Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (15 page)

“Make it stop raining, please. I think that was my undoing,” he pleads jokingly, but I almost feel

as though it’s a serious request masked by a kidding tone.

I force a smile as he walks out, and I lift the rain back into the sky. I cry harder when I hear he’s

out of range, and my towel catches my falling flow as I pull it up to meet my weeping blues.

Everything is always wrong nowadays. I’m almost in pain for physical contact, and I’m wishing I

had let them block Aphrodite instead of Asteria.

I pull out my phone and dial Persia right away.

“Adisia? Is everything okay?” she worries.

“Please tell me I can block Aphrodite and make all this go away,” I beg through my tears.

She sighs very hard, and then I hear her taking a deep breath.

“Aphrodite was the first connection you had. Blocking her would be the same as killing you.

You’d be lost, numb, and completely unaware of the world you’re in. I’m sorry dear, but it’s just not

possible.”

“Then tell me what to do,” I beg.

“I’m searching for answers, sweetie. I swear I am. We ran into a harpie problem here, and we’ve

been helping Phillip coral them. I promise we’ll find a way to fix this. Maybe you should think about

talking to Devin. Denying Aphrodite her true desire is painful for anyone. Denying yourself is even

more so,” she wisely offers.

Hearing her philosophical spew is just making me madder.

“Don’t you think I would go back to Devin if I could? I saw his memories as if they were my

own. There wasn’t anything there but a man who didn’t want to be bound to me for as long as he

thought.

“It was the most painful thing I’ve ever endured. I saw him flirting, teasing, and building up to

the horrible thing I had to witness first hand. His lips were against hers, and it was his choice. He

wasn’t different than any other man I’ve ever been with at that moment, and I still hoped for a

different answer.

“I had to endure all that pain again when there wasn’t one. Don’t tell me what I need to do to help

myself, just tell me how to make it stop,” I berate.

She sighs out louder, and I can actually hear her wiping away tears.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t have any right to tell you to put yourself in that situation again.

I just don’t know any other way to soothe your pain. Your connection with him has been stronger than

any I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. I’ll see if I can figure

something out.”

I just hang up without saying anything else. I’m choking on my own emotion, and I need

something to calm me down.

I dial Camara, and I try to suck back the tears that are refusing to stop. Her voicemail switches on

after it rings for too long.

I cry harder as I go to gorge on the pounds and pounds of ice cream Jace brought in. She’s

probably in the room with him right now. She never answers when he’s around because he might hear

me.

My phone buzzes, and I still sniffle when I answer.

“Thank you for calling back. I’m so sorry, but I have to hear his voice right now,” I sob out.

“Adisia?”

My heart almost stops, and I feel sick as the room starts to spin. Devin’s voice shouldn’t be on

the other end of the line, and I’m worried I’ve reached the point of hallucinating.

“You’re calling Camara to hear my voice, but you won’t speak to me,” he grumbles. “I want to

hear your voice too.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I need to go,” I sob harder.

“Please don’t hang up. Tell me why you’re crying. Did Jace do something?” he growls, contempt

and protectiveness etched in his undertones.

“No,” I whimper. “I’m hanging up now.”

“Please don’t. I’m begging you. Just talk to me,” he urges.

I can’t. I love you, and I can’t.

“Bye, Devin,” I murmur, and then I put the phone back on the counter and stare at it like I’m

worried he’s going to find a way to jump through it.

It starts buzzing instantly, but it’s his number this time. I almost feel my hand betraying me as it

tries to answer, but I fight it.

Now he knows my number, and he won’t stop. I’ll send Jace for a new one when he gets a

chance. For now, I’ll just have to deal with it.

Chapter 7

Pushed into Reality

The breakfast ice cream and pickled herring are just sad as they stare at me with their gross,

mixed appeal.

I walk over to pull some tuna from the cabinet and slide my nails over it to lift the can top. If I

wasn’t already crazy, I’d assume I was getting there pretty damn quick.

My phone buzzes, and I cringe when I lift it to look at the number. Devin called all night long,

and it just made me spend the night in tears.

I exhale in relief when I see it’s Hale.

“Hey,” I murmur softly.

“Hey to you too. What are you doing this fine morning?” he asks too cheerfully.

“I’m sitting on a stool eating… breakfast,” I say uncertainly as I stare at the putrid disaster in a

bowl.

I’m the grossest seductress in the world.

“Well, I’m calling because we need your help,” he announces.

“With what?” I ask warily.

“With our harpie and hellhound fiasco,” he explains… sort of.

“Hellhounds?”

“Vicious four legged beasts with a taste for blood. Some have confused them to be the

Chupacabra in the past. Some have mistaken it for a rabid wolf… bottom line, this is one mean beast,

and there’re more than we can handle alone,” he continues.

“Why do you need me?” I muse.

“Hellhounds form when too much violence has entered the world. With all the fighting we’ve

been doing, I’m surprised there aren’t more. There’s a guy in Miami who can call them to us, but we

need you to get the guy to help us. He’s a bit of an ass, and he’s not too big on helping out. Not to

mention, we need your zap.”

“So you want me to force him to oblige?” I ask.

“Exactly.”

“I suppose I can, but Devin’s not going to be there is he?” I ask with concern.

I look down to see I’ve dropped ice cream on my pajama bottoms, and I strip them away to rush

them into the washing machine. My black, lacy, short-style underwear doesn’t seem too improper to

sport around in since Jace never came back last night.

“Yes, he is. We’ve got harpies to deal with too.”

“I can’t see him, Hale. It’s too hard,” I groan.

“Man up, and take one for the team. I wouldn’t be asking if we didn’t really need you. The

hounds suffer under the touch of lightening as well,” he adds. “That’s what I meant by needing your

zap.”

“Fine. Jace should come too since he’s an electrically charged entity as well. I’ll send you my

address,” I mumble reluctantly.

“No need,” Hale snickers, and suddenly my front door opens to reveal them all.

“A little presumptuous?” I grumble while hanging up my phone.

“Perhaps. Camara tracked your cell a long time ago in case you ever needed our help,” he

explains.

“And no one bothered to tell me where she was,” Devin’s voice dryly inserts, and my heart almost

crumbles to pieces when I see him.

My hair is all over the place, my face is still streaked with the mounds of tears I spent the night

crying, and here I am eating this disgusting pile of nonsense. I slam the lid on the ice before anyone

sees my loathsome taste and toss it back into the freezer.

“Holy lacy goddess,” Kry laughs out.

“Oh damn,” I gasp while staring down at my nearly bare lower half, and then I flash up the stairs

to change into some pants.

“I don’t know how Jace is refraining, considering your aphrodisiac scent and teasing morning

shows. Tell him to hurry up,” Hale jokes.

When I start back down the stairs, Devin’s jaw is about to dislocate when he bites down too hard,

and I try not to enjoy the fact he’s feeling jealous. I pick the phone back up and dial Jace.

“What’s up rainmaker?” he jokes.

“Hey, we’ve got some guests, and they need our help with hellhounds. Do you feel like flying to

Miami?” I ask quietly.

“Yeah, I’ll help. I’m assuming Devin’s there judging by your whispered tone. Are you going to

be okay?” he worries.

“We’ll see. Hurry up,” I prompt.

“Give me about twenty minutes,” he murmurs, and then I put the phone back down.

“He’s not here?” Camara asks quizzically.

“No. He went to a girl’s house last night,” I say with a smirk, and everyone’s face stifles a grin as

Devin’s jaw finally resumes a more natural stance.

“I can imagine why. It’s potent in here, and why does it smell like vanilla fish?” Kry muses.

Crap.

“Long story. Jace said he’d be here in twenty. I’ll go grab my bags, and I need to fix my hair and

stuff.”

I rush up the stairs, and I shake my hands to try and expel the nervous rattle in my body. I flash

into my clothes, and then my hands rapidly smooth my hair into a more feasible style.

Suddenly, Devin’s in my room just as I finish up with my makeup, and his eyes burning against

me as I become trapped under his hypnotic gaze.

“You shouldn’t be staying alone,” he gripes. “It’s not safe.”

“I’m perfectly fine by myself. There hasn’t been the first sign of trouble since we’ve been here.

Jace can’t stay cooped up with me given my apparent unruly scent, and I don’t blame him for wanting

a breath of air that isn’t tainted. Persia and Kahl couldn’t even handle it. I know that’s the real reason

they had to leave. I won’t even discuss how gross that is,” I grumble.

He almost smirks but quickly covers it before flashing over to cup my face with his hands.

“Let me help you,” he murmurs, and his lips try to reach mine.

“I won’t go if you start this,” I warn. “You can’t do this to me.”

“Adisia, you’re calling Camara to hear my voice at midnight. It’s obvious you miss me as badly

as I miss you. Please, just let me hold you. I’m dying without you,” he pleads.

“Then call Nina,” I snark, and then I flash back downstairs before he can counter with anything.

I hear the car pulling up through the window that has been freshly opened, and I look down

curiously at my watch.

“I had to open a window. I’m not sure why Jace doesn’t keep every one of them raised at all

times,” Ther says while fanning himself.

I blush a little, and then Camara pulls out a vial from her purse.

“I gathered you something to help. I’ve got more too for when it starts to wear off. It should

help,” she offers kindly.

“Thanks,” I murmur, and then she walks over to the cabinets in search of a blender.

Devin’s eyes catch mine briefly as he comes back into the room, and I promptly look away.

“Did you get a cat?” Camara asks in bewilderment.

“No. Why?” I muse.

“Because you have like a hundred cans of tuna and pickled herring in here. I swear there’s every

type of jarred or canned fish one can buy,” she says in disgust.

“She’s been a bit of a fish fanatic lately,” Jace’s Aussie accent chirps, and then he walks over to

give me kiss on top of my head.

Again, Devin’s jaw clenches, and I look away.

“Is there anything besides fish here?” Camara exasperates. “I need to mix this with something.”

“We’ve got ice cream,” Jace adds, and she flashes to the fridge.

My eyes widen when I think of the disgusting mess I made of the ice cream, and I rip the vial

from her hand to guzzle the disgusting, putrid liquid without dilution.

Everyone snarls in disgust with me, and I rush over to grab a glass of water.

“Oh damn. The brandy. Get the brandy,” I prompt when the water only makes it worse, and Jace

grabs the brandy from the cabinet as he chuckles.

“I suppose you’re breaking your no drinking rule after that,” he teases.

I turn it up, and it tastes almost as disgusting. I finally swallow down enough to drown out the

skunk, and I sigh as everyone’s eyes stare at me, befuddled by my bizarre behavior.

“What the hell?” Camara gasps. “I could have mixed it with ice cream and made it a milkshake

or something.”

Jace starts heaving his laughter, and I shove him for his understanding taunt while my eyes

threaten him to keep his mouth shut.

“She apparently ruined the new tub of ice cream I bought, and she didn’t want anyone to see her

new treat of choice,” he snickers out.

“Huh?” Deacon muses and Devin’s eyes narrow at the closeness I’m sharing with Jace.

“Shut up,” I growl.

He only laughs harder, and then he gives me a playful wink before dashing up the stairs.

Kry walks over to the freezer to answer the riddle, and I flash between him and the vaulted secret

I wish to keep.

“What the hell? I have to know what’s going on now,” he prompts.

“Please don’t. It’s so embarrassing,” I grumble, and he throws me over his shoulder despite my

kicking and screaming.

Hale chuckles as he pulls out the ice cream to reveal the gross secret, and everyone gags at the

concoction.

I bury my head in my hands, and Devin arches an eyebrow.

“Why fish and ice cream?” he says with a grimace.

“I don’t know,” I lie.