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I woke in the middle of the night, confused and groggy, to the sound of the heavy wooden door bouncing off the wall with the force of Heimdall’s anger. The wall sconces around the room flared to life, nearly blinding me. “You’ve been lying to me,” he growled. “You’ve been holding out, pretending to be weak.”
I sat up, disentangling myself from Rhys and Chike, who had immediately scrambled to shield me from the god’s wrath. It wasn’t like I was about to hide behind a couple of guys in chains.
“What the hell are you yammering about?” I said, pulling myself to my feet, jerking my wrap thing straight, and squaring my shoulders, trying to shake off sleep and project confidence and bemused ignorance, even though he was exactly right.
He narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his chest. “You will bring me the faith of fifty followers by sunset this evening, or I will remove your pets and have them exterminated.”
My heart clenched and ice filled my veins. It wasn’t an idle threat. I knew Heimdall wouldn’t hesitate to murder people to get me to do what he wanted. After all, I was pretty sure he’d done it before, even though it had ultimately backfired on him when I chose mortality over him and his games.
“Wait,” I said, holding up my hands in a defensive position. “I never lied to you. I’ve been trying to work on controlling my power. I promise. I was able to make the guards switch from that loud grumpy one to the quiet grumpy one. And I made Elandra bring me pizza! But it’s still mostly on accident. I mean, there were mushrooms. I never said I wanted mushrooms!” I babbled like a lunatic. All I could think of was the sight of my sister—the one family member who hadn’t been a manipulative bastard—bleeding out in Dumuzi’s arms. “Please, don’t hurt them.”
He stared at me for a moment, calculating, judging. Then he gestured to the guards in the hallway. “Bring it in.”
I stared, my heart stopping, stomach feeling like it was filled with lead. Orion was in his full incubus form, all lean lines and allure, with giant leathery blue bat wings and curling blue horns. They had put him in one of the silly wrap things, and most of his scars were on full display. Heimdall took Orion’s chain from the guards and yanked, bringing the incubus stumbling forward, crashing to his knees at the god’s feet. “Explain this. It claims to belong to you.”
I pressed my lips together and drew in a long, desperate breath through my nose to keep from shrieking. No. No, no, no! I had very deliberately tried not to bring Orion here.
“I didn’t do this,” I whispered, wanting to believe it as badly as I wanted him to believe it. “I swear, if I did this it was by accident.”
Heimdall narrowed his eyes at me again. “And how do you accidentally subvert my anti-demon wards and just accidentally bring yourself another pet?”
I shook my head, wanting to cry, wanting to punch things, wanting to scream at the fates that this wasn’t fucking fair. A furious blush burned across my face as I admitted my mistake. “I...missed him. I dreamed about him.” I gestured helplessly. “And now he’s here.”
Heimdall’s expression went from angry to calculating again, and I wasn’t sure that was much of an improvement. “So it is yours. And you care for it.” He gestured at the guard. “Chain the thing up by the others.”
Turning back to me, he arched one perfect, godly eyebrow. “Fifty new followers by sundown.”
The threat was implied, but I couldn’t just go along with his stupid demands. Not when I knew it was just one step closer to letting these assholes have control over Earth. “I can’t,” I said firmly. “There’s no way. I barely managed one the other day.”
He tilted his head, and that calculating look grew. “That’s a shame,” he said, glancing about the room, his eyes traveling over Rhys and Chike, who were glaring furiously at him, then landing on Orion, who had his head bowed, his silky caramel curls hiding his face. Something wasn’t right with Orion. I could feel his terror and anguish pulsing against my aura. Heimdall shrugged. “It will be a small matter to get rid of the others. They’re a drain on my household. But I’m sure someone can find a use for this one.” Footsteps sounded in the hall and I glanced over Heimdall’s shoulder as the situation went from bad to worse.
Apophis was grinning as he walked into the room. He was clad in his usual fake skin and an opulent white suit. “I was right, wasn’t I?” he said happily. “Some creatures just respond better when given an...incentive.”
Orion winced, his shoulders hunching, but didn’t lift his head. I clenched my teeth at the angelic-looking demon as I realized why Orion was apparently having a silent panic attack. He must have known Apophis was here. Maybe he’d already been exposed to the steaming hot pile of crazy before they brought him here. “Fuck you,” I ground out. Then I turned to Heimdall. “Why do you hang out with this lowlife anyway? I thought you hated demons.”
Heimdall’s mouth stretched into an evil smile. “Because he’s spent time on the Earth plane. It allows him to understand beings from that realm. And he has the most wonderful ideas.”
Apophis crossed to Orion faster than my eyes could follow, planting a shiny dress shoe between the incubus’s wings and shoving him forward so his head pressed to the stone floor, his bound hands splayed out to keep from smashing his nose on the stones. “Oh, my pretty, pretty little pet. I knew I’d get you back someday. I’ve missed you so much! And I’ve been saving up all kinds of fun for us.”
Orion let out a ragged breath, but didn’t move as Apophis ground his foot into the incubus’s back. The stronger demon leaned forward, putting his weight on his foot as he slipped his hand into Orion’s soft curls, the touch a sick parody of a lover’s caress. “You’re hungry right now, aren’t you?” Then he curled his fingers, gripping the incubus’s hair and yanking his head back at an impossible angle. “I’m going to fucking break you all over again, bitch.”
I lost it.
Power flared from my center, uncoiling and filling me with a humming energy that demanded that we protect the defenseless and weak. That we protect what was ours. “Get your fucking hands off him, you bastard!”
I knew I had just demonstrated to everyone in the room how much power actually lived inside me, but I couldn’t stop it if I tried.
“Ooh....” Apophis yanked Orion’s head back further, making the incubus’s upper body arch unnaturally, since the asshole’s foot was still in the middle of his back.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” I growled. Then I launched myself at the demon.
Apophis’s eyes widened for a second, as he realized what I’d just said and who was saying it. I fully intended to rip his fake face off with my bare hands, but a strong arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward and dropping me on the floor.
“You won’t be killing anyone,” Heimdall said in a bored tone. “You might have power, but you don’t know how to use it. If your power was that effective, I’d be king of the gods by now.”
Apophis smirked at me as he straightened, leaving Orion lying prone on the floor. “I’m beginning to think the rumors are true,” he said, directing a sad look at Heimdall. “Clearly, being human has damaged her abilities.”
Doubt. Always sowing doubt.
I ignored the unstable asshole and glared at my stupid parent. “I’ll do my best to do whatever you want,” I said, trying hard not to let my voice wobble with anger and panic. I jabbed finger at the chaos demon, wishing I could shoot lightning or something. “But you have to promise me you’ll keep that psychopath away from my...uh...harem.”
Heimdall pretended to consider. “Fifty new followers by sundown,” he said with a benevolent smile. “A hundred the next day, and so on.” He shrugged, as if this just made sense. “You see? I do understand you need to build your power incrementally. Your pets remain safe so long as you continue to perform your duties as a good daughter should.”
I clenched my teeth together so hard I was afraid they would crack, holding back the angry comeback that wanted to spill out. Even if I wanted to empower him that way, I had no clue how. “Of course, father,” I muttered, the words like acid on my tongue.
He nodded and turned to leave.
Apophis gave me a sly, knowing smile as he slunk off after him. I had no idea what the hell kind of bargain those two had, or why Heimdall hadn’t just delivered White to the crazy chaos demon himself. But I was going to find out. And I was going to manipulate the fuck out of it, just the way they did to everyone else. They wanted to keep reminding me that I was half god? Fine. I’d just have to find the balls to prove them right.
The guards finished affixing Orion’s chain to the wall next to Chike and Rhys. Then they left, closing the door with a soft thud that echoed in my head like it was the loudest sound in the universe.
I spun and hurried over to Orion, who was still kneeling on the floor, wings drooping and shoulders hunched. “Fucking Hela’s hairy hounds, Orion, I am so sorry!” I hit my knees in front of him and pulled him into an awkward hug.
His lithe body was pliant in my arms, but it felt wrong, like hugging a doll—an empty shell. I pulled back enough to push the tangled curls away from his scarred face and get a good look at his light blue eyes. They glowed faintly with his power, but had a glazed, blank look that nearly killed me. “Orion?”
I grabbed his shoulders and gave him a shake, feeling along that connection between us and feeding it power. “Hey? Come on, beautiful. Snap out of it.”
He shuddered and closed his eyes, drawing in a ragged breath. Then he opened his eyes again, looking slightly more focused, and far too shaken. “Troya. I’m sorry. I...knew it would be painful, but I seem to have overestimated my ability to...cope.”
I knew what he was implying. He thought he was weak. “Don’t you dare,” I said, giving him another shake. “Don’t you ever apologize for freaking out when you’re forced to be in the same room with the person who....” My throat closed up and I had to swallow hard. “I meant it. He’s dead. I’m going to make sure of it.” I tried to infuse every bit of conviction I could muster into the promise.
Orion lifted his hands to grip my elbows and give them a soft squeeze. “I appreciate the thought.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said again. “I didn’t mean to bring you here. I tried not to. I can’t do anything right with these stupid fucking powers!”
He squeezed my arms again, giving me a little shake to get my attention. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said with a soft, sad smile, his crystal blue eyes pulsing with a flare of power and need. “You didn’t bring me here. I did.”
I blinked at him in surprise. “You did?” Could Orion travel between realms too? It sure didn’t sound that way that time when he lost White and thought his boss had jumped realms....
He shook his head, letting the curls fall to cover the scarred side of his face again. “Well, I didn’t do it all on my own. I used our connection, as if to call you to me. But Mr. White used his magic to send me across realms.”
I felt my eyes go wide. “He what? Why the hell would he send you here? And how? Didn’t you guys say he had pretty much lost that ability?” I was going to strangle Derek White the first chance I got.
Orion sat back on his haunches, spreading his wings to splay on the floor as he lost some of his tension. “To get you back, of course. He’d move heaven and Earth to get you back home safe.” His light blue eyes met mine, and he pushed through his shy hesitation, his voice nearly a whisper. “We both would.” Then he slanted a sly smile at me. “And it seems Mr. White’s powers have been steadily getting stronger lately. Almost as if someone is willing him to be able to travel once more.”
I shook my head. “No. You can’t be here. Not with Apophis on the loose and...why are you here?”
He sighed, his hands stroking soft lines up and down the back of my arms. “Because I can bring my master,” he whispered. “I’ve...fed from him. And his power is growing. We believe I can call him through the wards.”
“I knew it!” Chike bounced on the balls of his feet like he had just won some sort of prize, making his chains jangle. “I was right. See?”
Rhys shook his head at our mer’s antics before coming to sit on the floor nearer to me and Orion. “We had hypothesized it might be possible to use your link to your employer to bring him over here to help.” He lifted his arm and jangled the chain there. “Since we’re incapable at the moment.”
“Mmm, yes.” Orion’s voice was a distracted, velvety hum that did things to my body. His hands were still stroking soft circles on my arm and his eyes were glowing brighter and brighter by the moment.
Ah, crap.