"I have to go check on something in Acheron. I'll leave you here to get ready." I said, smiling down at Katrina as we stopped at my bedroom door.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Katrina asked as she ran her fingers through her beautiful blond hair.
"It's official business within the underworld kingdom. I can't take you with me until you're legally considered the Queen of the underworld." I lied, hoping she wouldn't be able to tell.
"Oh, Okay." She replied, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"There's something for you on the bed; I want you to wear it tonight for dinner," I whispered into her hair and pulled her towards me, giving her a tight hug.
Her face lit up with a smile at my mentioning of a gift, making me wonder how often she received gifts growing up, probably not very often. That would be something I would be rectifying. I will shower my little mate with gifts for the rest of her life.
I watched Katrina walk into my room before walking out of the house. I couldn't wait to see how beautiful she looked; all dressed up in the little black dress I had bought. It would be perfect for dinner tonight. I was a little nervous about her meeting Hades and Persephone, but I knew they'd love her. She was a feisty little firecracker, and I wasn't worried about her not being able to hold her own.
I didn't enjoy lying to Katrina, but I needed to find answers. Answers that I knew only lay in the depths of Tartarus. As I headed towards the middle of the underworld, where the four rivers met, I took out my phone and called Luka. I had spoken to him earlier this week about my suspicions of who Katrina's birth parents might be, and I advised him that if I were right, all chaos would erupt when the world found out. Luka, already halfway in love with Katrina, agreed to help me find out the information I needed; on one condition, if Katrina wanted to spend time with him, I wouldn't come between them. I had already accepted that their bond would be permanent before then, so I immediately agreed.
"Yeah, I'll be there," Luka replied after telling him I was on my way.
It didn't take me long to reach the depths of the underworld, where the entrance to Tartarus lies. Luka was leaning casually against the entrance wall with one foot propped up behind his back. He was wearing a long-sleeve black button-up shirt and dark blue acid wash jeans.
"Dressed up for a special occasion?" I asked as I walked over to him.
"Well, I ran into Persephone and Hades earlier today, and they decided to invite me to family dinner, so I figured I would just follow you home," Luka replied causally.
"Why would they invite you to dinner?" I asked, confused because I didn't know my parents had a relationship with Luka.
"Because I am a professor at Divine Academy, and they want to know how their precious baby boy is holding up," Luka replied, his face lightening up with glee as he teased me.
"And your acceptance has nothing to do with the fact that Katrina will be in attendance tonight?' I ask as we walk through the gates of Tartarus, passing Cerberus, who didn't seem to mind that a relative of Loki and the heir to the underworld were walking into the realm of chaos.
"Katrina is an added bonus." He replied, winking at me, "The best part will be watching you squirm under the scrutiny of your parents." He teased, making me wonder if Luka was flirting with me or just trying to get under my skin.
"So, you said there are archives on power-sharing here?" I asked Luka as he walked me to their library. It was smaller than the library in the underworld, but the texts dated back to when the earth was first created.
"Alright, so what are we looking for exactly?" Luka asked once we reached the center of the library.
"Well, first, I'd like to discover if there is any history of arch and fallen angels having children. Secondly, I'd like something that talked about the dark powers of the fallen angels. Lilith was powerful, and not everything she knew how to do was listed in the demonology archives." I replied,
"Is that it?" Luka asked as he wrote something down on a piece of paper.
"While I'd like to know more about the bond you and my mate share, I think we will only find that out by letting it play out," I responded as I pretended to look around casually.
"I've already searched through these archives looking for anything that explained what was happening to Katrina and me. There was nothing. The only thing I can think of is a mate bond, but why would she be mated to the four of you and someone like me? I am darkness." Luka replied with a frown as he lit the piece of paper he was holding in his hand with his fire affinity.
I wanted to let him know that Katrina had a dark side, but before I could reassure him, the entire library became engulfed with flames startling me. Smoke quickly filled the room as the books burned rapidly, feeding the ever-growing fire.
"Luka," I yelled, grabbing him by the arm, "we have to get out of here."
Luka didn't respond, nor did he look at me as I pulled him towards me. I tried tugging harder, but he seemed mesmerized by the flame.
"LUKA!!!" I yelled louder, trying to get his attention, jerking his arm harder until he flung it towards me, causing me to let go of his arm and wrap my arms completely around him to keep him from falling on his face.
"If you wanted me in your arms, you only had to ask," Luka smirked with a mischievous gleam.
"Don't be an idiot," I replied, scowling at him, "I was trying to save your life, you fucker."
"From what?" Luka asked, arching one of his eyebrows.
"The fi…" I stopped mid-sentence as I looked around. There was no sign of fire; looking around the library, nothing was burned, and there was no smoke in the air. The only difference from the moment we entered until now was that there were only two books in the entire room; the rest of them had seemed to disappear.
"Did you think finding a book in Tartarus would be normal?" Luka asked as he walked towards the two remaining books, "it's nice to know you care so much about me." Luka replied, turning back to look at me with a teasing smile on his face,
What the hell was going on here. Why was Luka acting like this? We'd never got on before; the only reason we were talking now was because of Katrina. Why was he acting like we were friends or, better yet, even more than friends? I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the ridiculous thoughts. It took me only a moment longer to realize Luka was waiting for my retort to his statement.
"Next time, I'll just leave you for dead," I growled, grabbing one of the books from his hand.
Luka didn't bother responding to me; his insufferable smile was enough to light the fire within me. Instead of letting him get to me, I opened the book I had snatched out of his hand and began to flip through the contents, pausing when a chapter title caught my interest.