“If she’s so valuable here, why was she selected to trick and punish my grandfather?”
He shrugs. “She’s served me well. Getting to leave this realm for any length of time is a little bit like a vacation.”
“A long vacation…” Long enough to produce my mother and her siblings.
“Indeed.” He pushes off the wall and walks toward me. “But she was eager to return once her duties were fulfilled. Enough time on earth can feel like hell after a while. Trust me.”
I turn and clamp my eyes shut when he reaches for me, but I can’t escape the warmth of his touch along the line of my jaw. “I consider you my subject, but I do appreciate how your humanity preserves your earthly beauty here. You are as lovely as you are fascinating.”
I exhale a shaky breath. From his touch or the chill leaving my bones, I’m not sure.
“What do you want with me?”
He draws his finger in shrinking circles over my shoulder, slowly, patiently. “You’re a sin I’ve yet to taste… I can hardly wait.”
I recoil then, taking a step back and daggering him with a glare. “That’s what you want? To take advantage of me and throw me away?” I gesture angrily toward the grand four-poster bed that’s draped in velvet and silk, its warm colors contrasting against the otherwise cold and largely empty space. I’ve yet to sleep, dedicated as I’ve been to staring dismally into eternity. Now the opulent centerpiece of the room is even less appealing when I think of sharing it with the king of hell.
Another long, cruel moment passes before he breaks into laughter. It’s a booming, condescending kind of thunder, making me feel even more insignificant in his presence.
“Oh, Kara. I assure you I’m nothing like my lecherous brother. Indulging the temptations of the flesh is a tired sin. I grew bored of it ages ago. You’re a beautiful creature, but the other things you’ve inspired in Maximus are what truly draw me to you.”
Strangely, his declaration doubles my shivers. Giving him my body would’ve been much simpler than this, I’m sure of it.
“The feelings you can capture…” He shakes his head like a kid beholding his first fireworks. “So many of them. And so rich and rare and vibrant. It’s no wonder he’s addicted to you. Now, I’m greedy to experience it all for myself.”
I drag in a ragged breath. “But you’ll never have it. Don’t you understand that? What exists between us, exists between us. Maximus and me. It’s never happened with anyone else.”
His stare flares wide with intrigue. “I welcome a good challenge. Perhaps my touch alone won’t kindle this anomaly the way it has with him, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to recreate it. And once we do…once I reach inside your mind, we’ll have something I’ve never experienced before.”
I shake my head violently. “What? What could I possibly offer that you haven’t already seen through him?”
He licks his lips. The flames flicker on their wetness and inside the coal of his eyes.
“That infinite loop… That circuit of connection. I want to see the colors myself through your experience. What a fascinating mirror to look upon. To see it through rapture would be divine, but if you won’t give that to me, I can inspire so much more in you. There’s fear…sadness…anger. So many unpleasant possibilities.”
I take another step back, knowing the small retreat is futile. Everything is. I can’t fight him. I can’t hide from him. All I can hope is to disappoint him so he’ll leave me be. Send me off to whatever awful, unending fate awaits me. It’s going to take building some walls inside. As high and as fast as I can. I slam my eyes closed again, hoping I can start this very second.
“Perhaps you can think on it,” he adds gently. “We do have a little time. It could be a wonderful surprise to have you choose. I try to advocate for a little free will wherever I can.” Then, extending his arm, he offers me his upturned palm. “Come, Kara. I’ll give you the tour.”
Chapter Two
Maximus
For the third time in less than an hour, car tires scream on the soaked street below my apartment’s window. This time, the chaos is followed by an angry horn and a loud crash. Nearly at once, the drivers are slamming doors and ranting at each other.
I click the TV remote, cranking up whatever’s on to drown the din. Jesse’s had the box on all day, claiming to like white noise despite dictating that the volume stay at zero. I’ve readily obliged because right now I need him. More than I ever have before.
My best friend, seated in my dining nook, jogs a brow in my direction. “Think you can shut down the celestial water works for a little while so I can concentrate here?”
I frown toward the stormy sky and wince at the deafening thunderclap that follows. “It doesn’t have an off switch, okay?”
Thankfully, the collision below seems to be nothing more than a fender bender. The drivers and their volume levels have dimmed to half-civil tones. I mute the TV once more, trying to ignore how my blood’s consumed by ice, my gut’s on fire with dread, and my thoughts are repelling magnets.
Jesse seems to pick up on all that already. “Damn, dude. Too bad I’m in the know about Rainageddon now. Otherwise, I might be having some actual fun with all this wild and crazy weather.”
I shoot a scowl over my shoulder. Jesse remains diplomatically placid, his gaze glued to his laptop screen. The man and his computer have had barely a moment’s rest since last night—all in the name of helping the friend who spilled a barge’s worth of tea on him and then begged for his help.
He has a point, though. The distraction of the freak storm I’ve caused being rabidly covered by every news team in the city isn’t helping either of us focus. And I need every brain cell Jesse has to spare right now.
And luckily, my front door hasn’t yet been pounded in by a half demon in head-to-toe Prada yet.
“You’re right,” I mutter. “Last thing I need right now is a face-to-face with Veronica.”
He chuckles. “Do you really think she hasn’t found out by now? You know she’s likely gotten the spill from Z. Hades is his brother after all. Moreover, Zeus is the All-father. He’s probably got little spy minions all over hell reporting back to him with game-changing scoops like this.”
“What makes you think this is a game changer for my father?”
“Eh?” Jesse snaps. He pushes the laptop aside, all ears for me.
A twinge of guilt hits. I’d really hoped to keep Jesse far away from this wild tangle that’s become my life. Now, he’s in the thick of it like kindling in a bonfire. I couldn’t yank him free if I tried.
“Even if Z does know about this, he’s not going to just jump in and play benevolent savior. Not even for me. Not anymore, at least.”
A dozen furrows appear in Jesse’s forehead. “Dude. He’s your dad.”
“And I honestly think he’s burned out.”
“How is that a thing? I mean, for a god.”
“He’s been alive for a long time, Jesse. There’s not a lot he hasn’t seen or done, including acts in the name of doing some good. Not to mention, the human race writes him off as a myth. His wife is jealous, bitter, and demanding. His brothers are headstrong bastards in their own rights. The subjects of his own kingdom are all creatures with their own unique powers and likely the egos to match. Now try thinking about managing all that, day after day, with no end in sight.”