Page 28

ODIOUS

I take a moment to watch Diana as her chest lightly rises and then falls, the color returning to her face after her fit of panic. My sweet angel has been through more than enough, and what she needs now is undisturbed rest. I only pray that the Fates send her dreams of bliss, in hopes they allow her to temporarily forget her troubles.

I reach down and stroke her hair with the back of my hand. Her orange curls swallow my alabaster skin, creating a beautiful clash of colors. After being locked away for years, my skin had lost its tanned pigment. Even now, the sun is too much to bear most days.

I gently run my fingers through her locks, making sure to get out any tangles. Once she is in a deep sleep, I back away from her bed and look at Silia. She stays kneeling, staring at the floor.

“What troubles you, Silia?” I ask, ripping her from her train of thought. She rises from the floor and sits in the seat Diana had pulled out for me, my thoughtful little dove.

Silia looks up at me, tears threatening to escape her emerald eyes. It’s almost the exact look she gave Diana when she’d caught us in the dungeon cell. I am no fearful man, but the look of rage both Diana and Silia possess sends a bone-chilling shiver down my spine. Even the most powerful of men know when to concede.

“That breathing technique—where did you learn it?” She asks me this question as if she already knows the answer, but for whatever reason, wants to hear it again.

“My father used it frequently. Our mother is often riddled with panic and anxiety. Whenever she got into one of her fits, our father would soothe her with this. We boys learned it, and we would calm her if our father were not around.”

My response brings back unwelcome memories of my mother crying out to a God who would not answer her, always looking at the people around her with suspicion. My father thought she had some sort of panic disorder, though that invisible illness had not made itself known until a year or so before he died.

One day, she’d just woken up an accusatory and frightful woman.

“Lars used this on me before we came to the palace,” she bows her head, shielding her face from my view, “after Rein ran away from us.”

I recoil at his name. I clench my fist and dig my nails into the palm of my hand, trying to pull myself from the anger it brings me. He is dead , I remind myself. He cannot hurt my angel any longer .

I take a deep inhale and take in Silia’s emotion. She’s fighting the tears that slip free, swiping at them furiously. I get the sense that something other than this breathing technique haunts her.

“Why do you cry?” I pull up the second chair from the tea table and sit across from her. She seems taken aback that I chose to do this. I do not know why.

I take her silence as a denial of my question, but my heart feels for her. “We do not know each other well, but humor me. I know it is not just Diana that causes the troubled look on your face. What has happened?”

Silia sighs and rubs her hands down her face. Her dread is almost tangible, and the shadows in the room feel as if they may weep themselves. Without making eye contact with me, she continues. “Have you read the journal?”

I stare at her for a heartbeat. “This is what vexes you? No, I have not read its contents to completion, just what my vision was able to show me.” In my vision, I had seen the ghostly figure that gave Silia the journal and recognized her immediately. I was able to drag out the memory long enough that I could see Silia read it, so I know only as much as she did that night in the library.

“I read it tonight. The contents of it shocked me.” She rises from the chair and grabs the journal from the floor. She flips to a page, handing it to me. The ragged journal responds peculiarly to her touch, a faint glow coming from the pages as she rummages through it.

I take the leather-bound journal and read the excerpt she landed on. “ After the Fate’s attempt at bonding Hecate and Zothos failed, they were saddened and wished to try again. As soon as Hecate was kidnapped and Zothos betrayed her, the Fates wrote into existence a prophecy that one member from Hecate’s bloodline and one from Zotho’s would be bonded, and their story would be rewritten in the hopes of a happier ending .”

I suck in a deep breath and hold it. I know of our family lineage. Our bloodline can be traced back to the Goddess Iana herself, Zothos’ mother, when she had been Fae. It is not a rule for the Gods and Goddesses to bless their own bloodline with their gift, but I’d always found it comical that I was blessed by Iana and Lars by her offspring, Zothos. I never could have imagined this coincidence had meaning behind it.

“Turn around,” I order her, shocking us both with how urgently the words came out. Her face pales, and she makes no move to turn around, so I take it upon myself to rise from my chair and sweep away the hair covering the back of her neck. Staring back at me is the brand that belongs to Hecate, two flaming green torches.

“Hm,” is all I say. I try to hide my shock and make my way back to my slightly too-small chair. I hadn’t known who she was blessed by, and neither did Diana. Diana told me that Silia herself did not even know.

“I assume you now know your role in this story?” I raise my chin and take this moment to spare another look at Diana. Her small figure is tightly wrapped up in the sheets, her invigorating rose and earthy scent unapologetically snaking its way into my senses.

My black heart has begun to take on shades of orange since she so lovingly carved her place into it. The torment of being locked away from society for almost half a decade can drive a man insane, but it was she who had pulled me out of that dark, depressing place and showed me life isn’t always so bleak, that I am not just a secret to be shut away.

The moment she smiled at me, I knew the vicious cycle of loneliness was over. She reminds me every day that I am Odious Dolos, and that my life does have purpose. And I remind her every day how fucking perfectly her body molds to mine as I ram my cock into—

“Yes, this is where I need your help.” Silia takes the journal back, startling me, and places it in her lap. “I need to figure out some way to break this bond with him. It’s dangerous. He can read my thoughts and manipulate my feelings. What if he is relaying everything I’ve ever thought to Erebus? What if they’re still working together?”

I clear my throat and discreetly adjust the part of my body that demands attention at the mere thought of Diana. I repeat her question in my head, and I soften my gaze at the mention of her wanting to break their bond. Unfortunately, I have never heard of such a thing.

I won’t lie, I am jealous of them for being gifted with a bond. I do not know if Diana and I share such a thing, but my heart breaks at the prospect that there may be someone else out there whose heart calls to hers. Their guts will spill if I ever find out about such an absurd notion.

I close my eyes for a moment, reining in my rising panic.

“Silia, he is a good man. He is being manipulated to do these things.” I open my eyes and try to reason with her, but she raises her hand and motions me to stop talking.

“He was in my room when I got back from the dungeon. He said Erebus was blackmailing him all these years to do this, threatening to kill your mother.”

If I hadn’t known Diana would be taken and didn’t have a plan from the start, I wouldn’t try so hard to convince her that he’s not an evil man.

“Silia, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I know his intentions are not to hurt anyone. When I received my vision on his birthday, I was overcome with rage and forced my twin to act rashly alongside me. I regret it to this day. With Erebus’ blackmail, it’s clear he was only doing what he thought was right. I know my brother, and he would never do something like this out of ill intent. He was doing what he could to survive, and for our mother to survive.”

“I care not for what sort of man he is. He is the entire reason we are in this situation. You, of all people, should be upset. He kidnapped Diana!” she snaps at me, her hands flying up in the air.

“I had everything handled, Silia. I was always three steps ahead. I do not waste my anger on those who are not worthy opponents,” I snap right back.

“Then why kill Rein and not Lars? Does that not seem ridiculous to you?”

“That man is a different story. He hurt your sister far worse than you know. It was her idea to end his life, not mine. I would do anything she asked of me,” I retort a little too loudly. Just hearing his name makes me want to kill him all over again. “I tried to take Lars’s life once, Silia. I will not do it again.”

I remember whose bedroom we’re in and lower my voice for this next part, worried the guards outside may be able to hear us talking. “Erebus is messy and predictable. His thirst for power blinds him. Plans are unfolding that I do not know of yet, but believe me when I tell you, Lars is the least of your concerns.” I stand from my chair, suddenly annoyed that she thinks Diana and I are fools.

I circle her chair as I stare down at her. “I would worry for your own safety before Diana’s. I think Erebus has plans for you. Why else would he lure you here? I would suggest running far, far away from here and taking your precious Fated with you. Count your blessings, Silia, because if you let Erebus keep you here, you will know nothing but loss.”

Silia rises from her chair in a flash, almost causing it to collide with me. “What are you planning? I don’t have time for games, Odious!”

I look between her and my sleeping Diana. I will leave the choice up to her if she wants to tell Silia our plans. She has expressed to me that she hopes Silia stays oblivious, and that keeping her in the dark is safer than her knowing. She worries Silia will intervene and get herself killed. Silia is the heir to the Eza throne, after all.

Diana loves her sister fiercely. Although she is the younger of the two, she wants nothing but to protect Silia from the evils of this world.

“It is up to Diana to tell you that. I will not undermine her.” I walk back to the door and gesture, politely asking her to leave.

She takes one last, sorrowful glance at Diana and tucks the journal back into her waistband. Silia stops in front of the door, the endearing expression wiped away just as quickly as it had come, and now replaced with frustration. I could deal with her frustration and bitterness, but what I will not deal with is her ruining any plans Diana and I have made together.

Diana’s safety comes above all else.

She will make a beautiful queen.

“I will see you two tomorrow,” she whispers to me, and swiftly exits the room, grumbling obscenities at the guards as she passes by.

I let out a long breath as the door shuts with a click. I roll my shoulders back, easing the tension in my muscles, and quietly lock the door. I walk over to Diana’s bed, strip myself of my clothes, and climb into her bed, making sure to tuck the ring I had in my pocket safely into my nightstand drawer. Diana squirms at the sudden shift in the mattress, but scoots her body back and finds my embrace. I lie there for a few blissful heartbeats, trailing my finger up and down her arm.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Diana’s birthday ball will cause a perfect distraction for us to begin the first phase of our plan. I just hope everything goes according to plan.

I pull her flush against my front and smile sweetly into her mess of curls. The expression of happiness still feels unfamiliar on my face, as I’d never allowed myself to wear it before Diana came into my life.

I softly kiss the back of her neck and whisper my thanks to the Gods for bringing me to her, as I drift into a peaceful sleep.