Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (20 page)

“Devin, did you come into contact with anyone at the market that could have touched you and

Adisia?” Theia frets.

“Everyone touched us. The market was packed. What the hell is it, and who has that power?” he

growls with irritation.

“There’s only one thing I can think of, but it’s not a power, per se. It’s more of a cast,” she says

warily.

“A what?” I mutter in confusion.

“As in spell?” Jace adds while carrying a tone that matches mine.

“Yes,” Theia murmurs with distraction.

“Please stop thinking inside your head, Mother. We need to hear you as well,” Devin grumbles.

“The only thing I can think of is the shadow of doubt. Before everyone asks, it’s a shadow cast by

a witch to force feelings of immense doubt, and eventually it can drive one mad with uncertainty. If

this is the case, then Devin is lucky to still be sane,” she shivers out.

“He barely escaped such a fate,” Deacon adds with a low, muffled serious tone, and it’s all I can

do not to cry.

This time I’m the one clutching onto him tighter, and I turn to wrap my arms around him while

Camara takes the phone.

“Who has that ability these days? If we’ve never heard of it, then it has to be rather ancient,” she

inquires.

“Thank you, dear, for reminding me I just showed my age,” Theia gripes. “But yes, it is an

ancient power, so to speak. It was around during your early years, but it was rarely used.

“Apollo and Zeus hunted down the witches capable of such, and they robbed them of the

immortality they shouldn’t have had to begin with. Seven women found the fountain of youth, and

they drank it dry with their greedy lust for eternity. The power of the fountain was not limited to

added years; it also gave them abilities beyond the realm of the natural. They became a threat to our

world over night.

“The most famous of the witches was Pyrrha, the daughter of Pandora. She cast the shadow of

doubt on people, including numerous kings during the peak of the wars, and she wreaked more havoc

than Aries,” Theia sighs.

“Daughter of Pandora? That explains a lot,” Hale scoffs. “It has to be her. Pandora was slain for

her treasons against mankind once she opened the box given to her by Kaos. Now Adisia and Devin

have been targeted. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“That’s impossible,” the blond Jace has acquired says in a dismissing manner. “Apollo, my

grandfather, and Zeus drained them of their immortality,” she continues.

“Not all of them,” Jace mutters with a paling face.

“What do you mean? I read it in his journals,” she rebuts.

“Only six lost the life they devoured, for one remained to rule in power.” His rhyme confuses

me. Then he continues, “My mom used to give me rhymes and riddles to recite. She said one day I

would need them all, and I almost have. That’s from when I was a child,” he slowly releases with a

look of terror on his face. “They searched for her until centuries they lost, but they let the witch go for

fear of the cost.”

“She was too powerful for them,” Theia deciphers.

“What sort of witch is too powerful for our kind?” Deacon interjects.

“The kind who took in the excess energy from Pandora’s mistake. The energy released into the

world had far more consequences than just the chaos it provoked. Pyrrha embodied it, and she became

a serious contender in the immortal world until she just disappeared,” Jace answers, and everyone

gawks at him.

“What happened to her?” I prompt.

“No one knows. She was strong enough to scare Zeus and Apollo, and it never made sense why

she just vanished. Most of us assumed the fountain of youth hadn’t offered the immortality it

promised. Some believed she was killed by a nameless source. Something happened to subdue her,

but now she has to be back,” Jace answers.

He grabs Hale, and I see their eyes swirling as Jace forces him to see something. Hale grimaces

slightly at the intruder in his mind, but his face returns to normal when Jace releases him.

“Put it on the wall,” Jace commands.

Hale presses his palm to the wall and a sizzling sound emerges from beneath it. The smell of

burning sheetrock taints the air, and I can taste suspense lingering on my tongue.

He pulls back, and we all stare at the young girl’s face I’ve never seen.

“Does she look like anyone you’ve ever seen before?” Hale asks.

“No. I’ve never seen her,” I murmur with a bit of disappointment and relief.

“Devin?” Jace prompts.

“Never,” he answers.

“She would have had to speak to both of you. She would have had to touch you and look you in

the eye in order for the shadow of doubt to be attached. She would have had to plant the seed of doubt

in Adisia’s mind, and the shadow would have grown while pushing Devin to fail the tests set up by

your heart while bringing to life your most feared betrayal. You have to think,” Theia urges from the

phone.

“There wasn’t anyone who spoke to us at the market. Nina spoke to Devin, but other than the

older woman who had a vendor stand, no one spoke to me,” I grumble.

The thought of Nina still upsets me, and Devin feels my sudden uneasiness which makes him feel

it necessary to reassure me of his devout loyalty.

His spins me to face him, and his lips gently embrace mine in a soft, sensual kiss. His touch has

been missed for so long, so it doesn’t take much to bring my blood to a boil.

“They’re kissing, aren’t they?” Persia sighs in annoyance.

“Yeah,” Hale gripes.

“You two need to pay attention. The older woman in the market, what did she look like?” Persia

insists.

Devin pulls back slightly and kisse the back of my hand.

“I don’t remember,” he answers distractedly as his eyes burn into mine with desire secreting in an

obvious fashion.

I smirk a little, and I’ve almost forgotten the severity of the situation we’re believed to be in.

“She was dark haired with soft blue eyes. Her face was slightly wrinkled, but she couldn’t have

been more than forty. She sold bohemian chic ornaments and attire, and she had a gypsy sort of air

about her. She even had her hair wrapped in a scarf, and she wore a layered, colorful skirt that

swished against the wind. I don’t know why I remember all of that,” I say with a little bemusement

toward the end.

I turn to see everyone’s eyes staring at me expectantly, but I don’t know what to say.

“She didn’t look like that girl. She can’t be more than twenty, and like I said, this woman was

pushing forty,” I answer to the only question I can assume their eyes are asking.

“You’re sure?” Hale asks. “She didn’t say anything that would have made you suspicious of

Devin,” he leads.

I pause as the gypsy woman’s words try to return.

“Be careful of him. 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,” I repeat to share the fortune told. “That’s what

she said. Can she do like Slash?” I say warily.

“It has to be her, but she shouldn’t be able to mask her identity magically. It could have just been

a mortal artificial mask or something,” Theia suggests.

“It looked very real, and she did touch both of us. She spoke to Devin when handing him back the

change, and then she touched me as well.”

“It has to be her. Surely she’s wearing some heavy makeup or a mask, but why disappear? Why

come out of hiding now?” Jace murmurs.

“Did you feel anything when she touched you?” Persia asks to Devin.

“No. I felt something when Nina showed up,” he murmurs with hesitance, and my stomach flips

upon hearing that vague reply. He takes notice of my apprehensive expression. “I mean, I felt as

though something had changed, but it was subtle. Nothing seemed too obvious. I saw Nina, and I told

her I was married,” he replies to ease my worries.

“What was said exactly?” Jace urges.

“Don’t stir up trouble, Jace. Just let us be together,” Devin implores.

“I’m not. I’m being serious. If this was Pyrrha, then she would have called Nina to the market by

some enchanted song. Did Nina say why she was there?” Jace explains.

“She said she was there to find a song that was stuck in her head,” Devin murmurs suspiciously.

“She asked me to join her in her search, but I told her I needed to get back to Adisia. I was fighting it.

I knew something was wrong, and I just wanted us to get the hell out of there. I thought I was feeling

tempted, but I knew that couldn’t be right,” Devin grumbles.

I take a deep breath, and I try my best to hold back the wave of tears begging to surface. I don’t

know if I want to hear anything else they said.

I remember his urgent pace to leave the market. I wish he had just told me something was wrong.

“It’s her. She stings all victims with the siren’s song - ironic I know, considering the siren’s song

is a myth,” Theia adds.

“What do we do?” I ask anxiously.

“Nothing for now. We’ll work with some of the others and see if we can get a theory about

what’s going on. We’ll also see if we can track down her whereabouts. In the meantime, you guys

keep working on the harpie explosion and the new hellhound issue. We’ll be in touch,” she says, and

then hangs up before anyone can object.

“Damn bitches are now witches too,” I exasperate, and Devin pulls me into his arms.

“I’m glad you saw her. I don’t know how much longer I would have made it without being able to

hold you,” he whispers to only me.

“I don’t know how much longer I could have held out. I begged Aphrodite to show me answers,

and she did,” I murmur gently, and then he quickly pulls the fish from the oven as the others disperse

from the room.

I smirk a little as he dresses it with a leafy touch, and then he places it on the bar while motioning

for me to sit. He pours me a glass of vodka, but I wave it off.

“No. It’s still gross to me,” I gripe.

“You drank the brandy,” he counters.

“I used the brandy to kill the taste of the damn skunk. Let’s not go there. My stomach is far too

queasy,” I chuckle out.

He forces a fake smile, and I can’t tell of if he is worried or upset.

“Please don’t tell me you’re planning on changing your mind,” I fret, and my eyes casually flash

to the wall to see how many shadows are attached.

He flinches when he sees my not-so-discreet reaction, and then he quickly puts his arm around my

stool while pulling me closer.

“No. Never. I’m just worried about you and your sudden shifts. What if Jace is right? What if

whatever Pyrrha did has had some adverse side effect on you?”

I sigh in relief when I see he’s still Devin, and then I lean against him while taking a bite of the

surprisingly delicious fish. Of course, considering I’ve been eating right out of a can for a while, it

shouldn’t take too much to impress me.

“I’m fine, Devin. I didn’t sleep more than an hour at a time for months, and although it can’t kill

me, it can have an effect on me. That’s all it is. Once I get back into a routine, I’ll be good as new.

Now that I’m back with you, I can do that,” I say softly. “After falling asleep on the plane, I already

feel much better.”

He frowns, and then his lips caress my brow while I take in another bite.

“I’m so sorry. I should have found you sooner. I’ve always found you before,” he murmurs

guiltily.

“I didn’t want you to find me. Jace’s tracking abilities were handy in that considering he knows

how to cover a trail. I knew if you found me it would just be a matter of time before I was back in

your arms. The wedding was almost unbearable. I was actually glad I blacked out,” I say almost

jokingly.

“You should be,” Kry announces while making his eavesdropping be known.

“Some Bret guy was hovering over you for the first hour you were out. I thought we were going

to have to drag him out before Devin obliterated him,” he chuckles.

Devin stifles a smirk, and I put my head in my hands. “Oh. I was so happy I didn’t have to deal

with him. Please tell me he’s not infected,” I plead.

“He’s not. Jace dealt with him,” Ther chirps.

“What did you do?” I worry, and Jace bursts out laughing at my terrified face.

“Seriously? Do I look like I work for the mafia?” he scoffs playfully. “I didn’t
take care of him

that way. I just erased all memories of you from his mind. He’ll never know you existed, and he’ll

never bother you again. Sheesh. You sort of hurt my feelings,” he kids.

“Oh thank goodness,” I huff, and Devin lets a small smirk escape as well.

“I’ll be right back. I need to call Graven about tomorrow’s plan. I love you,” he murmurs

sweetly, and then he flashes away before I can even smile for him.

The guys fill the girls in on all the old battle stories, and suddenly Jace’s blond is beside me.

“Hi,” she murmurs hesitantly.

“Hi,” I mutter back cautiously while taking another bite.

“Sorry, I’m Faith. I just wanted to take a minute and speak to you while we’re alone,” she says

very nervously.