House of Thebes (The Bloodstone Saga) (14 page)

“They told me to imprison Harmonia by any means necessary and deliver the bloodstone to them.  And now I am to ignore Harmonia and focus on Aphrodite?”

And I had so been looking forward to using ‘any means necessary’.

The inky black raven stared at me unblinkingly and slightly judgmental. 

“Are you questioning the Fates?” he asked calmly. 

The threat was clear in its voice. I quickly shook my head. I should not anger them. There was no point.  Obviously, I would do what they wanted. 

“No.  I do not question them.” I stared at the bird defiantly, daring him to challenge me.  He did not.  Instead, he cocked his head again, motioning silently toward the blank paper in front of me.

Gritting my teeth, I reached for a pen. 

It will be done.

I rolled up the parchment and handed it to the bird and he balanced one foot on it while staring at me.

“You can do whatever you may,” he croaked.  “But remember.  Harmonia is the Chosen One.”

My head snapped up. 

“You believe the prophecies?” I asked incredulously. 

He stared at me, his bloody red eye staring straight into my thoughts, it seemed.

But he remained frustratingly silent.  

For a brief moment, one split second, a rush of white hot fear flooded through me and stilled my heart. Could it be true?  Would Harmonia be the one who would demolish the Moirae sisters’ rule over the Spiritlands? Could she restore the throne in Olympus?

But I shook my head.  It couldn’t be.  How could the goddess of harmony and contentment be anywhere close to powerful enough to conquer the Fates?  It was impossible and I willed my rapid heart beats to still. The bird did not know what it was talking about. It was only one step above a carrier pigeon.

He stared at me in amusement and I fought the urge to strangle him.

“It’s foolish to doubt,” he observed.

“Just deliver my message to the Fates,” I snapped.  “Be gone.”

He scooped up my missive in his beak and waddled to the edge of my desk before flying out the window in a flurry of black feathers.  I sat still for a second before I moved.  I would be fine. The Fates would not be toppled.  And if I served them well, they would allow me to stay here in my home. I sighed despondently. I definitely did not want to return to the mortal world.  And that very thought made me remember the beautiful mortal slumbering in my bed at this very moment and I smiled. 

I didn’t even waste the time walking to my bedchambers. I simply envisioned it and I was suddenly standing next to the bed, staring down at Cadmus’ tranquil face.  In sleep, he had a boyish quality that made him seem vulnerable and appealing.  His dark hair had fallen over one eye and I reached down to brush it away.  At the touch of my hand upon his brow, he opened his eyes.

“Hi,” I murmured quietly. Why did I suddenly feel so nervous?  This was all a game.  He was nothing to me but a way to lure Harmonia to my home.  Yet my own body was traitorous and I felt an unexpected, wild longing for this man. 

“Hi,” he answered uncertainly.  He nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he watched me. “Did you come to nap?”

“Yes,” I smiled.  “And then some.”

I slipped the straps of my shift off of my shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Cadmus flushed and looked away.  I leaned forward and with one finger, turned his head toward me.

“You’re not a virgin, my love,” I murmured.

He nodded silently as I crawled into bed with him.  His body was warm and masculine and I was
really
going to enjoy this. 

Climbing on top of him, I bent to kiss the side of his neck and then his lips as I moved against him.  His eyes fluttered closed and I watched him as I slid my body over his.  His face was beautiful in its perfection. 

Until he spoke.

“Harmonia,” he whispered. 

I froze and his eyes flew open. 

“Is something wrong, Eris?” he asked cautiously.  He didn’t even realize what he had said.

But from the wary way he watched me and the tense way he held himself, I could tell that he innately knew that I was dangerous, even if his mind was telling him that he loved me.  It appeared that I couldn’t even pretend that he was mine…because deep down, he never would be.  A lump formed in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it and replaced it with fury.

I threw the covers off, picked up my clothing and stormed from the room, pausing in the hall to get dressed and compose myself.  Cadmus didn’t even call after me, something that I tried not to let pain me. 

After I had gotten my temper under control, I continued into the great room and dropped into a chaise lounge with a sigh.  It didn’t matter.  None of it mattered- he was nothing to me.  But I couldn’t deny that his reaction had stung. I truly had thought that he would prefer me to her, if he was just given a chance.

Movement in the doorway caught my attention and I glanced up.

Harmonia’s jade green eyes stared at me through the glass.  I felt a wickedness welling up in me and before I could stop myself, I called for Cadmus.  Almost immediately, he appeared, just as I knew he would, smiling apologetically at me. 

I motioned for him to come closer, perfectly aware that Harmonia’s gaze was upon us.  Cadmus came to me willingly and I wrapped my arms around his neck, drawing him close to me, inhaling his kiss, deepening it as I held him next to me.  My knees actually felt weak from it by the time he stepped away. But it had served its purpose.  I kept my eyes locked with Harmonia’s and hers were full of pain, a fact that I enjoyed. 

At her loud knocking, Cadmus walked away from me to open the door.  I listened to him speak with Aphrodite as I watched Harmonia’s face with pleasure.  She was tormented, her lovely features twisted in angst… just how I liked them.  This was not what she had expected.  I was sure that she had thought that I was torturing him.  Never had she guessed that he had been in my bed. And she would never know exactly what we had done there. 

She flashed a look of rage in my direction and then marched over to stand in front of me.

“What have you done, Eris?” she demanded, her green eyes spitting jade flames.

“I have no idea what you mean, Harmonia,” I answered innocently, trying my best not to laugh.  She had no idea how amusing she was.  I felt the need to rub it in, to make it even worse for her.  I would only have this leverage over her for a short while- I wanted to use it while I could.  I called to Cadmus.

“Cadmus, darling.  Please come sit with me.  I have the need to feel you near.”

He stared at me dutifully as he walked to my side and sat.  The fury on Harmonia’s face was too entertaining and I couldn’t contain myself. I laughed in her face.

“What have you done?” she repeated, gritting her teeth.

Keeping my eyes glued to hers, I let my fingers wander aimlessly over Cadmus’ toned shoulders and arms, trailing down to rest lightly on the top of his thigh.  There was no way that she could feel him tense up at my touch.  I was the only one who knew of his innate discomfort.

“I have no idea what you mean, Harmonia,” I answered pleasantly. “Is it so far-fetched to imagine that Cadmus just acquired better taste and prefers me to you?”

I could see Harmonia clench her jaw before she answered.

“He doesn’t even know who I am.  You’ve done something, you wretched snake.”

At the venom in her voice, Cadmus raised his gaze to hers, then shifted to mine. He was clearly startled. 

“Is there a problem?” he asked hesitantly. 

“Yes,” Harmonia answered.  “You are mine.  We’ve been together for thousands of years.  You don’t belong here.”

I started to speak, to object, but there was no need.  Because Cadmus laughed, a rich, husky sound that echoed throughout my stone home.  And Harmonia’s face fell.  I reveled in her sadness and stayed silent.

“I think I would remember that, would I not?” Cadmus asked her, his twinkling warm eyes attached to her face.  I could see, just for a second, that he was hoping it was true.  Even in this confused state, he felt a connection to her, a connection so strong that magic and my best efforts couldn’t break it. It was maddening.

He turned to me and his expression changed into one of necessity.  Pleasant necessity, but necessity nonetheless. I steeled myself against the emotion that he invoked in me.  What was wrong with me?  None of this mattered. 
He
didn’t matter.

“Sweet Eris, we should invite your friends in for the night.  The Chimeras will be out soon.  We wouldn’t want them to get waylaid by one.”

I felt a smile forming as I shook my head. “No, that would indeed be tragic, dear Cadmus.”

Harmonia was at a loss for words, something I had never before witnessed.  It was vastly amusing.  I watched her face the reality that it wasn’t safe for her to travel the Spiritlands at night. Finally, she turned to me, wrenching her eyes from Cadmus’ face.

“Thank you, dear
friend,
” she spit. “We would be ever so grateful for your shelter.”

Cadmus grinned, a beautiful smile that took my breath away.   And it was directed at her.  I steeled my heart once again. 

“Wonderful.  Any friend of Eris’ is a friend of mine. I will see to your rooms.”

He pushed off of the couch and strode from the room with a masculine, loping walk.  Both Harmonia and I watched his broad shoulders disappear through the doorway before she turned to me once more.

“What did you do?”she hissed.

“As if I would tell you,” I answered in satisfaction.  I couldn’t make Cadmus want me, but I could enjoy the pain that I inflicted upon Harmonia.  She would never know what had happened between him and me, something that I knew would torture her forever. That would have to be enough.

For the first time, I noticed the entourage that had accompanied her.  Aphrodite and the Amazon queen, Ortrera, stood anxiously behind Harmonia, with Ortrera’s warriors lingering on my porch.   I fixed my gaze on Aphrodite.  For whatever reason, she was supposed to be my focus now. 

Ortrera stepped forward from the shadows and murmured into Harmonia’s ear. Regardless of her quiet tone, my goddess hearing could hear her words perfectly.   

“My warriors will be outside guarding our horses,” she said quietly to Harmonia. “I shall stay inside with you.”

Harmonia nodded while I pondered that. I would need a plan that would thwart the Amazon queen while I absconded with Aphrodite and that was not going to be an easy task. My thoughts though, were interrupted when Cadmus reentered.  In the flickering candlelight, his bronzed face was so handsome that it was almost painful.  I swallowed hard, knowing in that second, as he focused on Harmonia, that he would always be hers. 

“Your rooms are ready,” he announced to Harmonia. “If you would come with me, I’ll show you the way.”

Unable to concede quietly, I couldn’t resist another jab at my nemesis.

“Don’t be gone long, Cadmus dear,” I sang in what I hoped was a lighthearted tone. “I shall need you again shortly.”

He nodded, smiling a curt smile in my direction before he led the visitors out of the room and down the hall.  Watching his broad back disappear, I knew that the charade was over. I could no longer play house with Harmonia’s husband.  I needed to focus on what I needed to do in order to keep my immortality.

Rushing to my desk, I yanked open drawers until I found what I needed. 

A small vial full of a sleeping potion so potent that it could level an entire clan of chimeras rested innocuously inside a velvet bag. The glistening gold vial sparkled in my fingers as I lifted it out and rolled it back and forth.  The liquid within was more useful than most of its kind, because it didn’t need to be ingested.  I simply had to rub it on my fingers and then touch whomever I wanted to effect. Because I had created it, I was immune.  The most casual of touches and even the fierce Amazon queen would go down.  Unless awakened by equally powerful magic, she would sleep for a hundred years.

Calmly walking down the hall with the potion in my hand, I passed the bath chambers. From within the closed doors, I could hear Harmonia and Cadmus murmuring softly. They were in there, together and alone. 

I closed my eyes for a brief painful second, blocking out the images that sprang instantly to my mind.  I couldn’t help but imagine them wrapped in an intimate reunion embrace, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes and my heart physically hurt.  I blocked it out as I crept toward the Amazon’s bedchambers. 

I had one mission and one purpose only. 

I didn’t even know that I was crying until my vision blurred and a tear dripped onto my hand.  Annoyed with myself for showing weakness, I wiped quickly at my eyes.  I was being ridiculous.  Cadmus was nothing to me.  Nothing.  But strangely, regardless of my internal protests, I knew that I would feel his absence and his rejection for some time to come.  It was profoundly painful.  But I couldn’t think about that now.  That would come later, I knew, when I was attempting to sleep in the dark… alone.