The King of Hearts (The Dark Kings Book 9) Read online

  I drank.

  The elixir was sweet. Sticky. It was hard to swallow, but once I did, I felt heat course through me in a rush. I sucked in a sharp breath and then I looked at the male.

  His eyes were still soft. And full of wonder.

  “You chose love,” he said it like he could not actually believe it.

  “I chose peace. I chose, peddler. Not my parents. No one else, but me. Whether true love exists for me or not, I now know I am safe from the clutches of Arganon. And I am thankful for it.”

  “Sister,” Adelia’s voice suddenly pierced through our conversation.

  I turned. “Adelia?”

  She laughed uncertainly. “What are you doing kneeling in the dirt like a common street rat? You know how angry father will be when he sees your hem dusty.”

  “I was speaking to the ped—” I turned, ready to make introductions, but was astonished to note that he was gone. Not even a trace of him remained. Even the dirt he’d been kneeling in looked as though it hadn’t been disturbed. “I…I…”

  I clutched at my stomach. Had I gone mad?

  “Antony, help my sister to her feet, will you?” Adelia finally chimed in, reaching us a few minutes later.

  Antony looked at me. Just hours earlier he’d been stumbling over his feet to do anything and anything for me. But now he wore a grimace of distaste upon his face and his nose was curled up. “You help her up.”

  Then he turned and walked over toward his brother, Erik. They both began to shake their heads and point.

  I blinked. It worked. The potion had worked. Which meant I hadn’t imagined the peddler. I looked up and then down the trail, searching for any signs of him. But it was as though he’d never been.

  The male had been no human. Who had I been speaking with?

  My heart fluttered. Adelia reached out a hand to me. I took it, standing with her aid. Her face was confused and there was doubt glittering in his eyes. A worried frown creased her forehead as she and I both heard the words of the princes. They were repulsed by my appearance. And mocked me openly.

  She shook her head. She did not seem to see me as they did and there was obvious confusion in her eyes. “What has been done to you this day, my baby sister?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I am not sure, Adelia.”

  I looked down at my hand, the vial that I’d drunk from, was vanished. As though I’d dreamed the encounter with the peddler up. But the effects of the drink were undeniably evident by the treatment of the princes toward me.

  “Come. Let’s go home,” Adelia urged, tugging me to follow behind them.

  We all walked slowly home. The men avoided me completely. Still openly jeering me and now my sisters had begun to join in their laughter.

  My heart sank and I wrapped my arms around myself, almost like a protective hug. Had I made a mistake? Had the peddler lied to me after all?

  But then I thought about his warning, he’d told me what would happen. I hadn’t expected the reaction of the men to be so powerful. But maybe, it wasn’t? Maybe it was just the twins?

  My hope that their reaction was more extreme than what others would be was quickly dashed the moment I got home and my father’s male servants all gave me looks of disdain and distrust.

  But the worst was my own father.

  Disappointment and disgust glittered in his usually warm eyes. “Go clean up,” he said, turning his face aside, dismissing me from his sight.

  I turned on my heel, and ran the moment I was out of his sight.

  Heat pooled in my eyes, and then I was crying. I’d never thought I’d had vanity, but the disgust on their faces… I felt bruised. Hurt.

  What had I done?

  What had I done…?

  Eros

  Mother had told me to keep a close eye on the female. So that I could be her eyes and ears. I should never have spoken those words to the female. Mother would hear, she would know I had a plan. Not what. But she was smart enough that she would recognize what I was not so slyly alluding to.

  I’d hated myself for doing as my mother bid, for coming down to Earth to poison the young woman. But the moment I’d laid eyes on her all of mother’s carefully laid plans had been dashed. I’d forgotten everything, transfixed by her beauty. Her warm red hair with streaks of auburn running through it. Her pale flesh, so smooth and unmarred by a single blemish. Eyes the color of fall wheat had gazed back at me.

  And in my heart, I knew my mother’s beauty was nothing to the female’s.

  Mother’s was a façade, hiding terrible ugliness within. But Psyche’s was like a blast of fresh air. The way she’d touched me, without cringing back, how she’d looked genuinely concerned for my well-being when she’d believed I’d fallen. I wasn’t sure how her heart had managed to remain so pure when her own sisters’ hearts were the exact opposite. I’d taken one look at them and had seen the darkness within them both.

  And in that moment, I’d wanted nothing more than to reveal my true self to Psyche. To show her that I was worth so much more than she could ever imagine. That I was her peer. Her equal in beauty. That she could be proud to be seen with me.

  But then she’d spoken of the mortal, Arganon, to whom she was betrothed and in a moment of great epiphany I realized it was not the flesh that seemed to pull Psyche in, but rather the measure of a man’s heart.

  My palm tingled, turning it over I stared at the spot where her fingers had traced my flesh. As the god of hearts, I had felt what she’d felt in that moment. Surprise. Curiosity. Intrigue.

  It went against everything I understood but somehow, someway, she’d seemed to find me as interesting as I’d found her.

  Just what kind of woman was she?

  I felt my lips tip into a smile and then I startled, realizing what I was doing. I shook my head. Mother could never know the truth of Psyche. She could never be allowed to hear what I was thinking, sense what I was feeling… if she learned of this, she would utterly destroy the girl.

  I watched Psyche walk away, watched as the men derided and ridiculed her. And hatred toward the men began to boil in my heart. Not that they wanted nothing to do with her, it was cruel what’d been done to Psyche, but it hurt worse knowing how much it was hurting her. I could practically see her curling into herself. See her self-worth dropping by the second. She had nothing to be ashamed of, but already her mind was becoming crippled by their censure.

  Humans so easily believed the worst of themselves. A thousand people might be able to see their beauty and worth, but if even one person called them ugly, or nasty, it was that one person they’d believe above all the others.

  I was wrapped in my shadows, no one could see me, but I felt fidgety standing out in the open so exposed. Releasing my wings, I sailed into the sky and riding a powerful air current I flew toward the isle of Gnósi. I had to figure out a way to guard Psyche from mother’s gaze.

  I took the route of the gods and not of man. Flying toward a small ledge in the rocky outcropping. Once I’d landed, I tucked my wings away and looking around me, to make certain there were no spies about, I entered through the hidden tunnel.

  Very few knew of this direct passage into the Fates cave. But I did. It was Atropos’ doing. Seer of the future, she’d only told me that someday I would have need of the knowledge, but that I was to never tell another soul of the passage or my life string would be permanently cut.

  I’d been but a boy of eight. But I’d never forgotten her words.

  The trail was not an easy one, it was tight and narrow. Scraping the flesh of my thighs and arms as I moved about. At one point I thought I might have been stuck, but I’d been able to inch through on my tiptoes. I’d peeled the flesh of my cheek for that effort. By the time I’d made it through I was bruised, sore, and bloody.

  But then, there she was. In crone form. Her breasts were bared, and she gazed at me through ivory clouded eyes. She wore a crown of stars upon her snow white hair. Her fair skin so pale as to be nearly translucent.

&nb
sp; “Boy,” she said softly, but with an echo of vast power behind it that caused me to shiver.

  Only a goddess as old as her would consider me, a god of two thousand years, a boy. I tipped my head respectfully.

  “You are finally come. Follow me.”

  It was pointless to ask her how she’d known I’d come, considering she was the penultimate seer of the future, I knew she’d been expecting me.

  I swallowed hard, but followed. Her footsteps were light as the air, in fact, she did not walk, but floated several inches above it. She reminded me of a grandmother in this form. And I suffered the strangest urge.

  “You may hug me, if you’d like, boy. I do not mind.”

  My lips parted just a little and shame filled my body.

  She turned. And her face shone like Apollo’s own sun radiated from inside of her.

  Opening her arms, she simply stared at me and I at her.

  I would not touch her. She was divine. A true goddess in every sense of the word. The Fates literally controlled life and death, even those of other gods. She was to be revered, never hugged.

  She laughed lightly. And then to my complete shock, she came to me and yanked me in her arms. She smelled of spices. Cinnamon and cloves. I was stiff as a board at first, but slowly, my arms moved around her and before I knew it, I had my cheek pressed to her chest and I was fighting my overwhelming emotions.

  “The most beautiful male in all the cosmos, and you’ve never been held by another. Not even by your own mother. The pain of that separation must be excruciating for you, my boy. But soon you will know the touch of true love. And it will save you. Just as it will save her. But not before you both endure your fair share of trials.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath, desperate to never let her go, but also knowing I did not have the benefit of time. If I was away too long mother would ask me questions.

  “She will not be a problem to you yet, my boy. Not for some time. The hands of fate will see to that.”

  I felt reckless to breathe her name aloud, but I had to know. “So Psy…Psyche will be safe from mother’s clutches?”

  She shrugged, finally dropping her arms. “For a time, how long a time is determined by your hand alone. Your mother is a jealous god, her rage is like no other, and once she learns of your deceit her vengeance will be swift and terrifying.”

  I shook my head, heart sinking like a rock to my knees. “Then I should leave the poor woman be. I should not even entertain the idea of—”

  “Oh no, my boy.” She shook her head. “That you cannot do. For you do not understand how important Psyche will become to all of Olympus. Your destinies were charted at your inception. This is as it must be.”

  I frowned. “But if you say she will suffer then why can I not choose to let her live her life in peace.”

  “You’ve already set the wheel in motion. The moment you gave her that peddler’s charm.”

  I sucked in a shaky breath. “I…I was honest with her.”

  “And that is exactly why I will aide you.” She nodded. “Your mother will not learn of Psyche. I will supplant the truth in your head with a fantasy that will keep her occupied for some time.”

  “Some time? So not permanently.”

  Her soft smile was answer enough. “You do not have the benefit of sight, my boy. To you all of this is confusing madness, but I have seen it all already. This will be. And it must be.” She framed my cheek in her soft, liver-spotted hands. “You have waited such a long time for her, Eros. It is not you that will save Psyche, rather it is she that will save you.”

  My nostrils flared and my eyes widened. “I. What?”

  “I can say no more without altering the strands of time. You must forge your own path from here on out. Now close your eyes, this will not hurt.”

  I had my eyes squeezed tightly shut, waiting for her powered touch to fall upon me. But I felt nothing. I waited and I waited. Had she gotten busy? I shouldn’t open my eyes. I shouldn’t dare ask her. And yet, the longer time marched on the more anxious I got that something had gone wrong.

  “Um…goddess Atropos? Is everything all right?”

  But when she still did not answer me, I finally opened my eyes only to discover I was no longer in Gnósi, but back upon that dirt trail beside the beach. I looked behind me, toward the sprawling stone castle some distance ahead.

  Rubbing the side of my head, I wondered what Atropos had done. I felt no different, and yet…I knew the goddess of fate had not lied to me. From the second I’d opened my eyes something had felt… off. Weighted. Something had been altered.

  Time itself, perhaps?

  I looked behind me, toward the city. I had two weeks in which to prepare before mother called me back to report on all I’d seen. I would watch Psyche, but not for mother’s benefit. Rather for my own.

  I wanted, nay…needed to keep her safe. And that meant I had to stay close to her. I’d need a place to dwell. A place to rest my head at night. My heart ached to head toward the castle, but it was toward the city that my feet moved. Atropos told me I had to forge my own path. So, I would trust my gut, as I never had before.

  Aphrodite

  * * *

  I lazily toyed with the tip of Ares’ cock, lazily flicking at the mushroom head. Smirking as he squirmed beneath me. I could tell he didn’t actually like it and yet he was aroused for me.

  A little pain mixed in with the pleasure was just how I liked sex. For a god of war Ares could be such a baby sometimes.

  Leaning in, I blew a featherlight breath of air across engorged flesh. Hissing, he buckled up beneath me. His impressive abs clenched tight and my own hunger to have him grew.

  But…

  I had other worries on my mind this evening. And though the tip of his cock wept for surcease, I sat up, and slid my legs over the side of the bed. Reaching for my robe created from a ray of Apollo’s own golden sun. A present he’d said, I rather thought it must have been for the blowjob I’d given him, but he’d never owned it. Still, I knew the effect I had on all men. And women.

  Sex was usually a calming thing for me. But I was restless and moody this night. It’d been three days since I’d seen my boy last and I was beginning to worry.

  Though I heard the rumors coming out from the islands, rumors of Psyche’s beauty being turned into a thing of horror and loathing, I still felt a niggling sense of doubt.

  Leaning up, Ares straddled me from behind, before pressing kisses to the side of my neck and wrapping his long arms around me, gently massaging my breasts in his callused palms.

  “What worries you so, my queen?” he asked throatily, the desire for me still very evident in the timbre of his voice. Despite myself, I shivered. Ares was the best lover I’d ever known. I doubted there would ever come a time when I did not think so.

  But good cock could only distract for so long.

  With a growl, I shrugged him off and stood, pacing the floor before the bed and glaring at him. “What else, Ares? You act as though you don’t know me at all.”

  His face was calm, composed, but a sudden twitch had taken over his right eye. I angered him like no other. Could turn him into the worst beast in all of Olympus with a few choice words. Normally, I enjoyed inciting Ares to such heights, but I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with his drama today. I had my own.

  Stopping, I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger and squeezed several times until I felt the rushing of my blood settle into a more normal rhythm. Few got to see any facet of my real side here on Olympus, but Ares had.

  “I worry about my boy,” I said it softly, feeling on the verge of madness for some damned reason.

  “Aphrodite, look at me.”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Priestess,” he whispered gruffly. “Look at me.”

  Clenching my jaw, knowing the fool wouldn’t stop badgering me until I did exactly as he requested, I finally did. But made sure to glare as I did. “There. Are you happy now!” I rolle
d my wrists, popping out one hip in an exaggerated pose.

  His hot eyes traveled slowly down, then back up my body. I knew how flattering this robe was on me, especially when I didn’t tie the sash together. I bit back my smirk. Men were so easily manipulated. Flash a little tit and ass and they were all yours. Now women, they were a little harder at controlling. But I managed them just fine too.

  “My eyes are up here.” I gestured at them.

  It was his turn to smirk. “I know.” Then taking a deep breath his mood became serious again. “You needn’t worry about the boy. There is none more loyal than he is to you. Has Eros ever stepped out of line?”

  Actually no. He hadn’t.

  It was why he was my favorite child. It was as though Eros had no mind of his own. He simply did as I bid him do. Every time. From the most menial to the hardest, he never deviated even an inch from what I expected of him. He was such a good boy.

  I pursed my lips and crossed my arms.

  “Your silence tells me everything. You know he will do as you’ve told him to do. In fact, when I went down to the coastal island just this afternoon, I heard the rumors of Psyche’s greatly diminished beauty. He has already done as you’ve bid.”

  “So why can’t we locate him?”

  “You know none of us can see him when he hides in his shadows. I have no doubt that he is spying on her, staying in close, he will surely have much to report to you when he returns.”

  “That damned Dionysus!” I spat and began furiously pacing again. “This is all his fault. He knows I can’t resist a bloody bet.”

  Ares smirked. “He did play you like a fiddle, my priestess.”

  My nostrils flared and my fists suddenly burned with red fire.

  Ares had the nerve to laugh. But he held up his hands in a nonconfrontational way, which eased my anger. Just a bit.

  “Dionysus loves his games. We all know this. But your faith must remain on your boy. Eros will do right by you. He always has.”