Hope of Realms

HOPE OF REALMS BLOOD OF ZEUS: BOOK FIVE ANGEL PAYNE This book is an original publication of Waterhouse Press. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content. Copyright © 2023 Waterhouse Press, LLC Cover Design & Images by Regina Wamba Interior Cover Images: Shutterstock All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For Leo You are the hope of all my realms, the pride of my soul, and all the best parts of my world. “If you believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?” — Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Acknowledgments Also by Angel Payne About Angel Payne CHAPTER ONE MAXIMUS Since the day our fingers first touched, Kara Valari has changed my life in a hundred incredible ways. A million surreal moments. But never so much as this one. I’m still in my own apartment, surrounded by all my familiar things—but my world is upended. Catapulted to someplace far different than the hell I traversed to rescue her or the magically cloaked ashram in which we both tried to recover from the ordeal. My mind battles to grasp an announcement that overshadows either of those experiences. Larger than falling in love with her in the first place, and then the moment I learned, from the king of the gods himself, that I’m his bastard son. That was all before learning everything about her. That nearly from the second she was born, she was promised in marriage to another. An incubus who’d help her make more demons for the glory of Hades and the underworld. But because of the extra element in her blood, she was saved by her witch sisters for another destiny. The path of falling in love with me. But she and I didn’t need the help. I’m sure of it, down to the marrow of my bones, as I gaze at her now. Her beauty has never sucked away more of my breath. Her hair shines brighter in the late-afternoon sun streaming through the big windows. Her skin is practically glowing. The edges of her lips, caught by uncertain quirks, have never been more captivating. Even as they open to stammer out words at her brother. The exact same words screaming through my mind. “Pregnant? Jaden. Come on. This isn’t a fun way to take revenge for the fantasy pony decals on your Daytona car.” “You think that’s what I’m doing right now?” the guy volleys, glaring at her through thick swaths of his hair. “About a subject like this?” Good point. One that has my legs finally giving out, sending my ass down to the cushions of my couch. With one hand, I beckon Kara to join me. As soon as she does, I look back up at Jaden. In the same sweep, I include Kell, who’s communicating more with her silence than any vocal message. Like Jaden, the woman has extrasensory abilities imbued by her demon DNA. Clearly, Kell’s able to smell something extra about her sister while their brother hears it. No. Not something extra. Someone extra. A new life, growing inside my woman this very second. The concept feels too huge to fathom. Too miraculous to embrace. It crowds my senses, huge and hot and looming, tempting me to roar aloud from the pressure. I’ve never been so grateful for the self-containment skills that have been like a sixth sense since childhood. They’ve never been more useful than now, as I return Kell’s and Jaden’s gawks with determined purpose. “We need the room, you guys. Please. If you want to stick close by, Jesse’s probably home by now. He’s three floors down, basically the same unit location. Look for the door knocker that looks carved by a depressed German viscount.” “That supposed to make us feel better?” Kell snaps. “Well, now I’m intrigued,” Jaden adds. Either way, I’m grateful they’re already headed toward the door. I’m even more glad for the warmth of their sister in my arms. But like before, that only scrapes the surface of what I’m truly feeling. Glad is reserved for when Jesse and I finish grading term papers. It’s the satisfying conclusion of a good book. The gratitude for sunshine on the beach in the middle of January. This…is far beyond all that. At least a thousand words past that hill and the twenty behind it. This is the build-up of all those words behind the massive knot in my throat. It’s impossible to whisper everything I planned into Kara’s ear. At this point, I can’t even pluck one out. Nothing feels right enough. Vast enough. Life is suddenly a panorama of possibilities, made even more beautiful by the vision of sharing them with this amazing female. The center of my soul. The bearer of my child. “Maximus?” Her voice, barely a sough, pushes her breath to the front of my left shoulder. It sounds shaky and unsure, raising alarms along my senses, but the last thing she needs right now is me acting like king melodrama. There’ll likely be plenty of time for that soon, if I’m remembering things right from witnessing two Alameda colleagues count down to their own new family additions. Under normal circumstances, I’d laugh