Daughter Trilogy Bundle (21 page)

He pulls back to look at me curiously.

"Vices?" he asks with bemusement.

"Yes.  Name yours."

"Oh.  Coffee, scotch, and the occasional cigar.  What about you?"

"Chocolate, coffee, and bad boys," I snicker out.

He smirks in response, and then his eyes dare me to come closer.

"Bad
boy
- singular from now on, I hope," he says with a seductive tone that sends chills all over me.

I almost dissolve under his liquefying gaze. 
Mmm.

"Definitely singular.  I don't cheat, and I can't seem to stay away from you."

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me to hear," he murmurs, and it's in a way that sends my body spiraling into full blown goddess.

The wind stirs and runs its fingers through my hair as it gently whirls it around me.  The clouds begin to darken, and Devin cringes as the lightning starts to threaten the sky.

"Baby, you have to control this.  Persia can't keep helping you.  Come on, do this.  You can do this."

The wicked grin on my face doesn't give him the relief he seeks, and more lightning jerks down as I press my lips to his.

He kisses me for a moment, but then he pulls me back.  I tilt my head in confusion, and the goddess inside me grows angry from the recoiled intimacy.

"Baby, please.  Adisia, you have to control this," he pleads.

Then a new voice interjects itself into our private conversation.

"Adisia, think about Devin needing you to stop.  Think about how he'll be injured if you don't.  Think about how this affects him when the goddess controls you," Persia yells.

I tilt my head at her, and I see a beautiful goddess inside her begging to be set free.

"You stay too locked up," my voice echoes.

"Adisia, this isn't you.  Calm the goddess.  You have to learn to control her.  Devin needs you to control her if you ever want to be together," she cautions.

Slowly the wind stalls its gust, and then stops all together.  The lightning whimpers as it's forced back into the clouds.  The clouds are trembling instead of thundering as they disperse and make room for the sunshine.

I sigh out loudly, and Devin wraps his arms around my waist to steady me.  He looks discouraged as he speaks to Persia.

"I thought she was getting control.  What happened?"

"She's growing stronger.  I can't pull the storm away from her anymore.  It's up to her already.  I wasn't expecting it to happen today, and Aphrodite shouldn't be so dominant within her.  I've never seen such a hold," she murmurs meekly.  "I knew Aphrodite would have presence, but not this strongly."

Devin kisses the top of my head just as Theia walks out.

"The storm started and stopped.  That's progress, right?" she asks Persia.

"In one respect, yes," Persia mutters unconvincingly.

Theia seems as displeased by that answer as I am.  Drat.  I thought I was getting this under control.

Persia stares expectantly.  I'm sure she would love for me to ask her what I'm doing wrong, especially since I haven't listened to a single thing she's been trying to tell me.

She finally realizes I'm not going to give her an inch, so she skulks off to the edge of the lake.  I feel a gentle breeze stirring as she tosses a leaf out in front of her.  I watch her float the leaf around like a feather in the wind.

She lets it get almost to the surface of the lake, and then she blows it back into the air to reset the cycle.  It's so relaxing to watch the gentle, repetitive motion.

"How does she do that?" I whisper almost too low.

"I don't know.  I don't have that power," Devin says in the same whisper.

"What can you do?  I mean besides your ripple thingy."

He laughs a little at my pitiful, ill-informed characterization of his ability.

"Well, besides my 'ripple thingy,' I can call to the water."

I smirk a little.  "I've always enjoyed show more than tell."

He snickers slightly, and then he pulls me into his arms.  He kisses me gently, and I can almost hear the ocean inside of me.

I pull back to see the tide rushing in his eyes, and I gasp loudly as he turns me around to see the lake forming spirals of water into the air.

The magnificent display draws me in as I gaze at the wonder dancing to a well choreographed melody only he can hear.

He kisses me on the back of the head, and the water slowly begins to descend without disturbing the surface below with a splash.

I smile, and now I'm wishing I hadn't asked him what else he could do.  I'm so flushed, hot, and burning for him right now.

"That was a bad idea," I mumble as the goddess begins to return.  "I can't control her at all."

He stares into my bright green eyes that have replaced the blue.

"There's only one person who can show you how to control the goddess and the storm.  I know you don't want to talk to her, but it's proving to be a necessary evil."

"I can't," I whisper.

He kisses me softly, and then whispers back, "You never get answers until you ask questions."

I stare at her as she continues on in her tranquil release, never having even acknowledged Devin's display of power behind her, and I sigh with begrudged acceptance for what I know I have to do.

Devin's right.  I do have questions, but not all of them are about the immortal world I've been dropped into.

"Okay."

He pecks me on the lips, and my hand trails down his chest as I walk away.

I'm slowly losing my nerve with each step.  She starts to turn when she hears me but returns to her leaf dance instead.  She's probably worried she'll spook me.  She's probably right.

I need to ask her how to subdue Aphrodite or at least rein in her power.  I need her to show me how she exercises such control.  The only thing she's told me to do that I've done is have sex, and well, obviously that wasn't exactly a difficult order to follow.

I have to ask her how she got it under control, even though that means I'm going to have to listen.  I almost want to hold my nose before diving into the deep end of the conversation I've avoided.

"Why did you leave me twice?  Why didn't you just leave me alone the first time you dumped me?  Why did you come back?"

The tears that flow from my eyes are just as unexpected as my outburst.  I never meant to touch such a personal, devastating subject.

The leaf she's been toying with surrenders to gravity and plummets to the lake's surface.  She cringes slightly, having been caught off guard by the same unexpected confrontation.

She sits down on the edge of the dock and lets her feet dangle just above the water's surface.

"I left you the first time because there was a gang of huntresses after me - Athena's daughters most likely.  I don't know how they knew who I was, where I was, or even what I was, but they did.

"Kahl had died just a few months before during another unprovoked battle, and I had been on the run with a child in my arms the whole time.  I didn't know they had found me until I felt the stinging of fire against my cheek.

"A fire wielder had caught me off guard, and I grabbed you up from the sandbox you were playing in.  From there, I did what I do best - I ran.  It's ingrained in our kind to run away when all else fails.  Something you'll learn if you haven't already.

"I made it to the hospital before they caught up with me, but I knew they were close, and I had to get you to safety.  There was a chained door that led to the basement.  I ripped the chains off and tucked you inside.  I ran for miles and miles with every intention of returning.  I couldn't shake them though.  I managed to get to a phone, and I called the hospital.  I told them where you were, and I almost fell apart when I heard on the news five days later that you had just been found.

"They never went to look for you.  I told them where you were, and they never went to look for you.  I don't even
… I simply-"

Her sobbing ramble is interrupted by the sound of Devin's panicked footsteps.  Persia's eyes widen, as she
sees
something he's apparently
seen
.

"What?" I prompt, since all I can
see
is the present, not the future.

"We've got to go.  Now," Devin demands as he grabs my hand and rushes me to the car.

He scoops me up and places me over the door, and then he leaps into his seat.  The car slams into reverse, and Persia jumps in the backseat.

"I see at least ten," she whispers.

"Same here," he says in an almost inaudible tone.

He pulls out his phone, and now I can hear both whispered conversations as he wedges the phone between his ear and shoulder to enable him to shift his gears violently.

"Devin?" Theia asks in bemusement.

"Mom, there're at least five coming in from the east, two from the west, and three from the north.  They'll be there in less than ten minutes.  Persia and I are getting Adisia out of here."

"We'll handle things here.  Keep her calm, and keep her safe."

Calm?  Really?  Is anyone else here seeing this craziness, or am I alone in finding this all bizarre?

"Tell Kry to grab our stuff and meet us at the rally point when it's safe."

"I'll call you when we've resolved the issue."

He puts the phone down, and his hand reaches over to grab my trembling one.  The clouds over head begin to rumble, and lightning flickers above.

"I'm here.  Don't panic.  Just hold it back," he murmurs softly.

I look at him and try to focus on my adoration and my deep, concentrated emotion for him, but I'm derailed in my attempt as suddenly a man crashes to the road in front of us.

I scream as Devin jerks the wheel and uses the emergency brake to drift around him with professional precision.

I turn back to see the guy pounding the road with his fist, and the thunderous cracking as the road crumbles, breaks apart, and collapses behind us in a ripple.  I hear the roar of the engine as my head bobs from the ferocious acceleration when Devin outruns the destruction behind us.

My eyes lose the man as the car squeals around a sharp curve, and my hair slaps me in the face.  Persia stands to her feet, despite the wild ride, and focuses her energy behind us just as the guy emerges from around the curve.

Lightning crashes fiercely against the ground, and it flips him backwards once it strikes just in front of him.

The earth quakes beneath him, and it screams in agony from its newly opened surface.  The lightning whistles as it crashes again, and the man is thrown into the lake before he can ever stand back up.

Persia sits down, and I see Devin's eyes clashing with the forced tide as the lake stirs beside us.  The sides start swirling faster and faster until there's a whirlpool pulling everything to the bottom.  I can't see the man, but I know he can't out swim that.

I take ten deep breaths.  I'm doing good not to hyperventilate at this point.

Devin screeches the car against another curve on the winding road, and Persia's eyes are staring behind us.

Devin picks his phone back up again.

"We'll be there in five minutes.  Have it off the ground," he says briskly and hangs up before the person on the other line says anything.

"Be where in five minutes?" I whimper in complete baffled frustration, but he doesn't answer.

The storm above us starts to brew, and Devin jerks my face to his.  He kisses me hard, and I can feel the storm lifting as he uses his foresight to lead him around the winding road while my face obstructs his eyesight.

He releases me just before the goddess consumes me, and I see the storm has vanished from the sky.

He just controlled me.  He just controlled my inner chaos by provoking the goddess's appetite.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.

"You can see them?" Persia asks mildly.

"Only moments before an attack, and not all the time.  It's hit or miss usually," he mumbles.

"I didn't see them coming until you came up.  You're stronger than I gave you credit for being."

"That's how I like it," he says very cockily, and it's almost too sexy for my goddess to withstand.  "Just be ready to bail out.  We're here," he adds while squealing the car at a ninety degree angle, and then he barrels down a muddy dirt path that leads to a vast field.

The car sloshes through the mud, driving it up to almost splash inside the car.  He doesn't even turn off the engine when he jumps out and whisks me out of my seat, treating me as though I don't weigh an ounce.

I see a helicopter hovering approximately twenty feet above the ground, and Devin is pulling me through the muddy field to meet it.  He doesn't give me any warning before he pulls me to him, and suddenly we're leaping through the air and then thudding inside the chopper.  It takes my stomach a second to catch up and slap me in the throat.

Persia glides in just behind us, and the helicopter lifts and surges forward to aide in our retreat.