Goddess Of The Underworld.
<b>Chapter </b><b>150 </b>
Levi
<b>6 </b>
The hill hadn’t changed. The flowers Envy had coaxed into being all that time ago still bloomed like they’d never heard of seasons, stubborn and wild. Pinks, yellows, deep
violets sprawled across the slope, thick and alive, as if her magic had rooted them too
deeply to ever fade. The sun was sinking low, throwing gold fire across the petals, and I swear it looked like the earth itself was waiting for her toe back.
“Perfect ce for a date,” Haiden muttered with a smirk, stretching his arms out like he was presenting the whole view.
“About time we put this spot to good use,” Xavier added, already rolling his sleeves like
he was about to build a house instead of a dinner setup.
Noah chuckled low. “Let’s make it better than perfect. She deserves it.”
We all smirked at each other, that silent agreement running deeper than words, and then
we got to work.
I started with the path, because Envy notices the details first. With a flick of my hand, candles rose from the ground, ssnterns curving up in little arcs, lining the trail that wound from the bottom of the hill to the clearing at the top. Each me lit one after the other, soft golden glow leading the way. I added a scattering of petals across the dirt, letting the breeze toss them just enough to look natural.
Haiden leaned over my shoulder. “Fairy lights next.”
I nodded. Together, we strung them between the trees at the lower edge of the hill. Tiny sparks floated into the branches like fireflies, catching on the leaves and weaving themselves into strands until the whole treeline shimmered with soft light. When the wind moved through, they swayed gently, like stars that hade down to sit with us.
Xavier took charge of the space itself. Heid out thick rugs first, fluffy andyered, deep jewel tones against the wildflowers, so the whole ce looked warm and inviting instead of staged. He smoothed them t with that same focus he used with maps,
making sure no corner curled, no thread caught.
“Big enough for her to stretch out,” he muttered. “She doesn’t need to be cramped.”
Next came low tables, conjured up between us. Sturdy wood, round edges, not too tall, just enough to hold tters and candles. I ran my hand over them, and little runes sparked to life along the edges, faint and glowing, casting a warm pulse. They weren’t for magic, just for beauty.
Noah handled the projector and screen. He set it against the backdrop of trees, the canvas pulling taut between two posts he’d conjured. When he tested it, the screen flickered with soft light, the perfect stage for whatever film she wanted. “Something light,” he said under his breath. “Something to make herugh.”
He scatterednterns around the rugs too, low to the ground, the glow soft instead of harsh, throwing long shadows and warm pools of light.
Haiden set the finishing touches: jars of flowers plucked straight from the hillside, arranged in rough bundles that somehow looked effortless. He tucked one near the pillows, another on the tables, a third just inside the path so she’d notice before she
even reached us.
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The food camest. Weid out everything we knew she loved: fresh fruit, honey- drizzled pastries, a tter of meats and cheeses, her favorite bread warm from the oven. The stolen jerky, was stacked neatly in its own bowl, because we knew she’d look for it. And in the center sat a small cake, iced simply and waiting for candles. By the time we stepped back, the hill had transformed. Fairy lights twinkled like constetions strung low, the candles flickered along the path, and the rugs, tables, andnterns made a space that felt both magical andpletely ours. I nced at my brothers, their faces lit in the fading light. Xavier with his quiet pride, Haiden smirking like he’d already won the
night, Noah with his steady satisfaction.
“<b>This</b>,” I said, sweeping a hand out over the hill, “this is worthy of her.”
Haiden grinned. “Damn right it is.”
Xavier smirked. “Now all we need is our girl.”
And just like that, the nerves were gone. We were ready.
I reached out along the bond, brushing Aleisha’s mind with a thought. “<i>You </i>two <i>finished</i>?”
Herugh came back bright and quick. “<i>Yep</i><i>. </i><i>She’s </i><i>rxed</i><i>, </i><i>glowing</i>, <i>and </i><i>about </i><i>to </i>start wondering <i>what’s </i><i>taking </i>so <i>long</i>. <i>Are </i><i>you </i><i>guys </i><i>ready</i><i>?</i><i>” </i>
I smirked, ncing at my brothers, the hill lit behind us like something out of a dream. “Yep. We’re ready. Bring her up.”
Her acknowledgment pulsed warm in my head, then faded. We didn’t linger. All four of
us moved as one, walking down the slope until we reached the bottom of the candle–lit path. The fairy lights shimmered above the trees, the candles flickered along the trail,
and the flowers swayed in the evening breeze. It was everything we’d imagined, but it
didn’t feelplete yet. Not without her. So we waited. Shoulder to shoulder, a line of
four men and the weight of four hellhounds just under our skins. Straight–backed,
steady, every one of us caught between nerves and pride. We weren’t kings of the
Underworld right now, or warriors, or leaders. We were just her men, standing at the start of the path, waiting for our girl toe and see what we’d built for her.
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Branches shifted at the end of the path, and then I saw them. Aleisha came first, grinning like she’d been holding onto the secret all day. She waved at us, her giggle carrying as Tommy appeared behind her, his hand on her elbow, making sure she didn’t trip on the uneven ground.
“Go on,” she whispered loudly to Envy, then winked at me before darting off. Tommy caught her hand, shaking his head, and the two of them disappeared back into the trees, leaving her there, our girl standing in the spill of candlelight. And gods, she took my breath. The white dress flowed around her like it was made of light, simple but elegant, hugging her in all the right ces and spilling softly to her ankles. The fabric skimmed the gentle swell of her bump, the curve of new life growing inside her, and instead of hiding it, the dress made it the most beautiful part of her. She glowed, not just with the shimmer of fairy lights, not just with the sunset bleeding gold across her shoulders, but with something deeper, something only she could carry.
I thought about how lucky we were. How impossible it still felt sometimes that she was
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ours, standing there with her belly round with our pup, smiling like she had no idea she could undo us with one look. I swallowed hard and forced my feet to stay nted, even though every part of me wanted to run to her, take her face in my hands, and kiss her until she forgot the world. Instead, I let myself look, really look at her, and I knew my brothers were doing the same.
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