by Meg Xuemei X
Phobos glared at Alaric with pure hatred, and Alaric chuckled. “My Cass is colorful, but I did tell her that.”
“You’re so beneath me, bastard son of Zeus,” Phobos said with such venom that it shocked me. It was as if a puppy suddenly grew fangs. “I won’t stoop to your level.”
“It’s okay you’re a love child, Phobos,” I said. “I’m not judging you. None of us are. And that’s not why I came to see you today. Let’s not get sidetracked. I’m very busy. I need you to do something for me. You’re going to give me the answers I need before I have my nails done.” I gave my pink fingernails a quick glance.
“What’s wrong with your nails?” Phobos said gruffly. “They’re pink, shiny, and healthy.”
“That’s the thing, Phobos,” I sighed. “Pink isn’t my scene. I want two-toned colors. I decided to go with purple and blue, but you can talk me out of it if you want to. But we gotta hurry up. I’ll have an appointment for my manicure and pedicure in an hour. So Pyrder is going to ask you the first question.”
I gestured at my fae mate. “Pyrder, you have the floor.”
I’d thought Pyrder and Alaric chose to tower over Phobos, using their height to intimidate the god, who sat as far as he could get from me on the bed. But then I realized there wasn’t a chair in the cell for the duo to sit down.
I kicked off my flipflops and sat cross-legged to make myself more comfortable. I didn’t understand why Phobos still tried to recoil from me. If he kept doing that, he was going to fall off the bed and land on his godly ass.
Pyrder began by asking where the gods’ human and mage armies were. He and Lorcan had asked it before, and Phobos always gave the same answer: all over the planet.
When Pyrder asked which gods wanted to destroy humanity the most and which gods harbored some sympathy toward the earthlings, Alaric cut in. “It’s the same as before. History is repeating itself.”
Ares, Phobos’ dad, was the God of War, and he wanted to snuff out humans the most, but Zeus, the king of the gods, had some reservations about wiping out the humans and supernaturals on Earth.
“You need to let me go,” Phobos said. “If my father learns that you have me imprisoned, he’ll rain down his wrath on you, and you’ll hope death finds you sooner.”
“That’s awesome,” I said with glee. “I’m now keener to meet your dad.”
I reached a hand to pinch Phobos’ cheek to show affection, even though he’d just threatened me. He swatted at my hand, which earned a punch on his jaw from Alaric.
“Touch her again, you’ll be strung up for the entire night,” the demigod promised.
A tear dropped out of Phobos’ violet eyes.
“Fine,” I said, waving Alaric back. “No beating. He can’t take it anymore.” I turned to Phobos. “Do you want me to wipe your tears?”
“I’ll do it myself,” he said defensively.
He quickly flicked the tears away with his long fingers.
The vampire guards treated him badly. They didn’t provide him with Kleenex. I would talk to Lorcan about improving the treatment of the prisoners.
“So, sugar doll, what else did your seer say about me? How did she know about me?” I was fishing around, trying to hide my true intention. I needed to know my heritage to better prepare myself for the final showdown with the gods.
A sadistic light sparked in his violet eyes. “You don’t know anything about your origin, do you, little Cass?” In an instant, he transformed from the whimpering god to a predator. “But you’re dying to know. How about we make a deal? I’ll tell you everything I know, including the detailed coordinates of the gods’ mortal armies, the seer and her prophecies, and all the secret knowledge I’ve learned about you.”
Could I lie and trick him?
A warning flashed behind my eyelids. Mortals’ words meant nothing. But if I vowed, my words would bind me.
“Never negotiate with a god,” Alaric said, and before he could punch Phobos again for the terror god’s condescending tone, I stopped him.
“That’s not how it works, Phobos,” I explained patiently. “You know I can break you. If you’d seized me in that New York club, you’d have done all kinds of unimaginable, horrible things to me, as you once outlined for me in detail. But the tide turned, and I caught you. I haven’t done anything awful to you except taking a few sips from you every three days. Under my care, you still look robust. I can easily change that. So, give me the answers I need, or I’ll take them from you.”
He sneered. “You think you can really break me, little girl? You don’t even know how. You don’t know what kind of power dwells deep in you. When you destroy others, it can destroy you because it’ll control you and become you. And you think you can keep me here forever as your toy and food? I’m the God of Terror.”
All of a sudden, he rose to his full height, frightening power rolling off him.
Alaric and Pyrder both reacted, lunging at him, but Phobos was faster, since he’d planned this, and he acted first. A shockwave rammed into my mates, sending them crashing against the walls. At the same time, Phobos grabbed my wrists, pinning them above my head, his other hand clutching my throat and lifting me.
My feet dangled in the air, since he was so much taller than me. His hand on my wrists was so tight I could already feel the bruises.
Air stopped flowing into my lungs as he tightened his grip on my throat with his godly strength.
He was rather rough with me.
Phobos wheeled around, putting me between my mates and him and shielding himself before Alaric and Pyrder got off the ground with murderous roars.
A few vampires and fae warriors charged into the cell, swords ready. But no blade could cut down the God of Terror.
Phobos knew that and sneered at them as if they were bugs on the floor.
With eons of experience and cunning and ruthlessness, he’d outwitted and overpowered me.
Usually, I sent my power through my hands. And when I drank him, I always put my palm against his skin. With my wrists bound, I couldn’t touch him. Nor could I fling my power at him.
Phobos had been faking power fatigue and weeping to make me let down my guard. I wasn’t an expert on gods. I hadn’t even known their existence before my mates had freed me.
Plus, I wasn’t completely heartless. I had a bleeding heart, if occasionally, and today was one of the unfortunate occasions.
Alaric and Pyrder charged again, and Phobos sent a wave of terror toward them. Prepared, Alaric stepped forward, wielding his flaming sword and trying to find an opening to impale the terror god.
Pyrder staggered back before he pushed through, clenching his teeth.
The vampires and fae warriors dropped to their knees, their eyes bleeding, terror twisting their faces.
“Get out of the room,” Alaric yelled at the warriors. “You can’t resist his power.”
The vampires and fae warriors struggled out, some crawling. Pyrder tossed the last two out and locked the door.
Alaric slashed his sword at Phobos, and Phobos swung me toward the sword. Alaric withdrew his blade immediately, but not quickly enough. The flaming tip scratched my skin, leaving a small blood trail on my forearm.
My cries didn’t leave my throat under Phobos’ tight clutch.
Alaric cursed. “Cass, I’m sorry,” he called, his face paling. Fear for me etched in the ruthless demigod’s eyes. “Hang in there, sweetheart. I’ll get you out of here.”
If I could answer him, I would have told him that getting too attached to me wouldn’t do him good.
“Careful, Alaric!” Pyrder yelled. “You hurt our mate!”
In a blur of light, the fae prince shifted to a massive panther, gorgeous with shining golden fur, his eyes burning with inferno rage. My breath caught, not at his rage but at his beauty. Actually, my breath didn’t catch. Phobos had effectively cut off my air supply.
I wanted to claw his hand away from my throat, yet I couldn’t move an inch. I was a sitting duck in the
air. However, I discovered for the second time that I could live without breathing, though the sensation wasn’t pleasant.
The golden panther stalked to Phobos’ side, seeking an opening to attack the terror god. In his beast form, Pyrder seemed more courageous, since the terror in the air couldn’t affect the panther much. His fur rippled under Phobos’ terror, but his face no longer twisted.
He growled and leapt, and at the same time, Alaric attacked from the front. But Phobos was no novice, and the dude was quicker than any being had the right to be.
Alaric and the panther jumped back to avoid hitting me as Phobos waved me around as a shield.
My mates shared a dismayed look.
Phobos chuckled in dark delight.
Someone kicked the door, breaking it down.
Lorcan and Reysalor charged into the room.
Tears flowed down my face. I hadn’t meant to, but Phobos sank his fingers further into my skin that hurt me badly. If I were a mortal woman, I’d have a hole in my throat.
And I was really worried that he’d broken my windpipe.
I didn’t want to go mute.
“Let her go, fucker,” Reys roared, swinging his flaming sword in an arc. “Or I’ll cut you to pieces and feed you to the wild dogs.” He was looking for an angle to get in as well, but no one could get to Phobos’ back. The room wasn’t big enough.
“You can’t kill me with that toothpick of yours,” Phobos said with loud, sinister laughter.
“You’re hurting her!” Lorcan roared. “Loosen your grip!”
“I’ll oblige if you drop the force field and let me go,” Phobos said. “Or I’ll tear your precious little Cass limb from limb.”
He didn’t loosen his grip on me but sank his fingers further into my throat. My eyes rolled further back into my head.
My mates’ fear for me was like a physical punch in my middle.
Then a slice of light seeped into my pounding skull.
I wasn’t one to obey any rules, and I should not limit myself to my conditioned mind.
No one could keep me in a box, except myself.
When the gods had poisoned me, I hadn’t needed air to survive. I got used to drinking from Phobos with my hand touching him. I shouldn’t need the hand. Any touch point could help me suck in his energy.
I just needed to believe it and carry it on.
The conventional path wasn’t for someone like me.
I centered my mind on the surroundings, and Earth elements swirled around me at my command. Even the heat in the sand outside responded to my call. I inhaled—not on a physical level, but in my imagination—and took the energy from the elements.
To make Phobos behave, I’d have to weaken him again. I drew his energy into me from his large hand that grabbed my throat. I gulped deeply, and his godly energy of terror poured into me, rushing into my cells, charging them nicely.
He jerked his head and looked down toward me. “What the fuck?”
I drew more from the reservoir of his power. As a result, I radiated while Phobos’ skin grew dull and gray.
“It’s impossible!” Phobos yelled in frustration and fear. “How could you do that? I had you!”
“I’m just too awesome and creative,” I said, even though he still clutched my throat. “And the tighter you hold me, the more I drain from you, rainbow doll.”
Phobos dropped me like a hot coal, and before my knees buckled and I fell to the ground, Lorcan lunged and had me in his arms.
“I got you, dulcis,” he said.
The golden panther leapt just as Phobos dropped to his knees and pinned him to the ground. The beast snarled, his jaw open, his fangs at Phobos’ throat.
At the same time, Reysalor landed his boot on Phobos’ face, and Alaric’s flaming sword pierced the terror god’s chest.
Phobos screamed.
“Don’t kill him,” I cried. “I need him. He’s still my Devil’s Love cocktail.”
I wriggled out of Lorcan’s arms. The pure energy from Phobos was a huge boost, and the terrible bruises on my neck had already faded.
Alaric pulled his blade out of Phobos, and the wound in the terror god’s chest started sealing. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t take your drink away from you. I just want to make him suffer a little. Somehow, I still can’t kill this motherfucker.”
“We need to leave our little Phobos alone.” I sighed. “He’s very negative right now. I’ll come back when he’s himself again.”
Too bad Phobos wasn’t in the mood, but visiting him wasn’t a total waste. I’d learned a new trick. Next time, I would experiment on drinking from him remotely, as I’d done with the Earth elements.
Fuck! My eyes brightened at the new revelation. I was indeed at the top of the food chain. Everything could be my food. I could basically eat and drink anything—human food, vampire blood, element forces, and god energy.
What kind of freak was I?
You are what you eat. Though I could turn anyone and anything into food for me, I had to watch my diet. For example, drinking Phobos had stirred something really dark in me. It was almost like I had a monster lurking inside. And once I fed and freed it, I wouldn’t be its match.
It was darker, more powerful, and much, much worse than Phobos.
I didn’t want to dwell on it. The nightmare would come to pass if you kept thinking of it.
Alaric tossed Phobos into the corner of the room like a bag of rocks, and Pyrder shifted back to his fae form, still snarling. I gave Phobos one last pitiful glance and headed toward the door, flanked by my four mates.
Phobos struggled up and screamed.
The males tensed, ready to go back and give him a good fix with punches and kicks, but I raised a hand to stop them.
“Get your ass back here, Cass!” Phobos called. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I’ll visit another day,” I said.
“You little bitch!” Phobos shrieked. “I’ll get out, and I’ll fuck you bloody. I’ll rape you again and again and break your little body, and you’ll beg….”
Alaric wheeled, stalking toward Phobos, but Reysalor beat him to it. He kicked the terror god, sending him flying to the ceiling. When Phobos dropped to the ground, the fae prince was on him again, pounding his fist into Phobos’ face.
“Reys, enough,” I said. “He’s just being his sweet self. He can’t help it any more than I can. Let’s go.”
Still in rage like my other mates, Reysalor left Phobos sprawled in the corner.
“You little psychopath whore,” Phobos whimpered, not caring whether he’d get beaten again. But then, the terror god healed fast, even though I’d siphoned his energy and left him weak. “You’re the worst kind, Cass. You’re worse than the bastard demigod.”
“Bye, sugar doll,” I said. “Get some sleep.”
The door clicked shut, separating the terror god from us.
“He’ll come,” Phobos half-laughed and half-screamed. “Hades will come for you, and when he does, he’ll take your power and cage you. The God of Death doesn’t show mercy, even to his own blood, and he hasn’t had any for eons.”
6
In Lorcan’s deluxe dining hall, which could easily host two hundred people, my mates and I sat around a head table with twenty seats, having dinner. I bet this table was for Lorcan’s elite guests.
Lorcan took the head seat, unwilling to give up his role of the High Lord of the blood court, since he was all about formality. I claimed the seat at the other end, to show my equality, though no one had directed me to it. I noticed the head servant, a good-looking vampire in a bowtie, subtly raised an eyebrow at me twice.
As I said, I didn’t give a fuck about the vampire society’s strict hierarchy and its politics, but I didn’t want anyone to lord over me. In taking the end seat, I was reminding Lorcan that I wouldn’t obey anyone’s rules, even under his own court’s roof.
Alaric and Reysalor sat on either side of me, and Pyrder sat across from his twin with
a resigned sigh. Lorcan looked unhappy, all alone at the far end of the table. He had planned to take the lead with everyone perched around him, me at his side. Well, his delicate plan went awry.
Alaric, Reysalor, Pyrder, and I whispered to one another as if we were a tight clique. I knew that Lorcan could hear our whispers, even though he was so far away. He cleared his throat in irritation, but everyone ignored him.
The servants were on high alert.
For fuck’s sake, why did we need seven servants to serve the five of us? Among them, Shan and Frances smiled at me. Lorcan had them brought from ShadesStar, knowing it would please me. The girls flashed me a grateful look whenever I grinned at them.
I liked the idea that I could protect at least a couple of people and had them under my wing. It made me feel like a good leader.
The dinner here was different from the one I’d had in Dario’s former court. The girls there had carried out all the trays at once and put all the dishes on the table for me. Here, they served one course at a time. And when we finished or half-finished the food, the servants took the plates away at our nods, and we waited for them to bring the next course.
It was a marathon march of dishes. Each time, anticipation of the next course was killing me. At some point, I had to snap my fingers to get both the vampire and human servants to stream along faster. The twins laughed so loud when I did that, Alaric gazed at me dotingly, and Lorcan had a tolerance-of-the-century look.
I sipped my drinks, my eyes starting to glaze over.
Phobos had delivered the worst news ever. I used to despise the vampires the most. And just when I’d shoved the gods up to the top of the list, the psychopath told me I was one of them, and a direct descendant of one of their worst—the God of Death.
My mates and I had discussed my possible godly heritage after we left Phobos. We weren’t completely sure if I was Hades’ daughter until that god came to confirm it, but the last thing we wanted was for him to identify me.
Hades was one of the cruelest gods. He hungered for power more than anything. If he ever found me, he would most definitely strip me of my power, take it, and put me in a cage.
