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I woke to the feel of sunshine on my face, a soft nest beneath me...and the sound of hushed voices close by. It took me a minute to remember my name, let alone everything else that had just happened. Gods. I was amazed I could even move. I stretched slowly, easing the numerous aches and pains that were to be expected after mind-blowing sex with a demon.
The voices stopped the second I moved. I pried my eyes open, then sat up, shielding myself from the overly bright god realm sun. I found three pairs of eyes riveted to me. I glanced down to make sure I wasn’t still naked or something. Someone had apparently wiped me off and wrapped me in blankets. I was showing a lot of cleavage, but the important bits were covered up. Not that I really cared. Everyone here had seen me naked.
I glanced up again to find Orion with his head bent, staring at his hands, and Chike and Rhys sharing a look that I didn’t understand. “What?” I demanded.
Orion looked up. He’d been chewing at his bottom lip, but he forced himself to stop, and I almost groaned aloud when his cool, distant secretary mask slid into place. “I apologize. For losing myself. Are you.... Did I hurt you, Troya?”
I frowned at him in confusion. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m fine.”
Rhys arched a brow at me then, slid a glance toward Orion. “See?” he said in that voice he usually used on me when I was having what he called a “human freakout” about something the vampire found absurd.
Orion wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I dragged my fingers through my hair in an attempt to get the tangles out. “We’ve been over this,” I said tiredly. “But I’ll remind you as many times as you want. There is nothing wrong with you, Orion. So you need sex to live. Cool. Bonus for anyone you decide to feed from.”
He shuddered. “But I...that was....”
Chike patted Orion on the shoulder and the incubus stiffened. The siren’s lavender eyes met mine and he shook his head. “It was fucking hot, was what it was.” He ruffled Orion’s curls and tugged on one of his horns, being a complete pest, as usual. “It’s okay, dude.”
I waved a hand in exasperation. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”
Rhys sighed. “Orion was worried that he overdid it there at the end.” He didn’t seem to be able to stop the stupid grin that kept trying to overtake his face and I caught a slip of fang when he spoke.
Orion glared at Rhys. “It’s not funny, vampire. Would you find it funny if you gave in to bloodlust and savaged someone? What if I had truly damaged her, but my powers kept her from feeling pain? What if I took too much of her essence, drained her life spark completely?” His fury turned into cold detachment so fast it made me ache. “You make light of my loss of control. But I know exactly what I’m capable of. I’ve done it before.”
We were all silent after that bomb dropped.
I swallowed hard, pushing back the horror and lurching over to kneel by Orion, the blanket still awkwardly covering most of my nakedness. “Apophis. He made you do those things, didn’t he? To his enemies. To anyone he wanted to influence or punish.”
He shuddered and kept his gaze trained on his hands. He didn’t have his clothes or his gloves here. And it must be killing him right now, to not be able to button himself up and lock himself away. “Frequently,” he whispered. “Until it was second nature to me. Until it was all I knew. Until I lived for it. For him. Until his sick pleasure and his political games with the other demon lords were all that was keeping me alive.”
I wasn’t sure if touching him was okay right now, when his trauma was so close to the surface. But not touching him seemed worse. Like if I didn’t close the gap right now, it would widen into a chasm that could never be crossed. I reached out and gripped his hand, giving it a squeeze. “You didn’t hurt me. You didn’t take anything I wouldn’t give without your powers influencing me. You are not a monster, Orion. And that asshole doesn’t control you.” I took a deep breath and dipped into the golden well of my power, reassured to find that it was slightly depleted but recovering. Tapping into every ounce of conviction and belief could muster, I dipped my head to make Orion meet my eyes. “You will be free of him forever. When this is all over, Apophis will be dead and gone and you will only ever have to answer to yourself. I promise.”
He blinked rapidly, dispelling the sheen of tears that formed in his bright blue eyes. “I don’t deserve you.”
I quirked a wry grin at him. “You deserve so much more than you realize, Orion. You deserve everything. And I’m going to make sure you get it.”
He lifted his shackled hands, pressing the back of one elegant hand to his mouth as he clamped down on the strong emotions I could see swirling in his eyes and in his aura. I ruffled his curls the way Chike had, then gave in and tugged one of his pretty horns, fascinated by the smooth, curly appendage.
He snorted and batted my hand away, as if he was too dignified to be teased. “Enough of my drama. Now that I’m not starving and can think straight, we should talk about how we are going to get home.”
I sighed, but let him retreat into his task master persona, where he felt safe. “I’ve got an idea about how to take care of the creepy relationship between Heimdall and his crazy asshole associate. No matter what little plans White has up his sleeve, we need to make sure those two aren’t as powerful as they think they are.”
Orion nodded as the others settled in next to us to help us plan. “Mr. White had a message for you,” he said, his voice serious and his eyes meeting mine. “He believes in you, because he knows the true power of what you are. He wanted me to tell you that you are capable of anything.”
There was weight behind his words, as if he was casting a spell. Chike patted my shoulder. “Of course she is. She’s Troya.”
Rhys shrugged innocently, and I knew exactly what they were up to, but I let it slide. I could use a little confidence boost. A little more belief in myself. The fact that White knew that was a whole other can of worms. But for now, I was going to keep my doubting mouth shut.
“Don’t you realize?” Rhys said as he fiddled absently with a strand of my hair. “You care for people. You save them. It’s what you do. The magic in you won’t stand for other people being in danger. If it means saving the people you love, and saving the humans back on Earth, nothing can stop you.”