Phoenyx Rising (Demigods Duet Book 1)

by Kolleen Fraser

  I don't take my eyes off Silas. He has a faint smile on his sexy lips, but there is a trace of something else there in his eyes—longing, relief, and fear. He takes a few steps closer, slowly like he is afraid I will disappear if he moves too fast. His hands are in his pockets, and he looks nervous.

  “You’re really here”,” he states with a smile. Oh, that optimistic smile kills me.

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” I say matter-of-factly. He closes the gap between us, leaving only inches; with me sitting up on the counter, my knees almost touching his hips. With a frustrated sigh, he runs his hand through his eternally messy hair.

  “What does it mean, Phoenyx?” The way my name rolls off his tongue makes me shiver. My confidence wavers, and I stare down at my hands, running my fingers over my branding. Forgive and forget, move on.

  “It means, I'm here to fight and train, just like everyone else,” I say, looking up into his eyes.

  “I'm sorry for everything; for showing up at your parents’ house, for Asher, Mason… everything.”

  I feel a flash of pain from the heart break I caused him trying to claw its way to the surface as he flinches at the words like a slap in the face. Sliding down from the counter, I start to walk away from him; this is not going how I had planned. He grabs my arm and spins me around, forcing me to face him.

  “I'm sorry—” I say, unable to think of another thing else.

  He interrupts me. “I don't need another apology!” He throws his arms in the air.

  Wanting to walk away, to run, I force myself stay, I will not run again. Stepping closer to him, I stare into his green eyes. “My life has been filled with nothing but mistakes. I can never take back what I did, I know that, but I'm here on my own terms.” I close the distance between us. “Can we just start here, right here, and try to forget the past.” I reach out for him, taking his hands in mine and giving them a light squeeze. “I need you to be my friend again Silas.” He closes his eyes, his shoulders sag in defeat. . His arms slowly wrap around me, holding me tightly to him. “Of course.”

  The weekend begins much the same as most of my days here, with me getting ready for a hike in the woods. Silas is in the kitchen when I enter, sitting on the counter with a huge bowl of sugary cereal in his hand. Just seeing him here is surreal. I love how he just knew I would be going for a walk.

  “Breakfast of champions?” I say, grabbing an apple and walking over to him.

  “Hey, don't knock it,” talking with a full mouth, milk dribbling down his chin.

  “Weren't you raised to be all gentlemanly and proper?” I tease, tossing a towel at him with a smirk. He's like a little kid with his sugar cereals.

  “Contrary to my upbringing, I enjoy behaving like I was raised by wolves. My mother doesn't allow this kind of food in the house. You ready?” he asks as he cleans off his face and washes his bowl, placing it in the rack by the sink.

  “Ready when you are, Captain,” I announce with a small salute.

  “I like that! Move out soldier!” he says, smiling, lighting up the room. Then he whips me in the butt with a towel. We laugh and walk outside into the morning sun and begin our run, like no time has passed.

  Another day of training begins with us gathered in the courtyard. I look around at the remaining trainees, a month into the program and already cuts have been made. At the front of class, Mason stands, arms folded across his monstrous chest. The ever-present Marcus Ryan stands beside him, his judgmental eyes scanning the trainees. His gaze meets mine, and we stare at each other, neither of us breaking the connection. I don't like him; there is something about him that screams a warning into my brain. Mason’s voice booms out across the courtyard, breaking the spell he had over me. I blink, shaking my head. Fricking Marcus Ryan, who is he to say who stays and who goes.

  “You all think you’re the most talented one in the room, daydreaming about fame and glory. You want to be a big tough Titan? You have no idea what you are in for,” Mason chuckles at our stupidity, shaking his head. Jeez, he can be such an ass. But, he is right the other recruits may have no idea what they are up against, but I do, I was born for this, and have spent years training. I already am a Titan; they just don’t know yet.

  “In the Arena and in real world situations, you have no idea what you are going to come up against. Look around you at all the varied powers we have in this small group. This is nothing compared to what is out there. There are some of us who can take your power away completely with a snap of their fingers. It is important for you to be able defend yourself and take an opponent down without powers.”

  He nods toward Asher who is front and center, of course. Asher steps up to Mason, raising his fists. I can’t help but smile. How many times has Ash wanted to punch out Mase? I've lost count, and I know Mason is looking for payback on that broken nose Asher gave him. Clapping my hands, I give a quick hoot, so they know I am watching. Neither knows who I am cheering for or who I want to see get knocked on their ass. Asher smirks before launching himself at Mason and landing three jabs. Mason has him on his ass in less than a minute. Damn, he is fast. Mason offers his hand and slaps him on the back. Saying something I can’t hear, but it makes Ash smile and shake his head.

  Mason squares his shoulders and bellows out, “Pair up! Let’s see what you’ve got.” Not wanting any of Mason or Marcus’s attention, I am at the back of the group with Ianna. Kai steps away from Silas and slings Ianna over his shoulder carrying her away.

  “Come on, woman, let’s see what you’ve got!” he mimics in a perfect Mason impression, smacking her on the ass. They are so cute.

  Silas steps up to me smiling smugly. Raising his hand, curling his fingers, beckoning me to fight.

  “Oh, you don’t want to mess with me, Silas,” I assert with a laugh, my fists up, as I bob and weave like a pugilist. Silas just laughs.

  “Oh, I think I do. Maybe you’ve gone soft while I was away, sitting on your ass eating bonbons. Bring it on, little girl. I will try not to hurt you,” he says with a wink, and we start circling, giving each other exaggerated stink eyes.

  Silas is easy to relax and have fun with; he is open and playful and doesn’t take himself too seriously, unlike Asher whose sole purpose is to dominate the world. After everything I have put him through, Silas is still a great friend. We've taken our new relationship very slowly. I see my opening and strike out at him. He sees it coming and gracefully spins out of my reach. My jab hits his shoulder ineffectively. His smile grows as does his enthusiasm. There is a twinkle in his eye, he loves this.

  “Gotta be quicker than that, fireball,” he challenges with one eyebrow raised. I roll my eyes at the nickname. My next shot, he dodges it. Grabbing my hand and sweeping his foot, he knocks me to the ground, pinning me under him. Staring down at me, moments pass, and he doesn’t move, just stares into my eyes, searching mine. I can feel his hard body in line with mine, his whole body. My eyes go wide and he just smiles at my realization.

  “What do you know, after all this time away, my body remembers you,” he suggests with a sexy smile, before a hand clamps down on his shoulder.

  “Silas, best get off her before I beat you bloody in front of all these pretty girls.” Silas frowns and stands, holding his hand out to help me up. Asher slaps his hand away from my reach, starring daggers at Silas.

  “Walk away, man. She is mine,” Asher asserts with a low growl. Silas steps up to him, anger flashing in his eyes.

  “Is she now? You own her? Hey, Nyx, does Blaze own you?” he calls over his shoulder.

  Asher closes the distance between them, bringing them nose to nose, just staring each other down.

  Silas continues, “I'm pretty sure you had your shot and you blew it, asshole.”

  What is it with guys? Everything boils down to a fight. With a sigh, I stand up on my own, and brush the dirt off my pants. I wish Asher would leave me alone; we are so beyond being over. Silas shakes his head, being the bigger man, walking away.

  �
�God, Asher, do you ever stop being a dick!” I chastise him, smacking him on the arm. He just smiles back, almost proud. He tries to take me in his arms, but I slap him off. Past Asher, I see Silas walking away and feel bad for the way he was just treated. Silas turns around like he sensed me looking. He places his hand over his heart with a sad smile, shakes his head, and disappears inside. Why does he have to do stuff like that? So damn sweet. I try to shake away my thoughts of sweet Silas before swearing off with Asher.

  “You’re an asshole,” I note, giving Asher another smack.

  “Whatever, Nyx. The guy needed to be reminded of who you belong to. He knocked you on your ass. I was protecting you.”

  I push him away, exasperated.

  “You listen to me, Asher Blaze. I in no way belong to you! If I recall, I was just the girl who kept your bed warm between whores. I can take care of myself, and Silas is none of your damn business. Stay away from him, and stay away from me. I don't need protecting from him,” I argue, ready to walk away from him.

  “You have no idea who you need protecting from or you wouldn’t be standing here right now. Anyways, you and I are a team, a bad ass team, I might add. We are here to train and win, babe. But, I will keep my hands to myself if that’s what you want, I promise,” he says, raising his hands in surrender.

  “I am glad you're here. I'm sorry about what I said and did. I...” he tries to continue but I hold up my hands, “Asher, stop; let’s try to pretend we were never stupid enough to sleep together, okay?”

  He looks wounded, but recovers quickly. “Fair enough, I deserved that,” he admits soberly.

  I walk over to where Kai and Ianna are sparring and ask if they mind switching partners, needing space from Asher.

  “Sure,” Kai agrees. Giving Ianna a kiss and a wink, he walks off toward Asher. They bump fists before starting to spar.

  “What was that about?” Ianna asks, firing three quick punches at me, one nailing me on the chin, snapping me out of my irritated fog. I shake it off and start circling her, looking for an opening. Ianna and I have been sparring with each other for years, powers or not, we are an even fight. I kick her side and jab her twice, landing both punches.

  With a cocky smile, I say, “Silas was just—”

  “Being Silas?” Ianna finishes. “You are so blind,” she says, shaking her head. “He still loves you.”

  Taking advantage of how her words distracted me, she sweeps her foot quickly, and I am on the ground for the second time this morning. With a smug smile, she offers me her hand to help me up. I take it and swing my foot around to knock her down beside me. We lay there laughing uncontrollably.

  “Silas is nothing like Asher, he would never...” Looking at me, she stops the words before they come out, knowing how much they will hurt me to hear them—all the rumors about Asher, all the things I saw with my own eyes. I push the ugly thoughts out of my head, good riddance.

  I groan at her, “Don’t start. I know exactly what kind of guy Asher is. I will never fall for that again. And as for Silas, he deserves someone better than me. I can't destroy his life any more than I already have. I can’t think about either of them. I'm not here for them. This is about my future. I'm finally taking control of my life; be happy for me.”

  Looking serious and pained, she tells me. “I’m happy for you.”

  I stare at her, feeling pain rise in my chest. I try to shake it off. Happy, happy, happy, happy. I swear I force that word on myself so much it's losing all meaning.

  Mason’s voice bellows again, “NYX! IANNA! Get your asses off the ground. This is not a slumber party!”

  Ianna smiles wide, asking, “Was he that bossy in bed?”

  I roll my eyes. “Ugh! There was no bed. There was a wall... and yeah, he totally was,” I admit with a wink. Just thinking about that night ignites a shiver through my whole body. AS if he heard my dirty thoughts, Mase turns around locking eyes with me, smiling. How does he do that?

  We roll into each other laughing and then stand up, giving Mason the fanciest curtsy we can muster before we assume the sparring positions once again. He rolls his eyes at us, but I can see him trying hard to keep stoic and hide his smile.

  Ianna drops her hands. “I don’t want to see you hurt..”

  “I won’t be hurt again.” I am done with being weak. I jab a punch at her in anger, and she takes it like a champ.

  “Look, I get it. It was hard to accept the truth when Asher’s lies were exactly what you wanted to hear. It can't be easy being here,” she offers quietly, her eyebrow creasing, not really wanting to remind me of how badly I was broken. How low my life had sunk. I drop my hands and glance over to where Asher, Mason, and Kai are sparing.

  “Well, I am here, all put back together. I am done screwing up my life, I promise. I care for Silas, but I can't ask him to forgive me, so we are at a standstill. And I have no idea what this thing with Mase is,” I confess quietly, still feeling the cracks that broke me like a fresh wound.

  “It would be so easy to shatter into a million pieces, drowning my sorry existence in vodka. Holding myself together is the hard part. But I feel stronger. I will not let someone break me again,” I say truthfully, watching Asher.

  “You being partnered with him is bad news.”

  “Every time I see him I am reminded.” I throw my hands up. “How can I forget when every mistake I made is all around me? It's why I left. But I’m sick of wallowing in self-pity.”

  I’ve got to avoid guys and keep putting myself first. One day, I will be whole again, if I ever was to begin with.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Marcus

  Familiar hands wrap around my throat, squeezing, begging for my death, once again. It’s as close to love as this man has ever shown me.

  “Stop me, Marcus,” my father demands as his grip tightens on my throat. “If you don’t use your powers and make me stop, I WILL kill you. Like I did your pathetic mother. I have no use for cowards. Do you understand me, boy! Do you want to die?” he screams in my face, digging his fingers into my throat deeper.

  I try to drag a ragged breath, but it hurts. I have seen what his powers can do, and I will never give in, I will never become him. Willing death to finally come and to take me away from the hell I have lived in my nineteen years on this earth, I relax into his grip as hot tears stream down my cheeks. I would rather die than become what he is. The things he has done to my mother’s mind, to Phee's, the things he does to everyone around him. We are all his puppets. Free will is an illusion in my world. A cloud of blackness encroaches on my vision as I slip further into oblivion.

  Phee, sweet Phee, pops into my mind. I see her crying and alone, father standing over her. My eyes shoot open with a gasp, I can’t let go, not when he can still hurt her. Staring into the murderous eyes of my father, I feel the coil of power in my chest, kept hidden but always waiting to strike.

  “Get your hands off me!” I scream. His hands drop and he instantly falls to his knees and his eyes glaze over. This monster who has tortured me my whole life is now on his knees at my mercy. I can feel the surge of power cursing through my veins, changing me. I am in control now. For the first time in my life, I am in control. I should kill him; I can’t save myself. I am in too deep already now that I have tasted this power, but I can save her. My eyes flash to the stairs leading out of this hell to where my sister waits, listening to my torture.

  This man I hate more than anyone else in the world is in the palm of my hands, and all I want to do is see how far I can take it. Something breaks within me. My old self breaks away, my weak existence crumbling under all this power. I snap and unleash the full extent of my powers on the monster who created me. Pressing my palms to his temples, unleashing all that I am, everything he made me.

  “I hate you, you evil son of a bitch, die!” I scream at him. He just stares back at me, his eyes pleading, his head shaking slightly. I will save her and damn myself to hell. My father blinks his eyes as few times before I shoot en
ough volts of my power through his body to stop his heart, if he even has one.

  He collapses to the ground, and I beside him, breathing heavy. He looks like he isn't breathing at all, I just risked everything to save her, please let it work. Sitting there staring his body, waiting to see if he will wake up. Reaching out for his pulse, I feel nothing. I did it, I killed him. Falling to the ground, I sit there, rocking myself, staring at the body of my father. I'm a murderer. The smell of smoke, followed by a strangled scream draws my attention. Phee is standing at the top of the basement stairs with blood all over her, looking from me to our father and back again. My world breaks in two at the sound of the painful shriek that comes out of her. I wanted him dead, but I never wanted her to see me like this, not like him.

  Dragging her into the smoky kitchen with her whimpering behind me, hoping she didn’t witness what I had done. Of course, she heard everything. She knows I now have the same powers as my father, and I can see it breaks her. Kneeling at her feet, I take her blood caked hands in mine, “It will be okay, I promise. Look at me! I made it safe for us. We are free now.” She is shaking her head, tears streaming down her sad face. She is always so sad. I can’t blame her; there was never anything to smile about in this house.

  “She's dead, Marcus. Mom’s dead. And I... the house, there are flames everywhere. I didn’t mean to.”

  I stare at her in shock. “What?” I glance down at her trembling hands. Flames cover them. I need to get her out of here. She has been through so many terrible things in this house, and she can’t be found here. I can’t let the guards find us, not like this with father dead downstairs and her covered in blood. I can't even think about her mother being dead right now. I need to focus on Phee. She was never allowed to be seen for fear her powers would come and expose us all.

  She stands completely in shock, staring off into the corner of the room. Gripping her shoulders, I compel her. “We have to leave now, get as far away from here as we can. They’re going to come looking for me. We’ve got to run! It's the only way.” She springs into action, running through our house, packing our lives up into a backpack. I watch her and it kills me inside to force her into action, but we don't have time for her to breakdown.