My heart drops at the scene in front of me. There is destruction everywhere. Mason’s body lays on the ground covered in blood, Ianna is holding something against his shoulder while Phee holds his head in her hands weeping over him.
Kai rushes to Ianna’s side reminding me once again that she isn’t mine to comfort, or protect.
My heart stops, Mason’s shirt is soaked in blood. While I was trying to come up with a plan to save them, my brother was bleeding out. I collapse on my knees at his side. My sarcastic, good natured brother, looking so pale.
“Imari!” Asher screams, running to her, she lay a few feet from where Mason lay. A strangled scream breaks free as he cradles her lifeless body.
“No baby, wake up, wake up, I’m here, everything will be okay,” he sobs. I turn away, unable to watch the sorrow wash over him. Nothing matters until I know Mason will be okay.
“Is he?” My words snap her out of her trance and she gasps, “Marcus! It was him, father, he was here. He shot them. Imari….” Her sobs shake her whole body when she sees Asher crying over Imari.
Pulling out my phone, “I need an Evac. Adam will be sending our location, get a helicopter on the roof ASAP, and a healer, we have injured.” I say hanging up, nodding to Adam who is already sending our coordinates to the extraction team.
“Get to the rooftop now. Helicopter inbound,” I announce to everyone.
Asher passes me, carrying Imari. “Can I help?” I offer. He pushes past me, unable to speak, drowning in his grief. Her death will be added to the blood on my hands, no doubt. Phee is alive, Ianna is alive. Mason’s heart is still beating, and a healer is on route. We will survive to fight another day.
We board the helicopter and disappear into the night having lost this battle but I’m more determined than ever to end that bastard’s life. I need to know what went down in that penthouse tonight. None of this sits right with me but the safety of my people is paramount tonight.
***
Phoenyx
He let us go. Why? He kills Imari, shoots Mason, then just let us go. None of it makes sense. I need to see Marcus. I pace the room a few times before sitting down again, I need to see Marcus.
We walked into a trap and then he let us go. I go over every detail I can remember, which isn’t anything after being knocked unconscious. Tension rolls through my body in waves. Something’s not right. I check that my firearm is in its holster for the third time in five minutes. I clench and unclench my hands but they won’t stop shaking. I can’t sit in this room anymore, waiting to be debriefed. What happened last night? Pain pulses in my temple, I told the medics I was fine; my head feels a little fuzzy but I’m okay.
There’s no way he’d let us go, unless he wanted to use us, but how, why? Trying to understand a madman is driving me insane. His voice is still echoing in my head, Kill Marcus. I close my eyes for a few seconds, trying to quiet my mind, everything is so loud, Kill Marcus. Standing up, my impatience taking over. “I need to see Marcus,” I say to no one in particular. The rest of the team is sitting around the room watching me, I don’t care about them, only Marcus. There are things I can tell only him. I need to see him.
Kai walks over, asking, “You okay?”
“This is taking forever and they won’t let me…” Kill, “see Marcus.”
“You’ll get your turn. I think you should come sit down, you’ve been through a lot, you need to stay calm. Maybe you should go lay down for a bit,” he states calmly.
“I don’t need to fucking sit or sleep, Kai. I need to…” Kill Marcus. Then it hits me. “Oh no,” I whisper covering my mouth, father compelled me. I won’t do it, I will break his compulsion, like I did with Marcus’s. He can’t seriously think I could… Kill Marcus.
“What do you need?” Kai asks. Kill Marcus. He can’t make me; I won’t do it. You will Kill Marcus.
“I need you to back off!” I sit back down. One incessant thought repeating over and over until nothing else exists. Kill Marcus, Kill Marcus, Kill Marcus. I try in vain to shake the invasive thoughts out of my head, everything is so fuzzy. “I don’t feel right; there is something… in my head.” I press my eyes closed tight and hold my head in my hands. Every time I close my eyes I see that cruel bastard smiling.
“What’s wrong with your head? You sure you’re okay? You’re acting kind of weird.” Kai’s comforting voice brings me back to the present, the echo in my head never dulling, Kill Marcus.
“No, I mean I just need to end this now.”
“What?”
What did I just say? I can’t focus I can’t hear anything over this constant buzzing in my head, Kill Marcus. “What? I don’t feel right, my head is pounding, I need to…” Kill Marcus. “clear my head.” I press the heel of my hand against my clammy forehead.
Asher enters the room, crossing in front of me. I see the pain behind his eyes. I don’t want to see his pain, not for her. I used to hate her, it was so easy to hate her, to put all the blame for all of our problems, on this one girl. Imari didn’t deserve my blame. A tear slips down my cheek, what can I say to him to ease his pain? She died for me, she’s dead because of me, all of us could die because of Marcus’s obsession with revenge. I want to make the world a better place but not at the expense of my friends. I stare back down at the floor too much of a coward to make eye contact. My guilt choking out any words of comfort I could give him.
“What really happened? You’re hiding something.” Asher’s ready to kill me with his bare hands, I consider letting him if it would stop the voices in my head. Kill Marcus.
“I’m not hiding anything.” Kill Marcus. “The mission went bad, that shit isn’t on me!” He stares at me in disbelief. He knows I’m hiding something. Am I hiding something? Kill Marcus. “I can’t do this with you right now, Ash. My head hurts. I need to talk to Marcus. I need sleep. I need to check on Mason.” Hoping he will show some mercy and leave me alone, but by the rage on his face, that isn’t going to happen.
“You always fucking hated her. Did you do something to her? How could you just stand by and let them kill her?” He accuses.
Let her die? “What?” I stand on shaky legs. Kill Marcus. Staring him down.
“You heard me. Answer the question, Nyx. Did you let her die because you hated her?” he rages.
“Fuck you, Asher! I never wanted to hate anyone, you made me hate her.” If he wanted a fight, I was more than willing to oblige.
“So you got rid of her. You were supposed to have her back. It’s your fault she’s dead!”
My fist slams into his jaw before I know what is happening. “You had our back, you were supposed to keep us safe, you never came!”
Kai pulls me back, trying to calm us both, “Back off, Asher. We all want answers but not like this. You know damn well she didn’t kill Imari.”
The door opens to Marcus’s office, Ianna walks out with red eyes. Having told Marcus her account of what happened last night. It was my turn. “I need to talk to you, now.”
“Alright, come in then.” He motions me into the room, I sit in the chair opposite him. “So it seems dear old dad has crawled his way to the top once again. I’m sorry what went down last night, Phee. I had no idea the consequences would be so high.” That’s his way of saying he’s sorry Imari is dead. Kill Marcus.
“We will get rid of the bastard once and for all,” he states coldly.
Face to face with him, the buzzing gets worse, all sounds and thoughts are muffled, all but one. Kill Marcus, kill Marcus, kill Marcus. “Kill Marcus,” I whisper, standing up. Oh god, it’s happening. I can’t move!
“What did you just say?” Watching me curiously.
“Something is really wrong.” My hand reaches for the gun from my holster, feeling the cold metal in my shaky hands sets my heart racing. “Kill Marcus.” The words echo in my head, drowning everything else out. I hold the side of the gun against my temple, the cool metal feels good against my pounding head. “It’s so loud. I can’t, I can’t stop it.”
His eyes widen in realization. “Guys!” He yells as he pulls his side arm out of its holster and aims it on me. “Drop the gun, Phee.”
I have no control over my body. “It’s not me!” My eyes widen as the gun slowly rises, zeroing in on Marcus. “I can’t stop it, Marcus.” Our eyes lock.
“Please, don’t make me shoot you,” he pleads with tears in his eyes.
The team floods into the room behind me as my finger squeezes the trigger over and over, emptying the gun of bullets. Even after I feel a bullet rip through my flesh my finger keeps pulling the trigger long after it’s empty. It keeps clicking until all the air is knocked out of my body as I’m slammed to the ground. The gun is pulled out of my grasp. I lay there staring at Marcus laying on the ground a few feet away. Flashing me back to the night at the barn so long ago. His eyes are as wide with disbelief as mine are.
Clutching my bleeding arm, I gasp as the world shifts into Technicolor. What I have done? I shot him, he’s bleeding from more than one bullet wound.
What have we done to each other?
“He’s compelled her!” he manages to shout.
Drifting in and out of consciousness. A towel is pressed against my arm; it’s soaked in blood already. The cloud in my head lifting, making room for rational thought and pain. So much pain.
Marcus curses, “He compelled her to kill me.”
I feel a sharp pain when I breathe. “Father wanted this all along, I’m so sorry. I tried to stop it,” I whisper my head falls back against the floor, getting too heavy to lift.
“Phee, stay with me. What have I done? Wake up.” I feel Marcus’s compulsion trying to break through the fog.
I open my eyes this beautiful face, Marcus. I reach out my hand and cup his cheek with my bloody hand. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t stand up to him,” I say.
Marcus’s body is shaking with pain and tears. “Shh, you’ll be fine,” he whispers, brushing the hair out of my face.
I shake my head. “Thank you for giving me a family.”
“No!” Marcus screams, as I slip into oblivion.
Fix You
Marcus
I hold her unconscious body in my arms and scream until my throat burns and then scream again. The lights flicker with the surge of my power. I frantically grab at the hole I put in her. Whispering to her, “Don’t leave me.”
Ianna comes running in behind me, screaming and falls to her knees, covering her mouth at the sight of all the blood. The room sways. Ignoring my own wounds, I focus on Phee.
My whole body is shaking. “I… I don’t know what to do! What do I do? Fuck! What do I do?” I stare at Phee’s face, brushing the hair away from her eyes. I have all of this power, it has to be good for something, I have to be able to fix this, I have to fix her. I did this to her, I have to fix it.
“Please hold on. I will make it better; I will take away all the pain. I will fix you. Just hang on!” pressing my hands on her wound and scream in frustration.
“Get Asher! We don’t have much time! Go, Ianna! Or we will lose her.” Her face has gone so pale. I won’t lose her.
“NOW!” I scream. Ianna scrambles out of the room screaming for Asher. I pray he hurries, as I hold the small body of my dying sister. Knowing this is happening because of me. I cry, holding her tight and press my forehead to hers, pleading, “Hold on for me, Phee. Please, we need you.”
Asher bursts into the room a minute later and collapses on the floor at Phoenyx’s side. “What the fuck happened in here?” Asher slaps her cheek with no response. He needs eye contact to heal her. Panic and desperation overwhelm me. After one final slap she gasps and opens her eyes and in that one second Asher has enough time to lock eyes with her and start healing the hole in her. I breathe a sigh of relief and collapse against the wall behind me. She will be okay. When he’s finished he picks her up, carrying her down to the bedroom across the hall. As my healer arrives, it’s my turn to be fixed. Once I’m healed I stand in the doorway watching her sleep, still covered in blood. This is my fault.
A sobbing Ianna bursts into the room with Mason, taking in the scene. Seeing Nyx is healed she wraps her arms around Asher in a fierce hug sobbing into his chest. Looking up at him she says, “Thank you, Ash.” Then crawls onto the bed facing Phee. Where she dotes on her, kissing her forehead and brushing her hair out of her face.
Mason shakes Asher’s hand and gives him a half hug. Then just stands there staring at fragile Phee like the whole world lives and dies with her, as always. I want to say something to him but I have no idea what to say, “Fuck, we almost lost her. I had no idea he would go this far.” He holds up one hand begging me to shut up. “She’s okay, Mase. Healed and will make a full recovery. He got into her head. I’ll end this, brother. She will be safe.”
“Get the fuck out of my sight, or I will finish what she started.” He gets on the bed laying behind her, pulling her against his body.
Asher just stands there, tears in his eyes, shock resonating in every feature in his face, staring at Nyx. He locks eyes with me and nods toward the door. I follow him outside on the balcony.
I rest my arms on the railing and stare at my bloody hands. “Thank you, Asher. Without you we would have lost her.” I watch him pacing the deck. He stops, glaring at me. He steps right up to my face. “I fucking told you to back off! I told you to leave her out of your shit!” He shoves me and I stand there and take it, I deserve every ounce of his rage and more.
I thought I could keep her away from him. I thought she would be safe. “I know, I fucking know, I’m sorry. She should have never had to face him alone.” I shake my head; I can fix this. “I will finish this. For her and for Imari, I will finish this. I will put him in the fucking ground, I promise you that.”
“Fuck your promises, Marcus. Just do right by her, for once in you selfish fucking life!” He pushes past me, I hear the front door slam and his motorcycle roar to life and fade into the distance.
“She should never have been drawn into our war, brother. It’s time to end it.” Mason says from behind me. His whole body is tight with rage.
Family reunion
Phoenyx
I shot Marcus. I try to wrap my head around everything; James Warren is alive and not my father, he compelled me to kill Marcus. Marcus isn’t my brother, he’s Mason’s.
“I have no family.” I say to Ianna as she steps into the bathroom with me. Setting out towels and fussing with my ruined clothing.
“You know that’s not true. Marcus and Mason chose you as their family, so have I and that’s more important than blood.” Pulling the shirt over my head. She then leans into the shower, setting the temperature just right.
“But they both lied to me.” How can I face them knowing they both kept something so huge from me?
“Would you have trusted them if they told you the truth? If Mason came up to you that first day and told you he has been in love with you since you were a little girl? You’d think he was insane.”
“True, but still, how can I trust him?” Taking my bra and panties off I step under the hot water, pools of red swirl at my feet. Washing away any trace of the shooting. I run my fingers over the small pink scar by my collar bone, the only sign left of the injury after Asher healed me.
“You just do. That’s what family does.” She says from the other side of the shower door, as she picks up my dirty clothes so I don’t have to see them again. She’s truly the best friend anyone could ask for.
“I love you, Ianna.” She stops her tidying and smiles at me.
“Love you too.” A quick knock followed by Mason peeking his head inside the bathroom.
“Can we talk?” He asks, I nod, turning the water off.
Ianna pats his chest as she goes by, smiling.
“So… how are you feeling?” he asks. As I wrap a fluffy white towel around myself.
“Lied to, manipulated, I feel like a fool for thinking Marcus was family, he was just using me this whole time.”
<
br /> He’s shaking his head. “No, he did it for me, he knew how important you were to me, he protected you, we both did, out of love. You have to understand; I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. You were this fiery haired girl, so loud and proud, stomping around the house like you ruled the world. How could I not love you?” His eyes searching mine for the forgiveness.
“Why didn’t you tell me, you saw me every day for the last four years, you couldn’t tell me? I felt so alone. Knowing how you felt would have made a difference.”
“How? What would I say, you didn’t even know me? That first day in the cell, when I stared at you, I was so sure we would lock eyes and you would smile and come running into my arms like you always did, but you watched me like I was a stranger. It killed me but I stayed. I couldn’t walk away from you, not then and not now. I knew it would take time, and honestly, I liked the idea of you falling in love with me all over again. I loved you, but I became a stranger to you overnight, I couldn’t act on it.”
“So you stayed by my side, for years, loving me and never telling me, watching me wallow in my loneliness and hate myself. I needed you then, Jake.” I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Mason followed me in silence until the door closed behind us.
“You had me. I’m sorry you felt so alone, I tried to get you away from Asher, remember, more than once, hell I tried to get you away from all of them, but you didn’t see me, you only saw them, and your grief.”
“I saw you, Mase. I loved you, I just never thought you could love me, and I was so afraid of you being like the rest. What a mess.” I say, pulling on one of Mason’s t-shirts before climbing under the covers.
“I will never stop loving you, Nyx. I would marry you today if you would have me.” He crawls into my bed and we spend the rest of the day proving how much we love each other. Losing ourselves in this beautiful moment. Devouring each other and ignoring the war we are in the middle of. Nothing exists but us.
Titan Elite (Demigods Duet Book 2) Page 13
