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Heimdall was not a happy camper. Until now, he’d played the benevolent, but strict, father to the best of his ability. He’d shown me he was willing to use whatever means needed to coerce me into doing what he wanted, but he always made it sound like it was for my own good.
Not today.
Today, I got to see what people meant when they said wrath of the gods. I had crashed last night and crashed hard. And my godhole of a father had summoned me first thing in the morning, before I had any real opportunity to talk with the guys about the plan to get us out of here. I glanced down at the shards of broken pottery that had once been a massive, ornate pitcher painted with delicate gold. The room where my father held court was a mess. He was like a child throwing a tantrum, I thought smugly. But I didn’t let my feelings show. This child could do some damage, if he really wanted to.
“I’ve become a laughingstock among my peers overnight. The whole estate is chattering about how your demon love has returned because you tricked me!” He narrowed his eyes. “I see what you’re trying to do. You may be able to manipulate the weak mind of a lesser demon noble who has been away from his plane for too long, but do you really think you can play these games with a god?” Heimdall wasn’t yelling, but the simmering anger beneath his words was just as bad.
“Of course not, father,” I said, putting on my weak, trembling little girl face because that’s what he expected of me. I was just a poor, weak little woman, after all. And half human, at that.
He sighed, as if he was trying to be reasonable and caring. “I understand the need to have your harem with you, Troya. But the demon is asking much.”
I tried to flutter my eyelashes. Shit, I didn’t know how to play these girly games. But I couldn’t let him have second thoughts about letting me keep Derek. “But...I just can’t concentrate without him. You wouldn’t understand, I suppose, not having human emotions. But they interfere with everything.”
He was no less pissed off by my explanation. Probably because he knew there was more to it than that. White was right, Heimdall knew that the two of us together was a powerful combination. But he was willing to allow it, for now, if he could find a way to keep that power working in his favor rather than against him.
He let out a long breath and pasted on a sad, concerned half smile, like a father would give a daughter who he knew was making a huge mistake in matters of the heart. “My sweet girl. I understand. Human hearts and emotions are such weak, flitting things. They really are a crippling flaw.” He shook his head. “But you can’t help that, can you? It’s my fault for coupling with a human in the first place.”
I tried not to make a face at the idea of Heimdall coupling with anyone. Gross.
He didn’t seem to notice my disgust. “But it is my duty to protect your weak spot, as I would for a fellow god in battle.” He sighed as if he just hated telling me this. “Demons can’t be trusted. You know that. He may give you pretty words and promises now, but in the end, the creatures are utterly incapable of love.”
I looked at the floor to hide my anger. He was trying to seed doubt between me and Derek. He wanted me to think my feelings were just a silly, human, one-sided obsession. He wanted me wounded and in want of a strong male figure in my life. A caring father to protect me.
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to shout at him that it wasn’t the demon who used me all my life, then abandoned me the moment I gave away my power. That the demon had watched over me for centuries, even when he knew he’d get nothing in return—no affection, no acknowledgement for his care.
Heimdall apparently thought I was verklempt by the idea that Derek didn’t love me, rather than all twisted up with the urge to rip the god’s head off. Which, I suppose, was good for me. I did want to survive long enough to get back home to Earth.
“I understand,” I said, my voice trembling with rage that could have passed as sadness. “But you’ll let me keep him for now?”
He sighed. “For now. But I’ll be watching. After all, the despicable creature already killed one of my daughters by getting you all stirred up. It’s difficult to rest, knowing you insist on keeping him close, knowing that he has warped your feelings so much you would forget Auralia and how much she meant to you.”
I blinked up at him at the mention of my dead sister. I couldn’t help the question that slipped out of my mouth. “But...you said that was my fault.”
He shook his head at me again, sinking down into his overstuffed seat and arching an eyebrow. “And so it was. You were too attached to that demon to see his true nature. If Apophis is chaos, then your demon is bloodlust and destruction. I think his very nature made you lash out at your sister in anger. Why do you think he was so valuable as a solider?”
I clenched my teeth together while keeping my lips stretched into a soft, confused expression. That wasn’t what had happened all. “But you knew this and let him stay in the palace?”
Heimdall narrowed his eyes at me. “Because you insisted.”
I almost laughed. I could see it all so clearly now. He let me keep the demon soldier he used to push back the demon horde for one reason and one reason only. He knew I was more powerful with the demon by my side. And he orchestrated my sister’s death—maybe even stabbed the knife through her heart himself—and framed Dumuzi for it for one simple reason. He was afraid he could no longer control my power. He had wanted to get rid of Dumuzi, but for some reason he couldn’t. Maybe I had already wrapped some sort of protection around him. Heimdall had wanted me to do something to Dumuzi with my power in my hurt and retribution, maybe curse him or fill his fate with pain and suffering. But instead of acting wronged like some vengeful god, my weak human heart had done something Heimdall couldn’t predict—I had blamed myself and looked for a way to escape the pain. Instead of getting rid of the demon and clinging to my father like a lost child, I’d punished myself.
Apparently, guilt and self-loathing weren’t something the gods understood. Not that I was surprised. They didn’t seem to think or care much about anything outside their own selfish desires.
“Now,” Heimdall said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “You have your demon, even though it’s a terrible idea. I should be rewarded for my generosity and understanding. You will bring me five hundred new followers. After that, I should be able to control a temple on Earth and we can spread my influence from there. Our house will be the envy of all the gods. The first to regain our control of the humans and the power that comes with it.”
My heart was beating so loudly, I could barely hear the last bit of what he was saying. He wanted more followers. Five hundred. “But...father, I barely managed one hundred yesterday, and I’m still not back to full strength.”
He gave me a slow, sly smile and I had all the confirmation I needed that what Derek said was correct—I was more powerful with the demon, and Heimdall knew it. “I think you’ll find you can manage, now that you’ve stretched yourself.”
I clenched my fists in my dress. “I slept all night, and I’m still exhausted,” I lied. “I really did drain myself yesterday. Please, I need more time.” I turned my eyes up to look at him and put every ounce of conviction and power behind my words that I could spare. “You will let me rest for the day, won’t you?”
He sighed. “You really are half human, aren’t you? So delicate and weak.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Fine. You may rest for the day. But you’ll come back at sunset and start working on conversions.”
I let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, father.”
The moment he waved his hand at me again, I turned and hurried away.
Fucking five hundred followers. No godsdamned way! That asshole was not going to gain power and influence by mindfucking humans.
Well, not any more humans at least. I pushed down the guilt. I’d deal with that later, once I was back home in my apartment over the bookstore with my guys around me and so many wards the place would fucking glow.
Stupid gods and their stupid, arrogant, jackass ideas of grandeur.
Once I was back in my bedroom and the door was locked, I crossed my arms and glared around the room at my harem. “Okay, we need to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible. How are we going to do this?”
Only then did I realize that the guys were all sitting in a suspicious looking circle. As if they’d been holding a meeting while I was gone. Rhys slid his eyes from Derek to me with a meaningful lift of his eyebrows. “Remember when I said there was more to this asshole than you thought? Maybe it’s time you believe me.”
I swallowed hard and felt a furious blush rising up. Yeah, Rhys had told me he thought I was being a jerk about the whole Derek-White’s-a-monster thing. But did he really have to say it?
The demon lord slanted a dark look toward the vampire, as if he found something surprising...or amusing. “Your unwavering loyalty and obsession with me suddenly makes sense,” he informed the vampire.
Rhys glared at him. “Oh, don’t get all full of yourself, demon. Then I’ll have to tell you what I really think, and Troya’s belief in our ability to escape will never happen.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Uh, guys? Could we maybe shut the hell up now? Heimdall wants me to convert way too many followers by tonight and if I don’t he’s going to do something nasty to Derek. We need to focus. You can snipe at each other later. If we survive.”
“We will survive,” Orion’s silky smooth incubus voice slid across the room and wrapped around me like a physical touch. “You can do this, Troya. We need you to do this. You can save us and protect the humans on Earth. I know you can.”
I stared into his glowing crystal blue eyes, mesmerized. “Oh, that is so not fair.”
But if compelling me with incubus magic was what it took to get me to believe I was strong enough and capable enough to let us escape from the god realm...so be it.