with the ability to wear a tail.

She accepted the bauble with a humble nod of thanks and hugged it tight to her breast.

“I will cherish it, Hephy.” She kissed his cheek, and I didn’t think it possible, but the dwarf actually blushed. Then again, Fable had that effect on everyone.

Uriah, whose flesh was an unusually stunning shade of pearlescent sea green and bore a head of shockingly bright and thick blue hair, grinned. He had Sircco’s looks, swarthy and devastatingly handsome. And with the pick of any maiden he wanted, the boy knew he was hawt and strutted through Seren like a peacock on the loose.

He was my boy through and through.

“Thanks, homey,” he said.

Nimue rolled her eyes. “Uri, that is not how a prince should speak.”

Uri, who was always in mischief of one form or another (but whom I secretly adored since he reminded me of me as that age), sighed. “Yes, Mom.”

“Uri.” Sircco growled a warning at the boy, twin bolts of lightning flaring through his bronze eyes.

Thinning his lips, my devastatingly handsome grandson grumped, “Yes, Dad. Thanks, Hephy,” he said.

The dwarf shook his hand then thumped him on the chest and said, “It’s nothing, homey.”

Then with a wink and a wave, he vanished, and everyone laughed.

“Gods help us,” Nimue cried. “How can I teach my wayward child some respect when everyone around us is bound and determined to undermine me?” But she said it with an exasperated chuckle.

Hades leaned in to my side from where we sat at the head of the table beside our grandchildren and said, “This was a wonderful idea to have the party here, my love.”

I beamed proudly. “I know. But you want to know what the very best idea is that I’ve ever had?”

Turning on my seat, I looked at him head on. Even after all this time, my heart still skipped a beat when he was near.

Grabbing my hands, he placed a tender kiss on each palm. “And what’s that?”

“The day I decided to make you my sex slave.”

He laughed, and the party went into full swing after that. Wine flowed and music blared.

Themis was in charge of the tunes tonight, and I smiled when I heard an upbeat one entirely apropos of how I felt this evening.

The song went something along the lines of “oh, oh, oh, you’ve got the best of my love.”

And yeah, that was pretty much all that needed to be said about that.

“I love you, Death Boy,” I whispered.

“And I you, Thalassa, forever, for always, eternally.”

“Oh, swoon, you say the sweetest things.”

Hades took my lips and well...you know how this story ends. Forever. For always. And eternally.

The End

And never was there a story of more love than that of Calypso, and her dark-souled Romeo...

So I say to you now farewell, dear reader, but do not despair, for I have far greater stories to share of dark queens you thought you knew. Until we meet again...

~Anon, One of the 13 Keepers of the
Tales
.

~*~

Love my books? Want to know when the next Dark Queen book will be released? Make sure to sign up for my
newsletter
! And if you really want to get to know more about the queens and all the characters to come, come hang out at the
The Harem
.

***

Want some more yummy goodness to read while you wait for the next queen? Then keep turning the pages to catch a sneak peek of
Kenzie Cox’s
awesome shifter serial set in the steamy, lush bayous!

Author’s Notes

Once upon a time in a Kingdom far, far away lived an author who wrote fairy tale stories who went by the name Marie Hall. That author and this author are one and the same. So if you happen to spy some characters that seem strangely familiar to you, it’s really no coincidence. And if you’d like to read some of Marie’s works, stay tuned for a complete listing of all those books.

The next queen is coming soon, though it’s a mystery who she’ll be. If you want to know, stay tuned to either Jovee Winters’s
FB page
or sign up for her
newsletter
, which is probably the best way to keep up to date.

The next queens, in no particular order, are as follows:

The Ice Queen

The Dark Queen (Fable’s Story)

The Fire Queen (Fiera’s Story)

The Magic Queen (Baba Yaga’s story)

The Passionate Queen (Based on Red Queen from Wonderland)

About Jovee Winters

Jovee Winters is the pen name of a
NY Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author who loves books that make you think or feel something, preferably both. She’s also passionate about fairy tales, particularly twisting them up into a story you’ve never thought could be possible.

She's married to the love of her life, a sexy beast of a caveman who likes to refer to himself as Big Hunk. She has two awesome kids she likes to call Thing 1 and Thing 2, loves cooking, and occasionally has been known to crochet. She also really loves talking about herself in the third person.