by Helen Scott
When the song began again, she knew she would have to come up with some way to prevent herself from losing it. Just when she thought she was going to scream in frustration at the guitar riffs echoing inside her head, the music switched.
The theme to a children’s TV show started playing. It was cloyingly sweet after the rage of the heavy metal, leaving her head buzzing and her senses confused. The sounds of toy instruments made her want to laugh as the beating of the drum from the previous song still pounded her skull.
No matter the song, though, it vibrated through her whole body, getting inside her, shaking her bones. The lights didn’t help, either. Her entire world felt like it was on fire. She couldn’t see anything except the bright white light.
Even closing her eyes didn’t do much. Sure, it helped, but only marginally. The blazing lights just made her eyelids glow, and she became vividly aware of the color of her eyelids and the small veins that spider webbed across them.
Sweat poured off her body. This had to be a nightmare; none of it had ever happened before.
Abruptly, the lights turned off and the music stopped.
Her whole body sagged in relief.
Tears leaked from her eyes before the single bulb above her head turned on and Mitchell and O’Connell reentered the room. The former came and squatted down in front of her, while the latter took up his usual position by the door.
“Did you have fun, princess?” he sneered as he grabbed hold of her hair, yanking her head down toward his. “Crying, huh? Let’s give you something to cry about.”
He stood and turned to his partner, who nodded.
“Did you see? She had so much fun, she’s crying!” Mitchell let out a peal of laughter that made Aster’s skin crawl, before he swung around and his fist connected with her face.
The blow was so unexpected, and she was still so disoriented from the music, that she didn’t have time to brace herself.
Pain shot through her jaw, exploding across her face, forcing a sob from her body.
“Pain or visions. You know the score by now.”
“Don’t you think if I could voluntarily have visions, I would have by now?” she said, spitting blood out of her mouth as she blinked up at him, her eyes still struggling with the change in lighting.
She never saw the second punch coming.
The impact rocked her in the chair, and then the black of unconsciousness claimed her once again.
Chapter 3
Dem didn’t know what to do. Aster had been writhing on the couch for over an hour now. Hal had come and gone, once again coming to the conclusion that this wasn’t something physical that he could correct, but rather something metaphysical or magical that would have to run its course.
That just wasn’t acceptable to him.
There had to be something he could do, some way to help. Aster had been talking to someone in the beginning, and when she woke up, he was going to find out exactly who it was, but until then, he was going to make her as comfortable as possible. Scooping her small shaking frame up, he walked her into his bedroom and, pulling back the quilt, set her down among the mass of pillows he had accumulated over the years. She looked so small on his bed.
It was the one area he allowed himself to have whatever he wanted. Custom-built bed that was bigger than any he had ever found? Check. Stupidly expensive sheets? Check. A comforter or quilt for each season? Check. More pillows than he knew what to do with? Double check.
Covering Aster with the quilt, he pulled out his phone and messaged Thad and Cin. She was his last hope of anyone being able to shed light on what was going on. The only reason he hadn’t contacted her first was because he knew the sisters weren’t in a good place after they butted heads earlier. Plus, Cin was still learning what being a fury meant, and he suspected Aster hadn’t really worked through what had happened to her.
He prayed to the gods that something like this had happened before, but if it hadn’t, he wouldn’t stop looking for whatever the cause was. He might be denying everything he felt toward Aster, but he wouldn’t abandon her just because his desire for her pounded through his veins like a stampede. The need to protect her drowned the rest out, for now, at least.
“Dem?” Thad’s voice called out.
Instead of just messaging back, Thad and Cin had jumped over.
“Here,” he called as he walked out of the bedroom.
“What’s going on?” Cin’s voice was thick with worry. He could almost see her fury side rising within her.
“Let’s go sit. Coffee? Water? Vodka?” He looked between his brother and new little sister, still getting used to Thad’s blue eyes and Cin’s presence by his brother’s side.
“No. Just tell me what’s going on with my sister.”
They sat by the pool. He found it slightly ironic that he had sat in these same seats with Aster a month or so ago, telling her that they could be friends even though he couldn’t get the weekend they’d spent together out of his head. And he told her about Isa, something he hadn’t planned on, but it was good that she knew. The pain and disappointment in her gold eyes had been a punch in the gut.
He reined in his thoughts and focused on the present, explaining everything he could to Cin.
“So she’s unconscious in your bed right now?”
He nodded.
“Brother, what she told you about the first vision, I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“I figured. I just wanted to cover all the plausible bases before expanding my thinking.”
Cin looked at her soulmate, her mouth bracketed with concerned lines as a little v formed between her brows. When Thad nodded, Dem knew that he’d made the right call. Cin knew something about Aster that she didn’t know about herself.
“Aster doesn’t know this, but she and I were both . . . adopted, in a fashion. Julie, our mom, is actually the goddess Juventas. Apparently, she takes in the kids of gods and mythical creatures who can’t or won’t care for them. The thing is, she had no clue who my parents were, which is why my fury side was such a surprise, but she has an idea of who Aster’s parents might be. I don’t know that she’d ever pursue them or give you that knowledge, but she might give it to Aster.”
Dem felt rocked to his core. Had he known of Aster’s connection to a goddess, he never would have even talked to her. The gods were poison to him. Everything they touched seemed to become diseased or decay, not to mention they had collectively thrown him off Mount Olympus when he’d confronted Zeus. They had all been so scared of the thunder god that they let him get away with whatever he wanted. Anger boiled through Dem’s blood at the memory.
“Do you mind if I go see Aster?” Cin’s voice cracked a little at the end as the emotion she was trying so hard to hold in escaped.
“Of course not. She’s just around the corner to the left.” Dem pointed in the direction of his bedroom.
Thad stayed behind as Cin made her way out. “Are you okay, Brother?”
“Why would I not be okay?”
Thad quirked an eyebrow at him. “Really? Are we hiding things from one another now?”
Dem sighed. He should have known. Not only was Thad his best friend, the brother he was closest to, but he also had visions similar to Aster, a trait passed down by their grandmother, who was the most powerful Oracle of Delphi.
Keeping his voice low as he spoke, Dem said, “Aster and I met once a while back. We spent the weekend together. I didn’t realize she was Cin’s sister until we got her back to the island and she was cleaned up.” He paused, waiting to see if his brother expected more, or if he could get away with just that. When no response came from Thad other than raised eyebrows, Dem knew he wasn’t getting out of this easily. “I care for her. She’s Cin’s little sister, and she’s been through enough. I just want to get through this so she and I can both move on with our separate lives.”
“I see.” Thad’s eyes, the palest sapphire, glittered with unspoken knowledge. “Why do you have to be separate? It
’s been obvious, at least to me, that something has been going on between you two for a while now. Why not see where it goes?”
Dem felt like he’d been slapped. He thought that his brother would get it, that he wouldn’t have to explain why this would never work, why he would never be good for Aster. His voice was rough with emotion when he finally spoke. “Have you forgotten what happened to Isa? How can I condemn another woman to that fate? It’s better that I just keep my distance.”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten Isabeau. I’m not trying to be harsh when I say this, but, Brother, she’s been gone a long time, and she wouldn’t want you to withdraw from life just because you were scared. She was fearless and would expect you to be the same.”
Dem couldn’t listen, didn’t want to hear anyone else’s thoughts on his Isa. No one else had seen her in the asylum, had seen what they did to her, except him. He would forever feel the guilt of what he did. Standing, he went and poured himself a drink. The thick clear liquid sloshed in the glass before he tipped it into his mouth. The almost flavorless liquid was biting at first before warming him as he swallowed. He refilled the glass.
Taking a deep breath, Dem knew he had to squash whatever Thad was thinking, or his brother would never leave it alone. “Listen, I know you mean well, but—”
“Something’s happening!” Cin’s voice called frantically from the bedroom.
Thad and Dem both jumped there. Sure, it only saved a second or two, but when someone was sick or hurting, a second or two could make all the difference.
As he looked down at Aster’s waves of blonde hair spread over the pillow he had put her on, he immediately saw what had scared Cin. Black vein-like spider webbing spread around Aster’s damaged eye, making it seem as though her face was cracking. Dem’s hand came out and skimmed over the delicate skin of Aster’s forehead, feeling for any changes, but there was nothing there. He’d expected either a ridge or dip where the lines were, but her skin was as smooth as he remembered. The discoloration was strongest on her eyelids themselves, making it look like she was wearing heavy makeup on a single eye.
Aster gasped, making everyone in the room jump.
Her eyelids fluttered open. A sob escaped her sister, and Dem realized exactly how worried Cin had been, which was almost as worried as he was. As he watched Aster take in the scene around her, something in his chest eased.
A liquid gold eye traced the line of his face, skirting his own gaze, while her icy blue eye just seemed to be along for the ride. It didn’t seem to have the same emotion, the same expressive nature as its gold counterpart, making it almost seem as though two people were looking out at him instead of just one.
“Hey,” she said, looking at her sister.
Tears streamed down Cin’s face as she rushed forward and crushed Aster to her in a way only family could.
“I’m okay,” Aster’s voice croaked as Cin pulled back. “Could I get some water?” She glanced at Dem.
He was in the kitchen with the glass half full and back again before anyone really started processing what was going on. “What happened this time?” Dem’s mouth moved before his mind could catch up.
As this captivating woman relayed the torture that had happened to her in her own mind, Dem struggled to control his anger. When he found whoever was doing this to her, they were going to get the beating of a lifetime.
“Dem, calm down. My fury is angry enough for both of us. You don’t need to feed that fire.”
“Sorry.” He was still getting used to having something even he had considered a mythical creature as a living, breathing person beside him.
Being a fury was a challenge that Cin was handling but wouldn’t talk about with anyone other than Thad. He knew she was sensitive to anger, but he hadn’t realized how much. Clamping down on his emotions, he moved to the back of the room.
“Actually, would you guys mind giving us a minute?” Cin looked at both of them meaningfully, and they scurried out.
Dem could only imagine what Aster’s reaction was going to be after finding out that Cin wasn’t her biological sister and that the woman she thought was her mother was actually a minor goddess. As he walked out of the room, he glanced over his shoulder at Aster and caught her watching him. Something kicked at the door to his heart, and he wanted to kick back. All he knew was that it felt like he was fighting a war he wasn’t going to win. Whether it was for or against Aster, he didn’t know. At least, not yet.
Chapter 4
Aster watched her sister. The bombshell she was about to drop was already written all over her face. Cin’s dark hair used to be a riot of color, all blues, purples, and greens, but after she became a full fury, she dyed it back to her natural dark brown.
It almost made her a little sad. She loved the rebel side of her sister, the side that had given the middle finger to art school and become an amazing tattoo artist instead, the side that didn’t care what others thought of her body, so she wore whatever the hell she wanted. She hoped that side wasn’t gone.
“So, here’s the thing. I’ve been keeping a secret from you for a while now, and with everything that’s happening, I would feel like an asshole if I didn’t tell you now.” She took a deep breath and paused.
Aster wanted to shake her and tell her to just get on with it, but there was no rushing Hyacinth, never had been.
“The thing is”—Cin couldn’t meet Aster’s eyes—“we’re both adopted.” She paused again before the words came out in a rush. “Mom is actually the goddess Juventas, and we are descended from gods, or in my case, mythical beings, who couldn’t or wouldn’t raise us for whatever reason. It’s kind of what she’s taken on as her job since she was kicked off Mount Olympus. It doesn’t mean she loves us any less, just that the biology isn’t there to back us up as a family.”
Aster’s mouth had dropped open. She stared at her sister for a long moment before she said, “You do realize that sounds completely batshit crazy, right?”
“I know, but honestly, Mom wasn’t even going to tell me. I overheard her and Thad talking about it; it’s how I finally got him to tell me that he was a siren. I have no reason to lie to you, Sunshine. Sorry, I mean Aster.”
Guilt twisted through her stomach. “Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you. I know you don’t mean anything when you call me Sunshine. I’m just feeling a little like the brothers think I’m a kid, and I’m only a few years younger than you, for crying out loud! I just want to be treated as an adult, not your baby sister. It’s not your fault, though, so I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
“It’s okay. I get it. Besides, if you can’t take your frustrations out on family, who can you take them out on?” She grinned.
A dark thought swept through Aster’s mind. She knew exactly who she could take her frustrations out on, and he was currently chained up in a cage. Not that she could tell Cin any of that. Instead, she just smiled at her sister.
“Listen, go and talk to Mom when you feel up to it. See what she has to say. She might even know who your birth parents are. She had no clue with mine, but that wasn’t her fault. It might be something that helps with whatever is going on inside that noggin of yours.”
“I will, just as soon as these nightmares leave me alone for more than an hour.”
Cin got up to leave. “Just so you know, you’re still my sister and you always will be. I don’t care what any dumb DNA says. We are family.”
Aster could see the tears still shimmering in her sister’s hazel eyes, but she knew if she drew attention to it, then Cin would be uncomfortable, so she just nodded and said, “Always.”
They smiled at each other, and then she was alone in Dem’s bedroom. The thought startled her.
She was in Dem’s bedroom.
She flopped back down onto the pillows, and the scent of him wafted up around her, making her toes curl. Exotic spices and salty air. It was like the ocean was in their blood, and they carried the scent of it with th
em wherever they went.
Her eyes, or she supposed her eye, darted around the room, trying to take as much in as possible before he came in and kicked her out. Two of the walls were windows that looked out onto forest, the other was one long closet, and the third held a TV and the door. The TV was mounted high on the wall so he could watch it from lying in bed—that much was obvious. The single nightstand held some change in a dish and a book.
It was like he wanted to torment her with the lack of personal details around.
“How are you feelin’?” His deep voice rumbled from the doorway.
She sat back up. “Confused, mainly, and a little sore.”
“Sore?”
“I think I must have been pretty tense while I was having the nightmare. My muscles in my back ache.” She reached behind her and pressed both of her hands into the arch of her back.
Dem’s eyes dropped.
Aster had never really had a large chest, but right now, it was getting her the attention she wanted. Growing up, she’d always envied Cin’s curves, but once she discovered her love for dancing, she was glad she had a small frame. It was easier to throw herself around that way.
“Why don’t I run you a bath? It’s got jets and everything, so it will help with the soreness,” he said, wrenching his eyes away from her tits.
“That’d be nice.” She smiled at him.
He nodded and walked out.
She could have sworn she didn’t fall asleep, but suddenly Dem was there, gently rubbing her shoulder.
“Hey there, sleepy. Still want your bath?”
She nodded, rubbing her eyes. He had been careful to stay out of her blind spot ever since she woke up the first time. It was a small gesture, but one she appreciated.
“Here, allow me.” The corner of his mouth quirked up as his hands slid under her legs and around her back.
It was the closest she’d seen to a smile on his face since she came to the island. Too stunned to protest, she allowed him to carry her to the bathroom. As they entered, she saw that the same theme of wood and glass continued in the luxurious bathroom. The tub was sized for Dem, which had to mean it was specially made, since he was so tall, he wouldn’t fit into a normal tub. There was steam rising from the water and a small layer of bubbles on top.
