Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (36 page)

drunken state drags it across the surrounding lands. Devin’s hand grips mine, and I hear the faint

voices of our party pleading with him from a distance.

“Now, Devin. Now!”

Suddenly the lips of the man I can’t live without envelope mine to calm the storm I can’t produce

outside. The fire spins to a slower rhythm until halting all together, and my nails grip into his bare

back as my magma attire drops to the ground and shatters like black glass when the liquid chills

instantly to a brittle form.

His lips feel like velvet drawing me in, and reality becomes less of a fantasy I’ve been set aside to

observe.

The loss of Kaos’s presence is sudden, and Aphrodite slowly sinks back in to leave only me in the

arms of the man I love. His breath tastes like divinity, and his hands feel like heaven’s blessing.

He scoops me into his arms, and I break apart when the tears finally fall after the

overwhelming truth of our teeth-scraping escape from death.

This game becomes more dangerous each time we play it, and the stakes seem higher with each

passing day. They’ll never stop until Rhea is dead. I’ll travel to the center of the earth and kill her

myself to end it.

“Easy, baby,” Devin coos, and I feel a blanket draping over my exposed body.

Hale smiles softly after providing me with the modesty I lacked once more, and Camara’s eyes

are stained with the tears I saw the lizard trying to shed in the suffocating and unforgiving air which

had been drenched only in heat.

“I didn’t think we’d make it in time,” she cries, and then her arms wrap around me as Devin

gingerly puts me down.

“We barely did,” Jace murmurs, and then his arms pull me to him in a less than brotherly

embrace.

“You made it in plenty of time,” I soothe.

“Your powers came back just when we needed them most,” Kry says while adoration oozing from

his tone.

I offer a faint smile, and then my eyes turn to gaze into the smoky blue ones smoldering against

me. Devin’s fighting the same urge to give into our passion right now. The separation has been

excruciating since the bonding was acquired.

“All I needed was Devin,” I almost whisper, and that’s his undoing.

He rushes me, and my legs wrap around his waist while I cling to the blanket. His lips devour my

needy ones, and the passion gushes like waves of desire into our mouths.

“I do love a good reunion,” Hale chuckles out.

“The scent is strong again,” Jace grumbles. “It’s building quicker than usual now.”

“I don’t mind it,” Faith seduces, and I’m sure her eyes are staring directly into his with her Apollo

swirls.

I tune them all out as I become lost in the love I’ve never thought possible. The passion between

us has intensified even though I thought it couldn’t get any stronger.

“It’s over?” Persia gasps and Devin very reluctantly releases my lips as we turn to face the late

arrivals.

Theia and Phillip look to be disappointed. Kahl and Persia seem distraught and riddled with

heaps of guilt for having missed my rescue.

“Adisia went thermal nuclear times ten,” Hale explains as he motions to what used to be a gallant,

monstrous volcanic mountain that now lies in shambles.

“How did she crumble the mountain?” Persia inquires.

“Kaos,” Devin murmurs blandly.

“That’s impossible,” Theia gasps.

“That’s not the freakiest impossibility,” Kry interjects. “Devin used fire as if it was his own.”

Our parents’ eyes widen in gaping disbelief.

“You used fire?” Kahl asks with a dry, trembling tone.

“I reached for water, but fire was there,” Devin explains. “Our bond is so much stronger than

we’ve credited it. With the actual bonding being made official, I felt her weakness and her strengths.

That’s how I found her. I felt her presence from so far away. Though, it almost took me too long to

pinpoint her exact whereabouts,” he almost whispers, and his arms wrap around me with a stronger

grip to ensure himself I’m really okay.

I nestle into his chest as his steady, calm breaths soothe my still shaken and rattled air. His soft

lips caress my forehead while he pulls me up slightly to keep from bending.

“This is absolutely astonishing. Nothing like this has ever been heard of before. It’s as if the two

of you are rewriting the rules of our world,” Theia releases breathlessly in awe.

“I can’t believe Kaos awoke after being blocked,” Persia murmurs to herself. “What about

Asteria?” she asks curiously.

“She still sleeps,” Devin answers.

“We should go,” Phillip inserts. “The mortals are sure to be here soon to investigate.”

Devin nods, and everyone starts flashing to the vehicles, although Devin doesn’t permit me to

walk on my own. He scoops me up and holds me close to his chest and his eyes burn against my flesh

as though he’s examining me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your face is still bruised and cut from the Jaculus’s attack,” he strains through wounded guilt.

“It’ll heal,” I say reassuringly. “I don’t even feel it anymore.”

He pulls open the blanket to peek inside at my bare body once we sit in the SUV, and then he

shakes his head.

“And this? Do you feel this?” he insists while his eyes stare pointedly at the dark purple and

black emersions.

“No. Devin, I’m alive, and now I’m back with you. Where the hell are we?” I murmur to shift

the topic away from his guilt.

“Mount Shasta,” he answers dryly. “You were so close, and it took us days to find you,” he rattles

out with even more guilt and angst.

Well that backfired.

“I’m glad there weren’t any mortals around when I blew it up,” I murmur with fear for what

might have been.

“The mortals have been banned from the grounds. The fumaroles have been reading more activity

that worried them of an impending eruption. I suppose they’ll assume their fears were justified. We

should have caught on to that sooner,” he gripes.

I roll my eyes at the battle I’m very obviously never going to win with his persistent guilt. I’m so

tired though I’ve apparently slept for days, and the fear for my daughter’s safety still plagues me.

The scene outside passes by quickly as Kry drives like hell is on his ass. I suppose, in a way, he’s

right.

Chapter 14

The… Waiting

“I spoke to Mom, and Aster is doing really well with the new arrangement,” I force out with an

optimistic tone. “I kept the conversation very brief, and I used one of the untraceable phones with

their same zip code so as not to arouse suspicion.”

“We’ll get her back,” Devin says to respond the true anxiety I’m masking.

I sigh when I realize my attempt to seem cool despite my turmoil has been in vain, and I let my

real feelings hang free.

“It’s always going to be something, Devin - Safina, daughters of Athena, Pyrrha, Damon… the

point is, there’s always someone. There will always be someone as long as she’s trying to come back.

She won’t stop until she doesn’t feel a threat, and it’s not just me she’s threatened by anymore,” I

counter while slightly strangling on my emotion.

“Aster,” Devin murmurs in realization.

“The daughter of fire and water. ‘Each generation gets stronger.’ Those were Persia’s words. If

Rhea fears me, she’ll fear our daughter all the more. It’s the only reason she hasn’t surfaced yet. She

has the strength to come back just as Safina did. I felt it when I was connected with the lava. I felt

her, and I tasted her desires and her fears. She’s just going to keep sending people after me, and now

our daughter too until she no longer has anyone she feels threatened by.”

“What are you trying to say?” Devin asks suspiciously.

“I’m trying to say I don’t want to watch our daughter grow up from a distance the way Persia and

Kahl had to. I think we should force Rhea out and end this waiting game once and for all. What do

you think?”

He purses his lips, but his eyes refuse to connect with mine. He shakes his head solemnly with

reluctance etching the corner of his eyes that are still shadowing the hardwood floors.

“You’re the Emperian. No one will object to any course of action you wish to take,” he almost

whispers.

I have to restrain myself from slapping him across the face, and every bulb in the room blows to

shattered pieces to reveal my violently surging offense.

“I’m your wife,” I blare. “I asked for your input, not your humble obedience. I swear, Devin

Cole, if you start this again I’ll-”

His lips cover mine to silence my terrible rampage, and I moan lightly against the lips I’ve been

desperate to be attached to again.

“I’m sorry, but this scares me. I don’t like tempting fate before we have to,” he breathes into my

mouth. “I’m torn because I don’t want to waste years of our daughter’s life either.”

“We’d have to be careful, but it’s been foreseen that I can kill her.”

He sighs out loudly while looking at the ground.

“The only way we’ve ever thought it possible to kill Rhea is while she’s in possession. While

connected with a host, she’s just as vulnerable to death as they are. Other than that, she’s damn near

indestructible.”

“She
was
indestructible, but I’ve seen the oracle’s vision. I have the strength to kill her without

her possessing anyone.”

“Then we’ll talk about it when the time comes. For now, I just want to hold my wife.”

His hands inflame my throbbing desire as the body desperately seeks more of his touch. My lips

savagely tear at his, and his carnivorous reaction mimics my needy nature.

“Damn it,” Devin murmurs in frustration against my lips for no apparent reason.

“What?” I ask with muffled words as our lips continue their tangled affection, but my question is

answered without Devin’s voice.

“Devin?” Kry asks while walking into the room without any regard to our intimate, heated, and

now completely soiled moment.

“What?” Devin snaps while continuing his fervent pour of passion into my mouth.

“Whoa. Sorry,” Kry mutters with a bit of embarrassment, and I smirk at Devin’s flustered face as

I pull back to relieve some of the awkwardness. “Lana’s here and she wants to talk to you,” Kry

continues while staring anywhere but at us.

“Tell her she can wait,” Devin’s gruff voice enforces, and then he jerks me by the waist to pull me

back to him.

“Okay then. No problem,” Kry’s pitifully awkward tone squeaks, and then he flashes from the

room while shutting the door behind him.

I grin behind the kiss, and then my lips begin a teasing descent as they trail over his tense chest to

his delicious abdomen. My lips graze the top of his jeans, and then I stroll my tongue along the edge

to add to the seductive play.

His breath hitches when my daring, spirited tongue sweeps a little lower - just on the inside waist

of his jeans - and the denim’s rough texture rubs one side while the other is caressed by Devin’s firm,

glorious skin.

My right hand grips his belt buckle, and the fragile metal shatters in my hand as I rip it free. Now

his breaths are rasp as he stares into my eyes that are ever steadily lowering.

My mouth grips the jeans at the button, and the fabric sheds as I reveal his boxers begging to be

freed as well. My teeth graze over the thin, hindering fabric, and I feel the fully erect part of his body

that desires me most right now.

He exhales loudly as I continue to tease him through the boxers I won’t let him remove just yet.

He squirms under the fire of my breath, and I start to remove the woven obstruction when the door

swings open again

“Go away, Lana,” Devin says before he even looks at the door.

I laugh as I jump up from my crouched position and Devin’s eyes burn with hostility when he

turns to face the new interrupter while pulling his pants back up.

“Really?” she blares, and I cover my grinning mouth attached to my reddened face.

“I’m the one who should be exclaiming such a remark,” Devin growls. “What do you want?”

“I need to speak to you about Rhea’s threat. My scouts have found tracks disproving your theory

of the harpie threat being eliminated. There are armies and armies of them, as well as hellhounds and

Furies,” she huffs, and she narrows her eyes to emphasize her disapproval for his earlier rebuff.

“And you need me because?” Devin grumbles.

“You know why,” she gripes. “You were appointed caretaker. You have to see, agree to, and

finalize every mission dealing with what could become a world war. Anything dealing with Rhea

could result in a world war. Now get your ass to work,” she explodes, and then she stomps out of the

room, leaving behind a frosty glow.

She intentionally left the door open, and Devin sighs in complete frustration - almost to the point

of genuine anger - while grabbing another pair of pants from his closet to replace the ones I’ve just

busted all to hell.

“Damn it,” I tease with a touch of humor.

A ghost of a smile tries to form while he turns his face away and shakes his head.