“You still haven’t answered my question. Why him? Why then?”
Dikastas shrugged. “Simple. Someone gave Archon the intel that Apollymi was awaiting the return of her precious Kissare, and she mistook the dull god as her Sephiroth come back to be with her. The spy fed Archon enough information that he was able to dupe her into thinking that he was her betrayed lover reborn as a god. That was why she agreed to set him up as her king and allowed him to rule over her. At least for a time.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t?”
“Yeah. Very much so. Kissare loved Apollymi. He gave his life for her and for their son. There was nothing altruistic about Archon. He was much like you.”
Apollo’s eyes narrowed. But he chose to ignore the dig. “Who was he working with?”
“No one knows. Archon refused to betray his informant. He was too grateful to be the king of his own pantheon to ever give over the name of someone Apollymi would have surely gutted.”
Apollo considered that for a few minutes. “Was Kissare ever reborn?”
“Again, no one knows. But I’d say he must have been.”
“Why?”
“Because someone fathered Acheron. Knowing Apollymi as I do and how she is, I would lay my money and life that Kissare was the father of both her sons. You find out who Acheron’s real father is and you will find out who Apollymi really loves.”
“You think he’s still alive?”
Dikastas cradled his coffee mug as he considered it. “That would be the question of the day, wouldn’t it?”
Urian growled as he cowed the dragon bastard in front of him. He’d had it with the scaly beasts!
Xyn appeared between them. “Problem?”
The dragon raked a look over him that said he’d like to have a little Daimon barbecue. “No.”
Urian scoffed. “Keep walking, Barney. Clubhouse is on your right.” Xyn screwed her face up at his words. “Barney?”
“Big purple bastard. Drives you insane with asinine bullshit, just like your friend there.” He jerked his chin toward the lumbering dragon who’d left them.
Brushing her hand through his hair, she kissed his cheek. “I have so missed you.”
Urian closed his eyes and savored her warmth. “Kanis tin zoi mou pio omorfi.”
She smiled. “You make my life more beautiful, too.”
And that was one of the things he adored most about her. She actually spoke his language.
Rubbing his stomach in a way that set him on fire, she stood way too close for his comfort. “Have you heard from Shadow yet?”
He shook his head. “He’ll let us know as soon as he finds more housing.”
That had been their first quest upon leaving the bedroom. Find new homes for their friends here, as they both knew Falcyn wouldn’t be keen on sharing whenever he returned.
Speaking of …
They heard a sudden loud bellow as her brother and Medea returned.
“Fun times!” Xyn said with an overly exaggerated smile. “Let’s go torment the big guy, shall we?”
Laughing, he followed her.
True to her words, she met Falcyn with a charming grin and grace that only she could pull off. “Like the new decorations? Wall-to-wall dragon?”
The grimace on her brother’s face said that he didn’t appreciate her attempt at humor. At all. “Ha. Hate you so much.”
Xyn took his irritability in stride. “Ah, you’re not fooling anyone. I know you missed me.”
Falcyn made a disgruntled face at her. “Like a bleeding hemorrhoid.”
Urian crossed his arms over his chest. While he didn’t appreciate the tone, he’d stand down only out of respect for the fact that he understood sibling banter. There was no malice backing those words. Had anyone else said something like that to Xyn, he’d have handed them their throat.
And if Falcyn had hurt her feelings, they’d be having blows. Yet as long as she continued to laugh, he’d behave.
Falcyn grimaced. “So what do you plan to do with all of these beasts, Xyn? I’m not planning to let them move in, you know? Definitely not comfortable with them here.”
Xyn smiled adoringly. “Why not? It’s rather cozy, don’t you think? That pink one really goes well with the decor. And it’d keep you from being lonely.” She batted her eyelashes playfully.
It was all Urian could do not to double over with laughter.
Falcyn let out a sound of supreme disgust. “You know why. And don’t start on me. As the old saying goes, door’s on the wall.”
She snorted like a horse. “Oh, relax, you old mangy beast. They’re not planning to stay, anyway. We’re just messing with you.”
His relief was tangible.
Xyn met Medea’s gaze and shook her head. “How do you put up with him?”
“I think he’s hilarious.”
She popped Falcyn on the stomach. “This one’s a keeper, brother. You better not let her go.”
Urian had just gone over to help one of the dragons who was having problems with his wings when a light dimmed near them.
The dragon tensed.
“Easy. It’s just Shadow returning.” He’d know that power surge anywhere.
Sure enough, Shadow popped in across the room, near Xyn.
Inclining his head to Falcyn, he approached Xyn and Shadow.
“Any luck?”
Shadow nodded. “Yeah. I have a few more willing to shelter dragons.”
Falcyn let out an audible sigh. “Shadow … you’re my man.”
Shadow let out a nervous laugh. “Since when?”
“Since I saved your ass. How are you feeling?”
“Like I had the hell beat out of me.… And you’re welcome.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Falcyn’s expression said those words chafed him. Yet the gleam in his eyes betrayed his amusement. “How has Varian failed to gut you all these centuries?”
“Not from lack of effort on his part, I assure you. I’m just quicker than he is.”
Falcyn shook his head. “Anyway, I’m glad to see you back on your feet.”
“Glad to be back on my feet. Especially without Varian hovering over me like some great hairy mother. And I heard you made friends with little brother Lombrey.”
“Yeah, you can keep him.”
“Hmmm, so everyone keeps telling me. He’s actually not so bad. Get him liquored up and laid, you can get about five or ten minutes of peace before he’s in your face again.”
Falcyn made a face of distaste. “So that’s your secret.”
“Basically. I find it works on most people.”
Falcyn laughed. “And why is it that I think there’s a little more to it than you’re letting on?”
“Again, he’s not so bad. You just have to understand where he’s coming from. We’re all creatures of the hell that birthed us. Are we not?”
“True.” Falcyn stepped back as one of the dragons approached them.
“Are the sanctuaries ready?” he asked Shadow.
Shadow nodded. “They’re being prepared.”
“Thank you.”
“Our pleasure.”
He placed a kiss on Xyn’s cheek, and Falcyn then turned toward Shadow. “Can I beg a favor?”
“Shoot you in the head? Sure.”
Falcyn rolled his eyes and ignored that comment. “Can you get me back in, near my son?”
Shadow made a truly spectacular sound of scoffing disbelief. “And what level of special stupidity have you achieved, dragon? I know you took a significant hit to the head, but didn’t realize it’d given you brain damage. Should we get you a CAT scan? Dog scan?”
“Ha ha. And I’m serious.”
“Yeah … so am I. I actually like having my bollocks attached to my body. While I don’t get to use them as much as I’d like, I still prefer the comfy feeling of having them there over the alternative of seeing them in a jar on my desk.”
“Then you’ll help me or I know what to attack.”
A
“How have you managed to live so long without anyone killing you, again?”
“Told you, I’m fast on my feet.” Shadow sighed. “So when do you want to partake of your suicide?”
Falcyn glanced around his crowded home. “Now would be a good time. It’ll keep me from freaking out over my OCD.”
Xyn scowled “OCD?”
“Overpopulated Communal Den.” He pointed to the group. “Get rid of that while I’m gone.”
She rolled her eyes at her brother. “Ugh, you big baby. You never did learn to share!”
“Oh, that’s not true. I learned to share pain and misery early on.”
“No, no. You learned to deliver pain and misery. Big difference. Being a carrier and deliverer isn’t the same as sharing, m’gios. Do not confuse those terms.”
“You’re determined to annoy me, aren’t you?”
Xyn smiled. “Always. Aren’t you glad now that you woke me?”
“Thinking I should have overlooked your statue.” Falcyn growled in the back of his throat. “Blaise! Why did we wake Xyn again?”
“You missed her!” he called out across the room.
“I lied!”
Xyn pushed him toward Shadow. “Go on and take him before he has a nervous breakdown. Or I kill him.”
Medea laughed. “C’mon, dragonfly.”
Urian went over to Xyn as they headed off. “Should I have gone?”
“Nah. They’ll be fine. Besides, I like having you here.”
He liked being here with her. For too long he’d been alone.
Xyn watched as Urian went to help the younger ones, and her heart broke for him. She had so much guilt over what she’d done. By helping her brothers, she’d abandoned him.
She hated the years that had been stolen from them. Damn Apollo for this.
Somehow she was going to make it up to Urian.
And pay Apollo with interest.
Apollo froze as he saw Morgen approaching his throne. Her hair was singed, her dress torn and filthy. “You look a little worse for the wear, love.”
She actually shot a blast at him. “You bastard!”
He arched a brow at her. “Temper, temper. Be careful with that, lest I take offense.”
“Take all you want! What happened to the dragonstone you promised me?”
“Patience. The game isn’t over. Just a slight reset on the board.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He let out a long, weary sigh. “I forget that you’re not a god. Playing with people’s lives isn’t something you’ve much experience with. Sometimes you have to let things run their course.”
“Meaning?” she repeated.
“Meaning the good guys had all the dragons … now they don’t. And Urian holds the blood of Apollymi, Bet, Set, and Acheron …”
Morgen sucked her breath in as she finally understood. “He’s the key to bringing them all down.”
“Isn’t he, though. And you know what we’ve just discovered?”
A slow smile curved her lips. “The source of his undoing.”
Apollo nodded slowly. With Phoebe under his control, he didn’t need to find Acheron’s father. He had something even better at his disposal.
Acheron’s comeuppance.
Because that was the beauty of being a god of prophecy. He knew the future.
The final fate of the world … of all humanity wasn’t really in the hands of Acheron or even Apollymi.
It was in the bloodline of Urian’s family.
And now it was in his.
October 28, 2017
Medea had dreaded this moment for days. But it was something that had to be done and something that she didn’t want Urian to discover on his own. Better the news come from someone he loved than to be dumped on him by accident.
How she’d allowed Falcyn to talk her into doing this in Acheron’s palace on Katateros, she had no idea. She definitely loved the beast. Only that could account for this level of insanity.
But in the end, he was right. It was better that Urian be comfortable and surrounded by family when he learned the truth than to be blindsided and surrounded by strangers. That wouldn’t bode well for anyone.
Still …
This was nerve-racking. The huge marble palace was awe-inspiring, as one would expect the home of ancient gods to be. It had been built to impress, and she was definitely not immune to its austerity.
Acheron’s throne was set off to her right on a massive dais where several small little dragonlike creatures were currently curled around and napping with Acheron’s two sons. The way the creatures were entwined, she wasn’t even sure how many of them there were.
Simi and her Charonte sister were on the floor to her left, watching some shopping network channel on a massively huge monitor that was mounted to the wall on her left. Completely content, they were eating barbecue-drenched popcorn out of a bowl they shared that was perched between them while Acheron’s steward, Alexion, and his wife, Danger, kept it filled to capacity.
Urian’s father, Styxx, met her and Falcyn in the doorway. At almost seven feet in height, he was an impressively handsome beast. Dressed in a casual blue button-down shirt and jeans, he was a far cry from Ash’s preferred Goth style. “Yeah, we know. But it keeps them out of trouble and stops them from putting horns on the babies’ heads.”
Medea laughed as she saw that Urian’s birth mother, Bethany, was holding their youngest son in her arms and cooing to the toddler. “So this is the little Aricles I keep hearing about from big brother Urian.”
With her black spiral curls pulled away from her face in a ponytail, Bethany rubbed her son’s back. Her caramel skin was flawless over sharply chiseled features. “Would you like to hold him?”
“I might keep him if I do.”
Ari smiled as he looked up at her. “Mimi?”
Completely sunk, Medea took him and was lost the moment he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her with a giddy squeal and bounce. It’d been so long since she last held a baby that she’d forgotten just how wonderful it felt to have such unbounded affection.
That was the hardest part about being around Daimons; they couldn’t have children. Only Apollites could.
Falcyn brushed his hand through her hair. “You okay?”
She nodded. “You’re screwed, though. Word of warning. I want a bunch of these again.”
He wrinkled his nose as Aricles squeezed Falcyn’s finger and bit it. “I don’t know. He’s kind of smelly and leaking out both ends.”
Bethany laughed. “It doesn’t bother you when it’s yours who smells that way.”
“If you say so.” He met Styxx’s gaze doubtfully.
Styxx cleared his throat. “I’m agreeing with Beth. All the way.”
“That’s because my brother is not a fool.” Acheron came in and clapped his hands on Styxx’s shoulders.
Medea froze at the sight of them together. While she knew they were identical, except for their eye color and hair color—and that only because Acheron artificially colored his black and red—it was still shocking to see them side-by-side like this.
If the two of them put their minds to it, there would really be no way to tell them apart.
Spooky.
“Dear gods, who’s dead?”
They all froze as Urian came into the room to catch them gathered there.
“Please tell me it’s Stryker.” There was no missing the hopeful tone in Urian’s voice.
“Not funny.” Medea handed Aricles back to Bethany as she braced herself for the last thing she wanted to do. How in the world was she going to tell Urian about Phoebe …
Now she wished she’d taken Davyn up on his offer to be here for this confrontation. But then she wasn’t a coward and Urian was her brother.
I can do this.
Falcyn put his hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was with her. She took comfort in his presence. And with a deep breath, she braced herself for what was going to be a horrible reaction.
Real bad.
“There’s something I need to tell you, Urian. Something you’re not going to believe.”
“I’ve won the lottery?”
She rolled her eyes at his misplaced and extremely irritating humor. “No. It’s about Phoebe.”
The color faded from his cheeks. When he spoke, his tone was brittle. “What about her?”
There was no easy way to do this. So she settled on just ripping the Band-Aid off as quickly and mercifully as possible. “Stryker didn’t kill her that night. She’s still alive.”
Gah, that sounded harsh even to her own ears. She could kick her own ass.
Delicate, thy name is not Medea.
He staggered back into his father’s arms and would have fallen had Styxx not been there. “What?”
“Breathe,” Styxx whispered in his ear. “I’ve got you.”
Urian shook his head. “It’s not possible.”
I feel that, brother.
But she had to be strong for him. And she had no choice now except to see this through. “Both Davyn and I saw her. She’s alive, Urian. Just not the same.”
Urian’s head spun from the emotions that took turns assaulting him. Disbelief. Anger. Pain. Betrayal. He couldn’t even settle on one. As soon as he thought he had one emotion, it melted into another.
He glared at Acheron. “Did you know?”
“I swear on my mother’s life, I had no idea. She’s not human, so I can’t see her fate. It’s beyond my powers. If I’d known, I’d have told you.”
Urian blinked and blinked again as he slowly digested her news. “Stryker knew?”
She nodded weakly.
Of course the bastard knew. Why would he think otherwise? “Why didn’t he tell me?”
“He didn’t want you to feel guilty for what she’s become. For what she did.”
What? He scowled at her. “What she did?”
Medea looked away as if she couldn’t bear to tell him that part. “She went trelos, Uri. She attacked the commune where you had her housed.”
No. They’d have told him.
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