“We may be caught between two worlds, Kara, but we only serve one kingdom.” Her voice is more measured than ever. “And we may not be soldiers, but we’re loyal. We don’t reign below, but we can live like kings here as long as we serve well. And the minute you give your body to someone else before you’ve fulfilled your obligations, you’re turning away from that promise. Every one of us will suffer. Not just you.”
I slam my eyes closed, determined not to cry or beg for another answer. As much as I want one, I’m terrified of what it would be. Of the gruesome details she’d be ready to supply, outlining exactly what she means by her last two sentences.
“Kara, darling,” she continues, with the sugary reassurance of a mother consoling a child. “Follow your head here, not your heart. The demon blood running through your veins is your greatest gift. Your most valuable asset. And you get to pass it on to ensure that your children are even stronger. And once you do, you’ll understand how important you are to all of this. Too important to give in to these other cravings. That means you must put any mortal into the back files for now. After you’ve served the cause, you’re a free woman. You can have whatever affairs you want, where and whenever you want.”
“I don’t want to have affairs.”
I don’t scream it, but I yearn to. Even the thought of one affair, let alone many, turns my stomach. I want to be with someone. Fall in love with that person. Follow my dreams. I’ve never known it with such certainty until now.
Mother sighs quietly. “The best way to manage this is to eliminate the temptation, I suppose. I’ll talk to the university and have Kane removed for this behavior. There has to be some policy he’s violated. He had his hands all over you.”
Panic makes me jerk my stare up. “No!”
She lifts an eyebrow in challenge. “What else would you have me do? This doesn’t look good. And it’s only going to get worse if you two are involved in any way, academically or otherwise. Mark my words. This ends today.”
I’m drowning in dread now. I can’t hide the pleading in my eyes. Except my mother’s returning gaze is far from a life raft. It’s more like she’s tying a boulder to my ankle, determined to sink my dreams once and for all. And along with it, my spirit.
I swallow hard, already devastated by what I’m about to say. Of all the consequences I envisioned, I never expected this one. But she’s leaving me no other choice. And no one will be happier than her to hear it. I’m not fooled for a second by her surface-level sorrow.
“I know this is difficult for you, Kara, but—”
“I’ll quit.”
Thick silence fills the room. As if the energy between these walls wasn’t unbearable enough, I pick up on the hint of her reaction before I witness it in the sudden relaxing of her shoulders. Relief. Overwhelming relief.
Exactly what I expected.
So why am I still so devastated?
I close my eyes briefly, refusing to let the burning tears behind them escape. “I’ll drop out.”
“Are you certain that’s what you want?”
She’s only asking because she already knows the answer. And because she wants me to be clear about mine, no matter how badly my throat already burns with heartbreak.
“Of course it’s not what I want, but I won’t destroy Maximus’s career over this. It’s my fault, not his.”
But given the chance to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a single action or word. Not even as my mother folds her hands neatly in front of her like she’s just negotiated a deal with favorable terms.
Checkmate. She wins.
She always wins.
“If that’s your choice—and it is a choice—then I will accept that.”
I linger in the kitchen for a while, make myself some tea, and contemplate sneaking out to the guesthouse. But I don’t know what I would say once I got there. Gramps doesn’t need the weight of this on him. For his own reasons—not even including how he’d be part of my punishment—he’d probably agree with my mother’s position on this matter anyway.
Damn it.
I’m in psychological quarantine here.
The recognition has me shaking my head in utter disbelief, the same way I have at least a hundred times before when contemplating my future. Why haven’t my visions for it ever held a glimpse of this path that’s been charted for me? Why haven’t I latched on to some of it as inevitable and real?
Even when I’ve accepted it in my mind, it never reached my heart. I don’t think it ever will. Not with children. Not with fame and more money. Certainly not with the slow death of my dreams. And not without Maximus…
“There you are.”
I turn at the sound of Arden’s voice, self-assured as ever. I can’t muster a greeting or even the words to ask why he’s like a stray dog around here lately. Cute but unasked for—and always hanging out where the air smells the tastiest.
Except I’m not in the mood to entertain his presence right now. My whole world has come crashing down in a matter of hours. My heart’s been shattered, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never be whole again. Maximus doesn’t even know we’re over. That truth cuts me deep enough to threaten a wave of tears I’m certain Arden would be entirely immune to.
He drapes his jacket on one of the stools and walks over to where I’m standing at the sink. He leans his hip against the counter and looks me over.
“You’re upset,” he says quietly.
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Not with you. Not with anyone.
“You don’t have to. Your mother brought me up to speed.”
I roll my eyes. “So glad her art dealer is up to speed on our family drama.”
He doesn’t flinch. Just considers me thoughtfully for a long moment.
“I think we both know I’m more than that, Kara.”
I blink up at him, my lashes beating in time with my thudding heart as I search his expression for meaning. What I find is too much certainty. Too much bold, presumptive possessiveness. He tilts his head slightly.
“You really have no idea, do you?” He brushes the backs of his fingers against my cheek. “Lucky for you, even your naïveté turns me on.”
I jerk away, my eyes narrowing. “Don’t touch me.”
His nostrils flare, but he drops his hand.
“Your little rebellions are over. No more stalling. And no more dalliances in the professor’s office either.”
I take another step back, heat prickling my palms. “Excuse me?”
He answers with an unpleasant grimace. “I had a feeling someone might be distracting you. Then I saw you at the fundraiser, and it all made sense. The minute that oaf barreled into our conversation, I knew you two were involved. Neither of you can lie worth a damn.”
I fold my arms across my torso as if it can protect me from what Arden already seems to know.
“I have to admit, after I followed you out and saw you pressed against his window four floors up, I was pretty pissed off.” He bares his teeth slightly with that admission. “I was even tempted to go find you and straighten things out myself, but I figured I’d let the chips fall as they may. If you broke your vow, I could at least take pleasure in dragging you back home.” Something devious flickers across his gaze as he flexes his fingers, fisting and unfisting them. “And by home, I don’t mean that adorable little place you’ve got in the Hills.”
Now my mind can’t find a single word, spoken or unspoken, of reaction. I’m blank. A void. Buried in a snowdrift of disbelief.
I really can’t believe what I’m hearing.
It can’t be… He can’t be…
“No,” I finally gasp. “You’re not—”
“I’m your incubus, Kara. And as much as I would have enjoyed tormenting you on your way to hell, I’ll be honest, I’m much more interested in fucking you here on earth.”
I open my mouth to speak but again have no words. The shock is still lodged in my throat.
He has the audacity to laugh as he straightens. “
Are you so surprised?”
Surprised? I didn’t think any more devastation could rain on me today, but I was so very wrong. Perhaps if Maximus hadn’t been consuming my thoughts these past two weeks, I would have figured Arden out myself. Seen through to his true intentions. His true purpose.
The purpose he’s withheld from me. But not all on his own.
I shake my head, fresh tears burning at the corners of my eyes. My mother knew. She knew this whole time.
“Wh-Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Your mother thought it’d be better to ease you into it. Play with you a little before pouncing.” He smirks, like this is all some fun game that I should be laughing at.
Except I’m sick over it. Sick and disgusted and devastated.
I need to get out of here.
I turn and rush through the house. I’d love to give my mother a piece of my mind, but creating space between Arden and me is more important.
Except he’s on my heels, whipping me around to face him once I reach my car.
“Let me go!”
I try to twist away, but he makes it impossible.
“I don’t think so, my love.”
He presses me against the door of the car, using the length of his body to pin me there, forcing me to feel more of him than I’d ever want. He twines his fingers in my hair and cinches a handful in his grip so any attempt to move away is painful. A whimper escapes before I can help it, but that only feeds the force of his grip. He brings our faces close, so close I can see the fire in his eyes now. Or maybe it’s a reflection of my own.
“You’re mine now, Kara.”
I could scream, but it would do no good. Nobody inside the mansion will lift a finger to help me. This is how it is now. My duty is relegated to becoming this demon’s intended bride. His plaything. His property.
My mind is blasted by words now. They tear like a growl from my chest. “I’ll never be yours.”
His answer is an evil smile that makes my stomach roil. “You are mine. You’re a gift. Made just for me.” He brings his lips to my neck, then his mouth to my ear to whisper, “I’d take you now whether you want it or not, but the Valaris are becoming a favorite with the powers that be. So I’ll play nice if you will. And if you know what’s good for your family, I won’t have to tell anyone downstairs about your little slip with the professor.”
I’m breathing hard now. My heart’s flying. It’s taking everything in me not to fight back and claw him off me. He’s stronger and inherently more dangerous. I just need to get out of his clutches, even if that means playing nice…for now.
He drags his mouth down my neck. “What do you say, love?”
“I don’t want to fight.” I barely breathe the words. “Please.”
He draws back in degrees, so gradually I’m not convinced he’s going to let me leave. But he takes a full step back. Then another. Just like that, he manages to mask the ruthless demon inside him. He slips his hands into his pockets and shoots me an easy smile, as if we have a rapport. How pathetically wrong that is, but I’m not about to point it out.
“Dinner next week, then?”
I respond with a jerky nod, willing to agree to about anything if it gets me out of here faster. I draw in some much-needed air and get into the car. I start the engine with shaking hands, determined to get as far away from him as fast as I can. And as I pull through the gates of the place that will only ever feel like a prison, I make a new vow that I’ll never go back.
Never.
Once I’m back on Sunset Boulevard, I drive a few blocks and cut a sharp right onto Beverly. Luckily, there’s a spot on the curb beneath one of the big palms lining the municipal park here. I sit for a few minutes in silence until the trembling through my body eases. Once it does, I ring Kell.
She answers with a yawn. Then, “Hey, K-demon. What’s up?”
“Where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been at the spa all afternoon. I just turned my phone back on. Why? What’s going on?”
“Everything.” A sob threatens my voice. I deep breathe it away. “Everything is a fucking mess.”
“Can you elaborate?” She pauses a second. “Oh, wait. Oh, shit. I see it now. Oh, Kara.”
“On Star Passion?”
“On…everywhere. My phone’s blowing up.”
Shit. When news like this drops, it either falls flat or spreads like wildfire. There is no in-between.
“I should have been more careful.”
“Careful? You shouldn’t be canoodling with the man in the first place!”
“You canoodle, Kell. Don’t lie to me and tell me you haven’t messed around.”
“That is none of your business. I’ll admit it when I get caught, which I’m not stupid enough to do, like someone else I know. What’s Mom going to say?”
“I already talked to her.”
A few empty seconds pass. “And?”
“And I’m dropping out of Alameda. She threatened to get Maximus fired. I had no other choice.”
Her heavy sigh speaks to the disappointment—and fear—she’s not sharing out loud.
“But it’s actually worse than that, if you can believe it.” I blink back the tears that have been wanting to release for hours.
“Worse? How can it be worse?”
I restart the car and hook a U-turn back toward Sunset. The move is likely five kinds of illegal, but no way do I want to be even a block closer to the heart of Beverly Hills right now. Kell’s question taunts me, despite how I invited it. How could anything get worse? I’m on the brink of losing everything I truly care about.
“They sent someone for me.”
Another long silence. Long enough that I know Kell understands the full gravity of it.
“Who is it?”
“He’s the art dealer Mom’s been pushing on me to get her art collections going. Arden Prieto. He and Mom thought it’d be fun for me to get to know him before they broke the news to me. I guess today’s paparazzi fun cut their private party short.”
“Fucking hell.”
“That sounds about right,” I mutter under my breath.
“What are you going to do?”
Her tone is more sympathetic now. I have a pretty good idea why. She’ll be next. No matter what happens with me, her fate is sealed just like mine. If only it weren’t. If only we could find a way out…
“I need to think. Thankfully I got away from Arden before he could do anything more than a clumsy caveman thing he’s probably been rehearsing for years.”
She sucks in a shocked breath. “Are you kidding me? He came on to you already?”
“Why wouldn’t he? What do you think this is about, Kell? This isn’t nineteenth-century courtship. He isn’t going to show up with flowers and ask me out for a stroll, hoping for a stolen kiss. He’s a fucking demon. He’s ready to eat me alive.”
“Right. Shit. Well, just come home and we’ll talk this out.”
“I’m not coming home tonight.” I hit the gas and speed through a yellow light.
“Kara.”
“You sound like Mom when you take that tone.”
“That’s because you need to hear the sound of reason. Do not go to see him right now.”
It doesn’t matter what she says. The second I peeled away from Arden, I knew exactly where I’d go. I have to see Maximus again. Even if it’s for the last time.
“Don’t worry about it, okay? Things can’t possibly get any worse.”
“That’s one thousand percent untrue. I can think of a dozen scenarios right now that will be worse. For you and for both of us. Now just turn your ass around and come home so we can figure this out.”
Home. Her repetition of it brings a deeper sting. My skin prickles with more of the sensation as I recall Arden’s take on the subject. At this very moment, he and Mother are probably figuring out how best to enforce his mandate. The writing is on the wall. These are the last few hours of the treasure I once called my own life.
/>
“There’s nothing to figure out, Kell. It’s follow the rules or break them at this point.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice has taken on a panic-level octave.
I sigh. Exhaustion is tugging at me. Everything about today has been a toxic drain. “I promise you, there’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ll be home in the morning.”
“Kara…”
It’s her last plea, I can tell. I have to kill the last of her hope and buy a shred of her trust.
“Just do me one favor. Don’t tell Mom.”
She huffs. “Damn you, Kara. Fine. Just don’t do anything stupid.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kara
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I mutter to myself.
The whole drive here, I never considered turning around. Not once. The magnetic force that exists between Maximus and me seems stronger than ever, stretching across the city, bringing me here to his doorstep.
The day has melted into night, making the energy floating on the air a little quieter. The night always brings a kind of peace with it, but deep in my bones, I know Maximus is the only chance I have at peace. I want to see him so much it hurts.
I can hear the low, gentle beat beneath a jazz-blues instrumental on the other side of his apartment door. Only hours have passed since I left him at the bookstore. So much has changed since then…
I finally force myself to knock and step back. A few seconds later, he’s there, swinging the door open. His sudden presence is like a gust of wind that threatens to knock me over. But I hold my ground and steady myself from the impact of being this close.
His eyes are dark in this light, his expression impassive. He’s not angry. He’s not anything. Just still and quiet. He takes up the doorway, his upper body tense as he grips the edges. It’s the only hint that my being here is affecting him at all.
Still, seeing him is a relief, even if he looks like he’s ready to tear the door off the hinges.
“Aren’t you going to say anything to me?” I hate the way my voice breaks.
His silence is killing me, eating away at the last of my hope.
Blood of Zeus: (Blood of Zeus: Book One) Page 19
