South of Surrender (Hearts of the Anemoi)

by Laura Kaye

  “No, I’m sorry,” she said, and then her heart hammered against her breastbone so hard she could feel it everywhere. Chrysander. Chrys? Her gut told her that was right. Whoever this person was, she was looking for Chrys. And she didn’t bring good news, that much her instincts—and Finn’s—were making crystal clear. Laney had to get rid of her. “I don’t know anyone by those names. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

  The dark red flared. “As am I.” She disappeared.

  Laney gasped. She scanned her gaze over the spot where the woman had been standing. What in the freaking world was going on? Finn whined and pushed against the screen door. Trembling, she eased it open and scanned her vision over the porch on either side of the door. Empty.

  Finn forced his way out and sniffed the wood where the woman had stood. He kept sneezing and shaking his head.

  “Come in, Finn,” Laney whispered, her voice stolen by the fear gripping her throat. “Finn, now.”

  When the dog trotted past her, she yanked the screen door closed and secured the door. She fell back against the frame and tried to calm her breathing. What had she gotten herself involved with? Better yet, what had Chrys—no, Chrysander—gotten her mixed up in?

  She. Freaking. Disappeared.

  As in…poof, gone, now you see me, now you don’t. Ta-da!

  Trembling, Laney limped her way to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. For several long minutes, she allowed herself to think only of the rich brew. The warm smoothness going down her throat. The mix of cream and French roast. Whether it needed a bit more sugar.

  Coffee, she could handle. Coffee was real.

  Glowing people and sky-fighting and miraculously healing injuries? At this moment, not so much.

  Mug in hand, Laney made her way to her bedroom. A monster of a headache was taking up residence behind her right eye, and a nap was sounding more and more appealing despite the fact that it wasn’t even noon. Just an hour, and then she’d get back to work.

  A nap would help. She just needed a reset on this whole day.

  Already imagining how good her pillow would feel, Laney took a sip of her coffee as she entered her room. A scuff of a footstep. A movement of light. She gasped and stumbled. “Who’s there?”

  …

  “Laney,” Chrys said, rushing to her as she slammed backward into the door. A drink sloshed all down her front. “It’s me. Are you all right?”

  Gods, he left her alone for a few hours and a Fury showed up. Tisiphone, no less. If she’d meant harm, Livos might not have been strong enough to protect Laney. And where had Chrys been when the lesser god summoned him? Off losing his brother’s trail. Again.

  “Shit,” she said as she steadied the mug. “Chrys? You scared me.”

  He stepped in front of her and frowned. Her eyes glanced around wildly, her gaze not seeming to focus. Tisiphone’s presence had apparently done a real number on her. Sonofabitch. Next time—no, there wouldn’t be a next time. He’d just have to figure out a way to juggle finding Eurus and protecting Laney himself. Which meant he owed Zeph and Boreas some conversations pretty damn quick.

  He bent down so his face was in front of hers and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Shh, you’re okay.” His thumbs swept over her soft cheekbones. Gods, she was beautiful. He stared into the dark blue of her eyes, but she didn’t really seem to meet and track his. I need you to get me out of the stall. I’m having trouble seeing. He sucked in a breath. Could she…? “Laney, can you see me?”

  She clenched her lids closed and heaved a shaky breath. “Sorta.” She tugged her shirt away from her chest. “It burns.”

  Chrys glanced down. Angry red marred the skin showing above the V-neck of her shirt. “Damn it all to Hades. Take the shirt off. I can help you. Like last night.” Emitting and absorbing heat were powers granted by his godhood.

  She stood plastered against the door, indecision and fear written all over her face. Blowing out a shaky breath, she tore the wet cotton over her head and dropped it to the floor.

  Almighty Zeus, she was spectacular. Dark blue lace formed an intriguing pattern over the swells of her breasts. He dragged his gaze away from feasting on her many appealing attributes. “Trust me, okay?”

  She gave a very small nod that looked like it had taken every ounce of courage.

  The burn marks ran from her chest to her stomach to her feet. Chrys decided to ease her into it and knelt. He pressed his palms to the tops of her feet and beckoned the heat within to come to him. “Better?”

  Shaking a bit harder now, she nodded.

  “Do you want to sit down?”

  “No, just do…whatever you’re doing,” she said, her teeth almost chattering from the adrenaline pumping through her system. It was so potent, he could smell it.

  He rose and covered her stomach from her waist to just under the blue satin of her bra with his hand. She sucked in a breath, and he plunged onward, placing his other hand between her breasts, fingers reaching upward. The heat poured into him, life-giving and strengthening, but he took no pleasure in it. Not when it flowed from that which pained her.

  “Does it hurt anywhere else?” He held his palms against her, making sure he’d absorbed all her pain away.

  “No.” She bit down hard on her trembling lower lip. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, not when I caused it.”

  “If you’re going to be popping in like this, maybe we should get you a bell.” She attempted a smile.

  Chrys dropped his hands, and hers immediately flew to cover her chest. “Can you grab me a shirt from the chest of drawers over by the bathroom?”

  He tugged his shirt over his head and held it out to her. “Here.”

  She frowned and, after a moment, seemed to see his offering. “I have plenty of my own.”

  He pressed it into her hand anyway, suddenly wanting to see her in it. Finally, she slipped it on. It was miles too big on her and so freaking sexy.

  The moment she was covered, he summoned his brother. Zephyros, I need you. “I know, but I want to help. I’ve been a giant pain in your ass, haven’t I?”

  She managed a nearly genuine grin. “Yeah, kinda. But you’re growing on me.”

  “Like mold.”

  “There’s a fungus among us.” She grimaced.

  Chrys chuckled. “That was an…absolutely terrible joke.”

  She covered her laugh with her hand and nodded. “I know. I babble when I’m nervous. It’s horrible.”

  “Don’t be nervous. I don’t want to make you nervous.” What did he want to make her feel?

  “You just healed me. Again. And you’re half naked now.”

  Heat stirred within him. “Does that bother you?”

  “It doesn’t bother me, exactly. But maybe we should keep our clothes on until we get to know each other a little better.”

  “Annoyingly reasonable,” he said with a smile. He materialized a new shirt. “Better?”

  He studied her eyes as they worked over him. He knew the exact moment she absorbed the fact he’d produced a new shirt by the way her eyebrows flew up into her hairline. “Oh, boy. I think I better sit down now.” She pushed off the door and made for the bed.

  Her limp wasn’t as pronounced as that first day in the barn, but oh, how he wanted to heal her leg, too. Soon. If she’d let him.

  In the meantime, he resisted the urge to scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way. Barely.

  It was an odd desire for him to have, wanting to touch someone so freely, so frequently. Moments ago, he’d had his hands all over her. And he wanted more.

  Where are you, Zeph?

  She leaned against the edge of the bed. “You can sit, if you want.”

  “That’s okay.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Look, I know you have a lot of questions about me, and the visitor you just had necessitates I tell you what’s going on.”

  “The woman?”

  “She wasn’t just a woman, Laney.”

  “Wha
t do you mean?”

  Zeph’s energy closed in fast. He materialized into corporeality, a scowl on his face.

  Laney gasped, slid off the bed, and pressed her back against Chrys’s front. Was she just seeking his shelter? Did she think she was…protecting him?

  He gripped her shoulders, both possibilities lighting him up inside. “It’s okay. He’s friendly…ish. This is my brother, Zephyros.”

  “He just appeared out of thin air. Just like she did,” she said.

  “What’s going on, Chrys?” Zephyros barged forward, the tone of his voice making it clear he sensed the Fury’s energy here, too.

  “Laney just had a visit from Tisiphone.”

  “Who?” she asked, looking between them.

  “Jesus, Chrys. What the hell is going? And why did you involve the woman?” he asked in an accusing tone.

  “Hey. Give him a break, all right? It wasn’t his fault. He was hurt.” Heat radiated off Laney, soaking into his chest.

  Chrys squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before he even thought to do it. She sucked in a small breath and leaned into him, the rhythm of her pulse harder, faster beneath his hands. “I’d prefer to explain it when we’re all together. I thought I could handle it on my own, but if Tisiphone’s visit means the Olympians are ready to intervene, I’m willing to admit I need help. Laney appears to be on everyone’s radar now, which is my fault. So I need to protect her until this is over.”

  She pulled out of his arms. “Okay, enough. Stop talking like I’m not here. Someone explain what the hell is going on.”

  “Fine. I’ll call a meeting, but we gotta do this today. Meet at Owen’s? Boreas is already there.”

  “Might be better if they came here,” Chrys said, gesturing to Laney.

  “Um, hello?” Laney crossed her arms, the heat of anger crawling up her face.

  “If you want Owen in on this, it’ll have to be at his place. No way he’ll be willing to leave Megan and Teddy alone. And given the revolving door of visitors here, maybe you should just move her.”

  “Stop it. Just stop!” Laney yelled, drawing both gods’ gazes. “First of all, talking over me is really pissing me off, especially when you’re talking about me. Second of all, I’m not going anywhere. Third of all, what visitors? And who is Tisiphone? Start talking to me. Now.”

  Chapter Nine

  Laney shook she was so mad. And scared. And completely bewildered by the strange woman disappearing into thin air, and Zephyros appearing out of thin air, and the healing. Again.

  “I’m sorry, Laney,” Zeph said, a blue glow surrounding him. Just like the woman’s red and Chrys’s yellow. What in the world was that about? Earlier, she’d worried she was developing halos in her vision that meant it was deteriorating, but now she wasn’t so sure. “I’ll let Chrys explain it all. See you later,” he said, and then he was gone.

  “Holy crap, everyone needs to stop doing that,” she said, turning to Chrys. “You said you’d tell me what was happening here. Now would be a really good time to start.”

  He heaved a breath. “It pretty much boils down to this—I’m a divine being, a wind god, to be precise, and I accidentally put you in danger. And now I have to protect you.”

  Whoa. Just…freaking…whoa. “Uh, wait.” She returned to the bed and pushed herself into a sitting position. No way she was standing for this conversation. “Let’s, maybe, take that apart a little bit.”

  The mattress shifted, and Chrys’s glow appeared next to her on the bed. She ran her narrow gaze over him. What she could make out was…so freaking gorgeous. Vibrant green eyes. Wavy, tousled blond hair. Warm, tanned skin. She scanned downward… And muscles that out-of-thin-air shirt did little to hide. Geez. “I know how this sounds to you.”

  Even if she hadn’t been able to see the concerned expression he wore, the sincerity was clear in his deep voice. “Chrys, I already know you had a fight in the sky that caused you to crash through my barn roof. And that you’re able to heal with your touch. Even though it feels surreal, I think I’m fairly well on board with the idea that you’re…different.”

  “I really am a god. The Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, one of the four Cardinal Anemoi. We control the wind and the weather and much about the seasons.”

  She knotted her fingers in her lap, mind torn between fear and absolute wonder. “A god?” Fighting in the sky, healing abilities, appearing out of thin air… “Oh, my God. I mean…” She shifted toward him. “A god? You were the winged horse.”

  “Yes. It’s my sacred animal form. The Anemoi, well, our godhoods allow us to shift between human, animal, and elemental.”

  Holy crap! She was sitting on her bed chatting with a god. A fantastically hot, eminently powerful god. Maybe that’s why he smelled so good? She dragged her gaze over his face, wishing more than ever that she had the full capability of her sight, because she knew she’d never seen anything more amazing than him. And probably never would again.

  Her gut sank. No way all those kiss-inspired thoughts were coming true, now. Why would he want her that way? She was just a woman, and not even a particularly impressive woman at that. Hell, she didn’t even have all the usual human powers, and he had super powers.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I…just that…what does this mean?”

  He looked down for a moment, and his jaw-length hair fell around his face.

  Laney had to restrain the desire to run her fingers through it. The memory of the soft blond hair brushing her leg when he’d put on her sneakers for her flashed through her mind. She would give anything to feel the softness against her sensitive fingers. Preferably while they were kissing. Ugh!

  He lifted his gaze to hers. “I told you I’d been fighting with my brother.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s a serious fight, Laney, and it’s been going on for months. Longer, really. But it’s turned into a full-blown crisis that I have been unsuccessfully trying to resolve. When I crashed through your barn roof that night, I inadvertently brought the fight to your doorstep. And him. Eurus was here, in your house—”

  “And I take it that’s a bad thing?” she asked, knowing the answer, feeling it squeeze in her stomach.

  “Very. And then, just now, Tisiphone was here. What did the woman want?” Worry radiated from his voice.

  “She was looking for you and somebody else—I didn’t recognize the name at first because she called you Notos. I told her I didn’t know anyone by that name.” So, if she was keeping track of all this, four gods had been to her home in the past few days? “Wait. How did you know this Tisiphone person was here?”

  “One of my subordinate gods was here guarding you. He summoned me immediately.”

  Another god…so, make that five. And guarding her? Anger bubbled up again. She had enough of men watching over her every move, thank you very much. Seth was enough protectiveness for any woman. “Seriously? I don’t—”

  “In Greek mythology, have you ever heard of the Furies? Goddesses of the Underworld?” Laney nodded. “We call them Erinyes. Either way, the one who came here is the infernal goddess of retribution. Her job is to avenge murder. She is lethal beyond imagination. That scarf she wears? Covers a head full of snakes.”

  Goosebumps erupted everywhere and she shuddered. “Are you freaking kidding me? Snakes? Why would she come here?”

  “Likely, she sensed my presence and her boss probably sent her to make sure my family was keeping its word to bring a murderer to justice.” Chrys reached out like he might touch her, then dropped his hand, rose, and began to pace.

  Head swimming with questions, Laney stood and limped to the foot of the bed.

  He paused, and for a long moment, he seemed to study her. “I’m sorry I’ve gotten you mixed up in all this. I promise I’ll make it right.”

  “So, I’m in danger?”

  “Yes, but I can protect you. And if we leave—”

  “Chry
s, I just can’t leave. My farm manager, Seth, is one of my oldest friends in the world and he’s here every day. There’s no way I could explain this to him, and it would kill him if I just up and disappeared without any explanation. Plus…” She sighed. “I haven’t been completely honest about something, either. I’m nearly blind. I have a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. I was diagnosed when I was seventeen. It started with the loss of my night vision, then my peripheral vision, and then the increasing narrowing of my central vision. I’m completely blind in my left eye, and I have less than twenty percent of the central vision in my right eye remaining. I can see a very limited amount of what’s directly in front of me, like looking at the world through a straw. So traveling…it’d be hard for me.”

  He walked right up to her, close enough that his warmth was noticeable against her front. “Gods, Laney. I’m—”

  “Sorry? Don’t be. I’m used to it by now.”

  Chrys grasped her hand, infusing his strong warmth into her and helping her calm. “I am sorry, but that’s not what I was going to say. I’m…impressed. You move around with such competence. Most of the time, I’d have had no idea… Damn, that means you helped me the night it was storming without really being able to see? And, then I shifted forms on you…”

  She lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “Yeah, I guess that’s right. And, thanks. It took a lot of time to learn independent mobility. I used to crash into things all the time. I’ve taken classes that taught me how to organize so I can move around safely, but I can’t drive anymore. And if I go out in public, I have to use my cane, as much to let others know I’m blind as to aid myself in avoiding obstacles. So, you see, it’s not easy for me to just pick up and go somewhere new. My life is based around order, routine, and familiarity. It doesn’t work well any other way. You can’t make me leave.”

  His thumb stroked the back of her hand, and he heaved a breath. “Okay. We’ll figure it out, but I won’t make you go if you don’t want to.” Chrys came a step closer. “Last night when I was here, when we were here in your bed, it seemed like you could see me. If you’re almost blind—”