All Chapters of Red Rover: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

We got the call from Nathan over lunch.We’re sitting with Chris, Esteban, our grandpup Lily, and our triplets, eating homemade pizza. Lily’s nearly a year old, so she’s not having pizza, but she is gumming the hell out of a crust.“Papa, don’t you dare give her any cheese! The last time you did, she exploded out of her diaper like five times. Her little body just isn’t ready. Dr. Addams says she needs another few months,” Chris scolds Zak, who’s teasing Lily with a cheesy bite.“But she loved it. Didn’t you, little bud? You like cheese so much! Just like your Papa Zak,” he coos to her, holding the pizza just out of reach.“Zak, she had an upset tummy the rest of the day,” Kayla says. “Just like Nat! Don’t do that to Lily.”“Fine,” Zak mutters. He sets his pizza down and blows a raspberry on Lily’s belly before putting her back in her high chair beside the triplets.I guess it’d be weird for Natalie, Nixon, and Nolan—all a month younger than Lily—to technically be her aunts and uncle,

Our time in Hermes’ palace was spent resting, bathing, eating, and planning. The Oreiades—mountain-nymphs who follow Hermes—attended to us. Their voices sounded like gravel grinding on granite, low and harsh.Hermes was around, but he mostly kept to himself. Quiet. Present. Attentive. Except with me.I don’t think the Messenger of the Gods likes me all that much. Or he likes me too much. Hard to tell. One minute he’s glaring at me, the next he’s checking me out. I genuinely don’t know how to feel about this dude.He’s sexy—of course he is. All golden skin and layers of muscle. But it’s his eyes that do me in. That electric blue locks onto me like I’m a secret he's already decided to keep.Look, Jacob is still the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. Full stop. But I have eyes. And the Goddess gave us beauty to appreciate, right?Still, there's no desire for anyone other than my mates. JoJo and Jacob are it for me. But Hermes? He pulls at something inside me I don’t understand. It’s not a matebo

We jog the rest of the way down the tunnel, making it to the base of Tisphone’s staircase faster than planned. Adrenaline is high. We’re all amped and ready to end this.But I’m afraid.Dad, Auntie Charlie, Odysseus, Isaac, and Lacy will be fine—they’re already dead. But the rest of us? Ma. Pop. Alexander. Summer. Jared. All of us who still have something to lose?I don’t know if we’re making it out.But I can’t think about that right now. I’ve got to get my head in the game.“Leave your packs and shit here,” Dad tells us. “We need to move fast. The only thing that matters is Alexander’s blade.”“We all ready?” Ma asks.A chorus of “yes” answers her.“Hit the dot,” Pop says.We all press the glowing mark on our hands. It still feels weird—like we’re activating some kind of magical smartwatch embedded in our skin. Cool, but also deeply unsettling.The second the lights on our hands turn solid green, Dad gives the word. “Wait until Tisphone starts reacting. Then we go.”We don’t have to

We ended up leaving the pups back at the pack. Between Brandon’s parents and Clara—Zak’s mom—we had more than enough people to watch over not just the triplets, but little Lily too. Valhalla isn’t a place for pups. Which is why we’re heading there—to get Nyx out.“Kayla, baby,” Zak murmurs, pulling my hand from my mouth. “If you don’t stop biting your nails, you’re going to have stumps for knuckles.” He holds my hand, rubbing my cheek as he watches me.“I know. I’m just so freaked out,” I admit.“We know, Beautiful,” Brandon says, running his fingers through my hair from behind me. “But chewing your nails bloody won’t help.”I lean back against his chest, letting him wrap his arms around me. Zak lifts my feet onto his lap and immediately slides his hand under the leg of my pants, his fingers stroking the skin there.Feeling their hands on me—those soothing, fated sparks—grounds me instantly.“We can’t go into this half-cocked, Princess,” Zak says, his hand creeping higher up my leg. “W

We all limp back to Hermes’s palace: the injured, the gods and goddesses, our ragtag band. And we carry the dead back with us.None of the gods or goddesses have their powers this deep down into Tartarus. They’ll have to wait until we’ve crossed the borders into the Underworld before they can help. Rowen, Ma, and Dad were only able to heal enough of us to keep the worst injuries from bleeding out. They’ll need rest and food before they can do more.The fight with the monsters in Tartarus took its toll on so many of us.Michael and Citra were caught in the crossfire of a fire-breathing Chimera. Michael threw himself over her, trying to protect her. It killed him and severely injured her. Jaiden, who was with them, died from the venomous bite of the Chimera’s serpent tail. Rowen said that by the time he got to Citra, her skin was peeling like burnt paper and she could barely breathe. He managed to heal her enough to stabilize her, but she’s still unconscious—and the matebond tearing made