by Ella Frank
Leo followed behind, not willing to leave it at that. He couldn’t stand by and watch Elias… Oh god.
“You said you wouldn’t kill him. He’s my friend.”
Vasilios whisked the towel from around his hips and dropped it on the floor. “I am more than aware of what I said to you, agóri.”
Refusing to be distracted by his nakedness, Leo averted his eyes. “Then why are you doing this?”
He’d barely finished speaking when Vasilios appeared in front of him, his hands gripping his biceps as he dragged him so close that his damp skin soaked through Leo’s khaki pants.
“Your friend brought much pain to my kind over the last several days.”
Leo swallowed past the lump lodged in his throat as his heart jackhammered in his chest.
Vasilios placed his lips on his cheek and whispered in a voice he hadn’t heard since the vampire had threatened his life. “Do not think that, because I have a fascination with you, I can be swayed from conducting business that keeps my kind thriving. Survival comes first every time. You should keep that in mind the next time you open your mouth. Or I will punish you.”
As those threatening lips made their way to his ear, Leo trembled.
“How curious,” Vasilios murmured. “Are you disturbed or as aroused as I am right now?”
Leo bit the inside of his cheek and then angled his head so he could look Vasilios in the eyes. “Disturbed. You’re a liar.”
Vasilios swept one of his hands down and cupped him through his pants. “Sometimes,” he agreed. “Hmm, you really are disturbed. I will have to rectify that somehow. I prefer you when your cock is hard for me.”
Deciding to ignore that, Leo forged ahead. “Why lie to me and tell me you would keep him alive?”
“Because I wanted you. I wanted my blood in your veins, just as it flows through Alasdair.”
“So you told me what I wanted to hear.”
“Yes.”
“And now what?” Leo asked, pulling his head back. “Now you kill him? Kill Elias and Paris, who has done nothing to you?” He shoved Vasilios away from him with more force than he’d ever imagined possessing.
“Why are you so surprised? You know who we are. You have seen what we are capable of. Tell me, Leonidas Chapel, why is it acceptable for him to have tried to kill my family, yet unacceptable for me to avenge them?”
When he said it like that, Leo had no answer, nothing substantial.
“Tell me. Why should I let him live?”
Leo shut his eyes as he scrambled for something to grasp, some kind of reason that could sway the most powerful creature he’d been in the presence of to listen to him. In the end, he opened his eyes, looked into Vasilios’s, and whispered, “Because you can.”
Vasilios studied him for a moment longer and then simply answered, “No.”
THE SOUND OF footsteps could be heard through the wall Elias had his back pressed against. He’d been sitting in the same spot for hours now. Maybe the entire night. Legs drawn up, his knees against his chest, as he watched Paris closely. The young man hadn’t said two words since their last conversation, and he couldn’t really blame him. Elias had sounded like a lunatic.
Paris was directly opposite him in the oval room, but with the stretch of space between them, they might as well have been on different sides of the planet. As it was, he didn’t even know where on the planet they were.
When the footsteps stopped, he scrambled to his feet. He was about to cross over to his friend when Leo’s vampire, Alasdair, appeared directly in his path, followed by a behemoth of a male who accessorized with blades of all varying sizes.
During the previous times they’d met, Alasdair had appeared casual and everyday normal. Elias never would have thought he was anything other than a regular citizen in society. An extremely intimidating someone, but still, he came off human enough.
Right now was a different story altogether.
Dressed in some kind of formal attire, Alasdair had a regal air about him. His command and power radiated off him as he stood with his enormous henchman between him and Paris, who’d now gotten to his feet. Even if he hadn’t been aware of it prior to now, it was more than apparent that Alasdair was important to the hierarchy of this place.
“I am here to retrieve you. This can go one of two ways. Easy or difficult. The decision is yours.”
Elias glanced at Paris, whose back was to the wall. He was pale as a ghost as his eyes darted back and forth between the two standing in between them.
“If I make it easy, will you let him go?”
Alasdair walked towards him and clasped his hands together. “I don’t think you understand. I am not here to bargain with you. I am here to retrieve you.”
It was clear he would get nowhere going at this guy with that angle, but maybe… “Where’s Leo?”
Alasdair’s hint of hesitation at the question intrigued him. Apparently, the idea of his coworker at least made this asshole stop and think.
“How do you think he’s going to look at you if you hurt me? Or him?”
As Alasdair closed the final distance between them in menacing silence, Elias backed all the way up to the wall.
“Leonidas is no longer your concern.”
“So he’s what? Yours?” Elias straightened his shoulders. He was slightly taller than the male in front of him, and he was egotistical enough that the fact Alasdair had to tilt his head up gave him immense satisfaction. “If you hurt me or Paris, Leo will never forgive you.”
Alasdair grabbed his shirt, and before Elias could blink, he’d hoisted him up and off his toes. Yeah, okay, that’s not fucking intimidating or anything. As the male studied him, his blood raced around his head in a loud rush.
“Do not speak of him again in my presence. Do you understand?”
His time left actually breathing was likely coming to a close, and he’d never been one to heed a warning, so of course he didn’t take note of this one. “Don’t like to think about that, huh? Yeah, I get it. Leo—he’s a great guy. Smart as hell, stubborn, impulsive, oh, and loyal. Well, usually.”
Alasdair’s fangs punched out of his gums, and Elias gave an arrogant-as-fuck smile. He’d hit on something there. Possession. Yeah, their kind was extremely territorial over what they considered theirs. All animals were.
“He’s too good for you,” Elias taunted, seeing how far he could go. “He’s meant for a much higher purpose than to be your—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” Alasdair snarled.
Elias grabbed the wrist in front of him and held Alasdair’s stare. “I don’t have to. You already know it’s the truth.”
As the final word left his mouth, there was an insistent pressure by his temple as the vampire tried to invade his mind, and then he laughed.
“Oh, sorry. Please continue.”
He was jerked down so he was eye to eye with Alasdair, and the stunning shade of green was darkening.
“Can’t find what you’re looking for? That’s a shame.”
“What are you?” Alasdair grated out. “There is no way a human can cause the damage you did. Or block us out as you can.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Alasdair’s dark presence was fulminating with his rage. “The only reason you still breathe is because there is someone much more vicious than I who wants your head.”
“That must be a real shame for you. Dying to kill me yourself, aren’t you?”
“What are you? What is Leonidas?”
Elias managed a halfhearted shrug. As soon as it was apparent Alasdair would get no more information from him, he was dumped on his ass. Then the vampire slowly turned to see past the monstrous vampire standing guard of Paris.
“Just because you will not speak,” Alasdair said, crouching to eye him with malicious intent, “does not mean someone else you told will not.” As he straightened to his full height, he strode across the room and issued an order to Goliath. “Cuff him.”
/> PARIS WAS PARALYZED like a deer in headlights as the man he’d once shared coffee with in Leo’s apartment stalked him—and stalk was the only word for it. He was prowling across the room with coal-black eyes pinning him in place as if he were anticipating his every move. It was eerie and unnerving, and it made his palms sweat.
When he’d poofed in there from out of nowhere, Paris had gotten to his feet pretty damn quickly. He hadn’t wanted to be sitting on his ass if this guy, man, or…or vampire came any closer—just as he was doing now.
The other one who’d appeared with him, the one who looked like a bulldozer, was currently blocking his view of Elias, who’d just been tossed aside like a rag doll. And all that was running through Paris’s mind was, I’m going to die. This…this guy I had coffee with at Leo’s is going to kill me.
“Come here.”
The two words were so far removed from what he’d expected that he made himself put one foot in front of the other and walk towards Leo’s guy—however fucking terrifying he might have been.
“I’m pleased to see that you know how to follow an order. That will likely work in your favor when your fate is decided. If you behave as your friend over there, however, whatever happens to you will be nice and drawn out. I’m sure you can imagine how unpleasant that will be.”
Paris could hear him talking, but all he could focus on were the pointy tips of what he assumed were this guy’s fangs. Vampire, vampire, he is a fucking vampire.
“That’s quite accurate. I am a vampire,” he admitted, leaning forward. He was so close that Paris could see his black eyes shimmer like the flash of a light had passed behind the irises. “The question is: What are you?”
And the first thing that came to mind was his conversation with Elias. We are their descendants, which makes us demigods.
MINUTES BEFORE THEY were due at the Assembly Hall, Diomêdês arrived to collect Isadora. When he walked into the room, the bed was made and the candles were lit. He scanned the space, spotted the shut door of their closet, and made his way over towards it.
He’d gotten ready in a separate room this morning, sensing she might have needed some space leading up to the trial, and once he’d gotten closer and the door had opened, he stopped in his tracks.
As always, the sight of her filled him with pride. Just as he, she was dressed in full regalia. His Isa was stunning.
She stepped out into the room, where he was waiting patiently, and when he extended his hand, she placed hers in his.
“As always, my sire, you look exceedingly handsome.”
“As you are beautiful.”
He urged her closer with a soft tug of his hand, and she came to him. When he placed his fingers on her cheek, he shut his eyes and let his thoughts drift into hers.
Are you well enough for this, Isa?
She brought her hand up to cover his, and when his eyes opened, she nodded.
“I am.”
“You are courageous, mikri mou polemistria.”
She squared her shoulders, and her eyes glowed under the praise. “You are the strength in my backbone, the fire in my blood. You are the conviction in my actions, and with you beside me, it is easy to be brave.”
He smoothed his hand down to her arm and inclined his head. “You have always been brave, even without me. And you always avenge those you love.”
A flicker of something he couldn’t quite pinpoint crossed her features, and then she schooled them.
“Will Thanos be in attendance today?”
He shook his head. “No. Eton said he will not leave his room. He also will not let anyone enter it.”
She gasped and covered her mouth.
“He will be okay,” he tried to reassure her.
“Will he?” she asked, her earnest eyes holding his. “I don’t understand any of this. How Elias could have—” Then she caught herself and lowered her gaze.
He placed a finger beneath her chin and raised her face to his. “It is okay to feel—”
“No, it is not,” she snapped and then spun away from him. “Do you ever feel sad? Feel guilt? Do you ever curl up on that bed and cry for a human?” She looked over her shoulder at him.
Diomêdês could sense her shame, her mortification.
“I don’t want to feel anything for him. Not even hate. I want to be indifferent. That’s how he was when he stood over me. Watching me suffer.”
As she turned from him, Diomêdês came up behind her and ran his fingers down her hair. “He wasn’t so indifferent when you were brought back to me. He was defiant, possessive, and he was proud to tell me he had lain with you. I do not think these are emotions one would possess if they did not feel anything. The question is: What do you want, my Isa?”
She pivoted back to face him, and as they stared at one another, he took her hands in his and nodded. No words were needed—he already knew what she wanted.
LEO SAT ON the bed and waited for Vasilios to emerge from the massive closet. He was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he’d more than likely condemned his friends to death. But, every time he tried, his brain rejected the notion as not possible.
I couldn’t have been that stupid, could I?
He chided himself as he thought of Elias. He’d been so angry with him for having lied, for having kept secrets about his life from him. But he didn’t want him dead. He didn’t want anyone dead. That’s why he’d told Alasdair where the woman had been.
What was it about death and destruction that seemed to be following him around lately? And had he really thought that Vasilios would keep his end of the bargain? That he would keep Elias and Paris safe?
Oh god. Paris. He must be freaking out.
He’d done this, given himself over in the hope of saving them, but instead of accomplishing that, he’d been the orchestrator in sending them all to their fucking deaths.
“You cannot go to a trial dressed like that.”
At the sound of Alasdair’s voice, Leo shot to his feet. He had appeared in front of him, and he looked…devastating. Like a crowned member of royalty, minus the crown.
“Around here, that is exactly what I am. And, consequently, what you will be too. Now, come. You need to be presentable to stand by me.”
As Alasdair reached for him, Leo shrank back.
“Where is Elias? Paris? I know you went to get them.”
“For now, they are in a holding cell outside the Assembly Hall, awaiting the rest of us. If you do not wish for them to be there longer than the five minutes that is left to make you acceptable, I suggest you hurry, or Vasilios will become aggrieved.”
Leo allowed him to clamp his fingers around his wrist. “He’s going to kill them, isn’t he?”
Alasdair’s stoic expression didn’t change as he told him, “One can never predict Vasilios’s actions. Or his mood, for that matter. However, some new information has come to”—Alasdair paused, and then his lips twitched— “light. So to say.”
Leo narrowed his eyes on him, trying to gauge his mood, but it was impossible to garner anything from his unreadable features—not to mention his empty thoughts. “I don’t understand.”
“I know. But I finally do. Come, Leonidas. We have somewhere to be.”
“TODAY’S MY BIRTHDAY,” Paris said as the impenetrable iron door of their new prison was shut. “Not really how I envisioned spending it. Just sayin’.”
Elias, who was standing with his back against one of the four walls, looked worse than Paris remembered having ever seen him. Worried fingers had messed up his hair, and he had at least three days’ worth of stubble along his jaw. The white shirt that was usually buttoned to the neck, pressed, and accessorized with a tie currently had one side tail out of his dress slacks, and the neckline was hanging open by three buttons. The fabric was crushed, and right then, Elias resembled a man who’d spent the week in Vegas and barely survived.
Pity that that wasn’t the actual reason for his appearance. No, instead, two thick cuffs surrounded his wrists,
similar to the ones also around his own.
“Elias,” he said as he walked over to his friend. “You need to help me out here. Tell them what they want to know. They…they want to kill you.”
Elias raised his head, and when their gazes clashed, he replied, “And, now, you.”
Paris staggered back from him, his hands shaking. “Me? What… Why?”
“It’s not your fault,” Elias said. “You didn’t know.”
Paris frowned so hard that his head throbbed from the intensity.
“I didn’t have time to tell you,” he murmured as he examined their small confines.
The chain that attached their cuffed hands to a metal hook on the floor rattled against the stone floor, grating Paris’s nerves like nails down a chalkboard.
“Tell me what the fuck you are talking about before you’re dragged out of here and killed.”
Elias’s eyes found his, and they seemed conflicted, as if he weren’t sure that telling him now would make any difference. “They can hear what you’re thinking, Paris. If they are listening, they can hear what you’re thinking. And back there, when he asked what you were—”
“I immediately thought of what you said.” Paris dropped his head forward and looked at the floor. “This is absurd,” he said as he thought back to the conversation and demigods… “This is absurd.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Once Leo found out, then it was supposed to be you. Then we were supposed to find them. The problem is—”
“That vampire found Leo first,” he said, not quite believing he was following the crazy thread of this conversation.
Vampires? Demigods? What the fuck? When did my life become a fantasy novel? The more he thought about everything he’d seen, though, the more he was starting to believe.
“Yes.”
“So, if this was all supposed to happen in a particular order, what happens now that the order is fucked up? And I’m sorry, but what’s my role again? I’m just the idiot moron who knows nothing? The character in the movie who finds out too late and dies?”
