by Sable Grace
“Kyana—”
“Drop it.”
He reached for her, pulled on her shoulder until she faced him, and regretted it. The anger staring up at him made him rethink confessing he’d seen her secrets when she’d fed off him. There was already a wall between them. Why turn it into a damned fortress?
“Fine,” he said, dropping his hand as well as the subject.
“That was quite the thinking session you had in that office. Next time, focus your thoughts on you, not me.”
“I said, fine. I’ll drop it. You’ll talk to me when you trust me. I get it.”
Her eyes narrowed and the muscle in her temple ticked. “Trust you? I do, as much as I can. What about you? You have your own secrets. Why do you hate Ares so much? What happened to your mother?”
Ryker stiffened and stepped back.
“Not so easy is it? Tit for tat, Ryker. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
How much did he want her trust? How much was he willing to tell her that he’d never told another soul?
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but rather than speak them, he leaned forward and kissed her. For now, this would be enough. She was right. He couldn’t expect her to share her secrets when his own were so deeply buried. Sadly, he would have told her what she wanted to know. If only she’d given him one thing, one small piece of herself just now.
Since she hadn’t, he’d take the only thing she seemed comfortable giving.
Her body.
She moaned into his mouth, her tongue slick and warm as he suckled it, all thoughts of their conversation forgotten. His hands slipped to cup her ass and lifted her body up and against him so they were pressed chest to chest. She smelled like fire and Kyana, and it was delicious.
“Silas,” she breathed.
Ryker growled. “I’m not Silas.”
She smiled, the remnants of anger flickering out of her eyes. “Trust me. I know that.” She nodded toward the corner. “But they’re here and could wake up at any—”
He kissed her again, effectively shutting her up, then walked their linked bodies into the office and shut the door. Inside, he pressed her to the wall, pinning her with his hips and lips as he dove into her mouth again and again. She wrapped her legs around him and clung to his neck like a tie.
“You can’t do this every time I get mad at you,” she said when he moved his mouth to her throat.
He grunted, slipping his hands between them to unbuckle her belt.
“We’re not even supposed to be doing this anymore. It’s not smart.”
He grunted again and tugged the belt free and eased her legs from around his waist. The enormous pants puddled around her feet, leaving her stark naked from the waist down. He found her heat and smiled when she gasped and rocked against him.
“This still doesn’t mean . . . anything . . .”
Ryker groaned and eased his hand free. “I don’t remember you talking this much.”
“Your turn,” she whispered.
And when he stripped off his pants and buried himself inside her, she panted his name against his neck, over and over.
This time, he didn’t tell her to shut up.
Kyana lay curled against Ryker’s naked body, her own slick with sweat and completely sated. She hadn’t realized she needed that kind of release, but damned was she glad he’d offered it.
But now that her body was a pile of goo, her mind was the only functioning piece of her. In the quiet, her brain was sprinting a marathon, and she wished it would just relax like the rest of her. She’d never outright asked Ryker about his past before, and his adamant refusal to share it with her today hadn’t sat well.
It made her understand that it wasn’t really her secrets Ryker was interested in. Rather, it was the trust that came with telling them. She knew that because the moment she’d asked about his parents, she’d realized that she’d been truly hoping he’d trust her enough to spill his own secrets. She was beginning to want to know more about him than where the scars on his body were hidden. She wanted to know where they were hidden in his heart.
When had she become so damned sappy?
This thing between them might not be forever, but it was for now. She was finally coming to terms with that. One day, one of them would grow bored enough to walk away. But that day wasn’t this one.
“Ryker?”
“Hmm?” His voice was drowsy and low in his throat. She curled in closer, wanting some of the peace he seemed to have found.
“I’m not ready to talk about my past.”
“I know.” He began a slow, rhythmic circle at the base of her neck with his thumb, and she felt her eyes grow heavy.
“But,” she continued, stifling a yawn, “soon. Maybe.”
His hand stopped moving for a long moment before starting up again. “All right.”
“Tit for tat?” she asked.
And as she drifted off to sleep, she heard him faintly clear his throat and say, “Yes, Ky. Tit for tat.”
Chapter Sixteen
When Ryker’s powers to port returned, they wasted no time getting back to St. Augustine. He’d zapped them just outside the Castillo de San Marcos, and together, all four of them studied the structure in silence. Sex with Ryker hadn’t done more than temporarily balm Kyana’s worry, and now, it was back full force. Judging by the tense silence hanging between her companions, they were definitely worrying too.
Kevin likely worrying about his fate now that he was so far from home and had a monstrous daughter who wanted his blood.
Silas was likely worrying whether Kyana would request his assistance again, or if he could balm his own stress with a little romp with Sixx. He wasn’t limping anymore. At least her guilt over the day’s events could be assuaged a bit by that.
Ryker . . . who the hell knew what was worrying him? He was as locked up these days as Kyana.
It was up to her to voice her own worries. Gods knew, she wasn’t getting anywhere thinking about them alone.
“Do you think she’s going to stay like that?” she asked as they started up the grassy bank toward the fort. “Teflon girl, I mean?”
“I don’t see how Cronos could maintain the strength to do it again, much less make it permanent.” Ryker’s answer was so swift, she knew it had been the same worry plaguing him this morning. Good to know she wasn’t completely alone.
And hopefully, he was right. Kyana didn’t relish the thought of pounding her fist into pure steel. They headed toward the drawbridge, the grass slick with dew from the chilly morning air, chilling her bare toes. She couldn’t wait to get a fresh pair of boots and burn the horrible clothes that were chafing her skin. Soon.
“I still don’t know why she threatened to find another psychic. Who? Why warn us? And she can’t port, so how, exactly, did she plan on beating us back here?”
Not to mention, how the hell had Haven been getting around so swiftly in the meantime? The disappearance of her scent had been explained by spell crafting, but there were no spells Kyana knew of that would allow Haven to keep zapping herself from place to place.
“Even with Ryker’s porting, she always seemed to be beating us to our destinations,” she said. “How was that possible?”
All the questions spilled from her mouth the same way they’d entered her brain. She and Ryker had already discussed most of them, but neither had come to any definitive answers that satisfied her. As much as she didn’t like admitting it, talking her problems out with Ryker seemed to help her figure things out. If it got on his nerves that she was repeating herself, he’d just have to deal.
“Has to be Cronos,” Silas offered. “There’s nothing in her breeds that would let her do that.”
“Definitely Cronos,” Ryker agreed. “It’s almost as if he’s sucking her into his realm and popping her out in this one. Whatever he’s doing, I’m glad we decided not to drive and wait out my port. We’re here at least two hours before we would have been otherwise.”
He gesture
d to the calm sentinels patrolling the bastion overhead. “Maybe we beat her. Doesn’t look like anything’s gone down, and she did say St. Augustine.”
Kyana nodded and told herself to breathe. He was right. If Haven had planned to return to St. Augustine, it didn’t appear she had arrived yet. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll need time to recover before doing something big again. Gods know, I could use the time to think this through and take in some ambrosia.”
As soon as they reached the fort’s entrance, sentinels from the San Pedro Bastion greeted them and the drawbridge lowered. Their first attempt to catch Haven had failed. It was time to return to Olympus and face the music. Hopefully, they’d get the yelling over with quickly so they could figure out what Haven might be getting ready to pull out of her hat for them next.
Kyana also wanted to find someone who could make her a charm or potion that would allow her to see through Haven’s tricks in the first place. Artemis had promised that when she fully became the Goddess of the Hunt, she’d see through spells and magic better than any other god.
She wouldn’t be immune to harmful magic, but the Illusion Charms and potions that kept Dark Breeds from being hunted accurately by tracers shouldn’t affect her anymore. Of course, that would not happen for a few more days.
They made their way through the plaza courtyard toward the small alcove that held the portal to Below. Ryker and Kyana could’ve ventured straight from here to Olympus, but that would have left Silas alone with Kevin. Given what they’d put Silas through already, he didn’t deserve to be abandoned with their baggage like that.
The minute she stepped through the portal and caught her breath, her instincts came alive. The air Below was charged with electricity. The bellowed orders and the cries of pain drew her to the entrance of the portal alcove where she could look out into the market square streets.
Not a hint of this chaos had been evident in the fort, where the guards had been oblivious to what their brethren faced Below.
“Fuck me,” Silas whispered beside her, a moment later followed by Ryker and Kevin.
She drank in the sight before them, her stomach twisting into a painful knot as she followed the trail of bodies.
“She wouldn’t dare . . .” she said, her quiet, trembling voice unfamiliar to her own ears.
Haven had threatened to find a new psychic but Kyana hadn’t even considered that she’d be brave or stupid enough to try this.
“Why would anyone attack Below?” Silas gently nudged a body by his feet with the toe of his boot. It didn’t budge.
She grabbed Kevin roughly by the arm and turned him to face the beach. “Go. Now. You’ll find a camp of refugees on the shores. Run.”
“Kyana, wha—”
She cut Silas off and didn’t bother to make sure Haven’s father obeyed. She was already off and running.
“She’s trying to break into Olympus!” she called out over her shoulder. “Haven wants an Oracle.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kyana sprinted to the alcove housing the gate to Olympus with Ryker and Silas at her heels. From the number of bodies lying about, the attack hadn’t been well thought out—nor had it been a solo effort on Haven’s part. The attack seemed to have originated from Cronos’s supporters—suicidal supporters who’d thought they could actually take on Olympus?
However, the attacking army had been large enough to take many Order members down with them. The corpses of Mystics and Witches were mingled with dead Hatchlings and Lychen. It was disturbing, to say the least, to see a sentinel spread out beside a mound of Leeches, his body half gone from where they’d fed upon him.
Anger, rage, and a tiny bit of fear waged war in Kyana’s belly. She didn’t doubt for a moment that Cronos was responsible for this through Haven. Those who supported Cronos knew Haven was leading their war. Did they truly expect to get into Olympus without being stopped? To steal an Oracle?
“Stay here. Try to help the injured.”
“Like hell I will,” Silas tried to shove Ryker aside but, like a stone pillar, Ryker didn’t so much as sway. “I’m not a god, but I may be able to help where it really matters.”
Not willing to waste valuable time arguing, Kyana grabbed Silas’s arm and fell through the portal. Together, they hit the ground with a thud. Ryker caught her gaze over Silas’s head. The red swirled in his eyes. Beyond looked much like Below with bodies of the fallen strewn everywhere. Except here, the battle still waged.
She had to pull Silas to his feet when his stunned disbelief seemed to hold him immobile. She pointed him toward Artie’s temple. “Find Artemis and stay with her until I come for you.”
She didn’t wait to see if her order would be obeyed. Pulling out her daggers, she dove into the fray. The road to Zeus’s temple was lined on the left with Dark Breeds snarling at Order members on the right. Bodies clashed together, raining blood upon Kyana as she ran by, searching for any sign of Haven, any sign of Artemis. Something slammed into her side and she tumbled toward the ground only to be righted again by a strong hand on her elbow.
Ryker yanked her away from the road, away from the steps leading to Zeus’s gardens.
“Take cover, Ky. This isn’t your fight.”
“The hell it isn’t.”
She jerked her arm away and pushed off her toes, soaring twenty feet into the air to land on the other side of Zeus’s massive gates, where the focus of the fight had centered. Hundreds of beings, Dark Breed and light, spilled blood all around her.
She slit the throat of a Hatchling before sprinting forward, weaving her way between the clashing bodies. Because so many Dark Breeds had joined the Order of Ancients over the years, it was hard to tell friends from enemies at a glance. In order to know who she was killing, she had to look them in the eyes, see if the wildness existed there, then decide what to do. Not her usual style of fighting. Too many of their own were going to be slaughtered by friendly fire.
Better to keep her focus on the top of the mountain where a series of rocky pathways would lead her to Zeus’s Oracles. If Haven had stepped onto Beyond, that would be her destination.
Ryker was beside her again. He swung his elbow backward into the gut of a Dark Breed approaching from the rear. “Get safe or I’ll make you.”
“Not until I find Haven.”
“I will hurt you if that’s what it takes to keep you safe.” His eyes swirled bloodred and the bodies blocking the path away from Zeus’s temple flew backward.
“Are you trying to save me, Ryker, or the Goddess of the Hunt?” It was a question she’d been struggling with since becoming Artie’s Chosen. Which half of her was Ryker drawn to more? Even as she ran, her bare feet being sliced to ribbons on sharp pebbles, she mentally kicked herself for even caring. Here she was ready to fight and spill blood, and she wanted to know if Ryker liked her? What the hell was wrong with her?
Ryker seized her around the throat and dragged her behind a huge willow tree before shoving her to the ground. “Do you see any other damned gods out here? No. They’re smart. They know they can’t risk—”
She kicked out, catching Ryker in the groin before spinning on her knees and diving back into the fields. She had her answer. He was more concerned about the goddess in her than the woman. Well, he could go be concerned somewhere else. Right now, Haven was here somewhere and Kyana wasn’t about to be manhandled into submission.
She had just reached the fork that led to the mountain peak behind Zeus’s temple where the Oracles’ cave resided when a white light burst overhead. The heat emanating from it lifted her from the ground and tossed her back fifty feet. She rolled down the jagged, stony cliffs, rocks cutting into her shoulders and ripping her baggy jeans. She landed with a skull-rattling thud against the base of an oak tree and saw stars.
Ryker was still standing where she’d left him, unaffected and unharmed.
She gritted her teeth against the throbbing in the back of her head and tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t obey. The light bu
rst again, this time throwing bodies past the gates, near the glowing portal that was beginning to pulse an ominous red. Too many uncleared bodies were passing through now. By all rights, those without permission to pass on to Olympus should have been sent into a void realm. Yet here they were—on forbidden land. How?
There were two portals on Olympus: one that led to the human realm and one that led Below to the magical realm. Why hadn’t the attackers used the portal from Above? Why take the risk of having to get through Below unnoticed before attacking Olympus? None of this made any sense.
A screaming howl sounded among those landing near the portal to Below. Kyana flipped onto her belly trying to see what had happened. It was then that she realized that only Dark Breeds—from both the Order and the enemy army—had been thrown.
A pop exploded about five feet away. Ryker appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her under the shoulders and dragged her behind a large oak. As he shoved her between his body and the tree, she couldn’t pull her eyes away as one by one, the Dark Breeds popped open, their bellies exploding with clouds of black dust as they disintegrated right before her eyes.
She wiggled against Ryker. She had to get out of here. A panic that was unfamiliar and yet violently urgent was choking her. A tingling had begun in her gut, and she was certain if she stepped even one fraction closer to that damned light, that tingling would become an explosion.
“You still have Dark Breed in you! Stay still!” Ryker jammed Kyana’s back so deeply into the bark of the tree that it tore through her flannel shirt and cut into her shoulder blades.
“What is it?” she asked, her eyes burning from all the black dust. Bits of Dark Breeds fell into her hair and coated her throat, making it hard to swallow or even to speak.
“Him.”
Taking Ryker’s warning more seriously now, Kyana was careful to keep her body safely tucked between him and the tree, but craned her neck to see what held his attention. Zeus, cloaked in white and gold robes, marched between five sentinels down the temple steps. His staff held out in front of him, he thrust it into the air. Another bolt of white shot out, clearing the field of more Dark Breeds.