"Did he notice any other Slavers on the ground?" he asked.

Opal shook her head. "No, only the one. But there could be more. Slavers are like Zaronian spores. You spot one, the next thing you know you have an infestation. Thanks to their advanced shielding tech, they slipped into the atmosphere without detection. Do you want me to alert New Atlantis and King Eros?"

"I can take care of any threats to my Kingdom," Hades said. "Or do you suddenly doubt my abilities?"

"No, Sire. Never." She dropped her gaze momentarily. "I was simply concerned that the Slavers might enter Atlantean airs.p.a.ce."

His lips thinned. "We"ll notify Eros if, and only if, it becomes necessary. I want to know what we"re dealing with first."

"What about Perseus?" she asked.

Hades appeared confused. "What about him?"

"I believe he"s going to send forth another formal challenge for your throne."

Hades scowled.

"This one you cannot ignore, Sire. You"ve already pa.s.sed on his first two challenges. There is talk-I"m sure instigated by Perseus himself-that insinuates that the reason you have declined up to this point is because you believe that you will lose."

Another rumble came from his chest. "This wouldn"t be happening if I were a pureblood," he said in disgust. "It"s only because I"m a Half-being."

She stared at him. It was the truth, but there was no sense in confirming the obvious. So instead Opal said, "What would you like me to do about him?"

Hades glowered. "Nothing. We must await his challenge, and then I will decide what to do. You and I both know this won"t end until one of us leaves our blood in the Pit."

Opal reached out and gently touched his arm. "Do not fear, Sire. Perseus is a fool. He cannot defeat you."

Hades bristled beneath her hand and pulled his arm away. "I do not fear Perseus. I am the Dark King." He slammed his fist onto his wide chest. There was a thick thud as bone met slabs of muscle. "It is my birthright to sit on this throne. Half-being or not, I will hold what is mine."

"I never doubted you, Sire. You just need to know that there are those who do." Opal glanced at the door, staring at the claw marks, her earlier concerns rushing back. Was it a coincidence that the Slavers appeared at the same time as the unknown female? She didn"t believe in coincidences. The King couldn"t afford any distractions, not when his throne was being threatened. "Who was that woman? I didn"t recognize her."

Hades stared at the map, studying the terrain. "Have the scouts check out these two areas." He pointed to a couple of ravines. "Those locations would be easy spots to hide a ship the size of the Slavers" craft. Make sure at least one of the scouts is from the Tooth Clan. Use a member of the Claw Clan as backup."

Opal hid her shock well. He hadn"t answered her. In fact, if she didn"t know better-and she most certainly did-she could"ve sworn that the King had purposely ignored her. The question was why?

Normally Hades was quick to name his bed partners, even the future ones he had his eye on, since momentary pleasure was all that mattered to him. He"d spoken with Opal often about how skilled various women were when it came to bed-sport. It was as if on occasion, he forgot that she was a woman, too. His oblivious nature had only made Opal more determined to please him and win his hearts. She was convinced that the way to the throne was through his hearts, but Hades kept them as guarded as he did his prized weapons.

She glanced at him, his face a picture of concentration. What was he trying to hide? This wasn"t the first time they"d had Slavers sneaking into the kingdom or someone had wanted to challenge him and it wouldn"t be the last. As news went, it was serious, but thus far not a direct threat.

"Sire, the woman?" Opal persisted, her curiosity getting the better of her. Before she"d been mildly interested, but thanks to the King"s evasion she felt like she needed to meet this mysterious stranger to find out exactly what her intentions were. Opal would set her straight quickly, if she had her eye on the King and his throne. She"d run off several of Hades" playthings over the years. All for his own good, of course.

But none of them had made Hades want to claw through a door.

The King"s jaw clenched and his muscles corded. "I do not appreciate being questioned." His blue eyes flashed ice, when he looked at her. "Not even by my Righthand. Have I not made my orders clear?"

"They"re clear, Sire." Opal swallowed hard, but held her ground.

"Good!" Hades said. "Now finish your report, so that we can send the scouts out right away."

"I could go myself. No one knows that area better than I do. I grew up playing in those ravines," she said.

"No! You"re needed here," he said.

Happiness swelled within her. He did care. This proved it. Opal didn"t bother to hide her changing scent. Hades" pupils contracted as he inhaled and she saw his c.o.c.k swell once more.

Opal moistened her lips. "I could remedy your condition before I go." She allowed her gaze to linger on the impressive bulge straining his pants.

Hades shook his head. "There"s no time. I don"t want Slavers believing that they can enter my realm whenever they feel like it with impunity. No one comes into my kingdom without my permission. Now go!"

Stunned once more by his refusal, Opal bowed. "As you wish."

CHAPTER THREE.

Meanwhile in the city of New Atlantis...

Dr. Rachel Evans, Jaclyn Ward, and Brigit Taylor sat around the communal table, picking at the Zaronian fruit in front of them. Rachel"s two children, Loki, a boy who looked just like his father, King Eros and a dark-haired girl, Persephone, who was the spitting image of her mother, played rambunctiously with Jac"s son, t.i.tus.

"Not much has changed," Rachel said, glancing at her friends around the table. It was of course an understatement. Their lives had been turned upside down and blended for good measure, before being tossed to the other side of the galaxy.

Brigit looked down at her expanding belly. "Are you blind?" She pointed to her obvious pregnancy for emphasis.

Rachel giggled. "Relax, I was kidding. Maybe a few things have changed."

Brigit snorted, then touched her nose to m.u.f.fle the sound. She picked up a spear of fruit and nibbled on the end.

"t.i.tus, what did I tell you about hitting Loki?" Jac shouted. "Don"t make me come over there."

The dark-haired boy stopped and looked at his mother. His green eyes sparkled mischievously before he replied. "You said, don"t hit anyone unless they hit you first."

Jac rolled her eyes and looked at Rachel and Brigit. "I didn"t say that."

"Sure you didn"t," Rachel and Brigit said in unison.

Jac grinned. "I swear that boy is his father"s son. If I didn"t love him so much, I"d throttle his father for getting me into this mess."

Brigit and Rachel laughed. Both of them knew that t.i.tus might "look" like his father, but his personality was out and out Jac.

"Doesn"t it seem like we"ve done this before?" she asked, indicating to the lunch on the table in front of them.

Jac snorted. "Yeah, but the last time we were sitting in the Met Museum in New York, b.i.t.c.hing about your latest boyfriend. What was that loser"s name again?" she asked without waiting for an answer. "I still can"t believe you f.u.c.king talked me into leaving Earth." Her voice dropped to a whisper, when the curse slipped from her lips. She glanced over to make sure the children hadn"t heard her.

Rachel arched a brow. "I didn"t talk you into anything. I asked if you"d come. Besides, you looked pretty willing to me, especially after Ares got you naked. We heard you screaming out your o.r.g.a.s.ms halfway across the jungle."

"Yeah, well, by the time I found you in that c.r.a.ptastic jungle, Eros had already knocked you up. So you"re one to talk, s.l.u.t!" Jac said, whispering once more.

"You"re such a b.i.t.c.h!" Rachel countered, not bothering to be quiet.

"Mommy said a bad word," Persephone said.

"Bad mommy." Brigit burst into giggles. Her laughter was followed by a wave of tears. "Ignore me. I can"t seem to control the water works."

"It"s okay, Brig. We understand." Jac shrugged off the insult and smiled. "At least I had a good time, before my man came in and swept me off my feet. G.o.d, I can"t believe I just said that out loud. I"m pretty sure that confession made me vomit a little in my mouth."

Brigit"s tears dried instantly and she cracked up again. "You"re so gross."

"Hey!" Rachel"s brow furrowed. "I had fun."

Brigit rubbed her belly and chortled. "With all the losers you used to date? Doubtful. I remember her mentioning something about small d.i.c.ks or needing a d.i.c.k. Don"t you, Jac?"

"Yes!" Jac"s blue eyes widened dramatically. "Vividly."

Rachel chucked a piece of fruit at Jac"s head. Her friend ducked easily. "Okay, fine. Go ahead and gang up on me, but it"s not going to get you out of helping me host this Christmas party," she said. "I"m tired of just celebrating Atlantean holidays. I want some of our own."

"G.o.d, I was hoping that you"d forgotten all about that idea." Jac slumped in her chair.

Brigit pulled a face. "It"s not Christmas yet. Not sure you noticed, but the Atlanteans don"t even celebrate Christmas. If it weren"t for all their surveillance recordings, I wouldn"t even be able to get my horoscope."

"Oh the horror," Jac said.

Rachel sighed. "I"m not talking about horoscopes. Christmas is a major holiday. If more and more human women are going to be living on Zaron, then the Atlanteans and the Phantom Warriors are going to have to do more than learn about some of our customs. They are going to have to accept them and partic.i.p.ate."

"Where are we supposed to find a Christmas tree?" Jac picked up a piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth. "This stuff tastes like c.r.a.p. What I wouldn"t give for a good espresso right now."

Rachel gave Jac the stink eye. "You can"t have caffeine in your condition and you know it."

Brigit sat up abruptly. "What? Are you saying... Are you?"

Jac"s pale face turned bright pink.

Brigit crossed her arms over her growing chest in mock disgust. "Why am I always the last one to know? So not fair." She rolled her eyes. "Your horoscope didn"t mention anything about an impending arrival."

"I don"t want to talk about it," Jac growled.

"You don"t have to, but eventually you"re going to show," Rachel said. "Then everybody will know that you let Ares "s.e.x you up" again."

"Still not talking about it," she said. "I thought you wanted to plan a party."

Rachel let her friend off easy. The pregnancy had been a shock to Jac, since they hadn"t been trying. Rachel knew that was Jac code for: When Ares returned from routine patrol, we s.h.a.gged like bunnies and didn"t think about the consequences.

Deep down Jac was thrilled. There was no doubt in Rachel"s mind. But her friend was still trying to get used to the idea that she was now a mom and not a high-powered shark of an attorney. It didn"t matter that t.i.tus was four. Jac had just never pictured herself as domesticated and she was still trying to get used to the idea. Eventually the kicking and screaming would end, but until then, they would continue to show their solidarity.

"We can get a tree from the forest," Brigit said.

"They"re the size of redwoods or hadn"t you noticed?" Jac said.

Brigit"s shoulders slumped. "Don"t be mad at me. I didn"t let your secret slip."

"That"s only because you didn"t know it, oh blabby one," Jac retorted.

Everyone knew that Brigit couldn"t keep a secret to save her life. It was one of the things they loved about her.

"Okay, so we get a "baby tree" from somewhere. It doesn"t have to look like a pine. As long as it has leaves and branches, it"ll do," Rachel said.

"We don"t have any wrapping paper," Brigit said. "Or costumes."

Rachel shrugged. "We"ll improvise."

"Costumes?" Jac said. "This isn"t Halloween."

Brigit pouted and her eyes filled with tears once more. She scrubbed a hand over her face.

"So when do you want to throw this party?" Jac asked, ignoring her.

"In a week," Rachel said.

"A week!" Jac shouted. "Are you insane? We can"t get everything together in seven days."

Brigit beamed and her tears slowed to a stop. "I think it sounds like a great time. I"m sure we can put something together in a week. Besides, it isn"t like the Atlanteans or the Phantoms are super familiar with celebrating Earth"s holidays. We can do anything we like...like wear costumes." She gave Jac a pointed stare and stuck out her tongue.

Persephone caught her. "Mommy says that"s not nice." She indicated to Brigit"s tongue.

Brigit grinned. "She"s right. Don"t ever do that." She winked at Persephone when she thought Rachel wasn"t looking.

Rachel stood and helped Brigit to her feet. "Good, it"s settled then."

"I"m going to be a dragon." Brigit brushed her belly absently.

Rachel and Jac looked at her. "It"s a Christmas party."

Brigit waved their concerns off. "I know, but Orion and I have fond memories of me being a dragon."

"Fond memories, eh?" Jac snorted. "I bet."

Rachel stifled a giggle. From what Eros had told her, Brigit"s husband had nearly decapitated her by accident, thinking that she was a real beast. If her false head hadn"t fallen off, she might not be here.

"Wear whatever you"d like," she said, meaning it. If nothing else, the costume would be a good conversation starter.

"There they are," a deep male voice called out from across the room.