by Meg Xuemei X
Then it occurred to me that it might not be convenient to have Thy as a witness. If this didn’t work out, I didn’t want him to report to Apollo.
“Maybe Thy doesn’t need to join us,” I said.
Phobos and Deimos shrugged and headed into the dome.
“I must supervise all dealings in my lord’s realm,” Thy said, then turned to bark at the rest of the sentinels. “Guard the door.”
As soon as Thy and I stepped into the room, the bronze door shut behind us. Thy tried to shout but Deimos grabbed him, and Phobos thrust his silver spear into his chest.
The sentinel fell in a pool of blood, his eyes still widened in shock.
“What the fuck?” I yelped and jumped back.
Without anyone blocking my view, I saw what lay in front of me: chains, iron whips, and other sharp torture tools.
I threw myself toward the door and pried at it, but it was completely sealed.
Deimos’s chilly voice rose and echoed in the cold, dark room. “Hello, little Cass. Now we’re going to have some fun.”
9
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I should have known Phobos was a vindictive dick, but I couldn’t have guessed they’d go after Apollo’s guards to get to me. The brothers had planned well for this revenge, taking advantage of Apollo and Ares being summoned to Mount Olympus.
I screamed out as loud as I could, “Fire!”
I’d heard that if you shouted help, no one would show up. This was how the world operated now.
“No one can hear you, little Cass,” Deimos said. “The dome seals everything. And my dad and Apollo won’t return until tomorrow. Zeus loves long meetings. So we’re going to have you for the whole night.”
“You killed Apollo’s captain,” I said. “He’ll know it’s you. And I’m the future bride of Ares and Apollo. If you damage me and ruin their plan, you’ll be in a world of hurt.”
Deimos chortled, as if I amused him to no end. “You’re right, brother. She does think like a mortal. Unlike the human and supernatural insects, gods hold different standards. And I, the God of Fear, am the expert on all things criminal in nature. Do you know what that means?”
“Like a professional criminal?” I offered.
“You’re mouthy, even caught in a dire situation,” he said. “But yes, I’ll recreate the crime scene, and after we’re done with you everyone will think you attacked us and killed the sentinel in order to escape. You have the motivation.”
“One logical problem there, sugar dolls,” I said.
Phobos flinched at his old nickname.
“With this torque binding me,” I continued, “I’m incapable of killing Thy. Although, if you unshackle the torque I won’t even complain that you pin all the misdeeds on me.”
As I stalled for time, my eyes scanned the chamber, searching for an exit, but there was none.
Phobos narrowed his eyes to violet slits. “You can no longer manipulate me, Cass. I don’t do fair fights. It’s beneath me. I’m a terror god for a reason!”
“We’ve planned this visit for a while,” Deimos said. “We got the key from our dear mother, the Goddess of Love. Yes, she’s full of love for us, so she handed over the spare key. After we beat you within an inch of your pathetic life, we’ll take the torque off you. You won’t be able to leave this realm. You’re trapped here until my father comes back and beats you again before he fucks you. How does that sound, little Cass? Believe me, you won’t be this cute in a few hours. And we’ll do it slowly, taking our time. As I said, we have the entire night.”
Phobos eyed his brother. “We might not want to do this slowly. Cass is the sneakiest, nastiest bitch I’ve ever met. She always has something up her sleeve. Let’s punish her, seek justice for me, finish my last therapy session, and get the hell out of here.”
“Don’t worry about it, brother,” Deimos assured him. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you.”
There wasn’t a chance I’d get out of here then. I jumped up and kicked Deimos in the face without giving him any warning. He took the hit and grabbed my leg, spinning me in the air.
And just like that, he had me.
Without my potent power, my kick didn’t even dent his enraged, handsome face.
He dragged me toward the center of the room, where chains awaited.
With one last attempt, I clawed at the torque, desperate to pry it open.
It didn’t budge.
In no time, despite my frantic kicks and punches and curses, the brothers strung me up, my feet dangling in the air, the heavy chains around my ankles clanging sharply.
When Deimos struck the first nail into the center of my left palm, I screamed in agony.
Phobos flinched.
“No, brother, you don’t cringe,” Deimos said. “You want her to scream. Let her scream for you, and you won’t ever scream again after waking up from a nightmare the little bitch caused you. This is a full therapy session for you. You’re the God of Terror. You strike terror into every living being’s heart, not the other way around. She stole your birth gift away from you. Now you take it back, along with your manhood!” He handed a long nail to Phobos. “Now you do it. Face your nightmare, brother.”
Phobos held the nail and studied it.
“Are you going to beg, Cass?” asked the god of terror.
“Good question,” Deimos nodded in approval. “That’s the start.”
I clenched my jaw and promised myself that I wouldn’t scream again for these assholes.
A muscle under his left eye twitched as Phobos placed the nail in the center of my other palm and hammered into it while Deimos pinned me.
I didn’t scream, but tears that I had no control over streamed down my face at the debilitating pain. Blood poured from my palms, and I couldn’t regenerate while the torque bound my power.
“Tell her how you feel, brother,” Deimos urged.
“You’ll never hurt me again, Cass,” Phobos said. A crystal tear dropped out of the corner of his eye, and he wiped it off with the back of the same hand that struck the nail into my defenseless body. “I was once a courageous god, but you pumped terror into me and paralyzed me. I’m telling you now: no more! After I’m done with you, you psychopathic little whore, I’ll transfer the nightmare to you, and you’ll be the one to wake screaming.”
“Really, sugar doll?” I asked. “This is your last therapy session? It’s sweet, but it won’t work. You’ll always have nightmares, and I’ll be featured in them every fucking time. Do you know why?”
“Don’t take her bait,” Deimos said. “She’s trying to psych you out.”
“Why the heck is that?” Phobos asked. He couldn’t help it.
“Because you two are wrongly made,” I said with a vicious smile. “You dolls came out the wrong hole.”
Both brothers looked confused and frowned at me.
“You want the answer, don’t you, sugar dolls?” I said, wrinkling my nose. “You stink so badly because you filth came out of your momma’s asshole.”
Both enraged gods struck me with fear and terror, yet I took it all with a maniacal laugh.
What else could they do to me?
“Wait, you dolls didn’t know? It was your mommy’s fault.”
Then a large fist slammed into my face, breaking bone.
10
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I didn’t know how long they’d been beating me. I lost count of the number of times they’d struck me early on in their little therapy session.
Sharp pain knifed through every inch of my flesh, every one of my bones, over and over. It seemed this torment would never end.
I no longer cried. I hadn’t screamed after the first nail had pierced my palm, but I had to bite my bottom lip to stop a whimper from escaping my throat.
I couldn’t see my face, but I knew it was swollen and bloody. The gods had deformed me. My left eye could barely open, yet I laughed at them, mocking them.
I only hoped my mates w
ould never have to see me like this. I hoped that they wouldn’t find my corpse. I wanted them to go on with their lives, but there was no way I could send my last wishes to them.
When Apollo tore me away from them, I hadn’t said farewell.
A new wave of unbearable pain dragged me away from thoughts of my mates and forced me to stay with the brutes. That was all part of their design. At their skilled beating, flesh peeled away from my bones. The gown on me was but pitiful shreds hanging on my bloody flesh, and soon my flesh would hang in tatters from my broken bones.
The pain became too great, and I blacked out. I floated to a place of pure silence and whiteness where there were no assholes tormenting me.
Hadn’t I died? Had I left my broken shell behind? A second later, I realized I was only cut off from the reality. I must hang on. I would have my revenge. I’d fight all the gods to my last breath, to my true death. I would return to my mates, no matter what it took.
They could tear me apart, but they could never truly break me.
I was death incarnate. I would bide my time and come back with vengeance, and my enemies would know I was death itself. I’d let the vultures feast upon their bloated, not so beautiful corpses.
In this temporary white space of peace and silence, I was alone. I decided to stay here until the dark storm of torture was over.
You aren’t uprooted from Earth, beloved. A beautiful, kind voice brushed over me like the summer breeze as a regal female appeared from the misty light and planted herself in front of me.
Only my mates call me beloved, I told her. Who are you?
Your kin. You’ll know me if you search your genetic memory, she said.
I didn’t need to search.
Earth? That’s great. I said. Can you take this fucking torque off me?
You have all Earth’s elements in your well of power, she said. But you never truly claimed them.
I think I did. I bubbled in my misery. I tried to call the elements over and over, like they were my best friends, to get the torque off my neck. Now that you’re here, you can help me remove this fucking alien thing. The assholes are going to rape me after beating me within an inch of my life. I am now within an inch of life, considering I thought I was dead. I can’t allow them to violate me like that. And I bet you don’t want to see your kin suffer that fate! So, please help me break this cursed torque. It’s super urgent!
Shush. Will you ever learn to listen? Her voice chided me. If I can reach you up here, then you can reach me all the way down to the deep Earth, to all the Earth’s power beneath. Quiet the noise in your head. Your mind has been forever busy with thousands of useless thoughts and ideas. It’s hard to talk to you and get you to listen. If you weren’t in such great pain, escaping to this space we can share, I doubt you’d have ever heard me.
Scold me later, dude, I said. I’m running out of time here.
Even when you’re in such agony that no mortal or immortal could bear, you still hold onto such a bad attitude, she sighed.
Get me out of here, I said. And I promise I’ll learn all the manners. I won’t even curse anymore. I’ll just be an old, boring Cass.
I can’t do it for you, for my essence prohibits it. You’ll have to free yourself. Now reach down to Earth. Expand your mind. The sky doesn’t belong to the Olympians. It’s above Earth, and it’s our domain. The alien gods have no claim to it.
I willed everything in me to reach down, down, and farther down, piercing the sky, air, current, and clouds, until finally I found the blue Earth. I felt its pulse. My pain was reflected on it.
It felt me. It bled for me. It called to me.
The land is your birthright. Earth is your birthright, the female in the mist of light whispered.
I’d felt the intimate connection to the land when I first bolted out of the cage and had my feet dug into the soil. The wind had sung for me, snow had fallen on ShadesStar and graced my lips, and blossoms had filled the night sky like stars.
Tears traced twin tracks down my face, and I acknowledged the truth.
I was Earth’s true bloodline. I was the bloodline of Goddess Gaea, the defender of Earth, the mighty opponent to the Olympian gods.
Earthlings thought that she had faded long ago, after technology had risen and swept to every corner of the planet.
Now that the gods had destroyed two-thirds of the civilization and invaded her Earth, she’d awoken from an eon of slumber.
I can sense every living being on Earth—their pulsing color, life force, and energy, I said. I sense its core magic, wounded but deep, wondrous, terrifying, and plentiful.
Amid the billions of pulses, I tried to locate my mates. I searched and searched, but I didn’t find them on Earth’s ground.
Panic cut through me, but the primal Earth Goddess pulled my attention back to her.
It belongs to you, Cassandra Saélihn, the heir. Make good use of it. When Earth magic fills your essence, your latent power from a hidden heritage will awaken. Then, burn the torque.
I need to find my four mates first, I said. I don’t know where they are. I’m worried. If anything happens to them, I—I…”
Now, return to your reality, she said. They’re coming.
My pain-filled heart jerked in alarm. Fuck! Apollo and Ares are returning?
But then I felt my mates instead. They were near. They were coming for me!
I snapped back to the present as icy water poured on my head, washing my blood to the ground. The two psychos wouldn’t let me pass out. They wanted me to experience every moment of pain.
“Don’t worry, brother,” Deimos said. “We’ll break her. After we beat her just to the edge of death, we’ll take turns to plunder her. She’ll beg then, even if she won’t scream for us. Tell her, Phobos, tell her how you’re going to violate her in every way. Pump terror into her black heart.”
“My brother and I have done some digging into you since my escape,” Phobos said. “We found your dear mother. She locked you in a supposedly unbreakable cage like a rabid animal.”
Jezebel. Rage pounded within me at the mention of that evil hag. She was probably working with the psycho gods in order to destroy me.
“Now you’re going to get even worse, little Cass,” Phobos said, malicious lust darkening his violet eyes. “You were once my nightmare, but I’ll be yours from now to eternity. I’ll fuck your little broken body over and over and .…”
I threw back my head and howled, claiming my birthright.
Formidable, vengeful magic arose from the deep Earth, broke through air and sky, until it reached me, connecting to me, faster than the speed of light.
It rolled like an avalanche within my body and boiled like a volcano in my veins.
“Now you want to scream, bitch?” Deimos said. “We haven’t even started.”
The gods tore off what was left of the bloody shreds of my gown.
A raging flame—redder than anything in the universe and hotter than hellfire—leapt from my very depth. My last, latent fire had awoken and arisen.
I possessed the blood of the Dragon God, from who even the Olympian gods stayed far away.
I had no time to ponder the wonder and possibility of being his descendant. The dragon fire surged from my arms to my neck, seizing the torque around my throat.
The brothers jumped back from my roaring inferno, two pairs of violet eyes widening in disbelief and fear. How satisfying to see that I struck fear and terror into the God of Terror and God of Fear.
“It’s impossible!” Phobos cried in dismay. “Hellfire can’t melt Hephaestus’s torque! Not even the original gods can break it off without the key!”
“It’s not hellfire. It’s the legendary divine fire of our ancient enemy—the Dragon God,” Deimos said, half in awe, half in hatred. “She’s his spawn.”
“But it can’t be!” Phobos cried out. “Isn’t she Hades’s daughter? She can’t have two fathers, and besides, the Dragon God departed this world with the whole dragon race an eon
ago, after the great dragon war. This doesn’t add up!”
“That bitch Jezebel hasn’t told us everything.” Deimos fumed.
“Let’s get out of here before Cass does her nastiness, brother,” Phobos urged.
“Not yet. She can’t drain us with her hands bound,” Deimos said. “Let’s end her first.”
Twin spears appeared in both brothers’ hands as they advanced toward me.
The sealed door toppled down. My mates—all four of them—charged in, icy rage frozen in their eyes. They each clutched a flaming sword that still sizzled with their blood and the blood of the sentinels that once guarded this dome.
They’d fought through Apollo’s army to get to me.
Something clicked in my mind.
They could kill a minor god now with their flaming swords that were etched with blood runes, because of our mating bond, because of their brotherhood bond, and because I’d exchanged blood with them in a ritual that I hadn’t been aware of.
My blood flowed in their veins as theirs did in mine.
Our mixed blood was formidable.
And they’d found me.
They’d come for me!
A dam burst open in my soul, and joy beat in my heart like the wings of heaven despite the pain, which still threatened to shred what was left of me into pieces.
Tears flowed down my face, carving jagged lines through the dried blood caked to my cheeks.
“Dulcis.” One look at me, and the High Lord of Night was choked by his roiling emotions. I’d never seen him like that—a living incarnation of pure fury, agony, and grief.
My power, finally free, roared and struck out. The shackles and chains fell from my raw, abused wrists and ankles.
Damn, any strength I may have still possessed left with that burst of power. I was going to drop like an ungraceful rock in front of my gorgeous mates.
But Reys was right there. He caught me before my knees buckled and my broken body could hit the hard ground. “I got you, baby. I got you, my Cass.” He pulled me into his arms as if clinging to a lifeline, murmuring soothing, nonsensical words in my ear. He was better than anyone at comforting me, but I didn’t like the glint of anguished tears filling his turquoise eyes.
