Page 80 of Amaros
Chapter Forty
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ZOE WAS ABOUT TO HITAmaros with a scathing remark for delaying dropping this truth bomb on her for so long.A vision swept through her mind before she could voice it.She saw their base full of people again, both warriors and cambions.Once more, they were happy and content even with the endless war that was raging.
Then the vision shifted to what would happen if they rejected their bonds.She saw herself alone in a nameless city, surrounded by bodies.Kneeling on the ground, she was covered in blood.Zoe didn’t know if it was hers, or if it belonged to the humans she’d killed.
Feet came into her view.Her gaze rose to meet the chillingly malevolent eyes of a warrior.She instinctively knew the handsome being wasn’t one of Amaros’ men.Almost as large as her knight, he had luxurious chestnut colored hair.His eyes were a strange shade of brown that was almost red.He wore a black suit that looked like it had been tailored to fit his muscular body.
“You did well, daughter,” the warrior said in a gloating tone.
“Thank you, sire,” the vision of Zoe said in a subservient tone.She bowed her head submissively, then shuddered when he reached down to stroke her bloody hair.
“Zoe!”Amaros said in alarm when she came out of the vision with a gasp.“Are you alright?”
Her head swam in reaction to the strength of the warning she’d just been given.“I’m okay,” she said as he guided her over to one of the tables.
Pulling a plush dark blue seat out, he eased her into it.“What did you see?”Amaros asked in trepidation.
“We don’t have a choice,” Zoe said, feeling weary to her bones.“The cambions will be turned against you if we refuse the bond.”
Amaros sank down onto the chair next to her, shoulders slumping at her response.“How can you be sure?”he asked.
“I saw my sire,” she told him.“He’d used me as a weapon to wipe out a bunch of humans.I had the distinct feeling that you and your men had all been destroyed.”That was the sense she’d gotten anyway.
“There has to be a way around this,” he said miserably.“I’m not going to become bonded to you just because it will save you from being used by your sire.”
“It’s my choice,” Zoe reminded him.“All of the cambions will have to choose between their fathers and their potential mates.”
His misery increased even more at that news.“What did your sire look like?”he asked, wanting to know what they were up against.
“He’s about your size, with dark reddish-brown hair and reddish-brown eyes,” she described.
Amaros’ expression turned bleak.“That’s Rahab,” he said grimly.“He’s the commander of the Soldiers of Chaos.”Zoe snorted out a laugh before she could stop herself.“Why is that funny?”he asked with a frown.
“My mom thought the creature who’d impregnated her was an angel,” she explained.“All this time, he was the exact opposite.”
“Fate is behind this,” Amaros said.“She chose to put us together.Or maybe it was her strange little consort who thought it would be amusing for the daughter of Rahab to become bonded to his archnemesis.”
“What consort?”Zoe asked in confusion.
“Fate has chosen a mate of her own,” he explained.
“Does he wear a weird suit that’s red on one side and green on the other?”
Amaros was momentarily startled by her question.“How did you know that?”
“I saw them both,” she replied.“It was the night of the Rapture.A strange woman about my size was standing in the shadows with the guy I just described.She was wearing a black cloak that hid her face.”
“That’s Fate,” he confirmed.
Zoe’s bitterness that Amaros didn’t actually want to become bonded to her was fading away.So was her shock.She’d felt the bond with this gorgeous warrior all along, but she hadn’t known what it was until now.
“You don’t have to accept the bond,” Amaros said dejectedly, thinking she was going to reject him.“My warriors will protect the cambions even if none of you choose to become linked to us.”
“Of course I’m going to bond myself to you,” Zoe said.Now it was his turn to be stunned.“Don’t you see?”she said in rising hope and excitement.“Fate isn’t forcing us to do anything.She’s trying to save us.”