Free Chaotic War by Lia Davis

happened in Hades?”
    “We found the drakon, then he sent me here, leaving Elle there.” Zavier worked his jaw. His dragon paced and snarled beneath the surface. “I don’t like her being alone with him.”
    Ash entered the room and stared at Seth while wrapping her arms around her middle. “The drakon may be crazy, but it’s rumored that he cares for Nyx. Elle is safe with him.”
    Thea walked over to them, waving her hands to shoo them out of the room. “Go hold your meeting elsewhere. Seth needs to rest.”
    Giving their brother some quiet, Zavier, Markus, Ty, Ash, and Drake made their way down to the control center, as Zavier liked to call it, in the basement. “Do you know if Garrick moved locations again?”
    “He would be stupid if he didn’t,” growled Drake.
    Ash sat on the sofa. “Ty and I could go searching around for some Imperials and make them talk.”
    Markus shook his head. “Let’s wait for Seth to wake and see if he can tell us anything.”
    Zavier sank down in his office chair and started up his computer. “If Eros hit Seth with a black arrow, it’s possible he took Rayna to Garrick.”
    “And hit her with the red one,” Ash added softly, sadness in her tone.
    If Rayna mated Garrick, there was no stopping the male from changing a divine law and proclaiming himself king. Zavier shook his head. Was it even possible? Well, he didn’t want to find out. “We have to find him and get Rayna and Seth together before our bastard brother can mate with her.”
    All they had to do was track Garrick down. That was easier said than done.
     
    ***
     
    Elle watched the drakon pace the large cavern he’d taken her to. He mumbled to himself as he tracked back and forth. His tail whipped side to side with each stride. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or something else.
    “Why did you send Zavier away?”
    Both heads stretched around his large body to gaze at her. “He is evil. Son of Ares can’t be trusted. Must not give it to him.”
    Elle pursed her lips and breathed in and out to calm her irritation. The drakon didn’t make sense. “No. Zavier is my mate. You have him confused with his brother, Garrick.”
    Both heads tilted to the side and studied her for several moments. “You are not mated.”
    “No, not yet.”
    He turned his body and lowered his heads closer to her. She had to back up to keep her personal space. “Why? If the dragon-god is your mate, then you mate him.”
    She opened her mouth then closed it. Dragon-god ? She’d have to use that on Zavier when she got home. “It’s complicated. I was raised human, and in my world, we mate for love.”
    “Blah. Excuses.” He laid down, shaking the ground. “You do not love him?”
    “I…” She frowned, and it was her turn to pace the cave, which suddenly shrank in size. Did she love Zavier? Could she love him then lose him? Yes. She had already fallen for him. Denial had been her friend for too long. “I do love him.”
    She stopped pacing and sat on the dirt floor beside the drakon. “I saw his death.”
    “How?”
    “I have visions of the past and future.”
    He snorted, blowing dirt across the space. “No, silly goddess. How does your mate die?”
    “He will be stabbed by the Divine Dagger.”
    The drakon shook both heads and let out a chuckle. “No. You wrong. If you saw him stabbed by a dagger, then it is not Zeus’s.”
    Hope bloomed in her heart. “Do you still have it?”
    “I do.”
    “Can I have it? I’ll keep it safe, protected against the evil Garrick.”
    A low growl rumbled through the cave. “No.”
    Her heart skipped a few beats. Anxiety churned in her belly. She had to get the Dagger. Garrick would kill the drakon to get it. She opened her mouth to speak, but Zander added, “You must blood promise to take it to Zeus. Only Zeus can have it.”
    “Done. I promise. Anything to ensure my mate lives.”
    His heads stared at her for several long moments. “You are trusted. I will give it to you