Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (10 page)

“He’s a careless man with a promiscuous past that will haunt his future. Be wary of the man who

can break your heart too much,” she foretells.

“That’s my husband. He’s not like that,” I say proudly.

“Be careful not to see just what you want to see. That is when the heart breaks the most,” she

cautions, and then she walks away before I can argue further.

Weirdo.

I just shake off the odd encounter, and then Devin returns to me swiftly.

“Let’s head back. I’m beat,” he mutters mildly.

“We just got here,” I counter.

“I know, but I really am tired. We stayed up too late, and I got up far too early. It’s been a few

days since we slept at all before that. I love you, but a man’s got to sleep sometime,” he chuckles, but

he seems a little off.

I look over to the fruit stand, and I notice a far too beautiful girl waving at him. He waves back,

and then he pulls my hand into his.

“Who was that?” I ask insecurely.

“A girl I know from the last time I visited Greece,” he says vaguely.

“An immortal?”

“Yes. She’s a water nymph,” he utters dryly.

“What’s that?”

“Sort of like a mermaid without the fin,” he chuckles. “She has a connection with the water

similar to mine, but she can’t leave the sea like I can. She always has to live next to the water.”

“Is she an ex?” I grumble.

“Not exactly. Don’t start acting crazy,” he scolds.

I’m actually a little offended by his tone, and then he turns to look back at the girl still staring at

him.

“Did you tell her you were married?” I growl.

He promptly turns back around while shaking his head.

“I did. I told her we were on our honeymoon, and I told her goodbye directly after,” he

announces.

“Then why is she still staring?”

“Because she’s not unlike Gemma. Let’s just go back to the house,” he urges.

“Why didn’t you introduce me?” I suspiciously add.

“Because I didn’t really think you’d want to meet her, and I wanted to avoid this nonsense.

There’s no reason for you to be jealous, and I’m not going to deal with it while we’re here to enjoy

ourselves,” he admonishes.

Wow. Who the hell is this guy?

“You can see the far too coincidental occurrence? You want to go to the market, and you happen

to run into her while you’re away from me for the first time since we’ve been here?” I snip.

“Adisia, I mean it. I’m not doing this. I love you, and that’s all you need to know. Let’s get

back,” he prompts.

I just huff in defeat. He married me, and he’s never done anything for me to question his loyalty.

His reasoning is plausible, and I have to accept it if I’m going to make this work.

It doesn’t take long to reach our house, and Camara and Deacon are still splashing in the waves.

Devin smiles as he points to the cliffs down the beach.

“Let’s go there,” he says with a grin.

“Okay? What’s up there?” I muse.

“A great place to dive,” he murmurs with an excited, dangerous hint.

I giggle a little, and strip down to my bikini as he flashes in. I frown when I hear him on the

balcony yelling to Deacon and Camara.

“We’re heading to the cliffs. You coming?”

“Hell yes,” Deacon answers, and they flash up to where I’m at.

“What’s wrong?” Devin asks in a whisper when he returns.

“I thought you meant just you and me,” I sigh.

“They’re already here. Let’s just have a good time,” he says coolly, and I still feel like there’s a

sudden disconnect.

“Is everything okay?” I worry.

“Yeah, of course. Should something be wrong just because I invited our friends to go cliff diving

with us?”

“No, but something just feels off,” I add.

“Adisia, you have no reason to feel as though I don’t love you. Please stop acting like this. It was

just a girl from my past. You can’t keep doing this,” he growls, and now I feel so oddly insecure.

“I wasn’t talking about her,” I rattle out in confusion.

“Good. Let’s go diving now,” he says while nudging me, but he’s not holding my hand.

He’s not touching me at all, and that’s never been an issue with us. I feel like he’s not telling me

something, but I don’t know what.

I look over at the water, and I see the ripples of something swimming. I smile as I think of the

family of dolphins we had seen leaping through the air so many times during our stay, and I try to

shake free of the odd feeling.

We flash to the top, and Devin has still not touched me. Maybe I’m being a little too needy, but

he’s usually pretty needy as well.

Camara flips over the side, and squeals as she dives into the water.

I laugh a little when Deacon pounds his chest like Tarzan before doing a back flip. Devin gives

me a wink before rushing over the edge, and it only slightly alleviates my anxiety.

I take a step back and then get a run and go before diving over the edge. I splash into the deep

water and swim to the bottom before returning to the surface.

I smile as I emerge, but Devin has already flashed back up to the top. I can hear him talking to

Deacon as if he’s completely indifferent to my presence.

“What’s the matter?” Camara asks.

“Does Devin seem a little off to you?”

“No. Should he?”

“I don’t know. He just doesn’t usually find ways to stay away,” I observe aloud.

“He’s just tousling with Deacon,” she laughs. “You worry too much. Has something happened to

scare you?”

“We saw an old ex of his in the market, and-”

“Oh. Adisia, we’ve all got promiscuous pasts. It’s part of our world, and it’s something you’re

going to have to learn to accept. You’re the only exception to that,” she advises.

“I wasn’t exactly a saint,” I grumble.

She laughs wildly at my confession.

“Compared to all of us, you are very much a saint. You might as well be a virgin,” she chuckles

out.

“That’s encouraging,” I gripe.

“Just relax. Devin loves you more than I’ve ever seen anyone love someone. Just enjoy this

beautiful day on this gorgeous ocean.”

She’s right. Devin loves me, and I have to stop acting so crazy.

He and Deacon continuing laughing and wrestling as each tries to throw the other off the side of

the cliff. Why does it bother me that he’s having a good time?

Then the swimming mystery I noticed earlier is suddenly right beside us, but it’s not the dolphins

I was expecting… It’s her.

“Devin,” she yells while waving, and suddenly five other girls emerge from the water beside us.

He gives her a wave, and then he dives off the side of the cliff to come join us. I feel the jealously

starting to bubble over, and the thunder threatens to rumble overhead.

Devin smirks a little and swims to be between the girl and me.

“Hey Nina,” he says casually. “What are you guys doing out here?”

“We came to see you and the others. You said Deacon was here, so what about Kry and Ther?”

“They’ll be here in a couple of days,” Devin answers mildly.

“Oh. Who is this?” she asks curiously, and my tongue almost snaps in half between my teeth.

He didn’t tell her?

“That’s my wife. I told you I was married,” he says with nonchalance.

“Oh yeah, but just a mortal wedding, right?” she provokes.

“Yeah,” he answers without detail.

What the hell is going on?

“I think I’m going to go back to the house,” I mumble.

“You sure?” he asks without showing any real emotion.

“Positive,” I growl.

“I’ll be there in a bit,” he murmurs, and then he gives me a light kiss before swimming back over

to Nina and her mermaid friends.

“I love you,” I add.

“Love you, babe,” he calls back, and now I know I’m not just dreaming shit up.

He’s colder. There’s no way in hell he would normally let me leave without him, especially while

on our honeymoon.

I swim beneath the surface to drown out my sobs, and for the first time I feel like he’s out of love

with me.

“Yo,” Kry says as he
walks in.

“Hey,” I murmur in surprise. “I thought you guys weren’t coming in until tomorrow.”

“Well, we changed our flight plans due to some harpie action,” Ther answers while tossing his

bag in a corner.

“Harpie action?” I ask in confusion.

“Harpies are crazy bitches with a fierce appetite for mortals. They usually spring up every once

and a while, and they picked now to do so. We need Devin’s help because drowning them is the best

way to kill them, and Phillip is handling a different outbreak. We’ve baited them to come here, and

they should arrive by tomorrow morning,” Hale answers as he joins us in the room. “Where is

Devin?”

“He’s out swimming with an old friend,” I answer in a griping tone.

Devin has been hanging out with Nina far too often, and Camara is my eyes since I can’t be

around to witness it.

“And he left you here alone?” Kry asks in shock.

“Yeah,” I mumble as I hold back the tears I’ve been fighting for two straight days.

“I guess you two have spent too much alone time together,” Hale chuckles, and he walks over to

give me a warm hug.

I almost don’t let go because I really need a hug right now. He feels my clingy need, and then he

notices my two day scent that has budded.

“Wow. You’re really worried, and you two haven’t been-”

“Not for two days,” I whimper while interrupting Hale. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Kry says with a lack of conviction. “I’ll go talk to him.”

“Thanks. Deacon hasn’t been much help,” I grumble.

“He usually isn’t,” Ther chuckles. “He loves conflict.”

Kry pats my arm affectionately, and flashes into the bedroom to change. He swishes back out,

and disappears out the door with his swimming trunks on.

“Where are you going?” Hale muses.

“I’m going to go listen to what Devin says to Kry,” I confess.

“Why?”

“Because he won’t tell me the truth if Devin’s ready to be done with me,” I choke out.

“Hey. Whoa. That’s not what’s going on. Devin’s head over heels in love with you, girl. You

know this,” Hale assures, and he flashes over to hug me again.

“Hey, Hale,” Ther interrupts. “Help me out. My legs haven’t seen the sun in a while.”

“I’m not a damn tanning bed,” Hale scolds. “Can’t you see Adisia is upset?”

“Why? Devin’s not going anywhere. He loves the hell out of her,” he chimes in.

“You haven’t seen him lately. He’s barely touched me, and when he has, it’s been cordial and

brief. The sizzle is gone from his touch,” I cry.

“Hey, easy. I’m sure there’s a good reason,” Ther comforts as he joins Hale in his efforts to

reassure me.

This is so embarrassing. I’m just falling apart in front of both of everyone because I’ve been

holding it back for two days.

“It all started when he saw Nina,” I whimper.

“Nina? Damn, I forgot about her living here,” Ther murmurs.

“She meant something to him, didn’t she?”

“The most before you, but he still didn’t love her. You’re the only girl he’s ever loved,” Hale

promises.

“Is that enough to change the man he’s always been?” I rattle off with anxiety.

“It has been so far, and I know he’s completely in love with you. Hell, he’s about to bind himself

to you for life,” Ther answers.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea anymore,” I shakily interject.

“You might be completely wrong about the whole situation,” Hale adds, and then suddenly Kry

and Devin are flashing into the house.

“Why didn’t you guys call about the harpies? We could have come sooner,” Devin grumbles.

“Well, it appears we’re going to have to go to them. Look at the news,” Hale prompts.

Then in walks Persia and Kahl with Theia as we all gawk at the horrible chaos and terrible death

counts.

“They’ve detoured to Bulgaria. We need to go now,” Persia urges.

“I left something back at the beach. Grab my stuff, babe,” Devin instructs, and his icy chill

makes me feel barely even know him anymore.

I’m sick of this. I’m tired of second guessing and worrying. Jace walks in behind the rest of the

group and gives me a small smile.

“Hey,” I gasp, and I rush over to hug him. “You came back.”

“Yeah. Your mom sort of recruited me,” he admits while barely returning my too clingy

embrace.

“I need to go do something, but I’ll be right back,” I promise.

“Sure,” he says mildly, and I flash down to the beach to confront Devin about his bizarre

behavior.

It takes a couple of minutes to find his tracks since the wind stirs the sand too fast, but I finally

find the impressions that lead me to a giggling noise.

My heart sinks, and the world around me almost disintegrates as my eyes fall on Devin and Nina.

The wind is sucked from my lungs, leaving me suffocating in disbelief.

Stabs of ferocious pain ripple through me with merciless slices as I see his lips tangled with hers,

and I can’t hold back the vomit rising to my mouth.

They both whip around the moment they hear me, and the lightening crashes in front of me as a

warning of what’s to come.