Heart of the Assassins (An Academy of Assassins Novel Book 2)

by Stacey Brutger

  “Morgan—”

  “No.” Morgan ignored Kincade’s warning, not stupid enough to fall for his trap.

  No deal with the gods ever worked out well for the other party.

  Shade raised a brow at her and smiled. “Then I win and you lose.” He walked over to the sideboard and lifted a decanter. “Drink? I imagine you have an hour or less before the dragons arrive to retrieve you.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly consider this a win. You are still stuck in Tartarus.” She crossed her arms, knowing better than to accept the drink he held out to her.

  “Then what are your terms?” His smile held no humor, and she squinted, swearing that she saw sharp teeth flash at her for a second, a harsh reminder that he was not human.

  Her eyes were drawn to the window again, or more precisely, the dragons as they closed the distance between them. “No one knows I’m here, do they?”

  “Not yet, not if I can help it, but it’s only a matter of time.” He emptied his glass in one gulp. “Your presence was noted. While I run this city, there is only so much I can do before they come for you.”

  “They don’t know about the terraforming, do they?” She nodded to the people in the streets hundreds of feet below them.

  “Just the upper echelon…those who have an open invitation to New Olympus.” He set the glass back on the sideboard without taking his eyes away from her. “After they spawned numerous offspring, most of the gods decided to sleep and left their protégés in charge. While the seal has been cracked, most of the offspring see this as a victory. They believe it’s only a matter of time before the gods wake or the seal breaks completely. And they will be very interested in finding out how you were able to travel here.”

  His words weren’t quite a threat, more of a warning.

  “If we don’t come to some sort of deal, your realm will die.” He glanced at his desk, then headed toward the door and touched a panel on the wall next to it. Seconds later the sound of industrial bolts being engaged thudded through the room. While his back was turned, her men moved to take up position around her.

  “Tick-tock.” Shade turned and raised a brow at her. “These doors will only hold the others out for so long. After that, there is nothing that I can do for you…or your realm.”

  Bastard!

  They stepped into the most perfect trap—do what he wanted or be taken captive.

  “Morgan.” Kincade stepped in front of her and tipped up her chin. “You can’t trust him.”

  “Do you see any other choice?” She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

  They both knew there wasn’t one.

  “It could be a trap.” Ascher refused to look away from Shade.

  Morgan thought about it, but while Shade probably wanted something from her, he actually hadn’t demanded anything.

  Yet.

  Then his eyes betrayed him. He looked beyond her to gaze out the window at the dragons closing the distance between them.

  “The dragons aren’t only coming for me, are they?”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  “Come.” Shade walked toward a blank wall. Using his weight, he pushed against a section until a panel slid back to reveal an elevator. “They will be here soon.”

  When the doors to the elevator slid open, he stepped inside, then lifted his brow at her in challenge.

  She went to follow when Kincade caught her arm. “We can’t trust him.”

  “In this we can.” She met his look squarely. “He wants to be caught even less than we do.”

  Loki leapt from his shoulder onto hers, stood to attention, front leg up, tail straight, as if pointing toward Shade in agreement. Ryder fell into step next to her. Seconds from entering the elevator, pounding thudded heavily against the door.

  Not fists.

  More like a battering ram.

  She whirled, expecting the see the door disintegrate. The metal held, but it wouldn’t last long. Even now the door—hell, the very walls next to it—began to buckle under the assault. Shade grabbed her arm and yanked her inside the elevator seconds before the doors whooshed shut. Muffled shouts from her men rang out from behind the door. Morgan lunged forward to pry open the panels when the elevator dropped so fast her feet nearly left the floor.

  “Take me back.” She jammed her fingers against the buttons, then slapped at the panel with the flat of her hand when nothing worked.

  “No.” Resolve hardened Shade’s face.

  He wouldn’t relent.

  She whirled, kneeing him in the groin, dropping him to the floor, then jabbed her arm back and cracked him across the temple with her elbow. She’d managed to drag him toward the door, ready to use his fingerprints to make the elevator obey, when he spun and kicked her feet out from under her.

  Loki gave a rumbling growl and launched himself from her shoulder, latching onto Shade’s leg, frantically wrenching his head back and forth.

  As she fell, Shade slammed his hand hard against her sternum, and she smacked the floor hard enough that the metal dented. Air rushed out of her lungs, the impact leaving her ears ringing. She brought up her leg, her knee jabbing him in the ribs, sending him flying into the wall, but her blow lacked force, her movements uncoordinated.

  She peeled herself up off the floor, spun, crawling to her knees, sucking in a wheezing breath, when five distinct thumps came from above. Pure relief brought a smile to her face, and she jumped, hitting the release latch near the ceiling. Kincade was the first through the hole, murder darkening his winter green eyes.

  Morgan sucked in another much-needed breath, ready to step between the two men when Kincade grabbed her to him. She lifted her arms to hug him back when she realized that he’d pinned them to her side. The other four men dropped into the elevator, shrinking the space down even more. Ascher shoved his forearm into Shade’s throat, pinning him to the wall, and her anxiety spiked.

  “Don’t hurt him.”

  Ascher stiffened, but her command was directed toward Shade. He grunted, then lifted his arms and heaved Ascher off his feet, knocking him into the others. Kincade protected her with his body when the others crashed into them.

  “I suggest you get your men under control if you want them to stay.” Shade tugged at his jacket and cuffs, then bent and lifted Loki up by the scruff of his neck. The little gardog didn’t relent, still kicking his legs and snapping teeth at his prey, a patch of clothing caught on his tooth. “I believe this is yours.”

  Morgan lifted her arms and twisted, breaking Kincade’s hold, but made no move to step away from him. She set her hands on his chest. “You good?”

  He heaved a frustrated growl, but stepped aside and glared at Shade. “Try to take her from me again, god or no god, and I will destroy you. Understand?”

  “I will do what I must to protect her while she is under my care.” Shade narrowed his eyes, then handed over Loki as if he was a peace offering. “I think we can both agree on that.”

  Sneaky bastard.

  Agreeing without actually agreeing.

  But the vow was enough to appease Kincade, and he accepted Loki, giving the pup a pat on the head. “Good boy.”

  The little mutt straightened and preened at the praise.

  The elevator lurched to a stop. Before the doors could open, shots rained down through the tiny opening of the hatch. Instead of the ping of bullets, streaks of red hit the wall and exploded into crimson dust.

  “Are those spells?”

  They were being shot at like fish in a barrel.

  To her surprise, Shade leapt in front of her, grunting when he took a shot to the arm. The door opened behind her, and she fell backwards through the opening, dragging Shade down with her. He landed on top of her, squishing her under his weight, and she grunted, hooking her leg over his hip and flipping them out of the way, leaving her straddling him.

  Her men followed a second behind them, right before the doors lazily slid shut.

  “Not very popular among the locals, huh?” She flashed Shade a
smile, then squeaked when Kincade slipped an arm around her waist and scooped her up before carefully setting her on her feet. She patted his arm in thanks, then turned back to Shade. “Can you force the elevator up, then stop it to block them?”

  Shade eyed them curiously but nodded, dragged himself up off the floor. He made a mysterious gesture over the panel next to the door, magic spiking around him, a faint, wispy golden symbol sinking into the controls.

  Seconds later, the elevator whooshed upward.

  Screams soon followed.

  The guys were a little singed around the edges, a few had holes in their clothes where they barely got out of the way of the blasts in time, but none of them appeared to have taken a direct hit. She inspected each hole to make sure, the guys standing patiently under her examination.

  Kincade ran his hands up and down her arms as if to reassure himself. Atlas and Draven kept their attention on Shade, as if expecting him to snatch her away again. Ascher lifted her chin, twisting her face side to side as he searched for injuries. When satisfied, he leaned his forehead against hers for a few seconds before passing her on. Ryder looked ready to spill out of his skin, and she slipped her arms around his waist and tucked herself close to him until the rumble in his chest subsided.

  When she turned, she came face-to-face with Shade, and she jerked back a little awkwardly. Then she spotted his arm. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Doesn’t everyone?” He gave her a funny look that left her feeling foolish.

  Avoiding his eyes, she probed the injury, ignoring the way he tried to squirm away from her. “You’re only singed a bit. You don’t even need a bandage.”

  “We need to go.” But Shade continued to stare at her oddly for a few more seconds, as if no one had ever taken care of him before, then backed away and headed down the hallway. “We need to discuss terms.”

  Granted, Shade might have saved her, but she was still uncertain of his objective. She sure as hell didn’t trust him, but the choice was out of her hands. If they didn’t make a deal, she and her guys would remain trapped in Tartarus with gods stalking their every step, while the primordial realm fell to ruins and basically imploded.

  “I don’t trust you. The—”

  “I just saved your life,” Shade protested, but she wasn’t buying it.

  “You saved me for a reason. What do you want?” They passed through a series of passageways, the white walls and white tiled floors reminding her of a laboratory of sorts, but instead of florescent lights, fey globes illuminated the corridors.

  “I was born in Tartarus, which means I am unable to leave on my own. The seal that closed off Tartarus from Mount Olympus is slowly syphoning magic from the residents. As you can imagine, no one is happy about it. To counter the draining effect, they ask for volunteers from each family to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.” His lips curled into a sneer at what he thought about the system.

  “Let me guess…you were volunteered?”

  He gave her a sharp nod. “The gods are fertile, if nothing else. Their many offspring ensure their line will never die out, but also prevent them from ever being hunted and sacrificed themselves. I’m the youngest and strongest of the demigods.”

  “So you want me to be your escape hatch.” Morgan felt for him, she really did, but giving a god free rein to do whatever he wished never worked out well for anyone. How would she be able to stop a god if he was left to muck about on his own?

  As if he sensed her wavering, he offered her the only guarantee he could. “If you don’t trust me, bind me.”

  Morgan stiffened at his request. Binding a person was a form of slavery. No one willingly gave another control over them without a damned good reason. They were already ankle-deep in shit, and she feared this step would send them up shit creek without a paddle. She wasn’t too worried about herself, but she hesitated to tie her team to a god.

  “Morgan, you don’t know anything about him.” Ascher was the one who protested. “There are consequences of binding a person to you.”

  “I’m a night mare.” Shade didn’t hesitate to divulge his secrets. He paused in front of a door and placed his palm against the metal. When locks clicked, he twisted the knob, then looked back at her. “I can enter people’s dreams.”

  Morgan scowled when he disappeared into the room, shaking her head as she made the connection to his name—he’s a freak’n nightshade. They were considered deadly creatures that lived in darkness and fed off people’s fear. That he was a night mare, the most powerful type of the nightshade family. He could invade people’s minds when they were at their most vulnerable, which only made it worse. “You have a lot more power than you’re admitting.”

  When she followed him into the room, the last thing she expected to find was a warehouse the size of a football field. The room was constructed of concrete and magic, the dozens of pillars the only things keeping the weight of the building from collapsing on them.

  Everything looked so…innocuous, so normal compared to the primordial realm.

  “You’re wondering why so much of the human realm is in Tartarus?” Shade waved his hand to indicate the room, as if reading her thoughts. “Magic can bind with the elements—dirt, air, water, fire…even humans. Tartarus was created by pure magic. It needed a binding element.”

  Morgan accepted the distraction, her mind churning with the startling information. “Hence why it resembles earth so much…without the binding elements, the magic used to create Tartarus would’ve faded eons ago.”

  Her eyes were drawn toward the back of the warehouse, and what he went through so much trouble to keep hidden. A thick sheet of glass protected what appeared to be a duplicate to the gate that delivered them to Tartarus.

  A way home.

  “Like my mother, I can disappear in darkness with only a thought. All I need is a shadow.” He placed his hand on the glass, and the sheet began to bend and fold into itself like an accordion, air whirling around them as the pressure was released. “I’ve been constructing the gate in private for decades.”

  “But how?” She raised her eyebrows as understanding dawned. “You dream-walked and stole the blueprints.”

  Shade entered the room, his strides determined, his intense focus kind of sexy, if a bit intimidating. A mighty roar shook the tower despite them being floors underground, and the glass door began to glide shut, sealing them inside, the seams melting back together to form a solid structure.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Morgan dropped her gaze from the ceiling, her pulse thudding in her veins, more rattled by the battle cry than she wanted to admit.

  “Dragons.” Shade glanced up as if he could see where they were through layers of solid stone and steel. “I’ve been a prisoner of this tower for the past three months while they stalked me, waiting for the perfect time to snatch me and offer me up as their sacrifice.”

  He walked over to a desk where dozens of books and blueprints were strewn across every surface. He tossed the pages in the air, then dragged his arm across the surface of the desk, clearing it in one sweep. “I’ve been searching years for how to access the portal, but had no success.”

  Draven surveyed the room, gauging their defenses, rapping on the glass, receiving a satisfyingly solid thunk in return.

  The tower shuddered again, and Shade whirled toward her, his chest heaving with frustration. “My time is up. I have maybe a day before the dragons tear down the towers and pry me out. You are my last hope.”

  Dammitdammitdammit.

  “Once we’re free of here, I promise to show you how to control your magic. I’ll train you,” he wheedled and cajoled. “I’m probably one of the few remaining in Mount Olympus who can still teach you the old ways. I can tell you how to stop the terraforming.”

  She couldn’t believe she was even entertaining his offer.

  If she decided to help him, she needed to put firm restrictions on their deal.

  “You will swear an oath that you won’t murder or have some
one else murder the current line of succession. You must swear you have no intention of taking over Mount Olympus and will refuse to help others if asked or even forced. You will not actively or inactively be involved with starting or participating in a war against me or mine.”

  Shade listened intently to each of her carefully worded demands, his stance rigid as if waiting for the other foot to drop. “Agreed.”

  “You must promise not to bring any harm to me or my men.”

  “I promise not to maim or kill them outright,” Shade countered.

  “Directly or indirectly.”

  “Directly or indirectly,” he parroted.

  As the building shuddered again, she knew the dragons were closing in on them.

  They didn’t have much longer.

  As if her thoughts summoned them, the door at the end of the room imploded into a tight ball of crumpled metal and a group of female soldiers entered the room, their uniforms a royal blue and gold. The badge on the sleeve was an owl.

  Athena.

  The female god of war.

  Fuck.

  The last woman to enter caught her attention. She was a tall, blue-eyed blonde. Her hair was pulled back into a severe bun, her build was all curves, pure temptation walking. Her sharp eyes swept the room and immediately landed on the seal. Avarice lit her eyes, and her mouth curled into a smirk.

  “Shade…shame on you, trying to bypass our laws. We’ve voted. Everyone agreed. It’s your turn. With your power, the people will be safe twice as long.” Her tone was low, almost rough, but there was no playfulness to it. “Stop being selfish. Turn yourself over to me. Your sacrifice will be quick. I promise.”

  Lies.

  Morgan suspected Athena had been torturing and hunting Shade for months.

  “Attie—”

  “Don’t call me that.” Her face twisted in a scowl. She was one of those beautiful women who didn’t have an ugly face, guaranteeing she would be universally hated by every girl in existence. “Surrender and I’ll call off the dragons.”