by Jenna Black
Anderson was quiet for a long time, stewing in his rage. I thought about reminding him of all the reasons why we couldn’t afford a war, but decided my best course of action was to let him figure that out himself.
Of course, the decision of whether or not we were going to war against the Olympians wasn’t entirely up to us. Konstantin had never dared start a war because he knew Anderson could kill him, but Cyrus had no way of knowing our puny little team could actually hurt him and his Olympians, and he was bound to be upset when he found out we’d taken out his dad.
Anderson let out a heavy sigh when we drove through the gates of home sweet home.
“Cyrus is a conniving, selfish, morally bankrupt bastard,” he said. “And he’s a huge improvement over Konstantin.”
“He’s going to assume we buried Konstantin somewhere,” I replied. “He and his daddy might not have had the most loving relationship, but Cyrus is going to want revenge anyway.”
“He might want it, but he won’t dare try to get it.” Anderson smiled, and there was a touch of cruelty in his expression. “If he kills us—or if he just pisses me off enough—he’ll lose all hope that we might someday tell him where Konstantin is buried.”
It was the same tactic Konstantin had used with Emma. Anderson had wanted to kill him for a long time, but he hadn’t dared kill the one man who might be able to give Emma back to him. The fact that there was absolutely no reason to believe Konstantin would ever do it had never killed the little ray of hope. Maybe Cyrus would fall victim to that same hope. Obviously, I was completely worthless when it came to guessing what Cyrus was going to do.
“What are we going to tell Blake?” I asked as we pulled into the garage. The relief of being home was strong enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Anderson frowned and turned off the car. “The truth, I suppose. I think he’s past being disillusioned by Cyrus anymore.”
“Yeah, maybe he’ll be flattered that Cyrus went through all that trouble just to get him back,” I said sarcastically. I didn’t think it was possible to find out that your onetime lover had planned to kill or enslave every one of your friends to force you to come back to him, without feeling some serious pain and disillusionment. After all, Blake still seemed to like Cyrus in a guarded sort of way.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to tell him. I’ll do it myself. He deserves to know.”
To that, I had no argument.
I was too exhausted to hop, so I made no objection when Anderson offered to carry me into the house.
EPILOGUE
The email hit my in-box at eight in the morning. I knew we were in trouble the moment I saw the subject line: ANDERSON IS A GOD.
To whom it may concern,
If you’re reading this, then I am most likely dead. My murderer is Anderson Kane, and he is a god. His father was Thanatos, the Greek god of death. I never did find out the identity of his mother. He pretends to be one of the Liberi, but I have seen him in his true form. He can kill Liberi with a touch of his hand, and if the screams are any indication, it’s a terrible way to go. Long ago, we negotiated an agreement whereby I would keep this information secret, but my death invalidates that agreement. I don’t know why it is so important to him that this information not get out. Maybe he doesn’t want to alienate his people with the knowledge of who and what he really is, and my revenge will turn out to be nothing but a petty torment. But I suspect there is more to it than that.
I have arranged for this email to be sent to all of Anderson’s people, as well as all the Olympians. But just in case that doesn’t inconvenience him enough, I’ve also arranged for it to be propagated via spambot. Soon, millions upon millions of people will see this email. Most will delete or ignore it or just think I’m a crackpot. But Anderson, if there’s someone out there you’re trying to hide from, if that is the reason you don’t want anyone to know your true identity . . . Well, I’m afraid that cat is now out of the bag.
Isn’t it funny how sometimes even when you win, you lose?
Konstantin Galanos
JENNA BLACK is the author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series; the Guardians of the Night series; and the Faeriewalker trilogy. Her previous Nikki Glass novels are Deadly Descendant and Dark Descendant. Prior to writing full-time, she received her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University. Jenna lives in North Carolina. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and visit www.jennablack.com.
authors.simonandschuster.com/Jenna-Black
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COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY CRAIG WHITE
AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY STUDIO 16
Enter the dark and seductive world of
JENNA BLACK
THE DESCENDANT SERIES
Dark Descendant
Deadly Descendant
Pros and Cons (eNovella)
Rogue Descendant
THE MORGAN KINGSLEY SERIES
The Devil Inside
The Devil You Know
The Devil’s Due
Speak of the Devil
The Devil’s Playground
GUARDIANS OF THE NIGHT SERIES
Watchers in the Night
Secrets in the Shadows
Shadows on the Soul
Hungers of the Heart
THE FAERIEWALKER SERIES
Glimmerglass
Shadowspell
Sirensong
WRITING AS JENNIFER BARLOW
Hamlet Dreams
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Jenna Black
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First Pocket Books paperback edition May 2013
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ISBN 978-1-4767-0008-3
ISBN 978-1-4767-0011-3 (ebook)