Trinity: Feathers and Fire Book 9

by Shayne Silvers

  I grinned, watching a father fall victim to his daughter’s smile, like a car wreck in slow motion. Finally, he nodded. “That would be…nice,” he said, gently, smiling down at Aphrodite in time for her to meet his eyes.

  I tried not to let out a huff of relief to keep it professional. Nate sighed, nodding.

  “Sap,” Kára teased Nate, but she rested her head on his shoulder, obviously finding his reaction endearing. He smiled, shamelessly, and glanced back towards Prometheus. His smile faltered and he grunted. “He left,” Nate said with a troubled look.

  Since he was male, Kára made the prudent decision to double-check his observational skills. She did not compliment him for his passing grade—one can’t give a dog a treat every time they perform a trick, after all. “Why?” she asked.

  Nate furrowed his brow, slowly shaking his head. “I’m not sure. I hope he’s okay,” he murmured, staring out at the turbulent sky with a pensive look. I stepped up beside Nate and Kára, and discreetly motioned for Gunnar and Alucard to get their asses over here—they’d been maintaining their distance from the scary Valkyrie as well as the possibly contagious romance in the air, preferring the two heartless Olympians for company. They shot anxious, wary looks at the Valkyrie, but finally bolstered up enough courage to approach, making sure that Nate was between them and the dreaded emasculator. The five of us stared out at the storm in silence, taking a minute to process all that had transpired this night. The blacks and reds were strangely mesmerizing, reminding me of my time in the Neverwas…

  Freaking yesterday, I realized with a small twitch. I needed a damned vacation.

  “A new one is coming,” Nate said in a gravelly voice, studying the storm like he was seeing the future.

  “We’ll be waiting,” Gunnar said, confidently. Then he glanced at Nate sidelong. Except there was nothing discreet about Gunnar’s sidelong glances. He was massive and he only had one freaking eye, so if he picked the wrong angle for his target—like right now—he had to turn and directly face his target to succeed. Nate—since he wasn’t entirely oblivious and had already passed Kára’s visual observational skills test—noticed, and I saw the corner of his mouth curl up in amusement. “We’ve been talking…” Gunnar said, sounding awkward and uncomfortable as he jerked his chin at me and Alucard, making us accomplices in whatever he was about to say. Kára and Nate turned to look at him. I frowned, because we had not been talking, as a matter of fact. But I had to force myself not to burst out laughing at his discomfort, and Alucard let out a nervous breath, peering at Kára from over Gunnar’s shoulder like the werewolf was cover for anticipated gunfire. “We want you two to come to family movie night,” Gunnar finally blurted in a rush, his eye flicking from Nate to Kára and back like a ticking clock. I couldn’t help but grin.

  He was sweating, for crying out loud, and I’m pretty sure Alucard was holding his breath. What the hell had Kára said to them in the Vaults to make them this nervous?

  Nate chuckled, shrugging. “Okay,” he said, drawing the word out. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  Gunnar eyed Kára like she was a spitting cobra. “She makes me nervous,” he admitted.

  Kára beamed as if he’d just paid her the greatest compliment. “Do we need to have another talk?” she asked in a soft, meaningful tone.

  Gunnar and Alucard tensed, shaking their heads vehemently.

  I studied her, humbly admitting that she had valuable things to teach me. “I think we need to have a talk. Whatever Valkyrie mind games you played on them works like a charm,” I said. She smiled back and winked before nodding.

  Gunnar’s phone suddenly belted out the level-up mushroom sound from the original Super Mario Brothers game, and Nate burst out laughing. The werewolf fumbled with it, pounding the silence button. He stared down at his phone as if it was a bomb he needed to defuse. “Ashley’s probably wondering where I am.”

  Alucard grunted. “Was there a curfew on saving the world?” he asked, dryly.

  Gunnar shook his head uneasily, shifting from foot-to-foot. “I might have told her I was getting groceries…”

  I threw my hands into the air and cursed up a storm. “I’m done. See you morons later. Where’s Ryuu?” I demanded, rounding on Nate and waggling a threatening finger in his face. “I don’t want him catching whatever idiocy Gunnar’s sick with.”

  Nate grinned, toothily, and Kára hooted with laughter, doubling over to hammer her gauntleted fist into her armored knees. “You’re a dead man, Gunnar,” she wheezed.

  His face grew sickly. “It was the first thing I thought of,” he mumbled, defensively.

  Nate shot a look skyward as if beseeching help from on high. Then, realizing gods were no longer the ones to grant wishes to men such as him, he lowered his head with a tired sigh. He motioned for us to huddle around him. “We did a good thing tonight,” he said. “And we did it for our families. Our family,” he amended. “I can guarantee they are more worried about you than you are about them,” he said, meeting my eyes first.

  Then he lifted his hand and ripped open a massive Gateway to his Armory. Our friends huddled on the other side, but the crowd of faces became a blur as my eyes locked onto one man with perfect clarity. Ryuu leapt through without waiting and flew towards me like an arrow shot from a bow. He cupped my face with both hands and pressed his forehead against mine. I wrapped my hands around his waist and squeezed reassuringly, unable to speak as I breathed in his familiar scent. My fangs extended and I shuddered. He let out a shaky breath, his shoulders seeming to melt now that he’d physically verified I was all right. “My White Rose,” he whispered, wiping away a tear that spilled from my eye with his thumb.

  I heard my friends rejoicing as they were reunited, but it may as well have been static as Ryuu’s physical presence consumed me, igniting each of my senses like fire to gasoline. But one voice snapped me out of my reverie.

  “Groceries?” Gunnar’s wife demanded. I pulled away from Ryuu, laughing through my tears to see Gunnar awkwardly shifting from foot-to-foot as he attempted to withstand his wife’s fury. Ashley Randulf was a handful, and that wasn’t taking her werewolf form into account. Or her motherly ferocity.

  “That’s our cue to leave,” I told my ninja in a soft whisper. I grabbed his hand and pulled him away, making a beeline for Aphrodite. Pandora and Hephaestus were staring at the Gateway, curiously, but they shifted their attention to us as we approached. Hephaestus eyed Ryuu with a respectful nod. “I’ll take Aphrodite with me and make sure she’s taken care of. But you can visit whenever you like,” I said with an inviting smile. Then, thinking of Richard’s idea to host a feast, I continued. “In fact, I was planning on hosting a big dinner event soon and I would love to have you join us.” I gestured vaguely behind me at the chattering voices surrounding the Gateway. “I’ll probably be expected to invite that ghastly horde, so it’s sure to be…entertaining,” I said with a laugh.

  “That would be nice,” Pandora said, “wouldn’t it?”

  Hephaestus smiled. “It would be our pleasure,” he said, his eyes drifting towards Aphrodite. He cleared his throat. “I hope to find other reasons to visit,” he said, cautiously. Yowza! Point for Team Callie!

  Aphrodite shot him a smile that made my ears burn, and it wasn’t because she was incredibly sexy. The smile she gave him was one of hope and love and…future possibilities. She gave him a shy nod. “I would like that very much,” she said in a soft whisper. Then she climbed to her feet, absently brushing her toga straight and blushing.

  Inside, I was reenacting a cheer squad. Hephaestus could at least point me in the right direction regarding the Eternal Metal and the forges at Castle Dracula. And I would get the chance to quiz Aphrodite on…all manner of womanly things.

  Speaking of which…

  I grabbed her hand and ripped open a Gateway to Solomon’s Temple, making hasty goodbyes to Hephaestus and Pandora, encouraging them to visit any time, and to explore Nate’s Armory. Pandora glanced at Ryuu and the
n shot me an amused grin before leading her father away towards the others.

  I pulled Ryuu and Aphrodite after me through the Gateway, and then we turned for one last goodbye wave. Nate was staring directly at me with a happy smile. He gave me a faint nod and I let the Gateway wink shut.

  53

  We arrived on the balcony of Solomon’s Temple and Aphrodite studied her surroundings with a curious smile.

  Phix barreled out of the entryway leading into the temple and skidded to a halt before us, her claws tearing gouges in the marble floor. “Callie Penrose!” she snarled, fuming. “Where in the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick—”

  Aphrodite cleared her throat and took a step forward, cutting Phix off from her tirade. “I am honored to make your acquaintance, Great Sphinx. I am Aphrodite, and Callie Penrose has committed herself to be my jailer,” she said, lifting her hands in front of her face and clicking her wrists together. “She informed me that you are her most loyal confidante, and that she only trusts you to escort me to my prison cell until she has time to meet with me.”

  Phix stared at the goddess with a perplexed yet agreeable demeanor. She shot me a bemused look and I nodded. “It was a secret I couldn’t risk anyone discovering. A room should suffice, not a prison cell. Her manacles prevent her from using her abilities,” I said, going along with Aphrodite’s impromptu suggestion.

  Phix’s anger petered out and she gave Aphrodite a stiff nod. “Of course she said that. I am the Sphinx. Follow me.”

  And then she turned around, leading Aphrodite away. Ryuu grunted, shaking his head. “What just happened?”

  I was staring at Aphrodite, so I clearly saw the moment when she glanced back at me with a truly salacious smile and wink that included both me and the ninja. I felt my pulse quickening as I realized what she’d just done. She’d played wingwoman for me.

  I turned to face Ryuu, breathing heavily. Then I shoved him, hard, using both palms against his chest. “How dare you get kidnapped?” I demanded.

  He stared back at me, his face unreadable.

  I pushed him again, harder, forcing him to shuffle back a step. “Do you know how worried I’ve been about you?”

  He stared straight into my eyes. “I think I can imagine.”

  I ripped open a Gateway behind him and shoved him through before he could realize what I’d done, and then I pursued him, drawing both swords from over my shoulders. His back struck a solid surface, not permitting him to escape. I let the Gateway wink shut behind me and stared at him with his back pressed against my bedroom door. My chest was heaving as he stared right back at me, mercilessly. He did not ask stupid questions, and he made no apologies. Those dark eyes glittered, a direct challenge to my fury.

  “I talked to Nate,” I growled.

  Without waiting for his response, I stabbed both katanas into the door over each of his shoulders, less than an inch from slicing into his flesh and hard enough to bury the tips through to the other side of the thick wood.

  He did not flinch. He did not even blink. Instead, he smirked. “Oh? And what is this?” he asked, his voice a low, rasping growl.

  My heart raced wildly and I felt like my skin was on fire. “A warning,” I breathed, and then I stepped forward, close enough to taste his breath, and I reached over his shoulder to trail my fingertips up the back of his neck and across his scalp before gripping him by the hair.

  His eyes dilated and he stared back at me, defiantly. “Warnings are for children. I am a man.”

  I tried not to collapse into a whimpering puddle at the way he said man, but I did reflexively tug his hair hard enough to bump the back of his head against the door. The bastard smiled, not giving me an inch.

  I bolstered my courage, my fear, my desire, and my trepidation, forming it into a knot in the back of my mind. Then I licked my lips and parted them enough to reveal my silver fangs. He needed to know what I’d become. He needed to see what he was buying.

  I needed him to see that I might no longer be the woman he thought I was. That wasn’t a cry for help—I knew I was still the same woman, but naked honesty was Ryuu’s way, especially when voluntarily given.

  He continued to stare into my eyes and I began to fear that he hadn’t even noticed my fangs. Maybe it was like how men didn’t notice the drastic change in appearance after a woman spent three hours in a salon to get her hair done. I slowly licked the tips to emphasize the point.

  He snarled, wrapping one arm around my waist and squeezing our hips together.

  Oh. He’d noticed something all right…

  His other hand deftly opened the door and he pulled me into the dark interior of my Master’s Suite, spinning us as we moved so that he could kick the door closed behind him. In the darkness, I felt his Shadow Skin cloak wrap around us, pulling us closer, squeezing our bodies together with questing, unseen fingers of dark magic.

  He angled his head and pressed his lips against my neck, biting gently. My skin exploded with tingles and I felt like my eyes rolled into the back of my head as I let out a shuddering gasp and tugged at the fistful of hair I still gripped in one hand. “I saw your fangs at the park,” he breathed. “Show me something I haven’t seen before, White Rose.”

  I laughed, huskily, as his mouth explored my neck like an animal. Why had I not assumed he’d noticed? He was Ryuu. He noticed everything about me. He just didn’t need to talk about it like most people because he wasn’t so insecure that he needed external validations to corroborate his feelings.

  Ryuu was not a man of words. Ryuu was a man of action.

  My fingernails dug into his lower back and I moaned, breathlessly. “You’re going to need to rehydrate after your harrowing ordeal,” I whispered, licking my lips as we made our way, step-by-step, closer to Dracula’s great big bed.

  He growled. “I was well taken care of. Do not worry about me. Do your worst.”

  I laughed and then shoved him backwards onto the bed. I tore off Aphrodite’s clothes as he struggled to take off his own. I stood before him, naked in the darkness, marveling at the sensation of the cool, gentle breeze kissing my feverish, sweat-damp flesh, giving me goosebumps. I drew upon my magic to ignite the dozens of candles spread around the corners of the room, casting us in a warm, cozy glow that still left much of the room in shadow. His hands froze as the wavering candlelight gave him his first clear view of me. His eyes glittered with raw hunger, and he seemed unable to breathe or use his hands as he took in every inch of my body from head-to-toe.

  “You’re taking too long,” I growled. I pinned him down to the bed with bands of air and then used a blade of air to slice his clothes open down the center from throat to ankle.

  I released my magic and he didn’t hesitate to tear them the rest of the way off—literally. He hurled his boots and shredded clothes to the side, shamelessly, and my eyes raked over his body, drinking in the view of his broad chest, his chiseled stomach, his ridiculous obliques and…

  Why let my eyes have all the fun?

  I slowly climbed onto the bed and crawled towards him, not even bothering to retract my fangs. In fact, I was panting with my mouth open, unable to get enough air as I straddled his waist and stared into his eyes.

  “Teach me something, godkiller,” he growled in a challenging, hoarse tone, gripping my waist with both hands.

  “Gladly, Halo Breaker. Gladly,” I purred, digging my fingers into his chest and lowering my hips at a glacial pace…

  Some hours later, I lay back on the bed, smiling to myself as I listened to Ryuu’s steady breathing as he slept beside me. For the life of me, I had a jingle stuck in my head and it simply would not go away.

  Go ninja, go ninja, GO!

  Ryuu had definitely lived up to the song’s lyrics, and I used it as a lullaby to send me off into the sweet embrace of much-needed sleep.

  54

  I woke up in the morning with a smile on my face, scratches on my back, and my body sore in places and ways that only made me grin wider. I kept m
y eyes closed as I stretched my arms above my head and my toes as far down as I could before rolling over to…

  Ryuu’s side of the bed, which brought a fierce hunger out of me.

  I nuzzled my cheek into his pillow, inhaling his scent as I reached my hand under the covers to see what was up.

  I frowned, feeling only cold sheets. I opened my eyes with a growl, sat up, and swept my gaze around the room. I yawned, seeing no sign of Ryuu. I focused back on the bed and saw a slip of paper with writing on it.

  No training today. You looked so peaceful in sleep that I didn’t want to wake you. Meeting with Xuanwu to review current events, but will be back soon. You’re busy this evening, so don’t make plans… —Go ninja, go ninja, GO!

  I squawked, crumpling the paper as my face caught fire. How the hell did he know that? Had I been singing it in my sleep? I rolled out of bed, noticed the two sword points still wedged in my door, and grinned. Ryuu wouldn’t leave the Angel Killer out like that unless he intended to be back very soon. Still, there was always the possibility of Archangels and Archdemons lurking the halls of Castle Dracula. I made my way over to the door, peeked my head out to check for witnesses, and then I slipped out into the hall, butt ass naked, to tug our katanas out of the wood.

  I hurried back inside without incident and closed the door. I laid the two swords down on the bed and made my way to the shower to get freshened up. I spent an hour getting cleaned up, and then I slipped into my white suit, finding that it was perfectly, magically clean. I sheathed my sword at my waist, covered up Ryuu’s sword with a blanket, and decided to go check in on Richard, deeming a morning of research was just what I needed after my eventful night fighting Olympians.

  I grinned shamelessly, mentally replaying acts two and three of the eventful performance that had taken place in my bed.

  I Shadow Walked to Solomon’s Temple, surprised that I didn’t feel hungry. Even stranger, I still had no craving for blood. Even being intimate with Ryuu—several times—with my fangs out hadn’t activated any kind of thirst factor. It had definitely heightened the experience by electrifying all my senses. But none of the typical vampire stuff.