His voice dripped with so much disgust that I nearly believed him.
“The two of you should be grateful for my loyalty,” he continued. “I risked my life by going to the arena during your reign. I’m keeping this facade up with Octavia for the two of you—and for Cassia. All I want is to be with Cassia, and for everyone else in the house to know she’s the only one I want. But I can’t. Because then Octavia and Antonia would come after her in a rage of jealousy, and I won’t allow them to do that to her.”
Julian scooted closer to me, although he kept his gaze on Felix. “You’re sleeping with Antonia, too?” he asked.
“Not unless I have to.” Felix’s eyes were hard. “But this was what I signed up for when we made our alliance. It’s what I was destined for when Venus chose me as her champion.”
“We choose our own destinies,” I said.
“We do,” he agreed. “And I’m choosing to do whatever’s necessary to keep the four of us alive for as long as possible. Don’t turn on me because you don’t like hearing about it. The fact is that Octavia still believes I’m on her side. We can use her trust in me to get her out of the Games.”
“Because that worked so effectively today,” I said.
“Did you not hear a word of what I just said?”
“I did,” I said. “And I don’t like it.”
“Look.” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “I’m not asking you to like me. I’m asking you to work with me. Your boyfriend sees my point here. Don’t you, Julian?”
I turned to Julian, ready for him to back me up.
He wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Felix is right about our agreement,” he said steadily. “He promised to stand back and let Octavia and Cillian duke it out in the arena. That’s exactly what he did.”
“Seriously?” I couldn’t believe it. “You’re siding with him?”
“This isn’t about sides,” he said, and in that moment, it wasn’t my soulmate beside me—it was the cold and lethal chosen champion of Mars. “It’s about facts. The fact is that Felix never agreed to openly help Cillian. We both may have wanted him to, but his reasons for not doing so are valid.”
“So what?” I said. “We’re just going to forgive him and act like this never happened?”
Julian pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
This couldn’t be happening.
“What about Cassia?” I turned back to Felix, rage coursing through my veins. “Do you really think she’ll want anything to do with you after seeing you with Octavia today?”
“I don’t just think it,” he said. “I know it.”
“Come on.” I rolled my eyes. “I saw how betrayed she looked, watching you hold Octavia. There’s no way she was faking that.”
“It’s hard for her,” he said solemnly. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this. But I spoke with her right afterward—while the two of you were up here canoodling.”
“We weren’t canoodling.” I crossed my arms, hating Felix more and more with every word he spoke.
“Save it for someone who can’t sense it,” he said, and I bristled at the reminder of how intrusive his magic was. “The point is that I spoke with Cassia. She understands why I had to do what I did. She understands that it’s all for her. She trusts me, and she trusts our alliance.”
“I’ll believe it when I hear it,” I said. “From her.”
“Deal accepted.” Felix smirked.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you mean it?” he challenged. “Because you have to see the logic in what I said. Or don’t you? If that’s the case, I’m happy to explain again.”
“I understand what you said.” I held up a hand, stopping him. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
“But you want to get far in the Games. And you know that means keeping me in the alliance, whether you like me or not.”
I glared at him, hating that he was right.
Julian looked back and forth between Felix and me, as unemotional as ever. “This week didn’t go as planned,” he finally said, his commanding voice grabbing both of our attentions. “But if we continue working together, we need to come to an understanding. It’s time to draw a line in the sand. Which means no more pawns from here on out. Until the final four, whenever any of us wins Emperor of the Villa, we won’t put anyone in our group in jeopardy again. We’re sending three strong players we want to get out of the Games to the arena. Maybe Octavia will lose against them, or maybe she won’t. But at least we’ll knock out her allies. Without them by her side, she’ll crumble eventually. We’ll make sure of it.”
“I like the sound of that,” Felix said.
Julian turned to me. “Selena?” His eyes begged me to say yes. To trust him.
I wanted to. But there was one other person in this villa that I trusted, too.
“Maybe,” I said. “But first, I’m talking to Cassia.”
“I already told you that I did that.” Felix leaned back in the couch, his arms spread out as he let out a heaving, frustrated sigh.
“I’m sure you did,” I said, since it was too big of a lie for him to make up without it biting him in the ass later. “But I need to hear it from her.”
“And once she confirms it?”
“Then yes.” It pained me to say it, but I needed to do what was best for me, Julian, and Cassia. And as unfortunate as it was, it meant honoring our deal with Felix. “If she’s truly okay with what happened today, then I’ll agree to those terms, and our alliance will continue.”
12
Torrence
The books told us more about the objects King Devin had requested.
But they didn’t mention where they could be found.
“Have any of you wondered why King Devin wants these objects?” Reed eventually asked.
“He wants to trade them for objects that’ll get us to the Otherworld. You know this.” I kept my eyes on the text in front of me, quickly returning to my research on Circe and her staff.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said. “It’s just that these are all powerful objects. I’m curious about what he intends to do with them once he has them.”
“King Devin will be handled,” Thomas said confidently. “Whatever he wants with these objects, the other kingdoms and Avalon will keep him in check.”
“We’ve had two prophetesses that we trust direct us to him,” Sage added. “They wouldn’t have done that if they knew another way to rescue Selena.”
“All right, all right.” Reed shrugged and pulled the book he was reading back onto his lap. “I was just wondering.”
I glared at him out of the corner of my eye and continued my research. If he was trying to get us to question giving the objects to King Devin, he wasn’t going to get anywhere.
After what felt like hours, someone came padding down the steps.
My mom.
“The four of you have been up all night,” she said. “Haven’t you?”
I glanced at my watch, surprised to see it was morning already. “I guess so.”
“As thrilled as I am to see you showing an interest in the archives, it’s time to put the books down and come back upstairs,” she said. “Because you have a visitor.”
Waiting on the white living room sectional, sipping a cup of tea, was a vampire I’d recognize anywhere.
Rosella.
I froze and stared at her. The legendary prophetess was casually drinking tea in my living room.
She wore Haven whites, although a bright, bohemian-style handbag rested at her feet. With her long dark hair and sightless cloudy eyes, she looked just like the illustrations from the picture books we read in lower school about the Earth Angel and the Queen of Swords.
“Thank you, Amber, for fetching them,” Rosella said to my mom, her milky eyes staring straight at the wall in front of her. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need an audience with the four of them alone.”
“Of course.” My mom bowed
her head and hurried off to the kitchen, where she’d no doubt busy herself preparing a lavish breakfast—while trying to eavesdrop, of course.
“Torrence.” Rosella looked in my general direction. “Cast a sound barrier spell, please.”
I chuckled and did as requested.
She placed her teacup down on her saucer with extremely accurate precision given that she couldn’t see. “Supernaturals have generally been blind to the fact that the ancient myths exist, because it was the will of the ancient creatures that it be so.” She was apparently foregoing introductions and jumping straight to the point. “They wanted nothing to do with the quarrels and politics of the supernaturals on Earth. So naturally, they cast a spell to stop their paths from crossing ours. After enough time passed, they were no longer thought of as real, but as myth. However, now that you know they’re real, you’ll be able to find them and fight them.”
“How do you know this?” Reed asked.
“I’m a prophetess,” she said. “I know whatever I need to know to help whoever I need to help.” She reached into her handbag and pulled out a thick, yellowing parchment. She unfolded it, laid it on the coffee table, and flattened out the creases. “The four of you need my guidance. So stop being shy, and come sit down.”
We gathered around the coffee table. The parchment she’d spread out was a rudimentary map that reminded me of the ones pirates used to find treasure in television shows and movies.
It showed the exact locations of the objects King Devin had requested.
“This shouldn’t be too hard,” I said as I examined the map.
“Don’t be fooled,” Rosella said. “The challenge isn’t where to find the objects. The challenge is acquiring them. And as I’m sure you’ve come to realize, only the four of you can go on this quest. If you bring anyone else along, you’re destined to fail.”
“Got it,” Sage said, even though Rosella was right, and we’d already figured that out ourselves.
“Is there anything else we need to know that will help us?” Thomas asked.
“The fate of the world is at stake, and the four of you are an important piece of the puzzle to save it.” She picked the map back up, folded it, and handed it to me. “But I came here to give you the map, and only to give you the map. Telling you any more may negatively impact the outcome of the mission. So I wish you a safe journey, and good luck.”
13
Selena
The next Emperor of the Villa competition didn’t go as we’d hoped.
It was an arrow shooting competition.
Naturally, as the chosen champion of Apollo, Antonia won. The gods had clearly designed the competition in her favor.
But why?
That was what my alliance had gathered the next morning to discuss. Everyone tended to sleep in on Sunday morning, so the four of us woke early, headed to the bathhouse, and gathered in one of the most private areas in the villa apart from the emperor suite. The sauna.
Julian and I made extra effort to keep a friendly amount of space between us.
Cassia and Felix, on the other hand, sat so close that their legs touched. Her green wings always seemed to sparkle more when she was around him.
“Antonia’s allegiances are unclear,” Cassia said. “With her as Empress of the Villa, we’re all at risk of being sent to the arena this week.”
“That’s why the gods wanted her to win,” Julian said. “They love forcing players who are floating through the Games to pick a side.”
Felix leaned back onto the wooden wall, not looking worried in the slightest.
Cassia mimicked his action, so now their shoulders touched along with their legs.
“We just have to convince Antonia not to send any of us to the arena this week,” Felix said. “It shouldn’t be hard.”
“No.” Anger flared through me, and I saw crackles of light in the corners of my eyes.
Julian jerked back in surprise. “Why not?” he asked.
“Because every week so far, Octavia has been victorious,” I said. “Either in the arena, or in the Emperor of the Villa competition. The only way to make sure she’s the one being targeted in the arena is to do it with our own hands. So I want to go to the arena this week. And I want her to be in there with me.”
I’d expected Julian to immediately say no.
But he studied me for a few seconds, saying nothing.
His silence unnerved me.
“Only if I’m in there with you,” he finally said. “Octavia’s powerful, but so are we. The odds are in our favor if she’s forced to face off against both of us.”
My heart raced with happiness, and it took all of my willpower not to close the space between us and snuggle into him, like Cassia was doing with Felix. Because Julian’s acceptance of what I wanted meant he believed in me, he believed in my magic, and he believed I was capable of facing off against Octavia.
Cassia looked back and forth between the two of us like we’d lost our minds. “Are you both serious?” she finally asked. “I thought we’d agreed that none of us would be pawns again.”
“We agreed that if any of us won Emperor of the Villa, we wouldn’t send any of the three others in our alliance to the arena,” I said. “This doesn’t go against that deal.”
“It actually keeps us in control of the Games,” Julian said. “It’s a solid strategy.”
“Care to explain?” Cassia asked.
“Octavia’s not only powerful, but she’s smart,” Julian said. “If Antonia sends her to the arena with two other players who aren’t in alliance, I’d bet that Octavia would team up with one of them to take the other out. Like she did with Emmet to take out Molly.”
“And the longer she remains in the Games, the more likely she’ll be to come after me and Julian, again and again,” I continued. “We need to take her out now. But we can’t trust anyone except ourselves. So the only way to ensure she’s put on the defense is to ensure she’s facing off against two physically strong players in our alliance.”
“And I’m guessing you don’t want to volunteer.” Julian looked to Cassia.
Cassia lowered her gaze, not meeting either of ours.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Octavia has it out for me and Julian—not for you. It makes sense for the two of us to go in there against her.”
“As long as you’re okay with it…”
“Of course I’m okay with it,” I said. “I volunteered.”
“With the two of us in there together, we can’t lose.” Julian’s eyes shined with belief in me—no, with belief in us.
“I want to say that the two of you are awfully full of yourselves, but I see your point,” Felix said, looking to Julian. “Whenever you’ve been in danger around Selena, her magic explodes. First there was that fight against Cerberus that you told me about. Then that lightning bolt she called down from the sky to stop Bridget from stabbing you…” He paused and looked at me. “That was impressive.”
“I didn’t mean to do it.” My stomach twisted as the image of Bridget being electrocuted to death flashed through my mind again. “It just happened.”
“It happened because Bridget put Julian in danger,” Felix said. “The two of you have it bad for each other. You’re trying to hide it, but you don’t have to around us. Because your relationship makes you stronger. And therefore, it makes our alliance stronger. What’s there not to like about that?” He crossed his arms triumphantly.
“Are you both sure about this?” Cassia asked. “Absolutely, one hundred percent sure?”
“Yes,” I said, and Julian said the same.
“Perfect.” Felix sat straight and rubbed his hands together. “I’ll work my magic on Antonia tonight. Make sure she does what we want.”
Cassia’s eyes narrowed into jealous slits, and she sat up, too, moving slightly away from Felix. “How, exactly, are you going to do that?” she asked.
“I’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it means putting myself at her mercy. That’s my part
in this alliance. You know that.” He took both of her hands and gazed lovingly into her eyes. “But you’re the only one I want to be with.”
“I know.” She bit her lower lip, and I shifted uncomfortably. “I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“Me, too,” he said. “But I’m with you—not with any of them. Remember that. Always.”
She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes, breathing deeply like she was taking in every piece of him.
I stood up, and Julian did the same. “I think we’ve covered everything,” I said, my cheeks flushing just from watching Cassia with Felix. Over the past few weeks she’d come to feel like a sister to me, and seeing her like that with him felt off. “We’ll give the two of you some privacy.”
I looked over to Julian, but he was already at the door.
He opened it and revealed Octavia standing on the other side, her hands clenched to her sides as she glared at us like a goddess out for revenge.
14
Selena
Crap.
“How long have you been out here?” I asked Octavia, glancing at Felix and Cassia.
Felix had already stood up, stone-faced as he looked at Octavia.
Cassia was hunched over on the bench, focusing on her feet.
“Long enough.” Octavia scowled at Felix. “I was worried when it was taking you so long to come back to bed. Now I see you were busy leading on that whore.”
Cassia’s head snapped up. Her green magic floated out of her palms, swirling around her in a shield of protection.
“Cassia,” I warned, since it was against the rules to physically harm each other when we weren’t playing in an official competition.
She swallowed and reined her magic in.
Octavia marched forward to stand right in front of where Cassia was sitting. “You really think he wants to be with someone as plain as you, when he has me?” she asked, each word dripping with hate.
The Faerie Mates (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 3) Page 5
