Out of the Ashes: Daughters of Poseidon, #1

By Julia Mills

This couple may have the best intentions, but ultimately, isn't that what paves the road to Hell?

The Guardian of Pisces checked one and two off her to-do list and headed to three when things got seriously complicated. A sexy Shifter bowed at her feet and pledged his allegiance to her, the gods, and the Light. As a show of loyalty, he promised to take her to the portal from Hell and help her close the door to the Underworld with his own blood. This one act will rid the world of evil forever.

There's only one problem… he's a Hellhound.

Okay, two problems, just one glance, and he set her heart ablaze and her pulse racing. This isn't about love or lust. It's about saving the Earth, protecting the humans, and defeating her uncle, Hades' evil… isn't it?

One leap of faith put Una and Brody on a race against time and facing the fight of their lives. Can they defeat Hades while avoiding an army of Guardians led by her sister, Zoe?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julia Mills
• Release date: Jan 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9781386424086

Book preview

1

T hey have invaded the entire western and southern borders. I fear the coast is next. I’m going to need you to go and help the humans with this battle. They are ill-equipped and just not strong enough to fight this much evil on such a widespread scale.

Una looked at her father, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, as he stood beside his periscope with a worried look. She’d never, in all the millennium since her birth, seen the great god anything but confident and unencumbered by the woes of the Earth and Her human population. But this was different and much more personal. She hated to see the deep lines feathering from his glowing blue eyes or the downturned expression emphasized by his thick white mustache and beard.

Family issues sucked, especially when you were a deity and your whims affected the world as everyone had come to know it. Hades, Una’s uncle and Poseidon’s older brother, had caused trouble in the past, but nothing so catastrophic or life threatening to the beings Una and her sisters had been charged with keeping watch over.

Named the Guardians of the Zodiac by the Pantheon, the Daughters of Poseidon had long been protecting Earth and Her humans from afar. Una could scarcely remember the last time her boots had walked the terra firma, smelled the sweet scents of the many earthly blossoms, or tasted of the bounty only the small blue and green planet had to offer. It had always been their directive to lend assistance from the shadows, to never to cross paths with the humans, and always remain the deities they were intended to be. Things had now changed. Una would be the first of her sisters to fight alongside the ever resilient race with the hopes of saving them from certain and horrific demise. The first to do what they’d been training for since they were old enough to grasp their weapons.

Bowing with her bow at her side, the Guardian of Pisces asked, When shall I leave? Shall I take Drákon?

Without turning away from his view of Earth, Poseidon nodded. You will need to leave this night, my daughter, when the veil between our worlds is the thinnest. By all means, take the Sea Dragon with you. You will need the help.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Una called to her constant companion and training partner, Drákon, a centuries old Sea Dragon her father had given the Power to change from his original form to that of a human man. We’re a go. Put on that flesh suit you’re so fond of and meet me at the docks in an hour.

Hell yeah, Drákon cheered, using the human vernacular he’d been studying for centuries. Yippee ki yay…

Whoa, there, cowboy. Una smiled, glad she’d been paying attention when her companion read out loud. That’s a good way to meet the pointy end of father’s trident.

Duly noted. The ancient being was once again all business. See you at the docks, Goddess.

Working hard not to chuckle and happier than she could admit to be leaving the pomp and circumstance of her father’s castle, Una answered, See you there.

Walking down the mountain, she wasn’t surprised to see all of her sisters—eleven in total—with the youngest, Zoe, standing ready with her pack on her back and sword in her hand. Una wasn’t looking forward to telling the youngest and most battle-ready of all the Guardians that she would be staying home for this one.

Looking out over the oceans as the dark night of the earth grew closer to the veil separating the small planet from Poseidon’s domain, Una had to smile. There was no place she’d ever traveled in all the Universe that rivaled Earth. She was truly a splendid planet whose shine never wore off, even in times of distress. Being the Guardian of Pisces, Una had been given the honor of helping populate the waters of the small blue and green orb when She was still a new and developing planet.

With the Sun guiding not only the Guardian but the sign of Pisces itself, I believe had been her motto and guiding force for she, above all her sisters, believed anything was possible if given the chance and love it needed to grow and thrive. Una had worked tirelessly to make sure each creature, be they single or multi-natured, found their place in the vast reaches of the massive bodies of water covering Earth.

There had never been a time when Poseidon had called upon her that Una did not jump at the chance to defend Earth against all comers. Her personal sacrifices had sometime come under criticism from her sisters, other deities, and even her father, but the Guardian believed with all her heart she was fighting for the greater good and regretted nothing.

A mere hundred yards from the dock, Una chuckled as she watched Drákon burst from the depths of the ocean, change from the beautiful deep blue and green scales that covered the body of his Sea Dragon to a tall, blond-haired man with a wide chest, thin waist, powerful arms and legs, and blue eyes so piercing they almost rivaled her father’s. Many had speculated and the rumors still flew about the clouds, as well as under the waters where her father’s palace remained, that she and Drákon were lovers. Una had given up trying to argue and simply laughed, giving whoever had chosen to speak a coy look.

Always leave them guessing. Drákon had laughed when she’d explained her new approach to the gossipmongers.

Stepping onto the granite dock, the Guardian called out, So, you all just came to see Drákon show off?

Spinning in unison, the crowd that had gathered clapped and cheered with Drákon coming to her side and snickering. Of course they came to see me. What? You think because you’re a deity they came for you?

Shaking her head, the Guardian snorted. No way, my transformations are not nearly as awesome as yours.

The contest of who could transform with the most splendor and in the most spectacular ways had been a source of competition between the two compatriots since they were paired together on Una’s eighteenth year. It didn’t matter that the Daughter of Poseidon could not only shift into the form of any water mammal but also a few that walked on land; the water Dragon still continued to find new and inventive ways to show her up every chance he got.

Drákon had come to the Pantheon after being separated from all he’d ever known. He was young, a refugee from a war that had taken his family, his entire Clan, and left him half dead, floating along the ocean floor. The poor dear had tried looking for his cousins, the Dragons of the Air, Fire, and Earth, but their enemies had been everywhere and the young drake was unable to survive out of the water for long. Something that had long changed, allowing the Warrior to be away from the ocean for as long as he needed to be and even call his Dragon on dry land.

Even after her father found his family and her friend had learned that not only were there other water Dragons, but that his cousins were the great Warriors of legend, the Dragon Guard, Drákon had chosen to stay with Una. As the centuries passed, some of his distant kin joined their fight against evil, battling of their own accord on their own terms. But this voyage to Earth would be the first time her long-time companion would have the opportunity to reconnect with those he’d known as family so many years ago. It was a discussion she’d decided to put off until their feet touched Earth’s soil and they had assessed the true extent of the battle they faced.

Rolling his eyes while tying his shoulder-length platinum mane in a leather cord, Drákon sighed. How pissed off is Zoe going to be?

On a scale of puddle to tsunami, I would say she’s going to make the Ring of Fire look like the strike of a match. She looked up at her friend, who was now frowning and biting the inside of his cheek. They had visited the Ring of Fire, a twenty-five-thousand-mile horseshoe-shaped basin in the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occurred over the millennia, resulting in tsunamis, hurricanes, and tidal waves that threatened humans all over the Earth. Each time, the Warriors had come back bruised and beaten from their battle with Mother Nature. However, it was nothing compared to what Zoe could do when angry and vengeful.

It was time to say something to take her mind off talking to her sister and make her companion smile before they had to deliver the bad news. "Oh, by the way, I appreciate how hard you’ve been working on your human-speak. It will definitely help us blend in."

Hiding her grin as Drákon puffed out his chest and walked with a bit more swagger, Una had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when he nodded. I got your back, sista.

Thankfully, they were engulfed in a Sea of family and friends, whose hugs and well wishes drowned out the chuckle that Una finally couldn’t hold back. It wouldn’t do for Drákon’s ego to get too inflated before they even left the safety of Poseidon’s domain.

One after another, her sisters and their companions gave them advice, told them to be careful, and most said they would be praying while monitoring the fight from Poseidon’s Palace or their stations within the Pantheon. Standing apart from all the festivities was Zoe, her shoulders hunched, her head down, with the tip of her sword drawing circles in the water. Closing the distance, Una opened her mouth to speak at the same time that her youngest sister whispered, I’m not going, am I?

Laying her hand on Zoe’s shoulder, the Guardian of Pisces took a deep breath and sighed. No, kiddo, you’re not. At least, not yet. She hurried to explain, watching the water at the tip of Zoe’s sword start to bubble and swirl. "Drákon and I are going down to assess the battle. If