Sealed by Fate

Chapter 6: The Maze

Summary:

What has Phanes got Zee and Nu into? Never trust a god, even if they  are your family. They will always drag you into the abyss and leave you  to fight their battles.

What was this place? Why were they pulled here? What did the voice  mean, fight or die? Zee kept shaking his head. His ears hurt. His ears  popped again like changing altitudes, but so much worse.

"Nhu,  baby, don't let go of my hand. I don't know why we can't open our eyes,  but we can win any battle if we hold on to each other." Zee felt Nhu's  hum in the bond, affirming that he understood and his hand clasped  tighter.

Why was Nhu not speaking? Was there something wrong?  Suddenly, Nhu sent him love and peace through the bond, reassuring him  he was fine. He needed to do something!

Zee hated that he could  not open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. What nefarious being was  attacking now? Nhu had felt his chaos and, like the loving lifemate he  was, took a moment from whatever was going on in his mind or what he was  doing to reassure him.

Zee loved him so much but also needed to  concentrate on the task. Why were they there? He racked his brain to  think of anything that would remind him of such a place when he was a  god, but nothing came to mind.

Nothing irritated Zee more than the  cryptic. None of this made sense. Zee tried to call his father through  the family bond, but there was nothing but dead space.

The only  bond that worked was his lifemates, for which he was thankful. They both  felt immense pain when their bond was not open to each other.

It  felt like a devastating loss unless they were prepared for each other's  absence. Zee should have kept his lifemate in Olympus. This was not what  he signed up for.

When they agreed to take the portal, Erlonda  had said it was to help Nhu's grandfather. When they stepped from  Erlonda's watery center, Nhu immediately sent his light to help.

However,  there was a cost: the light that Phanes pulled from Nhu made the world  around them more chaotic and his lifemate weaker.

Nothing prepared  Zee for the unknown voice calling for Phanes to stop. He had never  heard that voice before in all his lifetimes. What did he mean by their  demise?

What was Phanes using Nhu's light for? What had Phanes got  them into? Besides all that, the one thing that was even more  terrifying to Zee was the chaos he felt in the air.

Erlonda's  screams and attempts to pull them back were not lost on Zee. They had  heard nothing of her since. Zee's heart twinged with pain at the thought  of Erlonda being hurt.

They already cared for their little fan  girl and could not wait to incorporate her into their growing family. He  hoped she was safe, but he had more important matters now. Zee was in  unknown territory with a pregnant lifemate.

It was one thing to  know that Phanes had brought them to the first world for a purpose, but  this second one.... He had no clue. Why was nothing clear? It was driving  him insane, and his need to protect his lifemate was ever-growing.

He  did not know the intention of the voice that called for their death.  This was not good. He felt Nhu pushing out his light to search for  Phanes.

His huffs of frustration told the tale. Zee could not get  over the fact that something was wrong. When the winds began to rage, he  pulled on Nhu's hand. What was that awful smell? Something was not  right. Zee knew instantly it was a bad idea.

"Pull your light back, babe, before it's too late," Zee screamed over the raging winds.

Nhu  was not ready to stop and continue his search despite the fierce winds  in the cave. Nhu gasped; something sinister brushed against his light,  and when they heard the entity scream, they knew they were not alone.