“Yep,” Julian said. “You, Octavia, and Cillian will be heading to the arena this week.”
“Good.” Hate filled Felix’s eyes. “Pretending that I like Octavia…” He shuddered. “She’s a sour person, and she tastes sour, too. It takes every effort not to flinch every time I touch her.”
“I can’t imagine,” I said.
“I gotta do what I gotta do.” He shrugged. “Even if that means wanting to kill her every time I kiss her.”
I was glad Cassia wasn’t there to hear the details about what we all suspected was going on between Felix and Octavia behind closed doors. But this was the first time Felix had voiced his disgust about Octavia—and it was the first time he’d made it clear that there was more than just flirting between them.
Has he touched Octavia the same way Julian touched me?
I glanced at Julian out of the corner of my eye, my cheeks heating at the memory of how intimate we were last night. Warmth throbbed below my stomach just from thinking about it. If Felix weren’t there right now…
“It’ll be immensely satisfying to watch Cillian take out Octavia.” Felix crossed his legs and smirked. “She deserves what’s coming for her.”
I opened my mouth to say no one deserved to be killed, but then closed it. Because Octavia was in a league of her own.
“Octavia needs to go,” Julian agreed. “And I’m glad to see you’re a man of your word. Thanks for volunteering for the arena this week.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “The four of us until the end, right?”
“Right.” Julian’s voice was firm.
I only nodded. Because by the time we were supposed to reach final four, I intended to be far away from the Otherworld.
“Speaking of the final four,” Felix continued. “I had to leave Cassia down there with the sharks so I could check in with the two of you. I don’t want to leave her there alone for any longer than I have to.” He glanced at the door, looking truly worried.
“You really do care about her,” I said “Don’t you?”
“Cassia’s special,” he said. “She’s too good-hearted for the Games. I might not have long with her, but while we’re both still here, she deserves to be loved.” He lowered his eyes, as if embarrassed for admitting his feelings. Then he stood up and walked to the door, turning to face us again when his hand was around the knob. “Anyway, I know you two lovebirds need your time alone—”
“It’s not like that,” I broke in, although the lie was less than convincing.
“Come on.” Felix rolled his eyes. “I’m the chosen champion of Venus. I can smell your raging hormones from downstairs.”
“We haven’t…” I trailed off, since I had no intention of giving Felix the details.
“No judgment here.” He held his hands up in innocence. “Releasing your stress is healthy. But as I was saying, it might not be a bad idea to go down there and mingle. Make some more connections with the other champions. You know the drill.”
He left, and the moment the door shut, Julian and I closed the space between us. I didn’t know who kissed who first, but soon I was laying flat on the bed, and his hard, muscular body was on top of mine.
“Felix is probably right,” I managed to say in between kisses. “We should go down and mingle.”
“We probably should.” His lips were quickly on mine again, and neither of us made an effort to stop.
Our kisses grew more desperate, our bodies moving in perfect rhythm together. Stopping without a repeat of last night was going to be physically impossible.
Suddenly, heat flared across my skin. And it didn’t come from inside of me.
Julian and I turned our heads simultaneously to look at the hearth.
Vesta stood in front of the blazing fireplace.
Next to her was the most impossibly beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
With long golden hair, a heart shaped face, and skin so perfect that it must have been air brushed, the woman was ethereal in a way that the most stunning movie stars could only dream about. Her white and gold dress showed off as much of her perfect figure as possible, but I had a feeling she’d be gorgeous even in a potato sack.
Julian was off of me in a flash, standing in front of the foot of the bed and straightening his clothes. I did the same.
The orbs that had been in the room a minute ago were gone.
“Pardon the interruption,” Vesta said with a knowing smile. “But after our chat last night, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
The beautiful woman gave Vesta a haughty look and brought her hair over her shoulder. “I assume they’ve already figured out who I am.” She looked at Julian, and then at me, with an expression that said we either got this right or she’d want nothing to do with us. “They always do.”
There was only one person I knew who came close to matching her arrogance. And he’d only just left this room.
“You’re Venus.” I straightened my shoulders and held her gaze. “The goddess of love.”
7
Selena
“I knew you’d get it right,” she said. “Especially since both of you have been marked by my own hand.”
“You mean our soulmate marks?” I asked.
“Of course.” She walked over to the couch and sat down, lounging with her legs out so she took up the entire thing. “It’s entertaining to watch humans try—and usually fail—to find their soulmates. But I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the fae. Your magic, intelligence, and tenacity impress me. I want to see your kind find the happiness that only true love can bring. But with so many fae out there, and with lust oftentimes becoming a blinding distraction, finding your soulmate can be close to impossible. Thus, I created the soulmate mark. Brilliant, right?”
“Brilliant.” Julian stood so straight and tense that I knew it was taking his every effort not to rush toward Venus and strangle her swan-like neck.
“You’re angry with me.” Venus tilted her head coquettishly. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“It can’t have anything to do with the soulmate I chose for you,” she said. “Selena’s beautiful. And that means a lot, coming from me.”
I shifted uncomfortably. I’d been so uninterested in all the guys on Avalon that I’d never given my looks much thought. Other than Torrence—who didn’t count, because as my best friend, she had to be nice about stuff like that—the only person who’d ever called me beautiful was Julian.
And now, apparently, Venus.
“Selena is the kindest, most loving, most beautiful person I’ve ever met.” Julian wrapped his arm protectively around my waist, his words leaving me speechless. “The situation we’re in is cruel, even by the standards of the gods.”
“Is it, though?” Venus studied her manicured nails. “Would you rather have died—or have watched her die—without knowing what you are to each other?”
“You’re enjoying this.” Hatred for the beautiful goddess bloomed in my chest.
Venus shrugged, not answering one way or the other.
“Drop the act, Venus,” Vesta said, harsher then I’d ever heard her speak before. “They don’t need to be tortured any more than they already are.”
“Fine.” Venus huffed and propped herself up straighter. “I’ll give it to you straight. Much like my fellow gods, I’ve always enjoyed the Games. But this…” She shook her head, looking sadly between Julian and me. “Soulmates are supposed to be together forever, or at least able to enjoy the time they have. Your situation crosses a line that I simply will not stand for.”
Relief washed over me, and I leaned into Julian’s embrace. “Does that mean you’re creating a rule for the Games regarding soulmates?” I asked hopefully.
She pursed her perfectly pouty lips. “When Vesta came to me and explained your plight, my heart went out to you.” She frowned and placed her hand on her chest. “It only felt right to deliver the news myself.”
The relief from earlier vanished.
“Juno created the rules of the Games. She’s the only one who can change them or add new ones,” Venus said. “You’re correct that there’s no rule regarding soulmates. So I went to Juno and requested a new rule that soulmates should be allowed to be excused from the Games, if that’s what they wish.”
“And?” I bounced on my toes, unable to handle the anticipation.
“She denied it,” Venus said flatly.
I knew it was coming—I could tell by her tone. But despair crashed through me anyway, so heavy that I had to lean further into Julian to stop from falling over.
“Juno said the Games this year are particularly important, and that the two of you must stay in them,” Venus continued. “I don’t know how she knows that. I assume she’s spoken with Minerva.” She shrugged again. “I’m afraid all I can tell you is that new rules can be created at any time, and that you should always have faith in the gods.”
I stared at her, speechless.
She was asking me to have faith in the gods who thought it was fun to gift half-bloods with their magic and watch them fight it out until only one of them remained alive.
No thanks.
“On that note, it’s time I take my leave.” Venus stood up and brushed invisible lint off her gown. “Come, Vesta. It’s best they’re left alone to digest this information together.”
Vesta gave us a pitying look and shot her orange magic toward the hearth, lighting up the flames. Venus gave another flick of her golden hair, and then, she and Vesta disappeared into the fire.
8
Selena
“There’s still the Nephilim army.” I turned to Julian once the flames died out. “They’ll save us before the Games’ end, and we’ll both get out of this alive. Cassia, too.”
Julian’s face was as hard as stone, and my heart dropped.
He doesn’t believe me.
He reached for my hand and led me toward the couch, sitting down and coaxing me next to him. He sat there, still, for a few seconds. Finally, he turned to look at me, and I knew I was right. He didn’t believe in the Nephilim army.
How could he? The Otherworld was cut off from Earth and Avalon. They didn’t care what was happening in our realms. And even if the fae royals knew about the Nephilim army, why would they tell the half-bloods?
I braced myself for his inevitable admittance of disbelief in my people. In my family.
“I admire your optimism,” he finally said. “And I believe you that the Nephilim army is strong.”
“Do you really mean it? Or are you just saying that?”
“I mean it,” he said. “Any kingdom that raises someone as fierce and brave as you must be a force to be reckoned with.”
“They are.” My heart warmed at the thought of my home and my family. I missed them so much that it hurt, every single day. “And thank you,” I said, realizing I’d completely ignored his compliment. “I’m doing the best I can to stay strong.”
“As you should,” he said. “But the fae are strong, too. And time can work differently in the Otherworld than it does on Earth. I have no doubt that your family is searching for you. But if the fae are determined to keep you here, then time isn’t going to be on your side.”
“What?” I blinked, even though I’d heard him the first time. “How differently can time work between the Otherworld and Earth?”
“It varies.” He spoke slowly, clearly worried about how I’d take what he was going to say next. “Time only moves differently when the fae will it to do so. The more fae involved, and the more magic they put into it, the larger the difference will be.”
The world crumbled around me. “Could years have passed on Earth in the time I’ve been here?” I gripped the edge of the sofa to steady myself. “Centuries?”
“No.” He reached for one of my hands, but even his touch didn’t calm me. Not until I knew more. “Nothing like that. The largest difference I’ve ever heard of is one day on Earth passing for every week in the Otherworld. And that was only once.”
“So that’s the worst case scenario.”
“Most likely,” he said.
That didn’t sound promising.
But I took a deep breath, since this was a lot of information to absorb at once. “So if we assume the worst case scenario, only a few days have passed on Earth. Which means the Nephilim army is still on their way.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not. Like I said, fae are strong. We’re also tricky. They know your family will be doing everything they can to rescue you. They’ll do anything they can to stop them—or at least, delay them. We have no way of knowing what kind of progress the Nephilim army is making. All we can do is what we’re already doing—take this one week at a time.”
“And then what?” I asked. “Do what Venus said and have faith in the gods? Because the gods haven’t given me much to have faith in.”
“The gods are far from infallible,” he said. “But Vesta has never brought another god into the villa during the Games. What just happened with Venus dropping by is unheard of.”
“The orbs disappeared when she arrived,” I reminded him, glancing at the orbs hovering around us now. It amazed me how used to them I’d gotten since that first week in the Games. “No one saw her. For all we know, anyone listening to us right now will think we’re lying. Or maybe the orbs aren’t broadcasting this conversation at all.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But Venus said that this year’s games are important, and that we must stay in them. It’s too similar to what Bridget told us before the arena fight to be a coincidence.”
I nodded, since Bridget’s words hadn’t left my mind.
You need to live. The fate of the world depends on it.
“Before she died, Bridget made sure I saw your soulmate mark,” I said, speaking faster now that it felt like we were onto something. “There has to be a reason why. If she’s right, and everything happening now is bigger than the Games, it means we were placed in this position for a reason. So there has to be something we can do from here—something to create change. Something to make it so more than one of us makes it out of the Games.” I clasped his hands, as if holding onto them tightly could make it true.
“Perhaps,” he said. “But until we figure out what that thing is, we need to stay alive.”
“Agreed.” Confidence rose in my chest at the small bit of hope. “So let’s go downstairs, mingle with the other players, and get as many of them in our corner as possible.”
9
Torrence
Reed, Sage, Thomas, and I teleported to my family’s home—the Devereux mansion—after leaving the Tower. We caught my mom up on everything that had happened since Selena’s disappearance. She was worried for my safety on the mission, but it wasn’t her place to tell me not to serve the Earth Angel. So she’d allowed us to look around the library in our basement.
“The mages in Mystica have excellent libraries,” Reed said when he saw the multiple floors of sprawling wooden shelves. “But I must say, your family’s archives are quite impressive.”
I stopped walking and glared at him. “You’re using ‘quite’ in the British sense, aren’t you?” I asked.
Which would mean he didn’t find the archives impressive.
“Partly.” He smirked. “But I truly didn’t expect much when you said we might be able to find information about the objects King Devin wants in here. Now, we may have a chance. Even if that chance is small.”
“If the archives in Mystica are so great, why don’t you bring us there instead?” I challenged.
“Because the archives in Mystica only chronicle our own history.” He brushed off my question like the answer was obvious. “The problems on Earth never worried us—until you let that Hell Gate be opened so the demons could escape into your unprepared realm full of weak, clueless humans.”
Sage spun around, her wolfish eyes flashing with anger. “We didn’t let the Hell Gate be opened,”
she growled. “We fought a war while the mages were frolicking around on Mystica—or whatever it is you do there. Just be glad we closed it. And quickly, I might add.”
Thomas stepped to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping his eyes on Reed. “As I’m sure you’ve seen, Earth has a plentiful amount of supernaturals fighting the demons, while ensuring that the humans remain clueless and calm,” he said. “We’ve got this. After all, we don’t want the demons leaking into Mystica, no matter how prepared you all might be.”
Reed shrugged and walked past us to explore the library.
Sage, Thomas, and I shared a look.
We might have been prophesied to work with Reed to rescue Selena, but that didn’t mean we had to like him.
“Torrence?” Thomas looked to me, ignoring Reed. “I’m guessing you have an idea where we should start?”
“I do.” I smiled, breathed in the welcoming smell of books, and headed toward an aisle as far away from the one Reed had wandered off to as possible. “Follow me.”
I slammed down the cover of what felt like the millionth book I was looking through. “Nothing,” I said, pushing it to the end of the table.
The four of us were sitting around a large table, scanning through the books we’d pulled from the shelves. It was so late at night—or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it—that my eyes hurt.
“We’ve been at this forever.” Sage tossed the book she was holding into one of the many large reject piles. “How have we found nothing?”
Reed just whistled and continued flipping through the book on his lap.
Arrogant, obnoxious mage.
I rested my elbows on the table and rubbed my temples. “There has to be something,” I said. “Maybe we’re just not looking hard enough.”
“We’re looking pretty hard,” Thomas said. “I already know the digital database of the Bettencourt archives doesn’t have what we need. And while the Devereux archives are said to be some of the best in the world, perhaps the Haven archives has texts that yours doesn’t.”
The Faerie Mates (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 3) Page 3
