Eternal Fire: A Non-Shifter M/M MPREG Romance: New Olympians, #6

By C. J. Vincent

What would it take to awaken the fury and passion that lies sleeping in the heart of the volcano?

Always underestimated, Hephaestus, Lord of the Forge, has been passed over and forgotten too many times. He's always been willing to fade into the background, content to support his family in their search for their sparks. But when the opportunity to prove himself to his father appears in the form of a quest to break the curse that has held the gods of Olympus captive for centuries, he is the first to volunteer.

Marco Silva is on a different kind of quest -- five years ago, his twin brother, Julio, disappeared without a trace and even though everyone believes that he's gone forever, Marco isn't convinced and he'll do anything to discover the truth.
But what Marco doesn't know, is that his twin brother was beloved of an immortal god, and that his own future is about to change forever.

The Fates have been listening to Hera's poisonous lies for centuries, can Hephaestus convince them that things have changed, or will the gods be doomed to their punishment forever?

Eternal Fire is book 6 in the New Olympians series. 40,000 words, with a guaranteed HEA featuring a difficult omega and a shy alpha-god to claim him.

~ NEW OLYMPIANS ~
Book 1 ~ Lightning Strikes (ZEUS)
Book 2 ~ Rip Tide (POSEIDON)
Book 3 ~ By the Book (HADES)
Book 4 ~ Swift Wings (HERMES)
Book 5 ~ Marble Heart (ARES)
FREEBIE ~ Immortal's Wish (Holiday novella)
Book 6 ~ Eternal Fire (HEPHAESTUS)
Book 7 ~ Phoebus (APOLLO)
Book 8 ~ Spark of Romance (EROS)
Book 9 ~ Spark of Chaos (Dionysus)
Book 10 ~ Spark of Remembrance (BOREAS)

• Language: English
• Publisher: FireHive Media
• Release date: Oct 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393077596

Book preview

Prologue

Thousands of years ago, the gods of Olympus were cursed by the goddesses they had wronged with their insatiable appetites for carnal pleasure. Hera, tired of her husband Zeus’ wandering eye had rallied the other goddesses to her cause and, as one, they had turned upon their former lovers and taken away the very thing that gave them the most joy. When Zeus discovered Hera’s betrayal, his anger shook the heavens and split Olympus in two. The goddesses fled to the only sanctuary they knew, the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea. Some stayed with Hera to comfort her and fuel her rage, while others disappeared into the mortal world to hide from Zeus’ wrath among their creations.

Doomed to be alone with his brothers and sons on Olympus, Zeus brooded for centuries, cursing Hera’s name and wallowing in self-pity until one day, a long-forgotten prophecy was deciphered by Hades, Lord of the Dead. This prophecy held the promise Zeus hungered for—he would no longer be alone, and Hera’s curse could be undone.

In their exile, the goddesses had broken their own vows and coupled with mortals as they had in ancient times. The children born of these unions were demigods, carriers of a divine spark that rendered them immune to Hera’s curse. They alone would be granted the ability to bear the divine children of the gods… all that remained, was for each god to discover the spark that was meant for him.

There was no neutral ground in this war between the immortals, and even Hermes who prided himself on taking no side, found the truth to be altogether different.

Scattered throughout the mortal world, it was impossible to predict where and when these mortals would appear, but something about them drew the gods closer.

One by one, Zeus and his brothers found their sparks, and Olympus, once quiet and left to the winds that blew high above the clouds, was once again filling with laughter and the sound of children. Hera’s anger, still red-hot after so many centuries, burned deep within her, and her attempts to keep the gods from their sparks had proven fruitless.

As more gods discovered their place in this new world Zeus had created, the more the other goddesses began to doubt the power, and wisdom, of Hera’s choice to stand against her husband. Perhaps they had been punished too harshly, perhaps there was a chance for reconciliation… but Hera would hear none of their pleas, and one by one, the goddesses turned on the Queen of Heaven and returned to Olympus in search of forgiveness.

But Hera and Persephone would not be swayed. Their desire for vengeance, whatever the cost, was too great to ignore and there would be no end to the storm of their rage… but there is one chance to break the curse forever, and the most unlikely volunteer imaginable may be the only hope for the New Olympians.

Chapter 1 ~ Marco

I’d been told there were five stages to the grief process, and if you asked anyone, they’d tell you I’d been through most of them in a fairly short amount of time.

I couldn’t deny the fact that I had watched my brother’s coffin as it had been lowered into the ground in front of me. No amount of bargaining would change anything about that. Being alone in the world after the death of my twin? Yeah, that would send anyone into a spiral of depression and pain, and if I’d taken the time to really think about it, I might have gone that route. But acceptance? That was the hurdle I couldn’t jump. So, here I was, five years after my brother’s death, still simmering back at stage two.

Anger.   

Talking about it didn’t help.

Listening to other people try to relate to what I was going through didn’t help.

They didn’t know me, and they didn’t know Julio.

The military had been a part of our family for as long as I could remember. When Julio joined up, it just seemed natural. I was the one who got funny looks and raised eyebrows at family gatherings for choosing an academic life.

The army had paid for Julio’s medical training and instead of fighting like our father, uncles and grandfathers, he was a healer. He fixed what everyone else fucked up. The army didn’t deserve my brother, and I didn’t deserve to lose him.  

As far as I was concerned, the chance that Julio could still be alive haunted me. I’d endured years of questions and investigations into Julio’s disappearance, but no one ever gave me what I needed—answers. Proof.

Julio had been on leave in Greece, enjoying some well-earned relaxation on white sandy beaches drinking imported beer and eating more fried cheese than I was comfortable with. I was planning to hop on a plane and surprise him for his last week of leave my exams were over, but he was gone before the ink was dry on my final essay.

I had been on my way to the airport when the army knocked on my apartment door. It sounds like a scene from a movie, but when I opened the door, two uniformed MP’s stood outside. I barely registered what they said to me. Julio had failed to check in with his CFO, and after a few days had passed, the army determined that he was AWOL. After the initial shock of having to prove who I was, I was subjected to a barrage of questions—had my brother said anything to me about leaving the army, or given any impression that he was unhappy in his duties? The answer was always no. Julio loved what he did, he had a passion for helping people, and I knew he’d never leave his unit, especially not without warning.

When they left, I was frozen. I couldn’t leave the city, and I definitely couldn’t leave the country. If I was on a watch-list now, they would know I was going to Greece, and that would look even worse for Julio when he showed up at his unit.

If he showed up.

I waited by the phone, I called, I texted, and I tried to be strong. But being strong was harder than I thought it would be.

Days went by.

I wasn’t going to class, I wasn’t answering emails from my professors… all I wanted was for Julio to reach out. To say something.

But all I got was silence.

A week passed and the MP’s came back with more questions I couldn’t answer. I had to prove that I was Julio’s twin, and not just Julio hiding out in Pittsburgh. Academic transcripts, signed statements from our friends… they took it all.

Another week went by. Still nothing. He’d been gone for almost three weeks.

One night, close to 2am, I was flipping through the channels trying to find something to make me fall asleep, and stopped on an unfamiliar news channel. The footage was from a camera phone—grainy and unfocused—of a boat in flames and cars spilling into a body of impossibly blue water. A ferry crash in the Aegean Sea.

Almost one hundred people, tourists and locals alike had been injured in the collision and more were missing and presumed dead.

My mouth hung open as I watched police boats battling the flames and I could hear the screams of onlookers on shore. The newscaster looked pained as he announced that the crash had happened unexpectedly in the middle of the night. I flipped the channel and tried to push away the feeling of dread that had settled over me. It wasn’t possible. Julio was missing somewhere else. He had gone to a beach, fallen asleep, gotten drunk and lost track of the time. Maybe he was on a small island and had lost his boat or had a fight with the people he had traveled with. Maybe his phone and wallet had been stolen…

I’d thought of every possibility. Every angle.

Except the one that ended with him being dead.

It was hard enough to start going back to classes, and I felt like the worst kind of brother for stepping back into my life not knowing what had happened to him. I should have gone to Greece. I should have listened to my gut.

Hindsight. Hindsight is the bane of my existence.

If I’d been there, I could have protected him. If I’d been there, at least we would have been together.

---

It had been a month with no word from Julio and I didn’t know what to do.

I was sleeping when my phone rang, and I almost knocked my bedside table over as I scrambled to answer it.

Julio!

Uh… Pardon me, sorry to wake you… The thickly accented voice crackled in my ear and my stomach flipped.

Not Julio. Oh, God.

Who is this? I managed to croak.

I’m calling from the United States Embassy in Athens.

My mouth went dry. I remembered the newscast and the sinking ship with a yellow smokestack adorned with a dark blue star. How did you get this number?

You were listed as Mr. Silva’s next of kin—

Next of kin, Jesus Christ…

The man on the line paused uncomfortably before speaking again and each word that came out of his mouth stabbed into my brain. I am sorry, Mr. Silva, but I regret to inform you your brother has been listed on the passenger reservations list for a ferry that was in an unfortunate accident—

I saw it on the news, I said suddenly. Every molecule of my body was frozen in that moment.

He has been listed as missing… presumed dead.

I see, I said dully.

Mr. Silva’s military unit has been informed of the accident.

Fine. Do you need anything from me?

The man in Athens paused. He could hear the steel in my voice. No, Mr. Silva. I am very sorry to call you with this news.

I’m sure, I snapped.

The United States military will—

They’ll take care of everything, I cut him off again. I know. They’re good at that.

I’m very sorry, Mr. Silva.

Goodnight.

Five hours later, two uniformed men knocked on my door to officially notify me of Julio’s death. The chaplain tried his best to offer some words of comfort, but I wasn’t listening to him. I was just numb.

It had been five years since that day.

Eighteen-hundred and twenty-five days ago I’d stood in the grass at Forest Lawn Cemeteries and watched them bury an empty coffin. Five years ago I’d stood silently, refusing to listen to the tearful eulogies our friends gave. Five years ago I’d locked eyes with the soldier who handed me a carefully folded flag and said nothing. In the aftermath of Julio’s disappearance, the army had withdrawn their dishonorable discharge ruling and he was buried with the same honors as any other soldier killed far away from home.

Now that Julio was gone… I really was alone. The last time Julio had checked, my father was living in Texas, but we hadn’t spoken in almost fifteen years. My mother had died bringing Julio and me into the world, and my father had never forgiven us for it. We were raised by well-meaning relatives while my father threw himself into his military career and took transfer after transfer to every corner of the United States. I didn’t even know for sure where he was. I could only assume the army had notified him in much the same way I’d been notified. I hoped he’d taken the news hard, but somehow I knew he would only shake his head when he found out how he had died.

His brothers had all died in combat. Honorable deaths. Meaningful deaths. Not like Julio. Julio had vanished. Disappeared. They said he had drowned. Our friends hosted a potluck in my apartment after the funeral. I should have said no, but they seemed so eager to help. Casseroles piled up in my fridge and everyone kept talking about what