by C. M. Owens
Finally.
“You two back together, or was this just a quick fix for the big problem?” Kry teases, and I’m sure he’s referring to my scent that has left everyone intoxicated, distracted, and utterly seduced.
“Back together… permanently this time,” Devin asserts. “I’ve already notified the priestess, and she’ll be here within the week,” he murmurs softly.
“When did you do that?” I muse.
“I sent her a text while you were changing,” he says just before gracing my lips with his again. Oh I’ve missed that. “If that’s what you want,” he promptly adds.
“It is,” I purr, and his lips reclaim mine as the heat of my body warms the air.
A gentle throat clearing reminds us we’re not alone, but Devin just smirks as he pulls me closer to his sculpted, toned body.
His lips continue to devour mine, and then Deacon chuckles, “Not that I’m complaining, but what brought the two of you back together?”
“Adisia saw it,” Devin murmurs in a breath between my lips.
“Saw what?” he prompts a little more seriously.
Devin draws back to answer, but his grip refuses to let me go.
“She saw a second shadow attached to me. Any idea what it means?”
They all look as confused as we are. Hale sits back with a scrunched brow as he dives into deep thought. Jace leans forward as though he’s trying to grasp for answers, and his blond looks to be giving the situation some thought as well.
“A literal second shadow?” Kry asks.
“Yes,” I assert confidently.
“I have no idea,” Jace murmurs almost to himself. “I’ve heard of many afflictions, but none of them involve a second shadow. Who would have something to gain from all this?” he muses, and for a fleeting second I’m worried Devin’s about to accuse him.
I’m proud of him when he refrains. Jace has been nothing but exceptional during the hardest time of my life. I won’t let him be attacked, and I don’t want to have to choose sides.
“I’m going to call Mom after I make Adisia something to eat. Did you get what I asked you for?” Devin says to Kry.
“It’s in the fridge,” Kry says with a nonchalant tone.
“Thanks,” Devin says with a grin, and then flashes over to start pulling out pans.
“You don’t have to cook me anything. Sadly enough, I still want fish,” I mumble with some embarrassment, and his lips reconnect with mine while he tugs at my shirt.
“Hearing Jace say it was because of me… It just felt good to know you wanted me, but I can’t watch you eat anything else out of a can. It’s just depressing, and we’re on the ocean. Kry stopped by an all night fish market, and you can still have what you wish. It’ll just be a little less appalling,” he says with a chuckle. “But I refuse to see this spoiled by any frozen dairy products,” he continues playfully.
“No worries,” I rumble with a touch of more embarrassment. “I don’t want anymore ice cream for a long time. You really don’t have to cook anything.”
“I want to. It won’t take long,” he utters so sweetly, and I can’t help but giggle a little at his kitchen finesse.
Kry weaves in to chuckle at the light-footed chef and shakes his head.
“Since when do you cook?” he teases.
“Since when do you doubt my skills?” Devin playfully retorts.
I giggle more, and Jace walks in more seriously.
“If it’s alright with you, I’m going to go ahead and call Theia. This whole shadow business has me concerned. They had to have had an end game. I’m sure it wasn’t just to break you guys up. Adisia has been weak, pale, and even sick quite often,” he murmurs with too much anxiety.
“The wedding wasn’t just a fluke occurrence?” Devin asks as he puts the fish in the oven, and then he flashes over to me.
“Persia said it was because of my Aphrodite being denied. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the shadow,” I quickly insert to deter Devin’s oncoming interrogation.
“Call her,” Devin asserts to Jace, and he nods while pulling out his phone. “Tell me how often,” Devin insists when his eyes turn back to me.
“Not often,” I answer vaguely.
“At least once a week for the past three months. Before that it was just fever and chills. I went along with the Aphrodite explanation then, but now I’m worried,” Jace adds, and then I hear Theia.
“Jace?” she asks quizzically.
“Are you with Persia and Kahl?” he asks.
“Yes. Is something wrong?” she worries. “Is Adisia okay?”
“She’s fine. She and Devin are together again, but-”
“Oh thank heavens,” Persia and Theia murmur in unison with exasperation clearly dulling their tones.
Everyone stifles a laugh, and Devin hides his smirk. I roll my eyes as I tug at Jace’s arm to lower the phone.
“We’re also standing right here,” I admonish.
“Sorry, dear,” Persia rattles out with a bit of humor. “Just glad to see you took my advice.”
“I should have, but that’s not why we’re together. I saw what made Devin stray, and now we don’t know what it is,” I explain.
Devin’s hand intertwines with mine, and his lips graze the top of my head the moment the dreadful words flee my mouth.
“What was it?” Theia prompts.
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re calling you. Devin had two shadows from just before we left the market until I left him the day on the beach,” I answer.
Now Devin’s arms wrap around me while he pulls my back against his front. I can still feel the worry running over his skin.
He’s afraid I’m not staying, and I feel terrible about that. I rub my hand over his to reassure him I’m not going anywhere.
“A second shadow?” Theia asks as if she’s uncertain she heard me right.
“Yes, and it was a literal second shadow. Go through Devin’s memories, and you’ll see it too,” I urge.
There is silence for a moment, and I can only assume she’s doing as I requested. I hear a slight gasp, and I know she’s now seen the mysterious shadow clinging to my husband.
“I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before,” she says with a hushed tone as though she’s riddled with guilt.
“What does it mean?” Jace urges.
“Devin, did you come into contact with anyone at the market that could have touched you and Adisia?” Theia frets.
“Everyone touched us. The market was packed. What the hell is it, and who has that power?” he growls with irritation.
“There’s only one thing I can think of, but it’s not a power, per se. It’s more of a cast,” she says warily.
“A what?” I mutter in confusion.
“As in spell?” Jace adds while carrying a tone that matches mine.
“Yes,” Theia murmurs with distraction.
“Please stop thinking inside your head, Mother. We need to hear you as well,” Devin grumbles.
“The only thing I can think of is the shadow of doubt. Before everyone asks, it’s a shadow cast by a witch to force feelings of immense doubt, and eventually it can drive one mad with uncertainty. If this is the case, then Devin is lucky to still be sane,” she shivers out.
“He barely escaped such a fate,” Deacon adds with a low, muffled serious tone, and it’s all I can do not to cry.
This time I’m the one clutching onto him tighter, and I turn to wrap my arms around him while Camara takes the phone.
“Who has that ability these days? If we’ve never heard of it, then it has to be rather ancient,” she inquires.
“Thank you, dear, for reminding me I just showed my age,” Theia gripes. “But yes, it is an ancient power, so to speak. It was around during your early years, but it was rarely used.
“Apollo and Zeus hunted down the witches capable of such, and they robbed them of the immortality they shouldn’t have had to begin with. Seven women found the fountain of youth, an
d they drank it dry with their greedy lust for eternity. The power of the fountain was not limited to added years; it also gave them abilities beyond the realm of the natural. They became a threat to our world over night.
“The most famous of the witches was Pyrrha, the daughter of Pandora. She cast the shadow of doubt on people, including numerous kings during the peak of the wars, and she wreaked more havoc than Aries,” Theia sighs.
“Daughter of Pandora? That explains a lot,” Hale scoffs. “It has to be her. Pandora was slain for her treasons against mankind once she opened the box given to her by Kaos. Now Adisia and Devin have been targeted. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“That’s impossible,” the blond Jace has acquired says in a dismissing manner. “Apollo, my grandfather, and Zeus drained them of their immortality,” she continues.
“Not all of them,” Jace mutters with a paling face.
“What do you mean? I read it in his journals,” she rebuts.
“Only six lost the life they devoured, for one remained to rule in power.” His rhyme confuses me. Then he continues, “My mom used to give me rhymes and riddles to recite. She said one day I would need them all, and I almost have. That’s from when I was a child,” he slowly releases with a look of terror on his face. “They searched for her until centuries they lost, but they let the witch go for fear of the cost.”
“She was too powerful for them,” Theia deciphers.
“What sort of witch is too powerful for our kind?” Deacon interjects.
“The kind who took in the excess energy from Pandora’s mistake. The energy released into the world had far more consequences than just the chaos it provoked. Pyrrha embodied it, and she became a serious contender in the immortal world until she just disappeared,” Jace answers, and everyone gawks at him.
“What happened to her?” I prompt.
“No one knows. She was strong enough to scare Zeus and Apollo, and it never made sense why she just vanished. Most of us assumed the fountain of youth hadn’t offered the immortality it promised. Some believed she was killed by a nameless source. Something happened to subdue her, but now she has to be back,” Jace answers.
He grabs Hale, and I see their eyes swirling as Jace forces him to see something. Hale grimaces slightly at the intruder in his mind, but his face returns to normal when Jace releases him.
“Put it on the wall,” Jace commands.
Hale presses his palm to the wall and a sizzling sound emerges from beneath it. The smell of burning sheetrock taints the air, and I can taste suspense lingering on my tongue.
He pulls back, and we all stare at the young girl’s face I’ve never seen.
“Does she look like anyone you’ve ever seen before?” Hale asks.
“No. I’ve never seen her,” I murmur with a bit of disappointment and relief.
“Devin?” Jace prompts.
“Never,” he answers.
“She would have had to speak to both of you. She would have had to touch you and look you in the eye in order for the shadow of doubt to be attached. She would have had to plant the seed of doubt in Adisia’s mind, and the shadow would have grown while pushing Devin to fail the tests set up by your heart while bringing to life your most feared betrayal. You have to think,” Theia urges from the phone.
“There wasn’t anyone who spoke to us at the market. Nina spoke to Devin, but other than the older woman who had a vendor stand, no one spoke to me,” I grumble.
The thought of Nina still upsets me, and Devin feels my sudden uneasiness which makes him feel it necessary to reassure me of his devout loyalty.
His spins me to face him, and his lips gently embrace mine in a soft, sensual kiss. His touch has been missed for so long, so it doesn’t take much to bring my blood to a boil.
“They’re kissing, aren’t they?” Persia sighs in annoyance.
“Yeah,” Hale gripes.
“You two need to pay attention. The older woman in the market, what did she look like?” Persia insists.
Devin pulls back slightly and kisses the back of my hand.
“I don’t remember,” he answers distractedly as his eyes burn into mine with desire secreting in an obvious fashion.
I smirk a little, and I’ve almost forgotten the severity of the situation we’re believed to be in.
“She was dark haired with soft blue eyes. Her face was slightly wrinkled, but she couldn’t have been more than forty. She sold bohemian chic ornaments and attire, and she had a gypsy sort of air about her. She even had her hair wrapped in a scarf, and she wore a layered, colorful skirt that swished against the wind. I don’t know why I remember all of that,” I say with a little bemusement toward the end.
I turn to see everyone’s eyes staring at me expectantly, but I don’t know what to say.
“She didn’t look like that girl. She can’t be more than twenty, and like I said, this woman was pushing forty,” I answer to the only question I can assume their eyes are asking.
“You’re sure?” Hale asks. “She didn’t say anything that would have made you suspicious of Devin,” he leads.
I pause as the gypsy woman’s words try to return.
“Be careful of him. He’s a careless man with a promiscuous past that will haunt his future. Be wary of the man who can break your heart too much,” I repeat to share the fortune told. “That’s what she said. Can she do like Slash?” I say warily.
“It has to be her, but she shouldn’t be able to mask her identity magically. It could have just been a mortal artificial mask or something,” Theia suggests.
“It looked very real, and she did touch both of us. She spoke to Devin when handing him back the change, and then she touched me as well.”
“It has to be her. Surely she’s wearing some heavy makeup or a mask, but why disappear? Why come out of hiding now?” Jace murmurs.
“Did you feel anything when she touched you?” Persia asks to Devin.
“No. I felt something when Nina showed up,” he murmurs with hesitance, and my stomach flips upon hearing that vague reply. He takes notice of my apprehensive expression. “I mean, I felt as though something had changed, but it was subtle. Nothing seemed too obvious. I saw Nina, and I told her I was married,” he replies to ease my worries.
“What was said exactly?” Jace urges.
“Don’t stir up trouble, Jace. Just let us be together,” Devin implores.
“I’m not. I’m being serious. If this was Pyrrha, then she would have called Nina to the market by some enchanted song. Did Nina say why she was there?” Jace explains.
“She said she was there to find a song that was stuck in her head,” Devin murmurs suspiciously. “She asked me to join her in her search, but I told her I needed to get back to Adisia. I was fighting it. I knew something was wrong, and I just wanted us to get the hell out of there. I thought I was feeling tempted, but I knew that couldn’t be right,” Devin grumbles.
I take a deep breath, and I try my best to hold back the wave of tears begging to surface. I don’t know if I want to hear anything else they said.
I remember his urgent pace to leave the market. I wish he had just told me something was wrong.
“It’s her. She stings all victims with the siren’s song - ironic I know, considering the siren’s song is a myth,” Theia adds.
“What do we do?” I ask anxiously.
“Nothing for now. We’ll work with some of the others and see if we can get a theory about what’s going on. We’ll also see if we can track down her whereabouts. In the meantime, you guys keep working on the harpie explosion and the new hellhound issue. We’ll be in touch,” she says, and then hangs up before anyone can object.
“Damn bitches are now witches too,” I exasperate, and Devin pulls me into his arms.
“I’m glad you saw her. I don’t know how much longer I would have made it without being able to hold you,” he whispers to only me.
“I don’t know how much longer I could have held out. I begged Aphrodite to s
how me answers, and she did,” I murmur gently, and then he quickly pulls the fish from the oven as the others disperse from the room.
I smirk a little as he dresses it with a leafy touch, and then he places it on the bar while motioning for me to sit. He pours me a glass of vodka, but I wave it off.
“No. It’s still gross to me,” I gripe.
“You drank the brandy,” he counters.
“I used the brandy to kill the taste of the damn skunk. Let’s not go there. My stomach is far too queasy,” I chuckle out.
He forces a fake smile, and I can’t tell of if he is worried or upset.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning on changing your mind,” I fret, and my eyes casually flash to the wall to see how many shadows are attached.
He flinches when he sees my not-so-discreet reaction, and then he quickly puts his arm around my stool while pulling me closer.
“No. Never. I’m just worried about you and your sudden shifts. What if Jace is right? What if whatever Pyrrha did has had some adverse side effect on you?”
I sigh in relief when I see he’s still Devin, and then I lean against him while taking a bite of the surprisingly delicious fish. Of course, considering I’ve been eating right out of a can for a while, it shouldn’t take too much to impress me.
“I’m fine, Devin. I didn’t sleep more than an hour at a time for months, and although it can’t kill me, it can have an effect on me. That’s all it is. Once I get back into a routine, I’ll be good as new. Now that I’m back with you, I can do that,” I say softly. “After falling asleep on the plane, I already feel much better.”
He frowns, and then his lips caress my brow while I take in another bite.
“I’m so sorry. I should have found you sooner. I’ve always found you before,” he murmurs guiltily.
“I didn’t want you to find me. Jace’s tracking abilities were handy in that considering he knows how to cover a trail. I knew if you found me it would just be a matter of time before I was back in your arms. The wedding was almost unbearable. I was actually glad I blacked out,” I say almost jokingly.
“You should be,” Kry announces while making his eavesdropping be known.
“Some Bret guy was hovering over you for the first hour you were out. I thought we were going to have to drag him out before Devin obliterated him,” he chuckles.
