Unknown Family: Gods of Carina, #2

By Amber Craft

As the youngest daughter of the Lord of the Underworld, Sedah has always been denied the chance to experience life above. It isn't until the Fates decree that Sedah must go live among the enemy that she gets that chance. If her parents ignore the Fates, she and her siblings will be killed.

 

Finding out that she will finally get to go above should thrill Sedah. Instead, she is surrounded by fear, hatred, secrets, and lies everywhere she turns. Even those she calls friends hide things from her.

 

Melam has been sent to stay with the Satyrs until his next mission begins. He has no idea when, who, or how the mission will begin, only that he is to remain in the forest until it starts. When he comes across a young female that is unlike all the others, he is sure that she is the mission he was told about.

 

As Melam helps Sedah find and embrace who she truly is, they try to ignore their undeniable chemistry. Will they appease the Fates before it is too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amber Craft
• Release date: Feb 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9780960032341

Book preview

1

Hannah would you please tell Sedah that I would like for her to come to dinner? Persephone asked.

Hannah nodded to her mistress and walked out the wide doors. Persephone braced herself as she watched the servant go. This would be a disastrous dinner. She was thankful that Hannah was too faithful of a servant to question the order.

She will not come, my dear. I have angered her once again and, as usual, she will try to punish me by hurting you, Hades said as he wrapped his arms around his wife’s stomach from behind.  The familiar strength of her husband's embrace centered her as nothing else could. They stood in the center of the dining room, watching at the doors their daughter had stormed through earlier, when she tried to get away from what they were trying to tell her.

The dining room also served as the receiving hall for guests or those being judged. As such, it was the hub of their home, with many halls breaking off from the room like spokes on a chariot wheel.

How does she expect you to treat her as an adult when she does not behave as such? Persephone asked no one in particular as she let out a loud, heartfelt sigh. She crossed her arms, lightly gripping Hades’ forearms. Sedah had just been told she would be leaving home when her mom did. Sedah was usually the child they never had to worry about lying, sneaking out, or misbehaving at all, but Persephone couldn’t blame her daughter for storming out when she had been told what was about to happen to her. Sedah had always wanted to visit the human world with her mother, but for fun, not like this. It should have been great news to get out of the Underworld, but it wasn’t. Instead of going with her mother, she would be living with nymphs, Persephone’s enemies. Persephone knew all too well how it felt to be forced into something you didn’t want. At least, with her husband, it had turned out well in the end for the most part. Asking her daughter to live with the one type of creature she despised the most made it that much harder to ask her to do it.

It was part of the same argument the family seemed to have every year, like clockwork. In just one week, Persephone would be forced to return to her mother and leave Hades behind for nine months. They both had always hated it, but it had become even more unbearable as each of the children had been born. Missing seeing your children grow up for months at a time was hard on any parent.

Just then, their peaceful moment was broken up by the sound of laughter coming from one of the halls to their right. Persephone turned her gaze from the door leading to their youngest daughter’s wing, to where their three boys were coming in from the outer grounds.

Sorry mom, we broke the vase again, Milos said, but we repaired it, he added after righting himself from being pushed. As the eldest, and the spitting image of his father, Milos had always felt it was his duty to break the bad news and take the brunt of the punishment for his siblings.

Only because you would have blamed me, when you broke it by pushing me into it, Sephir told Lexur with a glare.

Persephone sighed as she watched her middle son try to charm his way out of being punished. When he was a child, he would shine those huge, glacier blue eyes at her from behind that adorable mop of sandy brown hair, and she couldn't stop herself from letting him off with warning after warning. Now, as an adult, those tricks wouldn't work on her. His hair was shaggy, long, and unkempt, and the innocent smile was now a leer that spoke of more mischief to come. He wasn't half as charming as he thought he was. Still, her heart ached at having to leave him behind again.

Again, Hades added. He raised an eyebrow toward Lexur. If your brother didn’t keep fixing it, he might have to fix you after your mother got through with you.

The boys became silent, exchanging warning glances at each other, and went to their places at the table. Persephone felt a smile quirk at the corner of her mouth; those glances had always been their code to stop angering their father while they still had their hides. Persephone turned her attention back toward Sedah’s door, the boys sighed in unison.

You know, you would think she’d be a little more yielding. She has been asking to go above with mom, without fail, for years now, Lexur said with a sigh. He sat slouched, staring at his empty plate, obviously pouting. He'd been asking, since before Sedah was born, to visit Earth with Persephone. She didn't blame him for wanting to see new things, but he needed to stay safely in the Underworld for the same reason Sedah did. Persephone would give anything for the chance to travel the human world with all of her children.

Hades turned from his wife and went to sit at his place at the head of the table, and Persephone decided to do the same, knowing this might take a while.

She is still a girl, and a teenager: two things that add up to drama at any hour, day, or realm, Sephir told them honestly, trying to make them understand. Persephone’s youngest boy of the three, had always tried to be the calm voice of reason since he first started talking.  His soft feminine features kept him looking childlike, and were what helped him stay more relatable and calming to the spirits of the children in his care.

What about girls and drama? Melinoe asked as she and Makaria materialized into their seats at the table.

Shh! Persephone said, her tone telling them that she meant business. She could feel her daughter finally coming down the hall. She rose to greet her, and to let the others know Sedah was nearly there.

Hannah came through first, opening the door for Sedah to enter. At once, Sedah went to her mother’s waiting arms. They hugged for a moment before turning and walking to the table together. Hannah silently closed the door behind Sedah and drifted into the shadows, where she would disappear until summoned. Sedah’s small, toned frame tucked into Persephone’s more feminine frame.

Finally, we can eat. Milos said under his breath.

Oh, be quiet, Sedah said quietly, her entire body turning red.

And you wonder why you have to stay hidden? Lexur smiled with a false sweetness at his sister, telepathically razzing her as she sat down in front of him.

Could it be that I am also a human chameleon right now? I think that’s the first thing they’ll notice. Sedah glared back. When it had started a couple months ago, she had been excited. She had run to her mother to show her mood changing skin color, and they worked together in Persephone’s garden, practicing making her emotions change to see what colors appeared. Once they had seen every emotional color, they tried to keep her skin tone the same while feeling each emotion, but to no avail. Persephone had been proud of her. She knew from experience how hard it had been for her. Her brothers had used the opportunity to make fun of her.

Enough! Let’s eat, Hades commanded, watching his daughter’s skin turn from red to blue. There was more than polite verbal conversation going on, and this was not the time for it. His normally caramel complexion was reddening, and Persephone searched her mind for a way to diffuse his obvious anger. His tone indicating that their dad wasn’t playing around, everyone calmed down and tried to eat, despite the tension.

Milos, how are the judgments going? Hades asked after a few minutes of silent eating and watching the death glares going on between two of the boys and Sedah.

Fine, except that I'm starting to see more souls go to other places than Elysium or Makaron. The tide is turning, and it seems we have no way to tell the reason behind it, or how long it will last. The Asphodel fields still gain the same numbers though, so there is still hope out there, Milos replied, Hades nodding in response.

Milos’s job as the first-born male was to work with his two uncles and aunt to judge new souls arriving at the crossroads. Every season, one of the judges received three months off, and Milos took winter to coincide with Persephone’s time in Erebus.

What about the entrances? Hades directed to Lexur.

Fine. Only one rogue entity evaded Hermes and entered through the back in the past two months, but it used the Horns and Ivory gate, letting us know where it was headed, so we are good there. The front is crowded as always, though. Lexur smiled, self-congratulatory pride taking over his face for catching the vampire that had been bent on getting in. Persephone shared in that pride: only one breach in two months, and that one apprehended, was quite an accomplishment. Lexur only played at being a slacker to torment Hades and Milos, but Persephone was willing to let him have his fun there.

I will never understand someone not paying for the passage of the dead. Whether a loved one or a common enemy, it is so cruel to deny someone the afterlife, Melinoe complained.

Yet it is something that happens too often, I’m afraid, Hades said solemnly. Few would try to get in if they realized it meant automatically being part of the river Akheron, I am sure.

The islands are doing as well as they always are, although sometimes I sense that some would like another chance in Elysium to prove themselves, Sephir said after silence had once again settled over the table.

Sometimes, Persephone would overhear his brothers complaining that Sephir’s job was the easiest, but she didn’t agree. Milos sat in a chair with his two uncles and one aunt, judging people. Lexur got to run around all the gates with his Uncle Hermes. Lexur had even left the Underworld with their uncle a few times and played pranks on humans. Sephir might have been in charge of Makaron, Atlas, and Aeo, but he did it alone. He alone dealt with the heroes sent to Makaron, and the children and teenagers on Atlas.

The only other house on the Isle of the Dawn, as Aeo was known, was occupied by someone Hades had told Sephir not to bother, under even the most severe circumstances. If his father was wary of the inhabitant, Sephir was too diligent to disobey.

Since Persephone’s mother knew about them, Melinoe and Makaria’s jobs allowed them to go back and forth between the two realms without fear of Demeter’s wrath. Melinoe was in charge of keeping ghosts in line while they decided to stay on the earthly plane and presided over those who wished to propitiate their ghosts.

Makaria was in charge of both reaping the souls of the blessed humans, taking them straight to their earned area to await their rebirth, and policing the paranormals by calling in the Erinyes to take care of them when they stepped beyond their limits and were not punished by their own kind. These responsibilities kept them from home, and away from Persephone, more than their siblings.

It has been like that since its creation. I have thought on it a few times, but if I make the changes in one area, the other areas will learn and start making demands as well, Hades told Sephir. That I cannot have. The prisoners cannot run the prison, as the humans say.

I will not go! Sedah yelled out of nowhere, going from a slight red to that of an autumnal fire. Everyone turned their attention to her as she yelled. Her anger had grown more and more until she couldn’t contain it anymore. The thought of living with women who didn’t know her, yet hated her simply for the family she was born into, was terrifying. For their precious tree, her father had traded her.

You will, child, and that is the end of it, Hades countered somewhat loudly, yet in an icy, calm tone that belied his anger. As if he had decreed it to happen, the walls of the mansion responded to its master’s mood, beginning to frost over as the air temperature went down a few degrees.

There is no place for you down here honey. I would take you with me, but none must know you exist. You wore the helmet of invisibility when you were a child, but you hated it, We had to stop for fear you would take it off and reveal yourself. Her mother was clearly trying to persuade Sedah and calm her frigid father at the same time.

It was true that maybe a dozen or so immortals and gods knew the total of Persephone’s children, but Hades had made them all take oaths by the river Styx that they would never be able to talk about anything or anyone existing in the Underworld other than Hades and Persephone themselves. Every time one of the kids had gone above, the god responsible for aiding them had been forced by Hades to drink from the river Lethe to forget.

Those two idiots were never forced to go to earth. They snuck up there for fun, even! What makes me so special?

Persephone exchanged a look with Hades. After a few minutes of silent, mental discussion between them, Hades nodded in agreement, letting out a defeated sigh.

What? Sedah yelled at the obviousness of something being discussed about her but not shared with her. She couldn’t stand the fact that her fate was being decided for her without so much as an iota of input from her.

Getting the okay from her husband, Persephone sighed and looked back at her daughter.

You hold more of my power in you than the others do sweetheart, which is why you have begun to change colors within the last few months. That is thanks to your grandmother- a gift she gave me when I was little, for a perceived slight. Because my gifts are starting to manifest in you, you will probably begin needing the healing soil from above also. We need to feel Helios’ warmth and be around nature to draw energy. If you stay here, you will begin to feel rundown all the time. My gardens will help, but not as much as you will need at first. The only place to send you while all of this is happening is into the mountains with the nymphs. They report to Artemis and she has taken a vow to protect and never speak of you. While you are there, they will teach you about Earth and the current workings of the world above. In the time that it takes for you to quit changing colors, you will study and follow whatever they tell you.

What is the point of learning if I am just going to come back home? All of that knowledge will have been for naught. Why do I have to leave at all when I can just stay here? Sedah looked at her mother for an answer. Her mother was here for three months at a time, and she seemed fine. There was soil and nature in her mother’s groves south of the Elysium fields. Helios had even given sun to Persephone and to the shades of the holy men, as a last reward for their selfless acts when they were alive. Surely that would be enough.

No one said a word or looked at her. Her brothers all became interested in their food with gusto while her sisters looked just as lost as Sedah felt.

What? she looked at them all expectantly. For some reason, she had the feeling there was something much worse that she had not been told yet.

Still no one said a word.

What is no one telling me? Sedah began to sound frantic, going into multiple colors as she looked from her mother, to her father, and back.

A deal has been struck, Persephone said in little more than a whisper, her eyes tearing as she looked at her daughter. She turned her head to glare at Hades for a second, long enough for Sedah to catch on that this was his doing and not her mother’s.

"What is it then? What deal have you made for your youngest daughter, without even consulting her, Father?" Her skin took on a dark bluish hue to add to the multiple colors of red swirling through her skin like a kaleidoscope. She was glad only her mother knew each color’s meaning as she heard her mother gasp from her place at the table.

An alliance. You have until you stop changing to find your own love, or you will serve one of Poseidon’s children, He replied.

I must become a mermaid servant? Oh, this is too rich! Sedah banged her fists on the table as she looked at them all, You all know for a fact that I hate the sea! She looked around, hoping this was some sick joke.

It will be Poseidon’s choice of land or sea, as well as whether it be his son you marry or one of his daughters you will be serving. Persephone had no idea how Poseidon and her husband expected a grandchild of the harvest to live under the sea. This whole second agreement with Poseidon seemed . . . fishy, for a lack of a more appropriate word. She put her hand on Sedah’s leg to try to give her some show of support.

And when do I get shipped off, Father? Now, or do I have time to pack? She asked, her tone as barbed and icy as his. A chill rolled into the room on a wave of fog so thick that Sedah could actually see her breath.

Her mother cleared her throat. You leave with me, dear. I will drop you off with them on my way back to mother. I do not trust your father anywhere near those nymphs. We need no more trees around Erebus, do we dear? She turned to her husband. Her mother always got an odd smirk when she talked about that tree, the only symbol of what her vengeance could create. It was a lesson to anyone else who tried to warm her husband’s bed again while she was away.

No, dear. Hades rolled his eyes. She would never forgive his one discretion since they had been together, nor let him forget that she hadn’t.

So, which are you hoping for? Sedah suddenly asked, her head down to hide the tears threatening to escape.

Hades sighed. I care not, my child. The deal with Poseidon is done. You are grown, and it is time you acted like it. What better way than to learn the world above that you will have to engage in? Hades sighed again, harsher this time. "Why can you not see that I am doing this for you, not against you?" he blasted mentally so that everyone could hear him.

Don’t answer that sweetheart, Persephone warned, though to which person that she was warning at the moment, Sedah was not quite sure. She looked at her father, her eyes pained.

Why must I serve one of Poseidon’s snobby mer-kids like a common servant when I can just live my own life? Sedah’s confusion was easily read on her face, even if she hadn’t slowly turned from blue to a reddish yellow to prove it.

The reasons do not matter. It has been decided by my brother and I, and it will be carried out. Thank your mother for the little time that you do have. I didn’t want to give you even that, but if you are going to marry or serve someone up above, she is right that you will have to be up to date on Earth, its ways, and technologies. Otherwise, you will face communication issues between you and either the prince or whichever princess that you serve.

For what it’s worth, Poseidon said you would have full capabilities to go between sea and shore whenever you need to, Milos told Sedah. She glanced over to see a genuine smile, clearly trying to help calm her down with a bright point. It did the opposite.

You knew about this? Sedah yelled across the table to him, slamming both of her fists down again. Sedah went blood red faster than she had ever changed colors since first becoming a chameleon. Slowly, she noticed that all three of her brothers looked guilty in their own telling ways. Milos took on their dad's stern expression, Lexur bit his bottom lip, and Sephir had the decency to look down in regret.

"You all knew? How long has this deal been made?" she yelled, eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at her father incredulously.

Milos’ voice became harsh, taking a tone he normally used when he tried to explain something that he didn’t think needed to be explained in the first place. You will be allowed to come home when mom does, once you start your stewardship. Otherwise, all holidays, you have the choice to come home, or to stay at Poseidon’s Palace. It’s more than I would have done if I had been the one making the deal instead of Dad, so you should be thankful.

So, do I get to come back for my things before I go to the ocean, or does it all have to go to the jungle with me for as long as it takes to quit being a chameleon? Sedah was beginning to turn grey as she looked to her mom for an answer.

Honey, all of your questions will be answered as they need to be. If you’re done eating, go to your room and start packing. To take you to the nymphs, we have to leave a few days early so that I can still be back at mother’s on time. Persephone stood, walking around the table to where Sedah sat.  She lifted Sedah’s chin to look up at her.  The chandelier of candles behind her mother made her strawberry blonde hair glow like a sunrise.

Is there not the option to stay with grandma Rhea? She has never told anyone about us. I could stay in her cottage with her, instead of with the nymphs. What would be the difference? They’re both in the mountains away from humans.

You are more like your mother, Hades told her, which, in time, will only remind her of the past. That would do nothing but cause both mortals and immortals alike untold grief and harm.

Can’t blame a girl for trying, Persephone muttered under her breath as Sedah rose from her seat, going back to a more normal color for her. She waved goodbye to her brothers and left, Hannah opening the door for her and following her out.

* * *

I will never understand why children cannot just mind their parents without a fight. We are many centuries older and therefore wiser, so fighting is futile. Hades sighed, the exhaustion evident in both his breath and his stance.

She fights because she does not understand. All she ever hears is that she is like me, but she does not understand that may mean the powers too, Persephone defended her baby girl, putting her hands on her hips, staring her husband down.

You’d think she would see that since we have versions of dad’s power, it makes sense she would have some of yours like Melinoe and Makaria do, Sephir said aloud to no one in particular.

The time in the mountains will teach her how to control her emotions better, Mother. If more of your powers come out of Sedah during that time, she will be in the right place should she need help controlling them, or should something go wrong, Milos added.

She relaxed a little. She’ll be fine. Let her vent all of her rage at us hiding something so big from her for so long, and I will bring her breakfast in the morning to talk it all out with her. Persephone kissed her daughters, then each of her three sons on their heads as she passed them. Goodnight children. See you all in the morning.

Now that dinner was obviously over, the kids got up silently and left for their sections of the Underworld, while Hades joined his wife for the hours she needed to sleep.

Being one of the twelve great Olympians, routine sleep was not a requirement for Hades and his children. While Hades and his sons still needed sleep, they only needed one night every year to keep their powers at their fullest. Persephone however, was different since she was born in the sun. Her body needed one night a week, at least, in order to keep her body and powers at full capacity.

Persephone hadn’t yet fallen asleep when she felt Hades running his fingers over her body. To all others, Gods and humans alike, his was both a name and a realm that one did not dare speak of. It was so ingrained into each person from their conception, that it had taken trickery to get her as his wife. One desperate act had sealed both of their fates forever, but it had been worth it, looking back now.

2

A red bodied Sedah burst into her parlor, thrusting the doors open with a fury and force that slammed them into the walls, making them ripple like water to better absorb the impact. The windows shook, but also held strong. Being the Underworld, everything was crafted around emotions. The palace absorbed all of them and turned them into electricity and power. The palace came alive to absorb the positive and negative feelings of the people in it. Sedah was proud that she had a house that could absorb her worst moods and use it to get even stronger. It was like a friend that she could vent her frustrations on, and it would still be there afterward, ready and waiting for more.

I can’t believe I might have to serve a spoiled rotten, fish eating, mer-thing! How am I supposed to find my own way, enough to fall in love, at the very least, if I have a deadline hanging over my head? Sedah shouted to the ceiling. Striding to the right wall of the parlor, next to the archway leading to her bedroom, she opened up the armoire that held weapons instead of clothes, selecting a crossbow and bolts.

Target Range! she yelled, even as she closed the doors. A wall panel to the right, about five feet from the armoire, recessed itself and slid left to reveal a number of targets. Barely giving the wall time to slide to a stop, Sedah shot off bolt after bolt as she complained aloud.

Now I have to add to that horror by staying with a bunch of nature loving, animal hugging, green thumbed pansies so I can learn how to control my mood and how, the world works? How stupid does that sound to you, Hannah?

Well ma’am, I honestly think it’s a good idea. If I went back, I would be bewildered at any new advancements other than equipment run by hand, yet I hear your brothers speak all the time of tokeners coming through, speaking of things in which I cannot fathom, such as motorized things in the sea and the skies. I think it would take time to become used to this new world so that you are not wrongly branded, judged, and cast out. Hannah’s tone stayed thoughtful and steady, as it always did.

Hannah, if I wanted common sense, I would have asked my mother. Sedah couldn’t help but smile, her color slowly changing back to normal. Hannah had been with the family longer than anyone could remember. Some say she had been her father’s first maid as he built his kingdom. She was probably the only person not afraid of Hades, other than Persephone.

As Sedah’s coloring went back to its normal alabaster tone, there was a knock on the door. Immediately Hannah snapped her fingers, the wall starting to move into place, as Sedah picked up her remaining bolts and crossbow and returned them to the armoire.

Come in, mom, Sedah said as she shut the weapon closet’s door. She had really hoped for more time to herself before anyone else came to try and calm her down.

Thank you for that, Sephir said as he entered, smiling.

Mom is the only one that knocks. If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have put up my weapons, she huffed, her skin going gray to show her disappointment.

"Knowing how you think was the reason that I knocked. No need to have those things directed at me. Now, I can leave and you can go through the trouble of getting it all back out, just to have to stash it again when mom does get here, or you can just cool off, sit down, and talk to me for the few minutes I have." He sat down in one of Sedah’s royal purple plush velvet chairs. It was by far his favorite piece of furniture in the house. After she had gotten an artist and an interior decorator to come in and do her room in what the ghost had called a Parisian influence, he had fallen in love with the chair he was currently sitting in, and had gotten a red one for himself as well.

Sighing in defeat, Sedah jumped over the back of the more normal chair facing him, landing with a puff from the seat and a giggle from Sedah.

Becoming snow white from pure happiness, Sedah smiled at her brother. So, what has you knocking on my door tonight, o brother of mine?

I wanted to see how you were handling the news, he answered honestly. Out of her three brothers, Sedah had to admit that Sephir was by far the nicest. When she was younger, she had thought it was because he had to be, due to his position as caretaker of the children on the fortunate islands. As she got older, however, she began to realize that his disposition is what got him put in his position instead of the other way around.

How do you think I’m handling it? she raised her eyebrows daringly.

I only know what you tell me.

I’m your sister, remember? You’re the one with empathy in the family. It’s part of the reason all of us girls go to you when we want sympathy and logic. Not to mention, I change colors right now, anyone and everyone knows my moods.

Your mood does not betray exactly what you are feeling though, am I right? he smirked, knowing the answer as his eyes met hers. The light from the room flickered in his magenta ones.

Yes, you’re right as usual, she sighed. I guess the best word would be that I feel . . .  bamboozled honestly. And not just by one of you. Every single one of you boys knew. How long have you known for?

A month or so. Sephir had the decency to look down in shame. His shoulder length hair came down to cover his face.

What! It’s worse than I originally guessed! Sedah groaned, going slightly gray as she hit her forehead with her palm.

It was up to father if, and when, you were told, Sedah. We may be your big brothers, but we could do nothing but give him counsel! Why you act as if you don't already know this is a mystery to me. Sephir shook his head. "He’s doing the same thing to me, Sedah.  There’s something about the person living in the second house on Aeo that I’m not supposed to know.  I asked Father, but he told me to keep to my own business on that matter.