War's Passion (Sons of War) (11 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Markus stared in disbelief at the row of paintings. Each scene told the story of the Sons of War as the events happened over a thousand years ago.

The first one was of Ares with his son,
the
Drakon Ismenios
, dead at his feet. The dragon’s teeth scattered over the ground. The next scene depicted the warriors rising from the earth in rows that extended as far back as he could see.

Gwen shifted from foot to foot beside him. “Are those the Sons of War?”

Markus nodded. “Yes. The
Drakon’s
teeth were divided into two groups. My brothers and I were of the first group. This group.”

He felt Gwen’s gaze before she asked, “How do you know?”

“Because Ares hid the second set in Tartarus.”

“Where are all the
Sons?”

Markus sighed. “Most died. A few left
Olympus. Only the six of us stayed.”

They fell silent as they studied the rest of the paintings. The next
several were different scenes from the war against the gods and their earth-bound children. The paintings were life-like and so detailed. It was like Markus was sucked back in time.

E
ach painting featured either him or his brothers.

He came to a stop at the last one
, Garrick in dragon form. His large black wings extended as if preparing to take flight. Moving closer to the painting, Markus focused on the small sack-like item in the dragon’s claw.

“Elle, in your dreams, did you hear anything?”

“Sometimes,” Elle shrugged. “It wasn’t always clear.”

Markus pointed at the canvas. “Do you know what is in that sack?”

Elle’s eyes grew wide and she nodded. “The
drakon’s
teeth.”

Fuck
.

“Ares!” Markus shouted
. A few moments later, the god materialized in cloud of dark gray smoke.

At first
, he appeared annoyed at being summoned, but when he saw the paintings, he froze. “What in the name of Zeus?”

Markus drew his brows together. “Elle’s been having dreams.”

Ares turned to Elle. When Gwen stepped in front of her friend, Ares laughed. “I do not wish to harm her. I’m just curious.”

Markus
moved closer to the females. “Please tell me that the last painting is not the present.”

Ares narrowed his eyes, then let out a low growl. “No. The other set of teeth are in
Tartarus with Typhon.”

Typhon, a storm d
aemon, was the gatekeeper and warden of the fire pit of the Underworld. Markus wasn’t so sure he like the idea of a daemon guarding the
drakon’s
teeth. “You trust him?”

Ares raised a brow. “Do I trust anyone?

“But a daemon?”

“He’s bound to
Tartarus and can’t leave without suffering a very painful death. Besides, anyone seeking the teeth would have to get past Hades first.” Ares turned back to the paintings. “However, nothing is a hundred percent and there are ways around the most difficult challenges. You must keep an eye on your brother. Ashlynn will know how.”

Before
Markus could ask any more questions, Ares dematerialized.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck, I hate when he does that. Why can’t he just answer my damn questions?”

When he looked up, the females stared at him. Elle had her bottom lip sucked in and Gwen had hers pressed together. Both of them had laughter in their eyes. “It’s not funny.”

Gwen shook her head. “No, it’s not.” She turned to Elle. “Where is the unfinished one?”

With worry in her gaze, Elle made her way to the corner of the room that was now her studio and uncovered a canvas. Once the painting was in his full view, Markus let out another curse and bent forward to get a closer look.

In the center was a sketch of a woman in a long flowing gown. The dress was pulled tight around the female
’s figure and flowed behind as if she stood in high winds. Her hair blew in the same direction with a few thick strands in her face.

The background was the only color, but he could tell
why since it still wasn’t finished. It lacked the depth and details of the other paintings.

“Elle, please explain this one.”

Stepping up beside him, she cleared her throat. “I’m not for sure, but I think she’s a storm daemon. In my dream, she called a storm. That’s what all the clouds are behind her. There will be lightening all around her, and below her will be the sea, angry and ready to obey her.”

Markus studied the female on the canvas. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t be sure with only a rough sketch. “Let me know when you finish it.”

Elle nodded, then covered the painting again. “I will.” She hesitated a moment, then said, “I’ve never had visions. Sure, I see night creatures, but that is expected since my grand…my mother is Nyx. These dreams could be my imagination running wild because the myths I learned are coming to life.”

Gwen took Elle’s hand as if comforting her friend. “I agree. We’ve been under a lot of stress
these last couple of days.”

Although they had a logical point, Markus thought something else was going on. “Just continue to paint and
draw anything you dream about. I’m curious to see where this goes. If you don’t have these dreams again, then I’ll dismiss it as an overactive imagination.”

Turning, he
walked to the door, then stopped and looked back at Gwen. “Meet me in the training room in fifteen minutes.”

Leaving the studio, Markus smiled. Gwen thought she could avoid him, but she was wrong. Besides she made a deal to train with him and have dinner with him. He was going to see she kept her word and take every opportunity to seduce her into being his mate.

Because that was exactly what she was
, his one true soul mate. The knowledge slammed into him hard right after his mind cleared from the multiple orgasms they shared on the beach.

Now that he’d had a taste of
her, he wanted to bond with her.

And nothing, or no one, was going to get in his way of having what he wanted.

****

Gwen
crouched low, waiting, watching.

When Markus
’s muscles flexed and he lifted a foot, she was ready, mimicking his movements with him. Yet, she was still too slow. In one swift movement, he tackled her on the mat. Her back hit hard and she gasped more out of reflex then actual pain, but it made Markus pause long enough for her to roll from under him.

Pushing to a stand
, she darted toward him and wrapped an arm around his neck in a choke hold.

He grunted and held his hands up. “You think you’re smart?”

Gwen released him and straightened. “No. Just took advantage of the weak point.”

Slowly, he
stood and turned to face her. “Your real opponent won’t care if he slams you a little too hard on the floor.”

“That’s the point of this, isn’t it? To build up my strength?”

He stared at her for several moments, studying her as if tossing around a theory in his head or something. “You’d be stronger if your powers were unbound.”

Shocked, she held his gaze. “What?”

One side of his mouth lifted. “Look, you are stronger then you were before coming here. Emotionally, you’ve overcome your fear of dragons. You’re almost able to outwit me, but you’ll never be strong enough as a mortal.”

She propped her hands on her hips. “And how do you plan on doing that? Isn’t it against the rules or something? I mean
, there was a reason why the descendants’ powers were locked.”

“
Mainly to keep them from rising against the gods again.”

Relaxing her arms to her side
s, she watched him, not sure what to expect. Maybe he was joking. The idea of having her powers unlocked was a little scary. What if she couldn’t handle it?

“Do you know how?”

“No, but Ashlynn might.”

She opened her mouth to ask why he thought
so, then remembered the passage she’d read in her father’s journal entries earlier that day. “Because Garrick is unlocking their powers.”

He raised a brow. “How do you know?”

She told him about the journal entry. “When Elle came up to the room and told me about the painting, it slipped my mind.”

His dark
blue eyes flashed to the light blue of his dragon as he took a step toward her. Her heart hammered hard in her chest and she felt it in her throat. Stepping back, she tripped on the edge to mat and fell on her ass. Markus dropped to his knee and caged her.

Fear burned through her, bring
ing back a panic attack. Her chest tightened and she fought to catch her breath. The next moment she was pulled into Markus’s arms, her head against his chest. She focused on the
thump
,
thump
of his heart to calm her.

Embarrassed and pissed off at herself for not having a better handle over her anxiety, she closed her eyes tight to keep the tears from falling. Markus press
ed a kiss to the top of her head, then her temple.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think.
” Drawing her closer, he tightened his arms a little and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Taking a shaky breath, she whispered, “I’m never going to be normal.”

“Love, you’re a goddess. You were never normal.”

That made her laugh
, because he had a point.

They fell silent for several long moments
before she pulled away. She frowned at the wet spot on his shirt and reached out and smoothed the cotton with her hand. Before she could turn away, Markus cupped her cheek and raised her chin so she met his gaze.

“You must never fear me.”

“I don’t.”

“Then what just happened?”

“I…you caught me off guard. I felt your annoyance and I must have mistaken it for anger.”

Still holding her face in his hands, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I was annoyed you
withheld the information from me, but I’m not angry. Despite the fact that there’s a fire breathing dragon inside me, it takes a lot more than that to make me mad at you.” He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “I could never harm you, even if my own life depended on it.”

Something different reached out to her senses. It wasn’t fear or anger. Acceptance? No, it was stronger
. Almost like affection. “What do you mean?”

“You are my one true mate.”

Chapter Eighteen

Gwen opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to form the words swirling around in her mind.

His mate?
It wasn’t the first time he’d told her, but the way he said the single word held a lot more meaning than just a wife or a partner. Gods, she couldn’t mate with him. Not with his evil brother hunting her down, and not even if Garrick wasn’t.

Yet, it was exactly what she wanted deep down.

Shaking all over, she turned and ran from the room.

When she reached the third floor of the mansion, she dropped down into the reading chair next to the large bay window
s and watched the ocean in the distance. So much had happened in such a short time that she needed to think, away from Markus. His scent, hell, his whole presence, confused her.

A shift of power in the air
warned that Aphrodite had materialized behind her. Gwen recognized the goddess’s magical signature. It was warm, loving, and so much like her father’s that it brought tears to her eyes. She took a deep breath and waited for her grandmother to sit next to her.

Aphrodite took her hand and linked their fingers together. “The ocean is beautiful.”

Gwen just nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. So they sat for the longest time, not speaking. After a while Aphrodite opened the widows by using her mind, which drew Gwen’s attention to her.

Turning to face her grandmother, Gwen offered a weak smile. She had Aphrodite’s blue eyes and blond hair. Gwen could see where her father got his looks from. “I can’t mate with Markus.”

Aphrodite smiled and cupped her cheek. “Sure you can, but it is your choice.”

Gwen searched her blue gaze in confusion. “I guess I don’t understand what he meant by
his ‘one true mate.’”

The
goddess shook her head. “I think you do, but you’re too scared to admit it.”

Looking away, Gwen shrugged.
“I know what the phrase means by definition. I don’t know what it involves. The rules? Is the myth true—the Sons of War couldn’t mate with the descendants?”

Aphrodite sighed and
stared out the open windows. “The mythology is true. Yet, like all laws, the wording is what is important.”

Gwen glanced over at her profile
and thought about it. The Sons weren’t allowed to mate with the descendants. Markus said she was his one true mate. Didn’t it mean the same thing?

Damn
, she was too tired and sore from the training session with Markus to think.

After a few moments, Aphrodite let out a breath. “As much as he would like to, Zeus can’t control free will. If the Fates deemed you two a
re mates…”

Of course!
“Then the curse is canceled out.”

Aphrodite smiled, wide. “Now you’re catching on. All you have to do is search in your heart and
accept the mating.”

Accept
the mating?

Before Gwen could ask another question, her grandmother was gone
, dematerialized to wherever she went after leaving her side.

Gwen sighed, stood and walked to the windows. The roar of the ocean filled the air like nature’s song. All she had to do was
accept the mating, huh?

How
could she commit to someone who didn’t love her?

****

Markus entered his study and growled at the sight of his brothers. Seth and Ty were lounging on the sofa. Well, Ty lounged. Seth was playing a video game with the sound up loud enough to give Markus a headache.

Zavier and Drake sat at the small round table to the right of Markus’s desk. Each of them had their laptops opened and it appeared they were collaborating about something.

“Out of all the rooms in this house, you have to be in
my
study?” Markus grumbled as he made his way to his desk and sat down.

Ty spoke
, but didn’t look in Markus’s direction. “I called a meeting and figured it’d be more private in here considering we have a guest.”

Markus settled back into his chair and stud
ied his brother. There was something bothering Ty. Markus guessed it had something to do with Ashlynn. If so, then Ty wouldn’t be sharing with the group anytime soon.

“What is this about?”

Ty glanced over at Markus. “I followed the female like you asked. She said she was meeting her mother, but Garrick showed up instead.”

“Do you think she lied?”

Ty shook his head. “No. She spoke the truth.” One side of his mouth lifted. “I got a good hit on the bastard before he flashed out of there.”

Seth
turned off the game and faced everyone. “Gary’s a chicken-shit. We need to get a big net for the next time he shows up.”

Markus’s stomach soured at Seth’s words. “What makes you think he’ll be back?”

Seth shrugged and stood, then stretched. “It’s just a hunch, but he may have come in search of Ash. Why else would he show up in the forest while she was out there?”

Ty nodded. “He did come for her and might ha
ve taken her if I wasn’t there.” His eyes glowed behind his shades and he set his jaw, making the muscle in his temples flex. “Gary knew I was there and claimed Ash belongs to him.”

Markus narrowed his gaze on Ty. It was the first time the male called the huntress by her nickname.
“He could have been taunting you.”

Ty’s gaze snapped to Markus’s. “I don’t give a shit either way, but I’d be damn
ed if the son of a bitch will come to my home and think he can just take whomever he pleases. He won’t get any of the females inside these walls.”

Markus stared at Ty, wondering what
wound his brother up so tight. Usually he didn’t care much about females. His behavior seemed almost protective. It was a little out of character for Ty, especially since he returned to them from his captivity with the Imperials.

Before Markus could call him on the
personality shift, the door to the study opened and Gwen rushed in, tablet in hand, and skidded to halt in the middle of the room and scanned her surroundings. “Oh. I’m sorry.” She turned to leave, but Markus teleported to stand in the open door.

“What is it?”

Gwen took a step back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I…”

Markus cut her off by closing in the gap between them, wrapping an arm around her, and kissing her.
Instantly, she melted into him and fisted a hand into his hair. The gentle tugs on his hair sent sparks of desire through him and straight to his dick, which had went impossibly hard the moment she walked into the room.

One of his brothers cleared his throat, reminding Markus they had an audience.
Breaking the kiss, he held Gwen’s desire filled gaze.

“What did you find?” He pointed to the tablet
, obviously the reason behind her rushed entrance.

Embarrassment
colored her cheeks as she looked around the room and ducked her head. With shaky hands, she sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk. “The passage I’m about to read is why Garrick killed my father.”

Gwen ignored the mutter
ed curses and started reading from her father’s journal.

November 10, 1978

It’s been hard to stay away from home ever since Gwendolyn arrived in June. She’s perfect and has her grandmother’s nose and bright blue eyes, but her mother’s chin and fingers. Alexia and I are so blessed to have such a healthy and happy baby girl.

Each day
, I spend a little longer leaving the house to go to work. Garrick grumbled about it a few times, but never threatened me with the loss of a job because of it.

Today
was especially hard. Last night I had the most disturbing dream about a war. This war was not on Earth, not that I could tell anyway. The land seemed ancient and otherworldly. My gut told me it was Olympus. Aphrodite was there. As were Ares, Zeus, and even Hades. The gods had an army of warriors who could shift into dragons. They fought against humans with godly powers, much like the ones I and the other Imperials have.

That’s what Garrick
calls us. The Imperials—blessed mortals who pledge to watch over the rest of the humans. I’ve always thought Garrick had a strange way about him, but he was smart and shared my views on finding the descendants.

At least
I believed that up until a few days ago when I unlocked a file on Garrick’s computer. I found lists of names, birthdays, locations, and the name of a god next to each name. I recognized most of the names as members of the Imperials, since I work beside them every day.

Then the dream last night
caused more suspicion because the last face I saw before waking was Garrick’s.

I rushed to the office and was relieved when no one else was there. I quickly brought up the file from the other day and searched through others. The more I dug
, the sicker I felt. Garrick wasn’t searching for the descendants to keep them safe and inform them of their heritages, he was gathering an army to wage a war against the gods.

Gwen stopped reading and pressed the screen with her finger then turned the tablet around for them to see.

Markus’s heart dropped to the floor. Dread burned through him as he stared at the photo of the female storm daemon dressed in a flowing black gown with dark storm clouds rolling in the background.

It was so close
to the unfinished painting Elle showed him that morning that Markus was betting it was the same. Only in this colored photo, Markus could see clearly enough to recognize the daemon.

Sophia,
the daughter of Typhon—storm daemon and guardian of Tartarus—and the female Garrick killed over a thousand years ago. It was why they were banished from the Heavens and cursed.

Markus meet Gwen’s gaze. “Has Elle seen this?”

She shook her head. “This is a digital drawing from a seer within the Imperials. Father’s notes go on to say that Sophia was Garrick’s mate and the seer confirmed she was still alive and living as a human on earth.”

Seth stepped closer, shaking his head. “This is impossible. We saw her decapitated body. Typhon almost broke out of
Tartarus to wipe us all out because of it.”

Gwen handed the tablet to Zavier as he came to
study the device. “There’s a hidden file I opened when I accessed this journal entry. It has a lot of information about Sophia and Garrick, their relationship, her death, and a prophecy of her rebirth as a human.”

Zavier took the tablet and scanned through the information.
“Can I take this and read through the entries?”

Gwen nodded. “What does it mean if he finds her? Would she know who she was if she was reborn?”

Markus raked a hand through his hair. “Typically, in theory no. When a god is killed and reborn as a mortal, they have no memory of their past life.”
Fuck
. He turned toward the door and walked out into the foyer and called out, “Ashlynn!”

A moment later the redhead descended the stairs. “Why must you yell? My hearing is as good as yours.”

When he narrowed his eyes at her, she raised a brow and confirmed his suspicions that she was a full goddess. Knowing Ty, the male had already called her out on the lie. That could be the only reason she let her shields down now. “What do you know of Sophia?”

Ash drew her brows together. “Sophia who?”

“Storm daemon.”

“She’s dead.”

“Not according to two seers.” Elle wasn’t a gifted seer, but Ash didn’t need to know Elle was the second to visualize the daemon alive.

Ashlynn
descended the last step and motioned toward the study. “I hate repeating myself, so we might as well make a party of it.”