Emblazed (14 page)

When we arrived at the pier, I paid our fare and tipped the driver. As we walked towards
the boat, I could see a shadowy figure leaned against one of the wooden posts of the
dock. A man stepped out from the darkness with a cocky grin on his face and his arms
crossed over his chest.

I knew it was Hermes from the power he radiated, the kind only a God possessed. He
also fit Brielle’s description, and her fearful reaction silently confirmed what I
had already concluded. I pulled a quivering Brielle behind me as I ignited my hands.

Hermes laughed, “I’m not here to fight you. I’m here for the girl.”

“She is mine,” I growled fiercely before shooting a ball of flames at him.

He held up his hand, sending my attack spiraling back at me. It hit my chest before
bouncing off harmlessly into the water, which had started to rise on both sides of
the dock.

Hermes watched with amusement before flicking his wrist, as if shooing away a fly,
sending us all soaring backwards. The water fell back down as a bolt of light sped
past my face and towards Hermes.

He repeated his maneuver from earlier, and Brielle’s Akasha came back towards us,
aimed directly at me. I rolled to the side, but its path changed, following me. I
braced myself, waiting for it to connect, but it bounced away.

Brielle’s arm was raised, holding the force field protecting us in place. Hermes looked
furious as he sent a blue beam of energy towards us, but it was also deflected by
Brielle’s barrier.

He disappeared and reappeared directly in front of us, causing Kimber and Kiera to
jump back with a squeal. He pounded his fists against the force field with a murderous
expression marring his features. Then, he flattened his palms against it, emitting
a blue light. It sparked over the surface like a florescent cerulean spider web before
fading out around the edges.

Hermes roared before punching the orb encapsulating us one final time and threatening,
“This isn’t over! I will have you!”

He disappeared before any of us could respond, and Kimber turned toward Brielle before
asking, “Who the fuck was that?”

“Hermes,” I muttered angrily when Brielle didn’t answer.

She still held her hand up, keeping the force field intact.
I don’t want him to come back as soon as I drop the barrier,
she voiced in my mind.

Can you hold it while we walk?

She nodded, and we traveled back to the boat as Brielle and I answered everyone’s
questions about Hermes and what had just happened. Brielle didn’t go into much detail
about her attack, but thankfully, no one pressed for more.

Kimber drove the boat back to Avalon as Brielle held up the force field until she
could see the lights from the island’s dock. Once she dropped it, she slumped against
me.

I brought her into my lap as her eyes fluttered repeatedly in her fight to stay awake.
“Rest,
mi amante
. I’ve got you.”

I kissed her forehead, and her face relaxed. Her eyes shut as she complied, and her
breathing evened after several minutes.

The rest of the ride was silent. Once we docked the boat, I lifted Brielle in my arms
and carried her onto the pier. We all returned to the house, where I took Brielle
up to our room to lay her down in bed.

I didn’t realize Kimber had followed me up until she demanded, “Tell me she’s going
to be okay, Jace.”

“You know I won’t let anything happen to her,” I responded.

“That’s what you said before Hades took her! Look what happened with that!” she snapped
back.

Ouch. That one hurt.
I knew she was just upset and scared, but I already felt like a failure because of
the Underworld fiasco. I didn’t need anyone rubbing it in my face.

“I know what happened, Kimber! I don’t need you or anyone else to remind me of my
failure!”

Her face softened before she attempted to apologize, “Jace, I’m sor—”

I held my hand up, interrupting her. “Whatever, Kimber. All you need to know is that
I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll die before I let anyone hurt her again.”
I turned back to face Brielle after that, ending our argument.

I waited until I heard Kimber’s footsteps retreating down the stairs before unbuttoning
my shirt and kicking off my shoes. I quickly undressed as I headed into the bathroom
to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Once I finished, I stared at my reflection, almost not recognizing the man in the
mirror. Dark bags lined under my eyes, which showed their fatigue. These last couple
of months had changed me, making me less sure of myself since meeting Brielle.

You’re not good enough for her,
my reflection mocked, staring back at me with disgust.

Fuck you,
I returned.
I will protect her.

We’ll see about that.

“You will protect her.”
I repeated that phrase over and over several times before flipping off the mirror
and making my way back to the bedroom.

I heard Kiera saying goodbye to Zane and Kimber before the door closed and the click
of a lock sounded. I laid down next to Brielle, draping my arms around her as I molded
my body to hers. I breathed in the smell of her hair and nuzzled her neck, trying
to let her scent calm my nerves. It felt like hours before I finally fell asleep.

Brielle’s screams and choking sobs woke me from my sleep. I turned on the lamp next
to our bed before hugging her to me. “Shhh,
mi amante
. It was just a dream, just another dream.”

“Jace, let go! I’m going to throw up,” she shouted as she tried to free herself from
my arms.

As soon as I let her go, she sprang from the bed and rushed to the bathroom. I heard
her vomiting as I got out of the bed to follow her.

By the time I reached her, she had her forehead resting on her arm, which was propped
on the toilet seat. I knelt beside her and stroked her hair as I asked, “You okay,
baby?”

She shook her head before turning to look at me with tears in her eyes, but what caught
my attention was the handprint shaped bruise on her throat. “Brie, what happened to
your neck?”

Her eyes widened as she scrambled to get off the floor. She raced to the sink and
lifted her chin as she looked in the mirror. She hesitantly touched the mark in disbelief
as she stared at her reflection.

I went to her side and repeated my question, “What happened to your neck?”

“No. It’s not possible,” she whispered in shock as she shook her head.

“What, Brie? What’s not possible?”

She took a deep breath before replying, “In my dream, Hermes … Hermes was choking
me.”

I stared at her, shocked by her revelation.
What did this mean? Was Hermes somehow hurting Brielle through her dreams? Could Gods
do that?

Brielle interrupted my thoughts, “It felt so real, Jace. Even more so than the last
one. What is happening to me?”

“I don’t know, baby.”

“I’m scared, Jace. How can I fight someone in my dreams?” she asked shakily.

I hated that I didn’t have any answers for her, and once again, I felt useless. How
could I protect her from something I couldn’t see?

I enveloped her in my arms, giving her the only comfort I knew how. “We’ll figure
this out,
mi amante
. I don’t know how, but we will.”

She tightened her arms around me, clinging to me for dear life. “How am I supposed
to sleep? What if I don’t wake up the next time before he … he …” she choked, unable
to finish as her tears finally broke through.

I pressed kisses to the top of her head as I softly rubbed her back. We still hadn’t
discussed what had happened in the Underworld. It might not have been the best time
to talk about it, but I thought facing everything might help with the situation.

“Maybe we should talk about what happened. Confronting your fears might help your
subconscious cope. Maybe these dreams are happening because your subconscious is vulnerable.”

“I don’t see how talking about it will help—it’ll only make this whole thing worse,”
she replied angrily.

“Please, baby. You’re so close to breaking, I can feel it. I can’t help you if you
don’t let me in.”

She silently stared at me for several minutes, internally debating her decision before
sighing, “Fine. Let me brush my teeth first.”

Before releasing her from my embrace, I gently placed my hands on her neck to heal
the bruising. She quickly brushed her teeth after, and when she finished, I laced
my fingers through hers to lead her out on the balcony.

We sat on the small wicker loveseat outside, and Brielle pulled her legs up beside
her before laying her head on my shoulder. She released a shaky breath before recounting
her experience in the Underworld, crying though parts that had me seething with feral
rage.

When she finished, I couldn’t help but blame myself for everything that had happened
to her. If I had kept Hades from taking her, none of this would have ever happened.
Now she would have to deal with the emotional scars that my mistake had caused for
the rest of our lives.

“It’s not your fault, babe. I don’t blame you at all. There was no way that Hades
was leaving that court without me,” she replied in response to my thoughts.

I shook my head with my jaw clenched. I had failed her, plain and simple. That’s how
I would always see it, no matter what anyone said. I would spend the rest of my life
trying to make it up to her.

Her hand cupped my face as she turned me to look at her. “Jace, you are what got me
through it all. Without you, I never would have survived down there,” she confessed.

I brought her into my lap before burying my face in her neck. “If I protected you
like I should have, you would’ve never had anything to survive through,” I countered.

“Baby, stop. Everything happens for a reason. Even though I’m struggling right now,
this whole thing will make me stronger in the end. This experience will better prepare
me for Uranus.”

I knew dwelling on my mistake wouldn’t help her overcome what she was going through.
I needed to move on and focus on how to help her instead of how I failed. “How can
I help you,
mi amante
? What can I do?”

“Honestly?” After I nodded, she continued, “Just keep being you. Comfort me when I
break, take care of me when I’m hurt, and love me. That’s all I need.”

“Gods, why do you have to ask for so much?” I teased playfully. She smacked my chest
before trying to wiggle out of my grasp. “I’m only teasing you, baby. You know that
I love you,” I laughed.

“I love you, too,” she mumbled, acting hurt. I snuck a quick kiss to her lips, immediately
lighting her face in a smile that she failed to suppress.

“Do you want to go back to bed?” I asked.

Her face fell, “Not really. What if he comes back?”

“I don’t know, but you can’t go without sleep.”

She sighed angrily in frustration, “Fine, let’s go.”

Brielle scooted off my lap before trudging back to bed. She curled into me as soon
as I lay down, and I wrapped her protectively in my arms before kissing the nape of
her neck. “I love you, baby,” I whispered against her skin.

“Until my last heartbeat,” she whispered back, pressing a kiss to my palm. She laced
her fingers through mine, and soon, we were both lost in sleep.

Hands dug into my thighs as they attempted to pry my legs apart. I struggled under
Hermes’ heavy, bare body crushing mine as tears soaked my cheeks. His teeth scraped
my skin as his mouth dragged all over my naked body, stopping only to roughly bite
or suck on my flesh.

“No! Please stop. Stop!” I begged.

A hateful laugh answered my pleas. “Not until you’re mine!” Hermes growled against
my breast before taking it in his mouth.

I shuddered in revulsion as I tried to roll away from him, my nausea beginning to
simmer in my stomach from his touch. His body smothered mine, making movement almost
impossible as I struggled for freedom.