“Pass,” the next model replied.
“Third pass,” Tantalus cried. “Lightning round, who are the unlucky victims?” He spun an empty beer bottle in the sand and grinned when the mouth came to a stop pointing at Adonis. “Heads or tails?” He flipped a coin in the air.
“Heads,” Adonis said.
The quarter landed in the sand with a thunk. Tails.
“Two minutes, double shots so pass or lie at your peril.” Tantalus filled a few extra-tall shot glasses and placed them in front of Adonis. “What’s the most horrible thing you’ve ever done to another being?”
Adonis took a shot.
Tantalus grinned. “Biggest regret?”
“Meeting you.”
I frowned and looked between the two of them. What was this about? Each question was more hostile than the last. The air felt thicker with tension than smoke, and no one looked as if they were having fun anymore.
Tantalus leaned forward. “How’s your little sister?”
Adonis ground his teeth and took another shot.
“She still auditioning for a role on Teen Mom?”
I raised my eyebrows. A couple of the models cleared their throats and looked away. I had a feeling there was a well-known story here, and no one looked too thrilled with Tantalus bringing up the subject.
“Shut up.”
“Oh . . . that’s a yes, I take it. I’m not surprised. She was a great lay.”
“I said, shut up!” Adonis sprang to his feet, sand flying everywhere. I stood, ready to intervene, then reconsidered. Tantalus earned whatever Adonis chose to throw at him.
“Whoa, okay. Minute’s up,” Violet declared. “Your turn.” She motioned to the blonde whose pass had triggered the lightning round.
“Yeah, okay.” She turned to Tantalus. “What the hell was that? Buzz kill much?”
Tantalus grinned, and even though I couldn’t sense power coming from him, I could tell he used charm, because everyone relaxed visibly.
Adonis shook his head. “I’m out of here. Aphrodite, come on.” He turned to me, then paused, sucking in a deep breath and sank back to the sand. “Or . . .” He held up a finger. “I’ll wait. What’s in those shots?”
Tantalus’s smile looked predatory in the flickering firelight. “Something special.”
“Let me get you some water,” Andrea murmured, reaching into the cooler. She passed the water bottle to Adonis, but he didn’t seem to notice because he was staring at Tantalus with a startling intensity.
“Most skin shown for a photo shoot?” the blonde asked me.
I blinked, bringing my attention back to the game. “Less than Adonis.” That got a few laughs. Leaning back, I described the outfit I’d worn today.
“A bikini top and jeans?” The blonde laughed. “Aw, you are new. Where did you come from anyway? I’ve never seen you before.”
“That’s more than one question,” Tantalus interjected. “Moving on.”
When my turn came around again, one of the male models asked, “How old are you?”
I smiled at him and raised my glass, but Adonis grabbed my arm. “Don’t.”
My smile faltered and I looked at him, but he was still staring at Tantalus. “Yeah,” he said after a moment in a slurred voice. “Nobody’s going to remember this conversation.”
My mind went blank. Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear my fogged thoughts. Something was happening here. Something important. I needed my wits about me. But I couldn’t. . . . Wait. What did I just think? Something was wrong?
Adonis struggled to his feet. “How much . . . ?” He took a deep breath and clenched his fists, as if he was trying to keep from swaying. “How much did you give her?”
“What do you care?” Tantalus rose to his feet in a smooth, uninhibited motion, and moved toward Adonis. “You know what she is. You hate her kind more than most.”
“She’s not like them.” Even I winced at the wistfulness in his tone. Adonis didn’t believe I wasn’t “like the other gods,” any more than I did. I was a goddess, no matter how much he wished otherwise. I wasn’t going to change.
And I shouldn’t. I didn’t see my divinity as something I should be ashamed of. If he couldn’t—Aphrodite! Some clear and functioning part of my mind tried in vain to keep me in check. On a scale of one to important, that doesn’t even rank. Break the charm. Now!
“Don’t kid yourself, Donnie.” Tantalus pushed Adonis. There couldn’t be much force behind the shove, but Adonis went sprawling. “She’s exactly like them.” He turned and met the eyes of each person around the circle. “Keep him out of my way.” His eyes found mine and my mind cleared. What was there to be confused about? I’d just do whatever he said. “How about you and I go someplace more private?”
Adonis grabbed my hand. “Aphrodite, stop!”
Had he forgotten the plan? I needed to get Tantalus alone. I slipped free of Adonis’s grip, stood, and followed Tantalus into the night.
Chapter XXV
COME ON, APHRODITE! You’re the frickin’ goddess of charm. Break this. Despite my mental struggle, I still hadn’t broken free when Tantalus led me into one of the small, three-sided beach huts.
“Stand here.” He pushed me against the wall in the back corner, my feet scuffing over the wooden slats of the floor.
Though I stood still, my mind felt like a battleground. I struggled against the charm, pain flaring through me every time I tapped into my powers. Panic flooded my system. My breathing quickened, and I felt like the dingy, wooden walls of the hut were closing in on me. Through the open wall, I could see the moon glittering over the ocean. Despite the small hut being maybe the size of a parking space, freedom felt so far away.
Come on! This was just charm. I’d overcome worse. My head spun, stomach twisting as my vision blurred. Still, I called upon more and more power. Finally, the charm snapped and my abilities flared to life within me. I gritted my teeth against the pain and channeled as much charm into my gaze as I could. “Stop—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” He clamped a hand over my mouth. “No fighting back.”
The sheer power behind his command slammed into my mind like a sledgehammer. Was he that strong, or had I just become that weak?
Did it matter? I was screwed either way.
He stared at me for another moment, pushing more energy into his command, and gradually, my mind eased. Fight back? To what end? I stared at Tantalus in mute adoration, unsure why I’d ever wanted to fight against what he wanted.
Tantalus moved his hand away from my mouth and I mourned the loss. Did I do something to upset him? How could I fix this? Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. Why did I always screw everything up?
“I need a favor.” He studied me for a long moment, his expression uncertain.
Oh, thank gods! I leapt at the chance to redeem myself, despair dropping off me like a lead weight. Beaming, and thrilled beyond words that he’d deigned to speak to me, I took a deep breath. “I’ll do any—”
A shield shot up around me, slamming me into place and cutting off my words. Tantalus made a strangled gasping sound. Black veins crisscrossed over his face, blood vessels bursting. He flew away from me and hit the opposite wall with a thud. I struggled against the shield, or tried to, but a wave of dizziness pushed me back into place. Tantalus sprang to his feet and smacked into a five-foot tall bit of blond fluff with glittering green eyes. Vines sprang from the ground, breaking through the wooden slats in the floor and wove around Tantalus. He blinked out of view as another layer of the shield surrounding me clicked into place.
“No!” I struggled against Persephone’s shield. “Persephone, stop!”
“Aphrodite?” Ares moved in front of me, and the shield Persephone cast to hold me into place shattered.
“D
id he hurt her?” Persephone didn’t take her eyes off Tantalus. “Ares. Is she okay?”
Of course I wasn’t okay. Tantalus was about to get torn apart by the world’s shortest goddess, and nothing I could do would stop her. “Please, Persephone. Don’t hurt him!” I lurched forward, trying to stop her.
Ares held me back. “Aphrodite, I’m sorry about this.”
Why did he keep saying my name like that? He sounded so frickin’ contrite, that I actually wanted to kill him. “Let. Me. Go,” I growled, looking him full in the eye. But of course, my charm didn’t work.
Black energy sparked between Persephone’s fingertips as she stared down Tantalus. So much power charged the air that her hair seemed to float, as if gravity worked differently around her. “You can speak now. Drop the charm, and maybe you’ll be able to move too.”
“First, tell me why he’s been watching me all day.” The demigod jerked a finger toward Ares. Tantalus didn’t look nearly frightened enough. Maybe he didn’t think the tiny blond standing before him was really a threat. Demigods didn’t sense powers the same way full-blooded deities did. Or normally did. While I could almost see an aura of power crackling around Persephone, I couldn’t feel the energy.
“Aphrodite, look at me.” Ares winced as my fist found his face with a satisfying smack. “This isn’t you. You can break this; you just have to remember to try. Talk to me.”
“Shut up!” I kicked Ares as hard as I could.
“I shielded her for a reason,” Persephone called over her shoulder. “Why’d you break it?”
Ares tightened his fingers and raised his voice so Persephone could hear him over my enraged cursing. “Because you should never shield anyone who’s been charmed like this. I’ve seen people break bones or worse trying to get free.”
“Good to know.” Persephone flashed Tantalus a grin so cold, she must have picked it up from Hades. “Yeah, you’re not in a position to negotiate here. Drop your charm, or I will end your ability to use it.”
She was going to kill him. “Persephone,” I screamed, trying to twist free of Ares. “Please. Stop! Don’t!”
“Why did you search my room last night?” Tantalus didn’t seem the least bit disturbed by my outburst. “What do you want from us? I know demigods are going missing, and now there’s something wrong with Elise and Adonis. Neither one of them would spend a minute with a god if they had a choice in the matter.”
“Let him go!” I kicked, hit, and clawed at Ares, to no avail. “Don’t hurt him!” Gods, I felt useless. What good was being a goddess if I couldn’t keep even one person safe?
“Answer me,” Tantalus demanded. “Or I swear by the Styx, I’ll tell her to drop dead.”
Tantalus and Persephone blinked out of sight as a new shield slammed into place between us. I couldn’t even hear them anymore. “No! Persephone,” I screamed, trying to push past Ares, but he didn’t budge. “Please, Ares! Please! Let me go to him. Please, Ares. Let me go. If you let me go, I’ll do anything you want, Ares, please. I’ll do anything!”
Ares clamped a hand over my mouth.
I kneed him in the groin and slammed my elbow into his stomach. “Let me go,” I shrieked when Ares’s grip loosened. Twisting free, I lurched forward, and then froze as the charm broke and sanity thrust back into my brain. “Oh, gods.” My knees buckled and I crumpled to the floor. “Oh, gods,” I said again as Ares knelt beside me.
“You’re back now.” Ares wrapped his arms around me. “It’s over.”
My vision blurred, and I couldn’t stop shaking. Never again. I’d never wanted to feel that way again, and now—“There was nothing left of me; there was nothing left.”
I was going to be sick. “Persephone, where’s Per—?” I tried to stand, but as soon as Ares’s arms slid off me, the weight of my promise to Ares hit me like a bag of bricks. Anything. I’d promised him anything.
“She took Tantalus to the Underworld to snap his charm over you.” Ares glanced at where they’d been. “She’ll be back.”
Anything. Anything. Anything. The word echoed through my mind. An unconditional promise. No limits, no expiration date. I sank back to the ground as the full horror of what I’d done pierced through me. The rough floor bit at my knees, then arms, as I slid forward, head in my hands. “Oh, my gods.”
“Hey, hey.” Ares scrambled forward, ducking his head almost to the floor to be level with me. “I would never call you on that. When I ask something of you, react exactly as you would without your promise in place. Got it? It weighs nothing. I would never do that to you.”
I wouldn’t hesitate to use an unconditional promise, no matter what the circumstances were when it’d been given. I’d bound Poseidon in what, two seconds into his misunderstanding? No wonder Ares had left that night. I was every bit the monster Zeus was.
“Think you can stand up?” Ares looked me over. “You’ve got to feel freezing in that.” He snapped his fingers, and his jacket appeared. He draped it around me.
I sighed as the warmth enveloped me. “Thank you.” I took his hand and struggled to stand, swallowing hard. “I feel weird, Ares.”
“Adrenaline, probably. I’ve got you.” He supported my weight as I sagged against him, then frowned, pressing a hand to my forehead. “You’re warm.”
I didn’t feel warm. Ares’s jacket kept most of the shaking at bay, but I still felt as if I’d been carved of ice.
“I think—” I swallowed hard, dizziness overwhelming me. “I think something’s wrong with me.”
Worry flickered across his face. “Well, let’s fix that.” Power surged from his fingertips to my skin.
Pain. Blistering, white-hot agony. My screams echoed off the rafters.
“Aphrodite!” Adonis’s voice sounded faint over my screams. I had some awareness of him rushing into the hut, but most of my focus went to the torrent of agony crashing though me.
“I was trying to heal her,” Ares protested. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Adonis said, squeezing my hand. “For some reason, that makes it worse.”
I squeezed his hand back, and Ares’s arms tightened around me, but I couldn’t manage words. A shudder wracked through me, chased by another wave of pain so intense, I cried out.
Ares gathered me into his arms and lifted me, damsel in distress style, as he headed back toward the boat.
“Tantalus dosed her with something,” Adonis explained, following right on Ares’s heels.
“What, in case charm wasn’t enough?” Ares sounded disgusted. “Find out what was in her drink. I’m getting her back to—Get out of my way.”
“Where were you?” Adonis demanded. “You were supposed to be watching us. You were supposed to grab him the minute he got away from the crowd—”
“Something came up on board. The others needed my help. I texted half a dozen times for you guys to hold off.” Ares tried to move around Adonis, but Adonis blocked him.
“Give her to me. You can go get the drink.”
“Seriously?” Ares demanded. “Look, we don’t have time for—”
“Then don’t waste any. Give her to me.”
“Can we not do this?” Ares groaned. “This isn’t a love triangle. I have too much self-respect for that crap, and I know she does. You should, too. But either way, right now is really not the time to assert whatever—”
“You actually think—?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Ares snapped. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She shouldn’t get charmed, or drugged. And she shouldn’t stop breathing. I have watched gods die, and I’ve never seen anything like this. We have to help her, but you keep standing in my way.”
I wanted to say something to stop the arguing, but words were beyond my capabilities at the moment. The pain was subsiding, slowly, but in its wake, I coul
d feel my body shutting down in a desperate effort to recover.
“Just because I’m not jumping to follow your orders doesn’t mean that I’m not worried or that I’m jealous, or any other explanation you want to come up with to assuage your divine ego.” Adonis’s voice dripped with anger. “Think whatever you want, I’m not leaving her with one of you.”
“She is one of us.” Ares drew back. “And it was one of your kind who mixed drugs and alcohol and charm—”
“Oh yeah, because gods never do anything like that. It’s not like my entire species exists because of gods tricking, charming, or straight-up forcing—”
“Are you defending Tantalus?”
“No, I’m pointing out that Tantalus is half god. He gets it from somewhere.”
“Oh, so logically you assume his divine side—”
“Zeus used mind control to make her do whatever he wanted. Hades was willing to sacrifice a planet to get his girlfriend back, and Poseidon threatened to kill me if she didn’t sleep with him. So yeah, I’m pretty sure Tantalus gets ‘evil douche bag syndrome’ from your side of the family.”
“Poseidon did what?” All the good nature and cheer I’d grown used to hearing in Ares’s voice evaporated.
I couldn’t stop Adonis from telling him. By the time he finished, we were back onboard, surrounded by Persephone, Poseidon, and everyone else. Except Hades. Where was Hades? Had I blacked out? How did we get here? Ares couldn’t teleport onto the ship. When did everyone else get here?
Conversation flowed around me, brimming with urgency, but I couldn’t keep up. The words whirled about in a vortex of confusion.
“What do you mean, gone?” Ares demanded.
“—looked everywhere.”
“—combing the island and the ship, but we need—”
Looked everywhere? Looked everywhere for who? “Adonis.” I tried to sit up, but dizziness pushed me back down. “Where’s—?”
“I’m right here.” He gripped my shoulder and I leaned into his touch, relieved he wasn’t missing.
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