by JoAnna Grace
Evander lay on the floor, face down, one arm extended outward as if he was reaching for his desk.
“Evander!” Keona knelt beside him and rolled him on his back. His face was beaten nearly beyond recognition. The front of his dress shirt was stained red, soaked with his blood. There were multiple holes in the fabric from bullets. She checked for a pulse, but she couldn’t find one.
Her throat closed up, she couldn’t catch her breath, her world spun, and chills ran though her veins.
This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.
Evander was a Castille, he was untouchable. He had Thracian warriors at his disposal. There was no way he could die, not now, not like this.
Keona screamed his name and shook his shoulder, but his eyes wouldn’t open. A flood of new tears poured from her eyes and she cried out to the gods for mercy.
“Please! Please don’t take him from me,” Keona wailed, her voice cracking, her heart splintering into a thousand tiny shards that pricked her insides until she thought she would die alongside him. “No, Evander. You can’t die. Please don’t leave me. I love you. You can’t go. Come back, please, Evander. Wake up. Please don’t go.” She collapsed over him, not having the will to sit up.
The one time in her life she had finally found love, real love, she’d lost it.
“Oh, no.” The auburn-haired woman gasped and stood at the door of the safe room. She covered her mouth and moisture glistened in her eyes. “Is that Evander? Ryse’s cousin?”
Keona nodded, her hair stuck to the wetness on her face. “He told me to go.” Her chin trembled and shook so hard she could barely talk. “He, he made me leave him. If I would’ve stayed, I could’ve protected him. I…I…”
The other woman crouched down in front of her and pushed Keona’s hair off her cheek. “This isn’t your fault. The Rogues killed him. Not you. This isn’t your fault, okay?”
“My sister is gone, too.” Keona was nothing more than a scared child in that moment. Everyone she loved was gone. She had failed to keep Piper and Evander safe. Thank the gods her mother wasn’t here to see what a failure her child had become.
“We have a tracker, Keona. We can find her.”
The two men entered the room. Brenden spoke softly, “It’s all clear, Avery. There’s nothing else alive around here. Yankee is on the phone with Ryse. We need to get you back to the Haven, ASAP.”
“Avery?” Keona intently studied the woman across from her. “You’re the Master Thracian’s mate?”
She smiled and freakin’ angels sang. “That’d be me, darlin’.”
Keona wiped her nose and started crying again. “Your husband is going to kill me for sure.” If Ryse Castille found out Evander died because of her, he would chop her head off.
“No.” Avery touched her hand. “I won’t let him. You clearly love Evander. Let’s take him back to the Haven so we can keep his body safe.”
Keona gathered up Evander and told the others to grab on. She blinked them back to the palace. Avery called for Paeans to come quickly, but Keona refused to let them take him. His spirit was gone, she knew that, his flesh was all she had left.
“What is this madness?” An aura so powerful it robbed her of oxygen rushed over her like a winter blizzard. Everyone ceased their actions. Keona stared up and up and up into the pissed off face of the Master Thracian.
“Evander’s compound was raided,” Avery said as she got to her feet. “Keona, uh, picked up me and Bren and Yankee for help.”
“Is that…is that my cousin?” Ryse knelt down next to the beaten and broken remains. He touched Evander’s face with unexpected gentleness. He bowed his head and whispered, “Holy Zeus, receive his spirit. He was your faithful servant.”
Scorching ripples of anger hit Keona and she shivered. Never in her life had she been more terrified, her brain stalled out, petrified with fear. The beast of a man in front of her was a legend, a demigod of death and destruction. Only the day before, she’d watched with Evander, as this man, who knelt inches from her, executed a Deity princess. Keona didn’t want to breathe. She didn’t blink. If it were possible to will her heart to stop beating so he wouldn’t hear it, she would’ve tried. No one would want this predator to fix his attention on her, yet that’s exactly what happened.
“You,” he snarled like a tiger ready to devour his meal. “Explain.”
Keona lowered her eyes. In that moment she remembered all the times that Evander had promised her Ryse was on her side. Evander had had faith in Ryse’s love for his people and his devotion to their safety. She prayed, oh how she prayed, that the man she loved was right.
“Evander saved me. He took me and my sister in and he promised me that you wouldn’t hurt us. He said you were on our side.”
Ryse narrowed his brown eyes at her, then they lit with recognition. “You’re his teleporter.”
His teleporter. The words broke her heart. Fresh tears came to her eyes even though her head ached from crying so much already. “Yes, I’m his.” Keona touched Evander’s hair, and tightened her hold on him. “And he was mine.” She dared meet Ryse’s eyes so he could see the sincerity there. “I tried to save him.”
Ryse’s dark eyebrows dipped low on his forehead and he dropped his eyes with a nod. Keona told all of them who she was, where she came from, and how Evander took her and Piper in and gave them a real life, even if it only lasted for a couple months.
Ryse listened, still and quietly. When her story was done, he turned his head to Brenden, the baby-faced Thracian she’d kidnapped earlier.
He nodded. “Truth.”
Without another word, Ryse held out his arms to receive his cousin. Keona struggled to let go. As morbid as it was, she needed to stay with Evander, needed to know there would be dignity to his death.
“Fear not, I will cleanse him and we will prepare his cremation as the gods have ordered us to honor our dead.”
Keona allowed Ryse to lift Evander into his arms.
“Because my cousin loved you, you are welcomed in my home. If your sister is a Grace, you have my word that we will find her. Take my tracker back to Evander’s estate. Start there.”
“Th-thank you, Master Thracian.”
Avery held out a hand to Keona. “Come on, girl. Let’s see if we can’t find some clues to where your sister is, huh?”
“You’re not going,” Ryse said to Avery, who grinned widely at him.
“Of course I am, darlin’. I just incinerated about fifteen of those shits. I got this. You and Hayden and Dyna take care of your cousin.”
“Hayden.” Keona remembered Ryse’s brother, the one she thought was Piper’s dream guy. “I need to talk to him. I need to know if he’s the one my sister has been seeing in her dreams.” If he was, this could change everything. This could be the man her sister was going to be with for the rest of her life, the man Keona would call brother-in-law.
Ryse’s brows dipped low, his eyes scrutinizing her once more. “Your sister? She dreams of my brother?”
“I-I think so. I know she dreams of a man and Evander showed me a picture of Hayden. He matches her description.” Please Zeus, don’t let me be wrong about this.
“Brenden, go.” The blond jogged off. “Yankee, you stay with her until this is sorted. I must attend to my cousin.”
Ryse left with Evander’s body. As much as she wanted to say goodbye, to be with him as they prepared him for cremation, she was frightened that the Castille family wouldn’t want her around. She was a Nadal, after all. What if the dust settled and they really didn’t care how much Evander loved her, or that she loved him? What if they accepted Piper, because she was a Grace, but not Keona?
Voices and the sound of running feet came from behind her. Keona turned around and wiped the tears from her face.
A man ran right up to her and gaped. “Holy Zeus, you look just like her.” He laughed but it was a nervous sound, a mixture of happiness and sadness. He shook his head. “You’re her twin? I knew she had a
sister, but not a twin.”
Relief swamped her and Keona bit her bottom lip. “Piper. Her name is Piper, and she’s told me a lot about you.” Keona couldn’t help but smile. There was a familiarity about him, something deeply rooted in her heart and mind that said he belonged to her sister, and therefore belonged to her as a brother.
“Piper.” He said her name and his grin stretched so far across his face it could’ve split it in two. “It fits. I’m Hayden, Hayden Castille.” He stuck out his hand.
Keona held out her bloodstained hands and one of the Paeans handed her a towel. “I’m Keona…Nadal.”
“Are you…”
“Marlaina’s daughter.” Keona swallowed and lifted her chin.
Hayden touched his lips with his fist and studied her. “Marlaina had children? Where’ve you been?”
“It’s complicated.” Keona rubbed the blood from her hands and wished that everyone would quit staring.
Another woman with long, midnight hair and ivory skin tapped Hayden on the shoulder. “I’ve seen her in my visions. She is meant to be here, my lord.” The radiant woman leaned in and whispered something in his ear, then glanced over at Yankee, who frowned.
“You better not be talking about me, eight ball,” he grumbled, but he kept his eyes pinned on Keona until his steady stare made her squirm.
“Thank you, Lysandra.” Hayden nodded to the other woman and then grinned at Keona. “It’s okay, we can work it all out later. Where’s your sister?”
Her hands faltered and their eyes met. “I don’t know. I teleported her to the park where I thought she would be safe, it was our emergency meeting spot, and when I went back, she was gone, the Thracian with her was gone, and there were a lot of boot prints around. She hasn’t reached out to me telepathically and I’m afraid they’ve either trapped her mind or…oh gods. I’m sorry.”
As she spoke, Hayden’s face fell. His shoulders rose and fell with deep breaths, his jaw clenched and unclenched. He knew the danger, just like Keona did.
“It’s my fault, all of it. They tracked me and now she’s gone and it’s all my fault.” Keona bit the inside of her mouth, wishing she would stop blubbering, but she couldn’t. Gods, she was scared for her sister.
“Shh.” Hayden pulled her into a hug and ran his hand down her hair. “We’ll find her, Keona. We have to. I’m just so glad you’re here.” He leaned back and moisture had gathered in his eyes. “You’re confirmation that I’m not insane.”
One of the men cleared their throats. Yankee, she thought.
Hayden took a deep breath. “Excuse what I’m about to do.” He gave Yankee the finger and Keona covered her laughter with the back of her hand. “He’s our resident ass. You’ll either love him or…who am I kidding, you’ll probably hate him like the rest of us do.”
Yankee crossed his arms over his chest and snickered, clearly glad his prince thought him an ass. A couple other men chuckled. Relief flooded her. These weren’t gods set up on pedestals like she feared. They were normal people—well, for Olympians. They made jokes and got on each other’s nerves. An odd sense of home nestled itself right in the dark corner of her heart.
“Miss?” A black man, tall and thin, bowed to her. Keona got the sense that he’d seen many, many centuries of life. “Will you transport me to the last place you saw your sister? Cutter and Philippe can be dispatched to Master Evander’s home, if you will?”
“Yes.” Keona nodded.
“Then come back.” Hayden touched her shoulder. “You should be here for Evander’s pyre. Ryse said he was very taken with you. Drop them off and come back. Please.”
There were no words, only a deep, overwhelming emotion that Keona didn’t understand. Maybe it was because he was Evander’s cousin, maybe it was because she knew he would be with Piper. She couldn’t explain it, but she wanted to be around Hayden Castille. She wanted to be near Avery and even the ass they called Yankee. These were her people, though she couldn’t quantify the desired connection.
Keona blinked the warriors where they needed to go and came back to the palace. Hayden was sitting on a bench at the entrance of the castle, waiting on her. She held out her arms and showed him the suit she’d brought back for Evander.
“It was his favorite. I think he should wear it.”
“I think that would be perfect.” Hayden took her by the hand and led her out of the castle and to a temple. “I want you to know that Ryse’s Elites will work non-stop to find Piper. Hammon is the best tracker in the Olympian world, Brenden has gifts I can’t even explain. We have Lysandra, who is an oracle and gets visions of various things. Avery is, well, she’s a freak of nature, but we love her all the same.” They shared a laugh. “They’ll find her.”
“She hasn’t reached out to me telepathically. That’s what has me worried. I’ve talked to her when she was in Japan, Egypt, Australia. It’s not a distance thing, unless the Haven is affecting it, I just don’t know. I think I need to be out there, with the guys, helping them.”
Hayden agreed, nodding. “Okay. If that’s what you want. I’ll do anything to get her home safe.”
“I know you will.” Keona leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, it was as natural as breathing.
The Castille family waited until the rest of Evander’s family arrived at the Haven before they gathered to send his remains to the gods. Keona stayed in the background. She’d only had his love for a couple months, these people had been his family for centuries. He had sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews. They filled up the temple.
To her great shock, Hayden held her hand and introduced her to each and every one of them as Evander’s mate. The gesture was kind, but only made her sadder. She wasn’t his mate, she hadn’t been that lucky. She’d had his love, had his body, and had his heart. Their time together was precious, and far too short to feel like anything more than a cruel tease from the fates.
By the time they lit Evander’s pyre, she was angry. Keona closed her eyes and vowed to the gods that she would avenge him, she would make the Rogues pay for what they’d stolen from her, from this family. The flames danced in her vision and she prayed that Athena give her the strength to kill every single Rogue she could get her hands on.
“I know that look.” Yankee came to stand next to her, an annoying presence at best.
“What look is that?”
“The look of a vengeful woman.” His cocky attitude and abrasive personality only made her anger intensify.
“Seen it in the mirror, have you?”
“Ouch.” He chuckled quietly as they stood in the back of the temple. “The hatred radiates off of you. Your aura is drenched in it. Better cover that shit up.”
“Thanks for the advice.” Keona kept her eyes on the flames.
Yankee stepped into her line of sight. “You want blood for blood? You’re in the right place to get it. But you better be careful what you wish for. The Master will eat you up and shit you out if you’re not loyal. We need a teleporter, but you’ve got to be a team player.”
Keona narrowed her eyes at him, noting the silver in his stare. “I want them dead. All of them. I want to find my sister and see if Cain is still alive. I want Evander’s death to not be in vain. I want blood.”
A smirk lifted one side of his mouth, his eyes glittered with danger. “Well, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll help you find your sister, then you have to help me find mine.” Yankee stuck out his hand, those eyes daring her to take him up on it.
It was making a deal with the devil, she had that certainty in her heart. Keona shook on it. She would need all the help she could get if she was going to get Piper back. Yankee was a scrapper, she’d seen it at the clinic. He was not only a Thracian, but an Elite, one of the Master’s best, and she needed friends in high places.
Piper would be found. Piper would meet her prince. Blood would spill on Evander’s behalf. These vows Keona locked in her heart as she shook Yankee’s hand. She would be the warrior her mother trained her to be
and she would rescue her sister, even if it meant making deals with Hades himself.
HE SCREAMED AGAIN and again, his suffering sickening to hear. Over and over he cried out in agony as they tortured him. Piper sobbed at the sounds he made. The Rogues forced her to watch as they strung him up, burned him with branding irons, cut off his fingertips, nailed his foot to the floor, and pulled out his toenails one by one.
Cain screamed, he yelled, he cursed the men who handled the tools of his torture, but he never broke. He kept his eyes on Piper like she was his only hope…until they sewed them shut. At that point he cried out praises to the gods, thanking Ares for his strength to endure, thanking Zeus for his time on earth and for Piper, always for Piper.
Each breath from her lungs labored and stuttered. Thirst robbed her of the ability to swallow and her throat burned from screaming. She hated the Rogues, the emotion so heavy in her heart she feared it would make her combust. Witnessing Cain’s torture was worse than dying, worse than the pain of their demon-creature trying to hack her brain, and almost as bad as the fear of what they would do to her. Was she next? Would she have to endure this madness?
They whipped Cain until the flesh fell from his back and his ribs were visible. Still he never broke. Piper did her best to mirror his strength but she wanted the torture to end, she wanted them to leave Cain alone, or kill him.
“You can make this end, my darling,” Ashton Avondale crooned softly to her. “All you have to do is tell me where the teleporter is.”
Piper stared at Cain, he was filthy, bloody, and in such great agony, all because of her. Yet he still had the strength to whisper, “Don’t.”
If Cain could endure, so could she. Piper glared at Ashton. Her bottom lip trembled, yet she growled like a feral animal. “I don’t know.”
“Wrong answer.” He motioned to his pet with the whip and the crack was followed by Cain’s screams.
“The god’s will punish you for this!” Piper cried out, tears flowing down her face.
Ashton’s nostrils flared and one eye ticked. “Do you have any clue what your gods have done? They ordered that barbarian to kill my sister and set free a true murderer. They brought a witch straight from the pits of hell back to life. They kicked an oracle out of Delphi. They have botched up our people so horridly that monsters are being bred and the Thracians are nothing but murderous hordes of brainless sheep. You serve those gods? Where are they now?” He pointed to Cain. “Where is Ares now? He’s not saving one of his special sons, now is he?”
