Dark Power Unleashed (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 51)

by I. T. Lucas

  An older guy in a suit and a bow tie was vacuuming the floor, but she was too tired to ponder who he was or where he’d come from.

  The noise he made with that infernal vacuum was probably what had woken her up.

  Shifting up, she stifled a yawn. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “A little over an hour,” Connor said. “Onegus is almost done. He should be back any moment now.”

  “Thanks for staying with me.” She picked up the cold cup of coffee and took a sip. “You didn’t have to. I’m sure that I’m perfectly safe here.”

  “That’s true, but I was afraid that you would roll off these chairs. My other option was to lay you out on the table, but I didn’t think you would approve.”

  Cassandra chuckled. “No, I wouldn’t. I can’t believe that I didn’t wake up when you laid me out on the chairs.”

  “You were out like a rock. People stopped by to say goodbye, and you snored right through it.”

  “I did no such thing. I don’t snore.”

  “Yes, you do. Tiny little snores like a kitten.”

  She was about to answer when Onegus walked in, looking as fresh and as energetic as if it was the middle of the day.

  “I’m sorry it took so long.” He patted Connor on the back. “Thanks for guarding my lady.”

  “Anytime.” Connor pushed to his feet. “I’ll see myself out.” He leaned down and kissed Cassandra’s cheek. “Good night.”

  “Good night, Connor.” She watched him walk away before turning to Onegus. “What now?”

  He crouched next to her and picked up her shoes. “You have two options. I can put these shoes on your feet, and you can walk, or I can put them in my pockets and carry you.”

  “There is a third option. I can walk barefoot.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not letting you walk without shoes through that antechamber. Small glass shards might have remained after the servers cleaned the mess. They didn’t do a thorough job.”

  Cassandra considered her options.

  Just thinking about putting the shoes back on made her feet throb with pain, and other than the guy with the vacuum, there was no one else around. Besides, being carried in Onegus’s strong arms sounded very appealing.

  “Will they fit in your pockets? If not, I can hold them.”

  Given the satisfied grin on his face, that was the answer he’d hoped for.

  “Let’s see.” He pushed up with a shoe in each hand, then spun them like a gunslinger before shoving them into his pockets, the spiky heels sticking out like gun handles.

  “Show-off.”

  “You have no idea.” Onegus bent at the waist and picked her up effortlessly.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll tell you a secret.” She nuzzled his neck. “I like it when you carry me.”

  He chuckled. “I know.”

  Cassandra had never met a guy who could be so charming and full of himself at the same time. It was an art form.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked as he stopped in front of the elevators.

  “A place not many get to see.” He held her up with one hand while pressing his thumb to the button.

  “Your secret lair?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, wow. Is it like Batman’s cave?” She laughed. “The guy who was vacuuming in a suit, is he your Pennyworth?”

  “He’s a butler, but he’s not mine. He is Kian’s.” Onegus carried her into the elevator and pressed his thumb to one of the down buttons.

  “So, if Kian is Batman, are you Robin?”

  He gave her a scornful look. “I’m no one’s sidekick.”

  “No, you are not.” She kissed his neck. “You are Captain America.”

  “I like that much better.”

  As the elevator door opened, Onegus stepped out and turned into a wide corridor, which was lined with many doors. It looked like a dormitory or a school. There were no windows to the outside, and the ones on the doors were on the bottom instead of on the top.

  Her arms tightened around his neck. “What is this place?”

  “We have safe rooms down here.”

  “Safe from what?”

  He stopped in front of one of the doors, hoisted her up with one arm, and punched a series of numbers on the keypad. “Safe from our enemies.” He stepped back.

  As the door started moving, its mechanism making a low buzzing sound, it became very apparent that it wasn’t an ordinary door. The thing was a foot thick and made from some kind of alloy.

  Was he taking her into a safe or a nuclear shelter?

  “Put me down,” she demanded.

  “What’s wrong?”

  It was an instinctive response that hadn’t been rooted in logic.

  If Onegus wanted to imprison her inside that room, she would be helpless to do anything about it, and it wouldn’t matter whether she was on her feet or in his arms. She couldn’t outrun him, and even if she could run fast enough, she couldn’t use the elevator.

  “Hi, Chief,” a woman behind them said. “What are you doing here?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” He turned so Cassandra could see her.

  “This is my girlfriend, Cassandra.”

  “Hi.” The woman smiled. “I’m Eleanor. Nice to meet you, and good night.” She ducked back into the room she came out of.

  Eleanor had looked amused, not troubled or alarmed, and knowing that there was another woman around made Cassandra feel less apprehensive.

  “Who is she?”

  “A member of my team.” He walked into the room, which was decorated like any upscale hotel room, but it didn’t have a window. Maybe it was indeed a safe room.

  “As promised,” Onegus said. “A queen-sized bed with a comfortable mattress.”

  He didn’t take her to the bed, though. He put her down on the small sofa.

  Damn. It seemed like she was going to get the talk after all.

  66

  Onegus

  Cassandra had had a nice long nap, and she seemed wide awake, which meant that they could have the talk tonight instead of waiting for the morning.

  Except, now that Onegus had her where he wanted her, he didn’t know how to broach the subject.

  How had the other men done it? Four out of his six head Guardians had found love with Dormants, but each case was different. Brundar hadn’t told Callie anything until she’d started transitioning because he hadn’t believed she was a Dormant.

  Arwel had had it easy because Jin had already learned the truth from her sister. And Kri also had had it easy because Michael already learned he was a Dormant from Kian and Amanda. Wonder was already an immortal when Anandur had met her, so the only one who’d had to jump through hoops had been Yamanu. How had he done it?

  He’d asked Kian’s permission to bring Mey into the village, but had he told her before or after?

  Perhaps opening with Cassandra’s power was the way to go.

  Her denial had been a lie, and he knew that she was aware of the destructive power she possessed and feared it.

  She might be more positively predisposed to what he was about to tell her if it offered an explanation and possibly even a solution for something that must have been giving her trouble for years.

  “Can I offer you something to drink?” Onegus asked.

  Hopefully, Okidu kept the small fridge stocked with fresh bottles of water and soft drinks. If not, he would have to go up to the lobby and get her something from the vending machines. Or better yet, he could send Eleanor or Alfie to get it.

  “Coffee would be nice.” Cassandra leaned sideways to look at the small bar he was blocking from her view. “I see a Nespresso coffee maker. They are easy to operate.”

  That’s right. He’d forgotten about that. “Coffee coming up.” He examined the pods. “I assume that you want a strong cup of java?”

  “Yes, please. The strongest you have.”

  He filled the small container with water from the faucet, ins
erted a pod into the slot, put a mug under the spout, and turned the device on. It took moments to produce a decent cup of coffee, and he repeated the process to make the second one.

  “Cream and sugar?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He opened the cabinet and pulled out a container of sugar packets and another one of powdered creamer.

  “I hope that’s okay.” He brought everything to the coffee table. “These rooms are not used very often, so everything in here is of the long-lasting variety.”

  Cassandra took a look around. “Someone must be keeping them clean. There is no dust.”

  “The butler you saw upstairs comes here twice a week.”

  He sat next to her on the couch, still not sure where to start.

  She emptied two packets of sugar and one creamer packet into her coffee, stirred them with a spoon, and then took a long sip. “It’s better than I expected.”

  “I’m glad.”

  After several long moments of silence, Cassandra put the cup down and leaned back. “Is it that bad that you can’t bring yourself to get it out?”

  He forced a smile. “Not at all. It’s all good. I just don’t know where to start, which is surprising. I’m rarely at a loss for words.”

  “Does it have anything to do with your mother? She doesn’t seem to like me. Is that a problem?”

  “In a way, it has to do with my mother, but not with her liking you or not. And just so you know, that was Martha trying her best to be nice. Usually, she’s much worse, which leads me to believe that she likes you.”

  “Oh, my. I can’t imagine what she’s like at her worst.”

  He chuckled. “Imagine yourself when one of your snowflakes annoys you.”

  She arched a brow. “Are you saying that your mother and I are similar?”

  “In more ways than you realize. You are both alphas, which is why you locked horns. Just like you, Martha is smart, capable, assertive, and doesn’t take shit from anyone.”

  Cassandra grimaced. “It must be true that men seek out women who are like their mothers.”

  “It would seem so.” He turned to face her. “There is one major difference, though. Not counting a sharp tongue, my mother doesn’t have any special powers.”

  It wasn’t entirely true. Martha could thrall to some extent, but nothing else.

  Her back stiffening, Cassandra picked up her coffee cup. “What are you talking about?” She took a sip and kept looking at it, most likely to avoid his eyes.

  “You know what I mean. When you get angry or overly excited, you emit energy that makes things explode. The glass at the rooftop bar, the vase at the apartment where we spent the night together, and now the punch bowl. Your power is dangerous, and you need to learn to control it.”

  67

  Cassandra

  That was what Sylvia had said.

  Fear twisted Cassandra’s gut.

  Did they all know that the punch bowl incident had been her fault?

  That didn’t make sense. Onegus had covered for her, and Sylvia couldn’t have learned it from him because he hadn’t left Cassandra’s side until they met Sylvia and his mother in front of the bathrooms.

  She must have guessed it as well. But how? No one had ever suspected before because outside of movies and books, people weren’t supposed to have such powers.

  “Why do you think that I had anything to do with those incidents? Other than being a jinx, that is.”

  Smiling indulgently, he took her hand. “I can feel the power swirling inside of you. I know that it intensifies when you get angry or irritated, and I know that sex helps defuse it.” He winked at her. “I volunteer to be your defuser.”

  Pursing her lips, she regarded him from under lowered eyelashes. “Let’s assume for a moment that you are right. Doesn’t it bother you? Most people would be scared, thinking that I’m a witch or a dangerous freak.”

  He chuckled. “You are a dangerous freak, but so am I, as well as most of the people you met at the wedding. I don’t blame you for hiding what you can do and denying culpability. Humans are not known for their tolerance, especially when they fear you. My people and I hide our freakishness as well, but we do a better job of it than you.”

  She had no idea what Onegus was talking about, but he’d given her the opening to turn the tables on him.

  “In what way are you and your people dangerous freaks? Your good looks? Your mother’s freakishly young appearance?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Or the exclusion of the older generation from taking part in your events so they don’t spoil the family photos?”

  She’d been mocking him, but to her surprise he nodded.

  “We are immortal. We are stronger, faster, and we can manipulate human minds. That makes us dangerous.”

  Was he insane?

  The oddities she’d noticed suddenly started making sense. The people at the wedding weren’t really Onegus’s family. They were a strange cult of people who believed they would live forever. The gorgeous glowing priestess was obviously their leader, using her beauty and charisma to lure her followers. Onegus had even said that she was the head of their clan, but what he’d meant was the head of their cult.

  Cassandra should have gotten a clue then.

  Onegus’s relatives weren’t really related to him. They’d been recruited into the cult, and they didn’t just look about the same age, they were indeed in their early twenties and thirties. Those were the age groups that the glowing beauty recruited from. She only accepted the best-looking people, which also explained why Cassandra hadn’t seen even one unattractive guest.

  Furthermore, Martha wasn’t Onegus’s real mother, only his cult mother.

  What a mess. Could she save Onegus from wasting his life by living a delusion?

  The better question was how she was going to save herself.

  What did they want with her? Was she a new recruit? Was the invitation to the wedding about getting the cult members’ approval? She must have passed the scrutiny if he was telling her that nonsense.

  “What’s going through your head, Cassandra?”

  “I assume that you are telling me this now because you want to recruit me into your cult. Was tonight a test? Did the other members approve of me?”

  Tilting his head, he made a face that was part perplexed and part amused. “A cult? You think that my family is a cult? I’m curious to hear how you arrived at that leap of logic.”

  Cassandra knew all about plausible deniability, had been playing that game for years. Did Onegus think that his dumb act was going to work on her?

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked down her nose at him. “It’s quite obvious. A large group of twenty to thirty-something individuals, all attractive, led by a charismatic woman-child of unparalleled beauty, who think of themselves as family and believe that they will live forever. Was Martha your recruiter? Is that why she’s considered your cult mother?”

  Onegus’s shoulders started shaking, and a moment later, he burst out laughing.

  She glared at him. “There is nothing funny about it. You are brainwashed, and you’re wasting your life living in delusion.”

  “It is funny.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “I’m just stunned. If you ask me, vampires would have been a more logical suspension of disbelief than a cult.”

  He was mocking her, which was a great tactic for discrediting her observations. That’s how they’d dealt with all those people who’d reported UFO sightings. The strategy was incredibly effective, convincing millions of people that those reports were made by loonies.

  She’d been one of those who’d ate it up and thought those people were either crazy or prone to hallucinations. But then the former head of the French equivalent of NASA had come out with a statement that a small percentage of those sightings couldn’t be explained as anything other than alien crafts, operating on alien technology. No aircraft made by humans could accelerate that fast or move in such a manner.

  That had changed everythi
ng for her, and not only about UFO sightings. From that moment on, she doubted any statements made by people who had something to gain or lose by making them. The only ones she deemed credible were retired scientists and military personnel who were too old to care about what the government would do to them for spilling the beans, and who had nothing they could be blackmailed for.

  “Making fun of my observations is not going to change my mind about what I saw and what I deduced. Save it for the weaklings who cave under social pressure.”

  68

  Onegus

  Stubborn, smart woman.

  Cassandra’s deduction wasn’t crazy. In fact, it was the most logical explanation she could have come up with, given what she’d observed.

  Onegus tugged on her arm, uncrossing it, and took her hand. “I’m not mocking you, and I’m not discrediting what you saw. I’m merely offering a different explanation. The glowing priestess, as you call her, is a goddess. One of the only two remaining from those you’re familiar with from different mythologies. We are her descendants. When gods mated with humans, their children were born immortal, possessing some of the gods' powers, but to a lesser extent. But when immortals mated other immortals or humans, the children born to them were born human, but all was not lost. The immortal genes passed through the mothers, and the children born to immortal females possessed the genes in a dormant form. They found a way to activate them. Later, they discovered that those genes could pass in dormant form from mother to daughter throughout many generations and still could be activated.”

  He paused, waiting for Cassandra to ask questions or dispute what he’d told her, but she was looking at him wide-eyed, either thinking that his tale was incredible or that he was insane.

  “Many of the dormant carriers possess supernatural abilities,” he continued. “Which is why I believe that you are a Dormant, and so is your mother. Although in her case, I suspect that someone activated her a long time ago, and she’s already immortal. You are too close to her to realize it, but Geraldine doesn’t look any older than Martha, and you had a hard time believing that she was my mother.”