'In the Underworld you're my queen, and that's done...'

Capri Bonds

"Alexus, Samaria, Conrad, Hypnos, Poseidon, Persephone, Hades, Zeus, Hermes..." I sighed and fell back onto the bed."The list goes on, and on..."

Thanatos was sitting cross-legged on his bed, thinking. I slapped my forehead; "I'm sorry, but I trust most of those people! Maybe I'm just easy to fool..."

"No, definitely not." Thanatos said dryly. "Okay, look..." He clapped his hands together; "Let's go through them one by one- who do you trust beyond any doubt?"

I sat up and crossed my legs; "Alexus. Definitely Alexus. Conrad, Hypnos, Persephone and that's about it. I don't really know the rest..."

Thanatos nodded, his eyes cast own in thought. "And you?" I asked.

"Conrad, Hypnos, Poseidon, Persephone and Hades..."

"So we both don't trust Samaria, Zeus or Hermes? But why would Samaria hurt herself? No, it doesn't make any sense."

Thanatos tapped his temple; "Maybe to take herself out of the running? But yeah, it's unlikely. She's very mortal and barely a powerful mage." He paused; "Zeus? Well, you did see storms in your dreams, and he was the last god to see the sickle, but what reason would he have to do this? He's already the most powerful being. Hermes, on the other hand... He's always been fishy."

I nodded; "The god of tricks. True. Possibility."

"What about the rest? Ares? Apollo? But no, Apollo is too weak-stomached." Thanatos shook his head, as if trying to imagine Apollo slicing out someone's heart. Frankly, I could. He seemed more than capable to me?

"He could be an accomplice? The stranger did say traitors? More than one." I said absentmindedly.

Thanatos bit his lip; "I wish I'd seen his face- maybe I'd have recognised him. You say he had shaggy brown hair and green eyes, short and dressed like he'd just come from a hike?"

"Yeah, and strangely limping? He was wearing a hat too."

Thanatos shook his head; "No idea; he doesn't sound familiar..."

I tried to hide the knowing look in my eyes. I'd dropped the piece of paper the stranger had given me in my handbag before Thanatos could notice it. I didn't want him to know about it just yet. It would be hard for me to go and get more information alone if Thanatos knew about it- he'd never allow me to.

I knew it was stupid, but the man had mentioned that Thanatos was being watched. Intently. Why? Did he lie so that I would go meet with him alone? Either way, I was going to have to think about this. This was a big step to take, but if I were to solely go on my gut and the heightened instinct I had due to Hecate's magic, I would say that the strange man was telling the truth. But again, it would be stupid to go to him without some plan. Blame it on my adventure with the two Furies in the park, but I felt I could handle this. 

I popped my mouth; "Someone we trust could also be fooling us, but I don't want to even think about that."

"I trust Hypnos and Poseidon above all- they wouldn't."

I nodded. I didn't frankly trust any of them that much, but I trusted Thanatos and his instincts.

"We still don't know why they killed Hecate?"

"One issue at a time, darling." Thanatos said tiredly. I nodded. We'd been up all night after dinner trying to figure out what was going on around us, but our tired eyes were only interrupting our progress.

"Okay, then on to the next one- what the fuck is a golden mirror?"

Thanatos fell back onto the bed and the frame creaked softly. He mumbled; "Clearly it has something to do with the mirror in your dreams, but I'm too tired to think and I definitely had one too many glasses of champagne."

"Same here." I said as I laid down next to him. We sighed in unison.

"One measly holiday- is that too much to ask?"

Thanatos chuckled; "No rest for the wicked..."

I flicked my tongue; "These assholes need to take a break from killing."

Thanatos muttered; "I agree- they're taking all my business."

I couldn't help but laugh. Thanatos turned his head to me and much to my amusement, imitated Zeus' deep, booming voice; "I'm the king of the gods, but I need the help of a young, mortal girl to solve my shit for me, because I'm too busy banging some nymph while disguised as a flamingo!"

I laughed loudly, tears streaming down my face. Thanatos grinned at me. I spoke up in a dry, old voice as I mimicked Hera; "The only reason my husband is so unfaithful is because I'll only have sex with him when he's disguised as a peacock."

Thanatos clutched onto his stomach as he laughed. I giggled covered my mouth with my hand. Thanatos finally stopped laughing and we both stared up at the ceiling with tired smiles.

"Okay, I'm off to bed," I said as I sat up; "Remember tomorrow is the beer festival with the others."

Thanatos sighed and tried to lazily snatch my wrist, but I moved it out of the way. He groaned; "Sleep here tonight? I miss sleeping next to you."

"My dad would kill me."

Thanatos grinned; "Then how about I sneak into your room in about an hour and leave again before sunup? Maybe I can finish what I started at the restaurant?"

It was tempting- too tempting. I threw a pillow at his face. Thanatos snickered, but before he could plead some more, I smiled down seductively at him; "Make it half an hour."

He smiled and chucked the pillow at my head. I dodged just in time; "Ass! Make it forty minutes."

His laugh was adorable; "Twenty?"

"Thirty-five."

He rolled his eyes; "Let's be realistic here- I'll probably be in your room before you open the door."

That he was- and he'd forgotten his clothes.

The beer festival was loud and full of stumbling young people.

The sun was slowly setting and the band packed up, making way for the DJ to sound us off into the night. The music was loud and sent a good vibe through the crowd. The bars were full; the sound of bottles clanking and people shouting ringing along the beach.

Thanatos and I sat on a long bench across from Sonya and Trita. Sonya was busy gossiping with a group of old school friends, her platinum hair tied into a long braid and Trita was on the other end, chatting up some guys.

Both of them were pretty drunk by now- Trita more focused on getting shots from the two guys than anything else and Sonya sipping at her fifth cocktail.

The beach was packed with party-goers.

This morning I wasn't really in the mood for the party, especially after quickly reading the note I'd gotten from the strange man at the restaurant. It had a name on it- Victoria Hall. I knew the place; it was an old, abandoned school hall just out of town.

I had to meet him, but the timing had to be just right, when Thanatos was occupied with something else, but right now, I was a bit too intoxicated to care.

I took a sip from my beer as Thanatos put his down. I couldn't remember how many I've had before this jug, but I was fairly sure Thanatos had already drunk me under the table. We were both quite smashed.

To put it mildly.

"Okay," Thanatos said as his grin grew; "Now I have a question for you..." He pointed his finger at me, but it kept swaying from side to side.

I giggled; his blurry image fun to watch.

We'd decided to play 20 questions, but after about fifteen minutes of asking completely random, silly questions, I had no idea what we we're really doing anymore. It was definitely fun though...

It was so entertaining seeing him like this; so relaxed and laid-back, not a worry in the world and yet, he still had this air of superiority and danger that never let up in its seductiveness.

"I await eagerly..." Was that even a sentence?

Thanatos tapped his chin comically; "Would you rather shower in whiskey every night or have a pool filled with tequila?"

I pursed my lips- this was a very serious question.

"Wow, that's hard- um... Probably tequila. Hot whiskey cannot be good!"

Thanatos laughed and took a sip from his jug. "Okay, my turn!" I fixed him with serious eyes; "Thane whatever-your-surname-is..."

Thanatos snorted, but tried to listen intently; "Yes?"

"Would you rather have me dye my hair red, or would you rather me call Hypnos 'my lord' too?"

"Awh, fuck." He looked torn as he thought. Thanatos shut his one eye and cringed. "I love your hair- so no, you're never changing it... Ugh, fine- I'd rather you call my brother 'my lord' too, but he'd probably laugh in your face."

"That's just mean!"

"Sorry, angel, but I'm not sharing you, even with my own twin."

My smile widened and the room spun a bit. I leaned into him, not bothering to be inconspicuous with my friends so close. "I wish you could push me up against that wall right now..."

Thanatos chuckled; "Just say the word, I'd be more than happy to slam you into every wall I can find. Even this table. Especially this table."

I giggled as he muttered into my ear; "Gods, I'm so drunk, but so horny for you."

"Thanatos..." I moaned as his hand stroked down my back to my denim shorts.

His patience snapped; "Go to the bathroom, I'll follow you."

I nodded, not bothering to argue. I stood up from the table and tried to tell my friends I was going to the restroom, but they were both too occupied, so I snuck off. Thanatos followed close by.

I dodged into the farthest cubicle, too drunk to care if this wasn't the most romantic setting; I wanted him. Thanatos closed the door and in an instant I was slammed into the wall, a loud huff escaping from my throat.

Thanatos' lips found mine and I wrapped my legs around his waist. My heat moaned as he thrusted into me, his hardness firm. I tried to keep my head up as his fangs bit at my neck. I heard someone leave the bathroom.

Thanatos loosened his grip and quickly tried to undo his swimming trunks. I panted softly and hooked my thumb into the edges of my denim shorts, pulling them down. He got onto his knees, but before he could grab hold of my hips, I hear Trita's voice; "Aurora? You here?"

I cussed softly; "Yeah!"

"Oh, good! Just wanted to make sure."

I quickly pulled up my shorts and Thanatos reluctantly did the same. I could hear Trita rummage through her beach tote; "So where's your lover-boy?"

I instinctively grabbed Thanatos by his shirt and pressed myself up against him; "He's probably in the bathroom."

Thanatos bit his lip and pressed me back up against the wall, his previous mood resurfacing.

"That man is fine! And so obsessed with you!" I could hear she was drunk; her words slurred. She was most likely reapplying her make-up and I should probably have let go of the horny god in front of me, but I had better things to do- like death.

"Ah-huh..." I said as Thanatos' hips rocked into me.

Trita's voice sounded distant; "Are you two together now, or what?"

"Uh..." Thanatos' eager eyes caught mine- he wanted me to say yes. "No, not really."

I don't know why I wanted to keep it a secret from them. At the back of my mind I suppose I wanted to keep them out of the loop as much as possible and I wanted Thanatos to be the one to make us official, but that was selfish of me.

If anything, he was the one who initiated most things.

I stared up into his eyes and he looked beyond pissed.

"It's been two weeks, Aurora!" He whispered fiercely, "Why won't you tell them?"

I shook my head, the room tipping slightly.

"Did you say something?" Trita asked.

"Ah, no. Nothing."

"Oh," Trita mumbled and continued; "So, does he mean much to you?"

I held my mouth. I felt nauseous, and the alcohol wasn't helping.

Thanatos eyes widened and I could see the blood drain back to his face. His top lip twitched with anger and he leaned into my face, hissing; "Let me know when you want to be affectionate."

"Thana-"

"Now I know why they call you the ice queen." Thanatos scoffed and swung the door open.

Trita's wide eyes latched onto him as he stormed out of the bathroom; his eyes blazing.

I blushed as she turned to me with raised eyebrows; "Ooh... Sorry. I didn't know. We need to get a code-word for that."

I smiled softly despite myself, but his hauntingly hurt eyes stayed with me as his presence stormed off.

"It's okay; it's me who should be sorry.  I don't want to lie to you guys, it's just- there's a lot going on and I-" the words ran from my mouth before I had the chance to change them, "...love him."

"What?" Trita's mouth hung open; "Oh, Rora, why didn't you say so?"

"Because I haven't even told him and because I... I'm scared to."

Trita enclosed me in a hug; "Oh, honey, you have nothing to worry about. You two are a match made in heaven."

I scoffed at her use of words- if only she knew.

"I need to go make things right with him. He can overreact sometimes and I don't want him to think that I don't care or that I'm ashamed of him." I had the feeling he's had enough of that in his childhood. From what I've gathered, Nyx wasn't the best at displaying bouts of motherly love. If any...

Trita nodded, but stopped me; "Wait. What exactly were you two doing in there?"

I blinked innocently; "Nothing."

Trita raised her brow, but before she could push for answers, her hands flew up to her face and she looked sick; "Excuse me, but I need a moment!"

I cringed as she rushed to the cubicle and heaved. I waited a few seconds, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." She sounded amused; "Remind me not to mix Vodka and beer again. Now go get your man!"

I patted her back, this wasn't the first time Trita had said those exact words to me- she always forgot how quickly her hands found Vodka. I quickly rushed out, my eyes scanning for a tall, tanned god.

I need to find him. I need to just make him mine. Now.

I walked through the crowds for what felt like long, dreary minutes, before my eyes caught the tense figure of a black-haired man at the bar.

Thanatos!

I rushed forwards, but the crowd was pushing me back. I watched on in panic as a pretty blonde walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Jealousy shot through me and I instantly felt sober. My dazed vision turned red and focused.

How dare she? Get your hands off of him!

Thanatos looked annoyed as the girl leaned into him and whispered in his ear. I pushed back harder against the current and finally broke free. I tried to compose myself as I walked up to them.

I slapped away the girl's hand and fixed her with a predatory smile; "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

The girl looked shocked; her face somehow familiar. She backed away from Thanatos with swift embarrassment, "Oh, Aurora? I'm so sorry, I just-"

"Just what?" I asked a bit too harshly. "Do I know you?"

"Karina Melville. I was in the grade below you?"

I remembered her face as she said her name- Karina. She was pretty, but she'd always had a bad reputation since she'd started high-school. Alcohol, boys and underage partying; Karina wasn't the best role model.

"Oh, yes." I said and looked her up and down. She shrunk away- my reputation was pretty far-fetching as well. You didn't mess with Aurora Venerelli.

"Sorry." She squeaked and scurried off, my glare following her.

Behind me, Thanatos whistled. "That was... quite entertaining."

I turned to him with a regretful expression, but he still looked pretty pissed as he sipped at his new beer. "I'm sorry about what I said- you do mean something to me. You mean a lot to me."

"Words are words, Aurora." His words hurt; "I want us to stop hiding this."

"So do I, but... "

"No 'buts'. We're more than friends. End of story."

I nodded my head, but he didn't look convinced. Suddenly, another girl tapped him on his shoulder. She had clear hazel eyes and red hair. Her smile was full of lust as she looked him over; "Wanna dance?"

I gritted my teeth.

He really is ridiculously magnetic...

Thanatos looked over to me with expectation, but I was frozen. After a few seconds of waiting for me to speak up, he sighed and pursed his lips. "No."

I knew then what I had to do.

"I'd really appreciate it if you could stop leering at my boyfriend."

Thanatos' jaw fell open and he nearly dropped his beer. The girl's eyes widened and she did a double take, clearly recognising me, but I had no idea who she was.

"Oh, sorry." She walked off with her chin up. I glared at her back until a hand grabbed my chin and lifted it to meet two golden eyes staring tenderly down at me.

"Boyfriend?"

I smiled sheepishly; "But, I don't know,'Boyfriend' just seems so-"

"-temporary." Thanatos finished my thought. I leaned my head up to kiss him and he ducked down to grab me, pulling me in close, not caring for the hoards of people around us.

"You know, in my world we don't have such a thing as 'boyfriends'."

"Well, then we can use that term when we're here, on Earth." I smiled into his warm kisses.

"I'd love that... But in the underworld you're my queen, and that's done."

I giggled; "It doesn't sound like I have a choice?"

Thanatos nuzzled his nose in my hair and growled; "You don't."

Sugar

Spice

and everything nice...

Oh, and a whole lotta sex appeal-

NEXT UPDATE- 19th of July