Daughter Trilogy Bundle (47 page)

"Fuck," Devin whispers.

"What?" I ask softly.

"I wasn't thinking.  Your scent builds when you feel tempted.  The mortals don't know to deal with it because it's a seductive rush like they've never felt."

"Oh gross.  Thank goodness it's not affecting Jake."  I grimace.

"He has spent years as your brother, and he has been able to acclimate to you, but his affections are heightened in a brotherly nature, which is what is prompting his over protectiveness.  We need to hurry up and get out of here before something happens," Devin explains.

Then I feel something inside me twisting and turning.  My body begins losing all of its energy as the two competing entities inside me struggle for power and drain me of my own life.  My body goes heavy and limp from the sudden exhausting war raging within.

I begin to drop, but Devin's arms clasp around me as he scoops me up bridal style and holds me to his body.  Jake instantly starts laughing.

"I knew she couldn't hold that much liquor.  I guess it finally caught up with her."

Devin's angst-ridden eyes stay focused on mine, and Hale rushes over to inspect me.

"When did she start feeling weak?" the serious sun panics in a whisper.

"Just now.  She dropped the moment it hit," Devin says through strain, fighting to speak around the lump in his throat.

"She needs to rest.  I'll call Deidra and see if she can help us figure this out," Hale says as we start walking out.

"Jake," I mumble.

"I'm here, sis.  I'll head out with you," he murmurs through his chuckles.

He has no idea what is really going on, and he has no idea what might happen to me if I can't force one of these inner bitches to calm the fuck down and go back to sleep.

Once we're outside, Jake halts before entering the SUV.  He turns and an ominous grin spreads across his face.  My hair stands up on end, and Devin's face pales.

Jake's eyes are possessed, and I almost want to scream as I recognize that signature.  He looks just like the crazies from the streets the night Devin and I had our first date.

"The daughter of Aphrodite struggles to hold her balance.  That's adorable and perfect," his voice says, but it's not him controlling his words.

I almost cry as I see the swirls of darkness overcoming him, and I know I have to free him, but I'm so weak.

"What do you want, Safina?" Devin asserts.

Safina?

Jake's brow arches in eerie surprise.  "So you've learned my identity?  Impressive.   Did you think you could keep me locked away forever?"

"That was our intention," Hale says while stepping up, seeming more like a strong, serious man than a horny teen.

Jake smirks as his eyes connect with Hale's.

"Well, if it isn't the sun who held me down while the more powerful entities entrapped me.  Ironic how I've been searching all over for you and now here you are.  What a fortunate gift," she snarls through my brother's mouth.

"Here I am, but you're hiding behind a mortal.  I wasn't ever hiding.  How about you stop?" Hale taunts.

Jake's eyes narrow as he steps forward and spits, "I'm not fucking hiding, you insolent speck."

Hale smiles as if he's pleased with the fact he has roused her anger.

"Could have fooled me.  You've ensnared a mortal so you could speak to us.  Why not address us in person if you're not ducking out like a coward?" he ridicules further.

Jake smirks, and now more chills violently surge through me.  Hale is trying to get her to release him by accusing her of being a coward, but something about this feels so wrong.

"Oh, don't worry.  You'll see me soon enough.  Until then, let Aphrodite's bitch tell her brother goodbye," she snarks with Jake's voice.

I scream as Jake pulls a knife from his pocket and holds it to his throat.  Hale lunges forward to stop him, but Jake's hands release a power I've not seen.

The black ashes spring forth and swirl around him, shielding him from the saving grace of my friends.

I scream as the knife bears against his throat, and Jake's ominous smile spreads as the first bit of blood is drawn.

I scramble to summon my remaining strength, and leap free from Devin's protective arms.

"You want me.  Not him.  Please, just take me," I plead.

"I never wanted you.  It has always been him," Jake says as he points to Devin.  "And I only need him to find and kill his precious titan mother."

More blood falls as the knife bears down harder, and I feel the stirring Aphrodite fighting Asteria for the floor.  My eyes flash green, and I yell at Jake.

"Stop!  You will put down that knife," my echoed voice commands.

"You won't stop me," Jake snarls.

I strain harder, but she's expecting my power this time, and she's come ready to fight my control.  I'm so much weaker now that Asteria is wiggling free inside of me, but I force myself to be stronger.

I see the hesitation in his hand, and his face shows his straining effort to mimic the face of the puppet master.

"I said stop!  Put it down!" I demand in a stronger voice, my strength building despite all the chaos inside of me.

Jake's hand starts pulling the knife away from his throat, and the ashes show a weakened spot.  Devin leaps through, and rips the knife from his hands.

"No!" Jake screams, and Devin restrains him in a bear hug.

I walk over to Jake's eyes and stare into them directly.

"Stop.  You're free," I shout, and I see the possession in his eyes changing to the form of my control.

I almost cry when I see the successful transfer of power, and he drops limply in Devin's arms, completely unconscious.

"Let's get him out of here," Devin whispers.

I see a crowd of people that have congregated in front of the bar, and I nod as we all duck into the SUV.  Devin gently rests Jake in the seat, propping him up against the door.

"It wasn't like my vision.  In my vision she was physically there," I murmur as Deacon cranks the car.

"Your vision wasn't one of material.  It was a warning of Safina's return," Hale explains.

"Who the fuck is she?"

Hale leans up to answer the question that has driving me crazy.

"The daughter of Rhea.  Rhea was wife to Kronos and the embodiment of hatred's fire.  Everyone had always thought Rhea to be the embodiment of wisdom, and we all fucking trusted her.  She was nothing more than a puppet master deceiving us for centuries.

"We thought Kronos was the enemy, when really, he was just her slave.  She was able to control an immortal's mind the way Safina can control a mortal's, but unlike Safina, Rhea could only hold one captive at a time.

"Kronos was our leader, and an ideal target for her plan.  We exerted all of our strength to kill him, which was the first war among our kind.  We thought he was trying to enslave the mortals to worship us, and we thought he wanted to enslave us to do his bidding.  It was never him though - it was always Rhea.

"She sat back and laughed as we killed the only one alive capable of killing her.  She wasn't strong enough to kill him by herself, so she just used him instead, and then let us carry out the dirty work.

"Her daughter stood by her and aided her in her efforts.  We quickly learned we didn't have the strength left to destroy either of them. We thought we were fucked, but Deidra found a way to entomb them in the volcanoes on the earth's surface.

"We all worked together, and we finally captured the bitches.  They've been held in the lava tombs ever since."

"So is Rhea here, too?" I worry aloud.

"No.  If she was, the world would already be under fire.  Safina's strong, but she's also calculated.  Rhea is too powerful to give a damn, and she's spent centuries getting pissed.  We need to find out how Safina broke free," Camara adds.

"Did you help entomb Rhea and Safina?" I ask Devin.

"I wasn't born yet."

So at least he's not
that
old.

"What about Aphrodite?" I ask.

There's a pause, and everyone seems hesitant to respond.  Finally, Hale ends the odd suspense.

"No.  She was the only one not in attendance.  She had every right to scorn us.  We did nothing when Athena and her daughters started stalking her and her children.  We went to ask for her help, and she told us to go to hell.  We did," Hale murmurs guiltily.

"Why wouldn't anyone help her?" I whimper.

Hale's eyes shadow the ground as more guilt springs free.

"We were selfish, stupid, and completely uninterested in anything that didn't concern us personally.  That shit changes after you've seen what happens when the only ones binding together are the ones trying to dominate.  It took us too long to get our heads out of our asses.  That's why I'm here right now.  Call it an atoning for the sins of my past."

"Is that why you're all here with me?" I mumble.

"As I just said, I wasn't born yet, so I missed all the Aphrodite wars - the ancient Aphrodite wars, that is.  I have nothing to feel guilty for, but Theia and Phillip-" Devin stops and hesitates.

He doesn't have to finish the sentence though.  The rest of the guilty eyes around me tell me their dark, guilty secret.  This is why they've worked so hard to keep me alive.  This is why they pledged their allegiance when Gemma sparked conflict against me.  They're all trying to atone for their past sins.

"I see," I murmur quietly.

The words leave my mouth, and suddenly I feel the excruciating pain of the two bitches fighting inside me once more.  I scream as my body contorts, and my eyes flash back and forth from green to white.  I scream again as my back cracks, and Devin shouts to Deacon.

"Pull over!  She's fucking dying!" he yelps.

The tires squeal as the SUV jerks to a halt, and Devin flashes out, pulling me with him.  The ground is soft under me, and the grass smells freshly cut.  Crickets sound out, trying to drown out my screams, but it's pointless.

"Come on, baby.  You can fight them.  Please fight them.  They're not taking you away from me," Devin pleads.

I pant as I try to forge through the horrific pain consuming me, and tears fall from my eyes.  Hale's eyes are etched in fear, and Deacon holds Camara as she hides her face in his chest.

“I can't," I scream, the bloodcurdling tune bringing tears to Devin's eyes.

"Yes you can.  Please fight them," Devin begs as one tear falls down his cheek.

I cry louder as another stab of pain surges through me, and I begin my silent plead.

You bitches better stop playing tug of war if either of you want to continue on.  I'm the last of both of you, and you're fucking killing me.

The pain lessens slightly, and I feel my bones popping back into place.  Devin's eyes drop free another tear as he sees me starting to heal, but a look of panic spreads when he looks up.

I follow his gaze and see the dark haired bitches from Athena's womb stalking toward us.

"Give us the girl, and you can live," the head bitch snarks.

Hale lowers himself down to whisper to me.

"You really do have a lot of crazy bitches after you - both inside and out," he says to try and lighten the heavy, monumental dilemma in front of us.

"You can't have her without going through us," Devin asserts with a feral, protective glare.

I slowly start to sit up, but the girl pulls a vine from the ground to try and grab me.  Deacon slices through it before it can reach me.

"I don't think so," he taunts.

"You have no idea how strong we are," she blares threateningly.

"That goes both ways," Camara announces as she steps in front of me.

Another vine springs from the ground, but it's attacked by a similar one.  I look over to see Gemma joining us.

"I think I know how strong you are," she dares.  "I've personally never enjoyed how overlooked I was because of your kind."

Really?  This bitch is going to help save me? 
That makes it harder to hate her.

"You don't want to start a war with us.  I can assure you of that." Gemma's mother threatens from behind us, and I can see Theia, Phillip, and all the others with them.

Devin looks over to me and kneels to help me to my feet.

"Well I'll be damned.  Ava.  I thought you were dead," the vine-wielding bitch scoffs maliciously to Gemma's mother.

"You thought wrong.  I happen to be very alive, and I have quite a few alliances across the board.  You should rethink what you're considering."

The girl smiles as if she's holding a secret in her hand.

"I happen to have made a few alliances myself, but unlike you, mine are already here," she mocks.

Swirls of ashes stir around us, and Hale's eyes narrow as he breathes a breath of panic.  A ghostly whisper travels through his barely parted lips.  One word.  One terrifyingly, ominous word.

"Safina."

Chapter 17

Aphrodite's Stand

The ashes surround the bitches stalking toward us, and there are men following along behind her as well.  Their eyes are covered by tinted and odd shaped glasses as a preemptive strike against my power.

"What are those?" I whisper.

Devin scowls.  "Technology that hasn't been created yet.  They've got a visionary somewhere among them, and they're prepared for you," he murmurs back.

The ashes spread for a dramatic entrance to be made by the girl from my vision.  She steps up with her black and orange swirling eyes, and her raven hair sweeps with orange stripes as she smirks directly at Theia.

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves, and glance toward the SUV where Jake is still passed out.

Devin squeezes my hand in his, and I feel the fear spreading throughout me.  The storm brews overhead, and Safina's attention switches to me.

"Strike your lightning, spin your winds, and bare your green eyes, bitch.  You'll see I've come prepared," she snarks.

A guy steps up, and the lightning I send at her surges through him.  He screeches as it enters his body, and the currents flood over his skin.  He doesn't shrivel up or act as though he's in pain though.  I swear his masochistic ass is enjoying my vicious currents.

He smiles as he throws his hand out and returns my blast back at us.  Devin sends out his ripple and deflects the energy to the side just in time.

"What the hell?" I worry.

"He's a fucking conductor," Devin mumbles in his usual vague fashion.  "No lightning you send at them will hit anyone but him."

Tornadoes drop to the ground as I glare ahead.  They rip up the ground, readying to attack.

"I've got more than lightning," I growl.

A girl smiles as the air begins shifting, slicing through my whirling winds.  Her eyes glow with a deep purple, and I gasp as my cyclone-attack dissipates in front of my eyes.

"Nifty huh?" Safina retorts.  "This is Emerald, the descendent of Heisha; the embodiment of air."

Crap.

Hale steps forward and smirks at Safina.

"You have no counter for the sun," he blares, but the ground beneath us quakes as vines spring free and dart toward us.

Hale begins slicing through them with his radiating beams, and the battle begins.

Devin breaks the ground free of all moisture and the watery attack rushes the group only to be sizzled out by the flames of some.  I feel the green springing forth as the clouds rumble again, and the rain falls to aide Devin's need for water.

The air spins around us, and I feel the strangling effects as it materializes into a choking hand.  I pull the wind to fight the air and free myself from the suffocating clutches.

When my attempts to free myself fail, I decide to detain her by giving her something to chase after.  More spiraling death whirls drop free from the sky at my behest, and she quickly begins trying to slice through them.

These are stronger though.  The bitches within me are finally working together.

My eyes glow white as Asteria takes her turn against the monsters on the other side, and the winds form a massive collection of cyclones to give way to a beastly storm.

Safina's eyes grow wide in disbelief.

"Asteria.  Impossible," she blares.

"She's the one," another whispers almost too quietly to hear.

I smirk at the secret she didn't know I had as the others continue their attacks.  Camara whirls her fans through the air, and I give them a momentum boost as the winds guide them through the hoard of Athena bitches.

Slicing connections and piercing screams rattle through the air as the successful launch continues on its path.

I deny the conductor any more lightning, but I offer him a chance to ride on my swirling doomsday device as the hands of my winds jerk him into the storm.

The air bitch is keeping the others back, but she can't stop this one.

Another beast brews beside them, and Safina is pissed when she sees she wasn't as prepared for me as she thought.

"Why didn't I fucking know she carried Asteria with her?" she screams to a guy.

I'm smirking at my victorious success, but then Camara drops to the ground beside me, and I see the ashes running from her lifeless body.

No!

Deacon yells for her and loses concentration, opening him up to a blazing flame.  Devin turns to deflect it, but it connects with Deacon before the ripple reaches it.

I scream as Deacon falls to the ground beside his love, his eyes glazed over and devoid of any animation.

Devin turns to Theia and yells, "Get out of here!"

"No!" she screams.  "I won't leave you!"

"You have to.  We're going to need you to undo this.  Go now before it's too late," he pleads.

Vines surge through the air and bring her to her knees.  Gemma starts untangling them as Devin spins my rain at her attackers.

They have so many versus our so few.  We weren't prepared for this, but they've planned this down to the last detail - with the exception of my Asteria I can't properly use yet.

Gemma's eyes fall flat, devoid of any life, as she drops to her knees with a blade stuck in her back.  Her parents scream, but they're stuck in the thick of the fight, unable to reach their daughter.

Kry and Ther face off with the front line as they send their own attacks, but it's proving more and more ineffective against the fully ready counters devised for all of us.

Devin and Phillip rush to free Theia, and suddenly I feel the vines wrapping around me, jerking me to the ground.

I fight against them, but I can't move.  I scream in agony as they squeeze against my waist, and Devin turns to see me bound by the green beasts.

"Adisia!"

He starts racing toward me, but the vines suck him down as well.

"No!" I cry helplessly as I watch him struggle in vain.

Phillip is next as the army of green seizes him completely.  Ava struggles to free us, but she's met with the ashes from Safina as the life is sucked out of her.

Her husband screams as he watches her fall to the ground, and the ashes consume him as well.  Kry and Ther begin slicing through the vines entangling Devin, and Hale fights against the army alone.

Safina whirls her ashes at me, but Hale dives in front of them.  I scream as he collapses to the ground - dying in my place.  His body shrivels to dust in front of my eyes.

Everyone is crumbling, and Ther and Kry are no exception.  I scream with Devin as the life is pulled from them by the hands of two Athenians, and they collapse to the ground.

The chaos stops as the only ones left stirring are the ones in control.  Those of us not who aren't dead are bound - our lives resting in the hands of the devils in front of us.  The harsh breaths laced with triumph fall through their lips effortlessly as I gasp for each breath that finds my lungs.

Safina walks in front of me, her strut casual and confident, as she glides across her battlefield.  She smirks as she stares down her nose at me - her fucking crazy eyes swirling their menace and their malevolent glow.

"It's funny how differently this could have gone.  Asteria has apparently lost her touch," Safina mocks.

I can feel the white and green both sparking within me, doing their best to work together and find a way out of this.

She grabs Devin's chin and jerks his eyes up to meet hers, making my heart slap my chest on its way to my throat.

"You've been a pain in my ass.  Those seeing eyes have caused me a lot of hard work.  It's nice to know they'll soon be closed forever," she snarls.

"No!  Please no," I cry.

"Take me.  You want me, not my son," Theia begs.

Phillip still struggles, but suddenly he's gasping for air, and Theia cries harder.

"Please take me," she whimpers.

"Oh I'll make sure you get what's coming to you.  For now, just sit tight," Safina snarks.

The strength of her full blood titan self is somehow summoned, and Theia suddenly breaks free from the restraints to charges at Safina while releasing her ripple.

Safina flies through the air and against the SUV where my brother had been.  The car rolls across the road several times, and lands completely smashed.

I scream as I see the impossible to escape deathtrap that has just taken my brother's life.

"No!"

Tears overwhelm me as Theia is restrained once more.  Her neck snaps, and Phillip is laid to rest when he almost frees himself.

Devin's eyes show his undeniable pain and fear, his eyes dripping from loss and terror, as he tries to free himself and reach me.  There's no hope now.  Theia's dead.  There can't be a rewind.  This is it.

Safina yells, "No!  The titan was supposed to be last, you idiot!"

She flings the ashes toward the disobedient vine-holder, and the girl drops to the ground.  I sob uncontrollably as I stare at Devin, knowing this is the last time I'll ever see him.

"I'm sorry," he breathes.

Safina rips his head backwards, forcing his eyes to stare into hers once more.

"This is all your fault," she yells to him, but then looks to me.  "If you hadn't come into the picture this would have gone according to plan," she scolds.

What?  She's won.  What has gone wrong?

"Please let him go," I sob.

She smiles at me as the poison from the vine starts being released into my body.  The deadly, excruciating burn flames against my skin as it slithers through my blood.  I see the veins in my body turning as black as her heart as it steals my life with its slow, tormenting creep.

"No!  Adisia, no!" Devin pleads as he continues his useless struggle against the vine prison.

I cry harder as the burn weakens me, dragging the breaths from my lungs.

"I want you to see something before you completely fade into the darkness of Athena's wrath," Safina murmurs with an eerie promise.

She bends down to Devin's mouth, and her dark lips cover his soft ones.

I scream loud enough to deafen the air as Devin squirms violently under her touch.  The ashes release into his mouth as she draws back, and malice sparks proudly in her eyes.

His eyes slowly start to lose their swirling life, and they fade to be duller and duller until his spark is completely gone.

No!  No!  No!  Please, God, no!

The tears flow vigorously in disbelief as he falls to the ground, and I fall forward to expel everything from my stomach as the sickness and loss overtake me.

My piercing shrieks rattle the ground below us as I feel every wall for miles around breaking under the strain.

She laughs mercilessly at my screaming agony, and the vines around me suddenly shatter as the white and green form in unison within my eyes.

A new voice falls through my lips as my mind spirals into the shadows of the great goddesses within.  I surrender it all - giving them compete control when I have no reason left to fight  and no will left to live.

"You stupid fool.  You have no idea what you've just done," my new voice says - Asteria's voice.

My feeble mind does nothing but drown in its misery for the loss of my love, and Aphrodite joins the conversation.

"You shouldn't have killed him.  You shouldn't have come out of your tomb," Aphrodite mocks, menace drenching every syllable in her words.

I feel a power stirring vigorously as the air around me is sucked clean of the oxygen and the Athena warriors loose their power without it.  Their plants die as they sink to the ground, ashing over to nothing, and the men's glasses shatter from their faces.

"Kill the rest," Aphrodite's voice says to the men now under her spell.

They do as instructed and turn on the women.  Screams erupt as powers collide, and their army becomes mine.

Safina stumbles backwards with her mouth gaped open as the powerful women within me stalk toward her.

She scrambles to deliver her ash attack, but the ashes never reach my possessed body.  They fly back into her mouth, and I can feel the power surging through me as it intoxicates both goddesses ruling me.

Light surrounds me suddenly, and blinding explosions erupt from me, leveling everything in front of me until I stand alone with the embers sparking on their way down.

The air is almost black, and Safina's body wastes away in front of my eyes.  She now looks no different than the ashes she once cast into my love's mouth.

The once green, lively world is shattered along with everything in it, and I'm completely alone to stare at my apocalypse.  Life has been drained from the planet and my eyes burn as more power radiates outward to light the blackened sky.

I drop to my knees in front of the place where Devin once lay as the goddesses subside suddenly, forcing me back in the driver's seat of my body.

I sob wildly into my hands that are stained with too many deaths to count.  The poison hasn't lost its affect, it was merely temporarily restrained.