Page 17 of Take Two (Valleywood: Season Three)
Chapter 17
Phobos
Ever since my discussion with Declan about my powers still existing inside me, I’d started to put two and two together—though the math equation involved seemed a lot more complicated than some simple addition. It made so much sense now, the way I’d been feeling feverish, the headaches. And it had been getting increasingly worse with time.
Gods had nearly unlimited power at their fingertips, but what would happen to a god if he didn’t use those powers? I was a simmering pot on the stove, with the lid on too tight. A bottle of Diet Coke and a whole roll of Mentos with the cap screwed on. It almost felt like my outer shell had a few cracks, and the more that pressure built up, the more seemed to seep through the seams.
The new mattress and bedframe I’d ordered had arrived at Declan’s apartment, and he’d waggled his eyebrows at me, suggesting we could break it in, but I was suddenly scared to touch him. He’d commented on how my skin heated, so what happened if it got hot enough to scald him? What if one of these little bursts of energy was more than I could handle and I hurt him by accident? I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.
So, I’d made some lame excuse about needing to feed my cat before bolting for the door. Declan’s eyebrows had jumped in surprise and more than a little doubt, with a side of hurt feelings. Could he tell I was lying through his mind reading mate mojo? Because I didn’t have a cat, but I would have to get one now.
I was currently holed up in my mansion, pacing from room to room as I debated what I could do to fix my little problem. I could go back to Apate and ask her to put me back to the way I was. It didn’t matter if I was a god anymore. Since I’d found my mate and decided not to act anymore, I didn’t mind if I was still a god. An eternity with Declan sounded pretty perfect.
But a horrible thought occurred to me on my third pass through the kitchen, rounding through the formal dining room. Why had Apate done this in the first place? What if she’d done it on purpose? What if her wording was intentionally vague, luring me to accept her deal, with the promise of making my dreams come true? If she did know what would happen to me, then what motivation could she have possibly had to block my access to my powers?
My rising panic was interrupted by the doorbell, the chime echoing through the house. I paused in my pacing, straining my ears to listen. Was it Declan, come to see proof of my cat?
But no, a moment later, the pounding of a fist on the front door made it abundantly clear who it was. “Open the damn door, Brother!”
Sighing, I dragged my feet toward the entryway, sagging in defeat. Deimos had all his powers, so if he wanted in, he could just break the door down, and I wasn’t in the mood for the cleanup.
When I opened the door, though, I winced when I saw who he’d brought with him. “Hi, Dad.”
“Son,” was all he said as he shoved past me into the house.
“Got any snacks?” Deimos asked, already headed for the kitchen.
I was left standing in the open doorway, dreading whatever they had to say. I’d been avoiding them ever since that disastrous fake-date dinner. I didn’t want to have to answer for my immature actions.
Giving the door a shove closed, I turned and trailed after them. I found Deimos halfway inside the fridge as he dug around for something good. He passed lettuce, tomato, cheese, and turkey out to our father, who started slicing it up for sandwiches.
Deimos stood up holding a jar of mayo and slammed the fridge shut. If I’d thought for a second this was a casual hangout with the boys, the flashing of his eyes would have set me straight. He was pissed .
I slid onto a stool at the island and waited for them to get to the point for their visit. Neither of them even looked at me until there were three sandwiches, and Ares slid a plate in front of me. The other two remained standing, glowering down at me.
Deimos shoved his sandwich into his mouth, chewing and swallowing, then blurted, “This is an intervention.”
“W-What?” I sputtered. “For what? I’m no ambrosia addict.”
Dad held a hand up and tried on a soothing voice that was an odd fit for the god of war. I guess he was playing good cop. “Look, we know you’re going through a hard time lately, trying to find where you fit into this modern world, but that’s no reason to hide from your family. We don’t care if you’re not a famous actor or if you’re actually single—”
I yanked down the collar of my shirt to show off Declan’s bite.
“Nice mating mark you’ve got there,” Deimos observed, his eyes on the healing scar, eyebrow arched. “Does that mean Declan forgave you for being such an ass?”
I groaned, slapping a hand over my eyes. “I’m sorry, okay? No, I’m not an actor. I lied. And yes, Declan is my mate. I should’ve called to tell you, but we had some things to work out.”
“I’ll say,” Dad muttered around a mouthful of sandwich. “Though it looks like you’re not out of the woods yet. Where is he?”
“He… has to work?” You’d think with millenia to practice, I would’ve learned how to lie better by now.
“Try again,” Deimos said, shaking his head.
“Things with Declan are… amazing. He’s perfect. He’s got some family drama, but beyond that, I couldn’t ask for a better mate.”
Dad cocked his head as though waiting for me to finish. “And he is not here because…?”
I clenched my teeth hard. It was hard enough to admit my faults, but this one was a doozy. I was too na?ve and gullible for my own good. “I… screwed up.”
The two of them exchanged a dark look. “Screwed up how?” Deimos said.
“It’s okay, Son, I’m sure he’ll forgive you. You’re forever mates. Whatever you did, it can’t be that bad.”
I covered my face so I didn’t have to look at them as I blurted the whole thing out. “I was all sad and drunk and stumbled into this secret back alley underground cave, and there was this goddess, Apate, who promised she could give me the future I wanted, but that I had to be human to escape my fate, and I thought she made me mortal, but really, she tricked me and just blocked access to my powers, and now I think I might literally be a ticking time bomb.”
The silence that followed my admission was deafening. I held my breath as I waited, but when nobody said anything, I peeled my hands back to look. They were both staring at me with blank expressions.
The silence went on for so long, I halfway wondered if Chronos had paused time, but then suddenly, my father the “good cop” erupted, his eyes blazing. “What the hell were you thinking?!”
“You moron!” Deimos yelled, slamming his fist so hard into the counter that he cracked the marble. “Don’t you have any clue who Apate is?”
“N-No,” I stuttered. “She said she was a super old goddess, one of the first, so she knew a lot of stuff.”
“She’s one of the first, all right,” Dad scoffed, shaking his head, “but to describe her as a goddess isn’t quite accurate. Self-proclaimed, maybe. She was one of the evils that was let out of Pandora’s box!”
“Oh.” What else could I say? I’d screwed up, all right.
“Oh? That’s all you have to say?” Deimos shouted, leaning in close enough that his spittle hit my cheeks, until Dad put a hand on his chest, pushing him back.
“Hey, go easy on your brother.”
“Why the hell should I?!” he raved, and I could feel the frisson of his dread brush over me. As if I wasn’t scared enough as it was. “If he explodes, he could take half this city with him!”
Could that be true? I thought I was protecting my mate by putting some distance between us, but if what my brother was saying was true, then I would need to go a lot farther.
My vision blurred with tears, and I slumped onto the counter. “She said she helped you find Cameron,” I whispered, grief taking over. “I just wanted what you had…”
“Oh, Brother,” Deimos muttered, coming around the island to put his arm over my shoulders and dragging me in for a side hug. “She manipulates, twisting her words in a way that will get you to believe her. She thrives on chaos and misery.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that…” I hung my head, feeling helpless and overwhelmed.
Dad told me not to do anything rash, that he would ask around and see what he could do to get me out of this. But if the pulsing heat I felt deep in my core was anything to judge by, I didn’t think we had much time.