Daughter Trilogy Bundle (112 page)

“I’m glad you didn’t give up,” I almost whisper.

His eyes burn into mine, and I feel the heat of my body singeing the sheets screaming beneath me. 

“I told you I never would,” he smolders, and then his pace becomes less patient and more desperate to feel me completely.

I moan as his teeth scale lightly over my skin.  Then I hear the slamming of the door as my wind picks it up from its resting place and stands it back up to conceal our scene.

Devin’s lips are etched in a devious cocked grin when they return to mine, and it just fuels the burning rush inside me that much more.  I hear the crashing of the plate that once carried my fish, but I could care less.

My knuckles turn white as they cling to the covers beneath me while my body is forced to absorb his teasing prolonging, and then sensations start to overwhelm me. 

Throbbing erupts to be more painful as the sound of fabric shredding sings to my ears, and his lips devour mine.  His touch is all I need to feel whole.

The last of the hellhounds
foam at the mouth as their red eyes glare into my green ones.  The thunder rumbles across the sky in a rolling motion while the clouds split quickly to escape the path of the shooting blue streaks plummeting to the ground.

The rain pelts against my face and shatters like glass to extinguish the burning flames around the rabid beasts.

Devin builds a wall of water around the mutts still dripping fire like drool from their mouth, and they screech in pain as Jace slams a swirling episode of streaks their way.

The endless parade of blue strikes is enough to finally cease the howling screams, and Jace dusts his hands proudly as he walks over to me.

“Well, there’s nothing better than a hard day’s work,” he chuckles out. 

“
You losing your edge, Adisia?  You let Jace have most the fun.  You barely killed less than half of them,” Deacon teases, but I don’t want to tell anyone that I still don’t feel fully recuperated.

“
I was a little caught off guard.  I wasn’t expecting disfigured, hairless beasts with fire for spit and dagger sharp claws,” I mislead.  “So, Graven is essentially a walking dog whistle for the fire breathing canines?” I muse.

“
Shh,” Deacon hushes with a grin.  “Graven will flip the hell out if he hears you say that.  He has a severe complex with his talent, and he overcompensates often.  Don’t make him try to display his toughness, please.  It’s too pathetic to view again,” he mocks quietly.

Everyone chuckles, and I
’m relieved to see I’ve successfully shifted the topic without falter.

Devin walks over to take my hand in his, and I
’m almost worried he noticed my secretive deterrent.  I discreetly sigh in relief when he kisses me, and then screams bring all of us to an emergent spin to face the beach.

“
What was that?” Kry murmurs warily, and then we hear more screams in the distance - mortal screams.

“
Harpies,” Devin gasps, and then I feel a sharp tug as he flashes with me still attached.

I always forget how much faster he is until I try to keep up with his panicked pace.  It
’s finally too much, and I have to release him when I feel too weak to continue the fierce stride.

Devin skids to an abrupt halt, and he turns back to face me with a distressed face. I just wave him off as I hide the heaving-for-air breathlessness attacking my lungs.

“Go.  I’m fine.  You’re just faster,” I urge, and then I grab at my stomach when he’s not looking anymore.

I feel so weak, so tired, so
… mortal, damn it.  What the hell?

The water swirls through the air, and I see more people at the end of the beach fighting to keep the scrambling mortals safe.

I feel even sicker when I see the lives of so many already lost, and tears escape when a small girl is crying beside a tree for her mother.  I force myself to flash toward her, and she freezes in sheer terror when she sees my hasty approach.

“
It’s okay,” I coo.  “Let me help you find your mother.”

Suddenly I hear a wind cutting noise that brings my hair to a stand.  I slowly turn around while keeping the small girl tucked behind me.

A stunning blue-haired woman stands in front of me, and her head tilts side to side as if she’s studying what or who I am.  Her eyelashes extend to turn into blue feathers, and her blue eyebrows only bring out the too blue color of her eyes.

Even her nails are blue, and they
’re fucking long too.  They continue to extend in front of my eyes, making me almost gasp.  I’ve never seen anything so fatally beautiful in all my life.

No fucking wonder they kill so many.  It
’s hard to look away, and their swirling eyes are just as deadly as their sharp claws.

I finally break eye contact when the small child sniffling in fear brings me out of my momentary trance, and her small, trembling hands grip tightly to my leg.

The woman’s bird-like mannerisms are displayed in her circling stalk that I mimic to keep the child hidden, covered, and protected.

“
You really don’t want to piss me off,” I warn, and the sound of the thunder demands attention as it rumbles fiercely to add to my threat.

She doesn
’t seem so afraid though, and that’s probably because it is hard to kill them by any way other than drowning.

A growling hiss spews from her mouth just before she lunges at me, and my wind wraps her up to carry her out to sea before she gets the chance to finish her attack.

I scoop the young girl up to hold her to my chest.  The sea is turning, crashing, and reining the women with colorful hair.

Screams erupt from the hypnotic harpies as I feel Devin
’s power bringing the short battle to an end.  The small girl in my arms holds on tighter to escape the horrific scene going on behind her as she buries her head into my chest.

The gushing waves seem to swirl in slow motion, and the battle seems surreal.  Aphrodite isn
’t taking me over, and I’m forced to watch it all play out as Adisia only.

For the first time in a fight, I feel the fear everyone else does.  I see the pain, the destruction, and the chaos just as they all do.  The gut wrenching screams ring out louder as more harpies meet their doom, and I only ever struck one.

I almost feel a little impotent.  I’m used to feeling so powerful.  Now I feel like a hindrance or an observer rather than a true force.

Devin rushes over, and his eyes are drenched in fear when he sees the small child I
’m holding.  Her face nestles into me to hide her eyes, and I continue holding my arm around her head to shield her ears. 

“
Adisia!” Camara screams, and suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my back from a pulsating force that echoes in my ears.

I scream out, and the child screams to mimic my outburst of pain.  I turn my head to see a different group of women, and this time the green eyes do come to life.

The sky parts and the curly-haired blonds drop to their knees as something new exudes from me.  I feel protective, and now I feel a different power flowing through my veins.

They scream as they curl into fetal position, and Devin flashes over to take the child from my arms.  I hold her tighter, refusing his grasp, and Devin backs away when he sees my determination to keep her with me.

“Adisia, calm down!” Faith screams.  “They weren’t aiming at you.”

“
They almost hit her,” I say in my Aphrodite echo.

“
They were aiming at the harpies.  You have to release them from… whatever you’re doing,” she pleads.

“
No,” I growl.

“
They should watch where they’re aiming,” Jace chimes in, and Devin wraps his arm around me defensively as he glares at Faith.

“
My wife was struck, and they don’t seem too remorseful.  Furies don’t really give a damn about who they hurt,” he growls.

“
These do.  They’re with me,” Faith says, and she steps between the Furies and me.

The blue returns, and I release them from the unknown hold I have.  They gasp for air, and then I see someone I never dreamed I would see again.

My heart sinks to the floor, and if it wasn’t for the small girl in my arms, I would crumble to the ground.

Devin turns pale, his body rigid the second his eyes follow my trail, though I know he
’s already seen her by now.  He was probably just praying I wouldn’t.

“
Devin,” Nina gasps in relief.  “Thank heavens.  We wouldn’t have survived that massive ambush if it wasn’t for you.”

Devin drops his head, and I hear his mumbled whisper not meant for any ears but his own.

“I can’t catch a fucking break.”

He steps beside me just before she flashes over, and I
’m sure it’s because he’s just seen what she’s about to do.  I’m trying not to think about what it is she was planning to attempt.

“
Oh.  Adisia,” she stammers out.  “I didn’t expect to…”

“
You didn’t expect to see me again after you did your best to fuck up my marriage?” I crudely finish her sentence for her.

“
No, I mean, I just thought… Thanks for coming to help,” she says while shifting her eyes back to Devin.

He remains silent, and I
’m sure it’s because he’s terrified about how I’ll react if he even looks at her.

His arm pulls me into him, and it
’s all I can do not to release the fury of the skies on her.

At this moment, I really regret binding Asteria.  She
’s a bitch who doesn’t show regard for anyone.  She’d be especially ruthless to the bitch who tried to break up my home.

Nina wasn
’t under the same shadowed influence as Devin.  She knew what she was doing.

“
What are you guys doing here?” Kry asks to break up the awkward tension that ensues when Devin still doesn’t answer her.

Nina frowns a little.  Her dark hair almost shakes in the form of waves under the wet shine my rain offered her.  Her soft ocean, blue eyes stare hopefully, but not desperately, at my husband.

He avoids all eye contact, and Jace steps between her and Devin as if he’s trying to relieve me of the loathsome reunion.

She finally turns to answer Kry when she sees the obvious conflict she
’s diving into on our end of the pool.

“
We came here to track the harpies.  They attacked our home in Greece, and we suffered several casualties I don’t fully wish to discuss,” she says with an emotional ring.

The small girl stirs in my arms and turns her head to face Nina as she whimpers,
“Nina, where’s my momma?”

This girl is one of us?

Nina tightens her lips, and then looks over to a group that is caring for an unconscious woman.  I read the situation, and I only hope the woman is okay.

“
She’s hurt, Nadia, but she’ll be fine.  She endured several deep lacerations from those savages, and the pain has overwhelmed her.  She’ll-”

“
She’ll be fine.  Let’s go find some flowers for her so she has something pretty in her room when she wakes up,” I interrupt.

Damn.  You
’re talking to a child, Nina.  Act like it.

I start walking away, and Devin keeps his arm around my waist.  Nina runs up to block my path.

“Nadia needs to stay with me.  Her mother will be worried when she awakes,” she insists.

“
No,” Nadia cries, and her hands cling tighter to me. 

I pat her back to console her tiny, quivering body.  She can
’t be more than five, and yet she bears the burdens of our world already. 

“
Bring them to your house,” I whisper to Devin.

“
No.  I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he whispers back.

His eyes deliberately avoid Nina
’s direction, but I know she’s the reason for his pause.  I sigh out a little, and then I lean into him.

“
Nadia’s scared, and I can’t just hand her over right now.  I’ll be fine.  I trust you, and you only have one shadow.  Believe me, I checked,” I murmur with a bit of a dramatized tone.

He purses his lips, and Kry walks over to gauge the odd standoff we
’re in.  Finally, Devin looks up and sighs as he speaks to Nina for the first time.

“
You and your clan should come back to
our
house.  It’s apparent the child is frightened, and she’s found refuge in Adisia.  We need to discuss the organized ambush of the harpies anyways,” Devin mutters with heavy reluctance.

Nina stifles a grin, and Kry is wide-eyed at the request.  He casually glances over to Devin
’s solo shadow, and then to me.  I roll my eyes, and then Hale joins us.

“
How are the harpies organizing?  It’s like the sirens did, but this time they’re not under the control of Safina.  The hellhounds were right down the beach, and harpies loathe hellhounds.  They don’t get within hundreds of miles of them,” Hale says, as if he’s hashing out the riddling puzzle that’s in his mind.