The Goddess Hunt. Aimee CarterЧитать онлайн книгу.
who just tried to grind your bones into dust?”
He shrugged. “They’re my brothers.”
“No, we’re not,” called Lux. “Casey’s my brother. You’re an unfortunate relation I try to forget exists.”
James grinned. “Can’t take it personally. They say that about the whole family. Come on, I haven’t caught up with them in ages—just one night.”
He gave me a pleading look that should’ve been illegal, and I groaned. “You’re an ass. There better be indoor plumbing.”
“There isn’t.”
I elbowed him. Hard.
“Coming or not?” called Lux, far enough away now that his voice was distant. I gave James one more good glare, and together we raced through the underbrush to catch up with the twins.
After half a mile of trudging through the forest, we came to an abandoned cottage hidden by deep thickets and tangles of vines. If Lux and Casey hadn’t led us to the front door, I would’ve missed it entirely. “It looks like it belongs in a fairy tale,” I said.
“Don’t get too attached.” Lux undid an old wooden latch and pushed open the door. The inside was dark, but he waved his hand, and a fire roared to life underneath a stone mantel. Everything inside looked straight out of a historical movie set—handcrafted furniture, not crude but certainly not made by machines. No sink or refrigerator, just a simple wooden table with two place settings. And a single bed that couldn’t possibly hold more than two people.
“It’s nice,” I said warily. “Cozy.”
Lux let out a bark of laughter. “It’s cramped and probably older than we are.”
“We use it on occasion,” said Casey, who was busying himself at the table. “Haven’t been back in a while though. Is anyone hungry? We managed to score some game on our way here.”
“Game?” I said.
“Yeah, rabbits.” Casey held up a platter full of sliced meat, and my stomach churned. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough.”
I shook my head. “We ate back at the hotel. Thanks though.”
“Who’s this we you speak of?” said James. “I’m starving.”
Casey smirked. It was easy to tell them apart when they were talking, but that look on his face reminded me entirely too much of his brother. He fixed two plates, heaping each with what had to be an entire rabbit. “Help yourself. Lux, eat.”
While James attacked his food, Lux grunted and sat down heavily at the table, digging in with his bare hands. I glanced at James, searching his face for some explanation as to why these two were living in the fifth century, but he was too busy chewing to notice.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t have the chance to introduce ourselves properly back in the forest.” Casey stepped toward me, a warm smile on his face as he offered me his hand. “I’m Casey, and this is my brother, Lux.”
“I gathered.” I smiled back and shook his hand. “I’m Kate Winters. I’m Henry’s new wife.”
“Henry?” said Casey. Behind him, James began to cough.
“Henry—Hades?” I said. “I’m Persephone’s replacement.”
Everyone stopped moving, as if someone had hit the pause button. James sat frozen, his eyes wide. Across from him, Lux stopped mid-chew. All three of them stared at me.
The fire crackled, and my face grew warm. It was the first time I’d called myself Henry’s wife out loud, and it was hard enough to say without this kind of reaction.
“Persephone’s gone?” said Casey after an unbearably long silence. I nodded.
“Sort of a long story, but she decided to give up her immortality. Henry was going to fade if he didn’t find someone new, so…” I shrugged. “The council tested me, and I’m his wife now.”
“And Queen of the Underworld?” he said slowly, as if he were trying to wrap his head around it.
James cleared his throat nervously. “She isn’t queen yet. They only just married a few days ago, and she’s on her six month sabbatical—”
Crash.
The sound of pottery shattering cut him off, and Lux pulled his fist from his broken plate. Bits of rabbit meat had splattered across the cottage, a large chunk landing in James’s hair, but neither twin said a word about it.
“Let me get this straight.” Lux rose, his muscles rippling underneath his flawless skin. “Not only did you hunt us down, something you’d promised you’d never do, but you brought Hades’s wife with you as well?”
While his eyes were focused on me, his head was tilted toward James, who looked ready to fly through the roof if that was what it took to get away from Lux. “I swear to you, she has no idea,” said James. “She was born mortal, and she has nothing to do—”
“That’s not the point. You think Hades isn’t watching every move she makes? You think they don’t know we’re here by now?”
“Lux.” Casey’s quiet voice cut through the air. “Shut up. Kate, you won’t tell anyone you saw us, right?”
I blinked. “I—of course not. What the hell’s going on?”
“We’re leaving, that’s what’s going on,” thundered Lux. “Casey, get your shit and let’s get out of—”
“No.” For the second time in ten seconds, Casey effectively leashed his brother’s temper. “We’re not leaving until you’ve rested. You’re going to eat and regain your strength, and in the meantime, we’re all going to sit down and talk this out. James must have had a reason for bringing her here.”
“Yeah, so she can report back to Hades dearest,” said Lux.
James blanched. “Honest, she just happened to be with me. She won’t say anything, right, Kate?”
Whoever these men were, they had the power to turn James into a babbling boy, and that terrified me. I crossed my arms and said with more bravado than I felt, “I already said I wouldn’t. Will someone please tell me what’s going on before I really do have to go to Henry to figure it all out?”
Casey gestured to one of the mismatched chairs settled around the fire, and I perched on the edge. He took the one across from me, and without looking over his shoulder, he said to his brother, “Sit back down and finish.”
Lux grumbled, but did as he was told. He didn’t exactly look like he was weak and about to pass out, but I had a feeling he didn’t argue with his brother all too often.
I cleared my throat. “What’s going on? I swear I won’t talk to anyone about this.”
“I know you won’t.” Casey reached across the space between us and set his hand on mine. “Really. If James trusts you, so do we, despite what my brother wants you to believe. We’re Castor and Pollux. The Gemini twins.”
“The—what? You mean like the zodiac sign?” I glanced at James again, but his head was bowed, and he shoveled food into his mouth so quickly that it was a miracle he didn’t choke on it.
“Yes, something like that,” said Casey. I frowned, and the myth Irene had briefly covered during my time at Eden Manor surfaced from its hiding spot in the back of my mind.
Twin brothers, one mortal, one immortal—and when the mortal one died, the immortal one begged Zeus to allow him to share his immortality with his brother. “Didn’t Zeus turn you into stars?” I said stupidly.
At the table, Lux snorted, but Casey ignored him. “That’s one version of the myth, yes, but oral stories change over time when they are not drawn from a written source. As mortals told our story,