The King of Hearts (The Dark Kings Book 9) Page 15

  Hephaestus growled, clenching his thick, hammy fists at his side. But Aphrodite walked over to him, took his arms, and wrapped herself up in them. Instantly the beast was transformed into a docile teddy bear once again.

  The most astonishing part, it was not an act. I could feel her love for my Uncle. It was pure and raw and honest, just like mine for Psyche.

  “Zeus, do not make me expose you. For I assure you, I will. You know who I am, and what I can do. I have already read your heart, and we both know there is something you want much more than my body.”

  I frowned.

  Between the two of us mother’s powers had always been far more potent, try as I might I could not read the King’s heart. But the look on Aphrodite’s face now, she was not bluffing, she knew something. Something that King desperately wanted.

  I hugged my wife just a little bit tighter to me. Death was not permanent in our world. There was no sorrow in me now, for I knew that Aphrodite was doing something and not for own petty satisfactions this time, but for love of me.

  And my heart…it thawed just a little bit more.

  “You know what I am asking, don’t you Mighty King of the Olympians?”

  I glanced toward my Uncle, but Hephaestus stared straight ahead at Zeus a slightly baffled look on his face too. Whatever it was that moth…erm, Aphrodite was doing, even he did not share in the knowledge.

  But when I looked at Dionysus, I saw a ghost of a grin on his face. He knew. He knew something. I recalled the words he’d said to me long ago. How Psyche meant more to us than anyone could have imagined.

  How could he have known that even back then?

  Only the Fates would have that type of knowledge.

  And yet…

  Suddenly it all became clear to me. Why Dionysus had done as he’d done. I’d sensed it in the very beginning. He’d fallen in love. And every bit of this had been planned for love of a woman.

  A fate, to be precise. But which one?

  Dionysus looked at me, as though he knew I knew now. Silently he mouthed, “you owe me, boy.”

  Then he turned back around and I blinked. What was about to happen? I wasn’t sure, but I felt the heavy hand of Fate in this place.

  Suddenly a glow manifested on Zeus’s palm and when it faded, a glass encased golden apple rested on it. But it wasn’t really an apple, it was a drinking vessel. And there was only one drink of the gods that went in it.

  “Ambrosia,” I breathed. The brew of the immortals. Any mortal who drank of it would become as we did.

  “Mother?” I gasped, forgetting for the moment that she wasn’t that, because this woman, this duplicate of my mother was more a mother to me in this instant than mine had ever been in a lifetime.

  She looked at me with beautiful crystalline tears dripping from her eyes. “She will not forgive me for what I did to her. It will take her time to see the truth of me, just as it did you. But one day, when you are ready, I will be there with my arms open to you both.”

  Then taking the ambrosia from Zeus’s palm, she walked over to me and knelt beside me. Resting one hand upon my shoulder.

  “Give this to her, make her swallow every drop. The girl is not gone, she merely sleeps. And tell her I am sorry, my sweet boy.”

  Then she leaned in, even as she gently set the apple into my own palm, and kissed my cheek. Light and energy exploded from her mouth. Like a cleansing, healing rain I felt the last of my pain begin to ease out of me.

  The next breath I took was free of agony.

  “Mother,” I whispered, this time knowing exactly what I did.

  Her lashes fluttered and a smile more lovely than a perfect jewel graced her full pink lips. She said no more, simply faded slowly from my sight.

  As did all the rest of them.

  It was just Psyche and I now on the banks of that river.

  I couldn’t wait another second. Gently, I opened her mouth, and I poured the golden contents in.

  One heartbeat later, she opened her eyes.

  I waited to hear her scream. To rail at me for abandoning her for so long. I would tell her everything. Tell her how very sorry I was. That only because I believed her dead had I stopped searching, that almost from the very moment after leaving her I wanted to return.

  She cupped my face in her hand. Golden light radiated from her flesh. Godhood burned bright in her. I would never lose her again. But I was prepared to release her if she no longer wanted me.

  “Phin,” she whispered. “Finally.”

  I could not hold it in any longer. I cried. She sat up and held me. And she cried too. We stayed glued to one another for what felt like an eternity and no time at all.

  We spoke for days on end, releasing one another, never moving from that spot on the bank of the River Styx. And then when no more words could be spoken, we made love.

  It was slow and gentle and full of everything that was in our hearts and together we healed each other on the banks of that river of hate, but hate was not what filled our hearts.

  Love did.

  We did not leave that haven for many moon cycles. But when the day finally came that we were strong enough to do so, we knew exactly where we had to go.

  “I’m nervous,” she whispered.

  Goddesshood looked beautiful on her. She’d sprouted butterfly wings from her back sometime two months ago, her hair now spilled in a soft auburn wave to her ankles, and her body was more voluptuous than any fertility goddess I’d ever known.

  I shook my head. “Don’t be. This is our rebirth. And hers too, Psyche. She is different. She led me straight to you.”

  She cupped my cheek in her hand and nodded. “I believe you. I do.”

  I took her hands in mine and tenderly kissed each knuckle and then I flew us home. To Olympus. To mother’s palace in the cloud sky.

  It was time to start over. To be reborn into beauty and not despair. It was time to make all of this right.

  Epilogue

  Aphrodite

  He’d sent me a carrier bird early this morning, telling me he and Psyche would arrive for late tea.

  I fidgeted with my pink gossamer gown once more.

  “Keep messing with it and you’ll tear a hole in it,” Hephy said in that bassy baritone voice of his that I loved so very, very well.

  A strange sort of half sob half laugh spilled off my tongue. “He’s coming, Hephy. My boy is finally coming home. And…and, he didn’t sound mad. Not anymore.”

  “It’s amazing what months of really good sex can do to a soul.”

  “Oh my god,” I snorted, and slapped at his beefy arm, “that’s my son. I’d rather not know about his sex life, thank you very much. Although, maybe I should teach Psyche a tip or two. You know, it can’t hurt to spice things up.”

  He laughed. “Darling girl, don’t you ever change.”

  I was laughing and had forgotten all about my nerves until the palace grounds suddenly rang with the song of a visitor come to call. The nerves came back in a torrent then.

  I gripped the tea table with a white knuckled clench.

  “Sweetheart,” Hephy murmured, lifting one of my hands and gently kissing each fingertip. “Relax.”

  “Oh, I am. Yup. Ah ha. Totes.”

  A throat cleared and I yipped, practically flipping the table over in my haste to stand.

  Hephaestus chuckled. The brute.

  But I had no time to be vexed, I hadn’t seen my boy in many months and I was full of hope and dread that this encounter would go better than all the ones before it had.

  I raced toward them. Eros was as beautiful as ever. He was my son. It was only natural he would be.

  But the Psyche that clung to his back and peeked out from around his broad shoulders looked much altered from the one I’d last seen on the beach.

  I stopped, realizing I must be making the younger goddess nervous. Pressing my lips together tightly, I gave then an expression I sincerely hoped would pass as a smile. “Ahh…you may. You. Come.”

>   I’d never sounded so ineloquent in all my life.

  Hephaestus chortled, walking up behind me and planting a strong, steady hand on my shoulder.

  “What my tiny bride means is, please come in. You are both most welcome here.”

  I nodded enthusiastically, but still couldn’t say a word.

  Eros gripped Psyche’s wrist and gently tugged her along with him, but when he reached my side, I expected he would walk past as he had so many other times before. He surprised me though when he leaned in and tenderly kissed my left cheek.

  “Mother, you look radiant as always. This is my bride, Psyche.”

  Tears flooded my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Instead, I gave Psyche a wobbly smile and held out my hand to her. “Hello. You really are so lovely.”

  Those words seemed to make the frightened looking doe settle. She gave me a curious look before glancing at Eros then back to me. “Ah, thank you?”

  Hephy guided me toward the table full of fresh fruit and delicacies. But I felt as though I moved through a cloud. It was hard to focus, on anything other than the fact that my child who I’d never actually birthed from my own body but who felt more mine and more real than almost anything else was actually smiling back at me. And it was a genuine one at that.

  Hephaestus kept up the conversation between them admirably. Eros seemed so at ease. Stuffing his face full of those little cakes my own Hephy loved as well. I fed them to my husband every so often. He’d open his mouth and I’d slip one in. It was a habit we’d fallen into many lifetimes ago.

  Not that he needed my help, but it was an inside joke between us now. I never even stopped to consider if it might be weird to others, but judging by Psyche’s look, it seemed that at least one person at the table thought it so.

  I cleared my throat. Eros and Hephy seemed like two pigs at a slop barrel, they were having a great time, but Psyche was uneasy still. And I thought that maybe I knew why.

  All eyes turned toward me.

  “Eros, my darling, if you don’t mind, I would like a quiet moment alone with my daughter-in-law.”

  Eros’ brows lifted, but he looked at Psyche, to see if she was okay with it. It hurt me but I also understood why, and it was right that he should seek his wife’s opinions on the matter. Despite her rearing of him, Aphrodite had managed to raise amazingly well behaved children.

  “I…I, yes,” Psyche suddenly said, before standing.

  Eros and Hephy stood too, nodding at us both.

  I stood, kissed Hephy’s cheek and then I turned. “Come with me, daughter,” I said, “I wish to show you my gardens.”

  Neither Psyche nor I spoke a word until we’d exited into the dewy, night. My gardens were blooming with softly glowing flowers and lightning bugs.

  We still hadn’t spoken, but after a turnabout the gardens she finally said, “First time I met Eros, he fashioned a garden for me almost exactly like this one.”

  My shoulders drooped and I finally turned toward my daughter-in-law. I captured her gaze with mine. “First, I owe you an apology, Psyche.”

  She frowned. “But Eros told me that it was not you that left me stranded on that island.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said softly. “In this world, I wear her face, and she has done so much harm to those she claimed to love. Her burdens are mine to bear because of it.” I wiggled my fingers and a writhing vine shot up from the ground, creating a bench for us to sit on.

  We sat, deep in contemplative silence for a while.

  “Do you love him?” I asked, moments later.

  I felt her looking at me. When I looked, I noted the confused expression on her face. “You are the goddess of the heart, surely you know the answer to that?”

  I nodded. “True. But sometimes the words need to be spoken into existence. Do you love him, Psyche?”

  “With all my heart,” she said, and the weight of her truth slammed into my soul like a ten ton brick.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, placing my fist against my heart and nodding. “Good. That is so good. Because he loves you as he’s never loved anyone or anything else in the whole of his life. You will be the best of us all, Psyche. You and Eros. You will create a perfect union, one envied by us all.”

  As I spoke her smile grew wider and wider. “Really?”

  “Oh yes,” I nodded. “My son has a capacity for loving that I’m not even sure I possess. But should you ever have need of me, do know that I now see as you my daughter too. I will always be here for you, Psyche. Whenever you need me.”

  “Can you really mean that? Because, the other version of you, I thought she meant to kill me.”

  “And she succeeded, didn’t she?” I said softly. “And in the process destroyed the affections forever of the one being she actually did care for in her own warped and twisted way. She gained nothing by her hate. I for one am glad that she is gone. She was a cancer in this pantheon, I never want to be that to you. Or to anyone else. Ever again. Thank you for loving him. Most of all, thank you for bringing him back to me. Without you, I would never have gotten Eros back. But I have him now and I owe you an eternal debt of gratitude for it.”

  “No,” she whispered, “it was not me that did it, Goddess of Love, it was the heart that you showed him. The same one you’ve shown me this night. “I can see why he loves you so much now. All he ever wanted was your affection and now that he’s got it, it’s like I’m married to a completely different man.”

  We laughed together.

  We cried together.

  And there on that bench, we healed together.

  And I knew with all my heart the curse that’d befallen Kingdom and even my own Pantheon was weakening. That something, not just good, but great was being birthed from all that pain. And I was grateful for it.

  My heart was full. And my drive to fix everyone else’s happily ever afters had only grown stronger.

  This was not the end. It was only just the beginning and I was so excited for the ride…

  THE END (Make sure to turn the page for a comprehensive reading order list and a bibliography of all my other works! Also, please consider leaving a review, those are so helpful.)

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  Love my stories? Want more Kingdom news updates? Then make sure to sign up for my newsletter! I’m also very active on FB and constantly post updates, teasers to upcoming books, and do cover reveals. I also have an online readers group for fans of all my series called The Harem. So, there are lots of ways for you to keep up with what I’m doing.

  * * *

  And if this is your first foray into my world of Kingdom, I highly suggest starting at the beginning with my Bad Boys collection I wrote as Marie Hall, the first three books: The Kingdom Collection. The stories include Alice and Hatter, Gerard and Betty (my beauty and the beast spinoff), and Red and His Wolf. So, if you love twisted fairy tales, you’ll probably enjoy those.

  * * *

  And please, if you enjoyed this book, write a review for it, reviews let me know which books my readers are most interested in reading next and I always adjust my writing schedule based on the series with the most active and engaged readers. On the next page I’ll list all of my works. Make sure to turn the page!

  Kingdom Books written as Marie Hall

  (The Kingdom Collection: 1-3)

  Her Mad Hatter

  Gerard’s Beauty

  Red and Her Wolf

  Jinni’s Wish, Book 4

  Hook’s Pan, Book 5

  Moon’s Flower, Book 6

  The Huntsman’s Prey, Book 7

  Rumpel’s Prize, Book 8

  Hood’s Obsession, Book 9

  Her One Wish, Book 10

  A Pirate’s Dream, Book 11

  * * *

  Book Listing for Dark Kings and Queens (Kingdom spinoff series) written as Jovee Winters:

  Sea Queen, Book 1 (Caly and Hades)

  The Passionate Queen, Book 2 (Queen of Hearts)

  The Ice Queen, Book 3

  The Magi
c Queen, Book 4 (Baba Yaga)

  The Dark Queen, Book 5 (The Evil Queen)

  The Fairy Queen, Book 6 (Galeta)

  The Centaur Queen, Book 7

  The Bewitching Queen, Book 8 (The Pied Piper)

  The Stone Queen, Book 9

  The Fire Queen, Book 10

  * * *

  The Mad King, Book 1 (The Mad Hatter)

  The Jaded King, Book 2 (Beauty and the Beast)

  The Magic King, Book 3 (Rumple)

  The Wolf King, Book 4 (Big Bad Wolf)

  The Death King, Book 5 (Hades)

  The Forge King, Book 6 (Hephaestus and Dite)

  The War King, Book 7(Ares and Medusa part 2)

  The Pirate King, Book 8 (Captain Hook and Trishelle)

  The King of Hearts, Book 9 (Eros and Psyche)

  * * *

  Chronological reading order:

  All of Marie Hall’s books

  Sea queen

  Passionate queen

  Ice queen

  Magic queen

  Dark queen

  Fairy queen

  Mad king

  Centaur Queen

  Jaded King

  Magic king

  Wolf king

  Death king

  Forge king

  Bewitching Queen

  The Stone Queen

  The War King

  The Fire Queen

  The Pirate King

  UPCOMING Titles in no particular order

  The Flower Queen: Persephone’s story

  The Time Queen: Lachesis’ story

  The Goblin King

  Other books by Jovee: Blue Moon Bay cozy pnr mystery romance