Chapter 31: Lunar SwordNarratorAphrodite walked through the doors of the meeting room. Her usual seductive walk was replaced with a stiff unnatural looking gate. Aphrodite had no plans of admitting what she had been an accomplice to. Selene knew right away that Aphrodite knew exactly what had happened, and it was in this moment that she remembered something that Demi had said to Ares. ‘You want me so bad, don’t you? Well now you can have me, but I promise you this. You will regret ever separating me from my mate.’ This could only mean one thing. Aphrodite released the mate bond that was restricting Ryder and Demi from recognizing that they were fated mates! Selene’s heart broke as she realized what Ares had done in the moments before sending Ryder to hell. He let Ryder and Demi realize that they were bonded then separated them from each other. What better way to really break someone? There are no words to describe such a pain that they must have felt. Truly there is nothing worse t

Chapter 33: Fierce and IntenseDemiI felt my mood lighten the moment I formed a plan that could lead me back to Ryder. I can’t get him out of hell, but I can go to be with him. “Demi, Demi. Are you okay? You’re worrying me honey. Demi, can you hear me?” Suddenly I realized that Selene was crouched down in front of where I was sitting. I don’t know how long she had been trying to get my attention, but I only heard her voice just now. I blinked to clear my eyes. They felt dry and sticky like I hadn’t blinked for a while. I raised my eyes to look at Selene, then Typhon to her right. “Sorry Selene, my mind was somewhere else.” “Oh honey, I know where your mind was. It was on Ryder, and we will find a way to get him back. If I have to…” She leaned into me and whispered closely to my ear. “If I have to, I’ll convince Typhon to go seduce Hades. You know that Hades has a bizarre sexual appetite, right?” That actually got me giggling. I know that’s what sh

Chapter 35: FamilyDemiAt this point, there was a constant stream of tears escaping down my cheeks. I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe them away. I looked towards Selene when she stopped talking. I needed to hear the rest of the story. Selene looked back at me with soft eyes and a kind smile.“The old lady was your father’s mother, your grandmother. Her name was Hellen and she loved you very much. Hellen explained that she had been expecting me. Your mother and father had been killed only a few minutes before I showed up. Somehow Jasmine had known that something wasn’t right, and had a feeling that Zeus knew about what she had done. Jasmine had told her about Typhon and me. She told Hellen everything just in case something happened to her and your father. Hellen gave me a letter that Jasmine left. I think you should read it. The letter will explain the rest.” Selene reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a yellow well worn folded piece of paper. I took it from her ou

Chapter 37: Bugs Don’t TalkRyderBefore I could open my eyes, I felt something land on my chest and straddle my neck. The weight of it nearly knocked the breath from my lungs. I had no time to cough or complain because a tiny scaly hand smacked the actual shit out of me. “What the fuck!” Now I’m pissed. On instinct, my body jolted upright, reacting to my anger. I’m about to kill whoever it was that hit me. My eyes are open now, but my vision is foggy. I grabbed hold of the weight around my neck. Grasping it, I yanked it off me and pulled back to throw the thing. Only whatever it was also had ahold of me too. My vision began to clear, and the damn thing started crawling up my arm like a fucking spider. I bounced, and hopped, and bucked as the thing straddled my shoulders. I reached up and placed both my hands on each side of the scaly object. I tugged and tugged, but whatever the thing was now had hold of my ears! “ya, ya! Giddy up little doggie!” It spoke!

Chapter 39: She’s a LadyRyderThree days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months and months turned into two years. I am twenty-one now and my hope of ever leaving this place faded a while ago. That doesn’t stop me from looking for ways out of here though. Drake and I don’t get out of our cells much, but when we do, we explore exits as best as we can. We are supervised and all the exits are guarded by titans. So far, we have met dead ends at every turn. Dreams of Demi is the only thing that keeps me hanging on. I sleep a lot. If I could stay asleep for the rest of my days, I would. If I can’t be with her in reality, then I will have her anyway that I can. I sat near a lava pit and watched as young fire imps hopped along the rough jagged stones that were protruding out from the bubbling heat. They are mischievous little creatures and I often got amusement out of witnessing the sheer naughtiness of their daily antics. Unlike the older and grouchier imp that tends to Drak