Pierus shrieked like a fucking girl.
Drawing and releasing the Earth’s energy left her feeling empty and shrunken. Lia lifted her chin defiantly and stared down the murderous look in Pierus’s eyes. “The seed vaults are not for you. Your frigid daughter will remain here and you will leave this place.” Her voice boomed with power in the small stone enclosure. “We know what you’ve done, about your partnership with the god of mischief. Enki will be punished and Hunger will join her sisters in the grand aviary.”
Enlil burst into the control center and beat a quick path to Lia’s side. “Enki is no longer here. I believe he left to work his mischief elsewhere.”
Which could explain the break-in at Emma’s. “Ben? Is everything okay?” When she didn’t receive an immediate reply, she spun toward Stewart. “Have you heard from Simon?”
Stew motioned for her to give him a minute, and closed his eyes. Goddess, waiting for any word regarding Ben’s safety grated on her last nerve. She sent a death glare to Pierus, resisting the urge to send a jolt of lightning directly into his brain.
Zeus unclenched his fist and Pierus drew a gasping breath.
He returned her steely gaze, his eyes glowing. “This is far from over, Muse. And you’re about to find out this is no laughing matter.”
“Oh, you think you’re so clever.” Lia arched a disgusted look at the pompous god.
Curling his lip, Pierus aimed his glare toward Zeus. Somehow, he unleashed an energy bolt from the center of his chest. It hit her father in the throat and he sagged to his knees. Mars grabbed for him, but was caught off guard as the jagged lightning burst like a firework. Fingerlike projectiles flew straight toward every immortal in the room, hitting each one.
Lia’s vision clouded as electricity coursed through her body, trembling into her extremities and firing painfully over every single nerve ending. Her skin blazed as though on fire from within. She locked her legs and remained standing only by sheer force of will. Commanding her legs to move, she staggered forward, intent on reaching Hunger, who remained encased in supernatural ice on the floor.
The partisans recovered fastest, lurching forward to try to seize Pierus. He evaded their grasps and darted toward Lia. His outstretched arms struck her chest and she reeled away from him. Her sisters reached to slow her fall to the floor.
Pierus scooped Hunger’s inert form, clutched her against his chest, and with a haughty glare, hurled a threat to Lia. “Injuring my daughter will cost you dearly. I gave you a mortal to help. I can take him away just as easily.”
A blinding flash of light erupted in the room. Lia covered her eyes against the burning sensation. As the light faded, dread burst within her. “Ben!” She screamed through her link with him. Receiving no reply, she panicked. She couldn’t lose him. “Mars, Ben might be in trouble. Get someone to him immediately,” she ordered.
Mars rose, helping her father to his feet. He snapped his fingers and immediately four of his guards trotted forward. “Secrecy is secondary to rescuing the mortal, Ben, and his sister. Find them, and bring them to Lia’s home. Do not fail this task.” He waved his arm abruptly and the partisans disappeared without the benefit of shifting to mist form.
That was going to hurt like a bitch.
Chapter 16
Lia raced through the Hollow toward Emma’s place with only Stewart and Shelly flanking her. The rest of their contingent had returned to Olympus or their homes. The small group of guards Mars had dispatched to Emma’s house had not reported in yet.
Uppermost in her mind was the urgent desire to find Ben. To ensure he and Emma were unharmed. Once she found him, she’d release him from any obligation to assist with the challenge. His safety, his life, could no longer remain in harm’s way. She’d figure out a way to defeat Hunger on her own. Ben had already pointed the way to a solution. He’d discovered how Pierus had decimated the food supply. Ben’s participation really wasn’t required at this point. And Hunger was vulnerable. That much was clear after the confrontation at Svalbard.
If only her heart didn’t ache so with the idea of absolving Ben from his pledge to help. To not have him by her side through the end—
She blinked harshly, quelling the tears gathering behind her eyes. This challenge wasn’t like the others, and it wasn’t fair. She’d known since Pierus had thrown Ben into the heart of the challenge that if she won, she might not end up with the man.
Ben had touched her soul, filled her with love, and although it might ruin the rest of her lifetimes, she’d cut him loose to spare his life. An awful saying from late in the last century flitted across her consciousness. If you loved something, set it free. What a crock! If you loved something you should fight like hell for it. Unless it could result in the death of the one you loved. She wouldn’t take that chance.
“Lia.” Stewart’s voice broke through her sorrowful musings. “Simon reports Abu is in custody and Ben has taken Emma to your house. They’re safe.”
Her ginormous sigh tinkled like crystal bells in the Hollow. She hadn’t felt this relieved since the moment when Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream had been performed for the first time and Queen Elizabeth had laughed out loud. “Thank the goddess.”
She altered her path and increased her pace toward her home. Transatlantic travel took an eternity from point A to point B. They’d been in the Hollow for ten minutes and she estimated she’d be with Ben in under two more. “Please notify the others, Stewart. I can’t focus on anything right now.” Except the need to be in Ben’s arms. And her desire to keep him safe.
“I will. I’m sorry, Lia. Enki has vanished. Enlil’s efforts to locate him have failed. Mars has issued orders that Shelly, Simon and I are to remain at your side at all times. At your club, or your home.”
Unless she chose to retreat to Olympus for the duration, her charmingly tiny home was going to be crowded. Even as she excused Ben from offering further assistance, she’d selfishly keep him close, and in her bed, until the challenge ended, telling herself it was in his best interest.
Her sisters’ constant tapping at her mind during her mad-long rush to his side did nothing to eliminate the gnawing upset in her gut. She gathered strength from her core and broadcasted a nudge to them to leave her the hell alone for a minute. The message was followed by a pounding spasm in the center of her forehead, residual psychic energy from the widespread jab at her sisters.
A tentative stroke on her spine calmed her a little. Shelly must have understood her agitation and offered ease for her plight. She darted a glow of thanks toward the woman.
They misted out of the Hollow into her living room. As she dropped the last three inches to the ground, she spied Ben sitting on the ottoman clutching Emma’s hand. The girl remained unconscious.
“Ben,” Lia breathed, heartfelt gratitude drawing his name out over several long syllables.
He whipped his head around. The worried lines on his face relaxed, not quite into a smile, but so close it tugged something buried deep within Lia. He carefully laid Emma’s hand on her tummy and rose from the cushy stool. He spread his arms wide and she bolted straight into them.
Warmth, comfort, love, and relief filled her as he wrapped her in his embrace. With his chin, he nudged her face up and slanted a kiss over her mouth. Tender, firm, seeking lips caressed her, made her want more.
Made her want him for a lifetime or longer.
She barely choked back a sob as he continued his onslaught. She broke the seal between their mouths, went up on her toes and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his neck. When he gripped her more firmly, her breasts flattened against his chest, his hips and thighs fitted to her perfectly.
He whispered into her ear. “I’m glad you aren’t a filthy, stinking bird.” His chest rumbled with laughter.
Happiness surged through her belly. He tried to be funny in a situation where there was no cause for mirth. “Ben Jordan, there is hope for you yet. We’ll have you laughing in the face of danger be
fore this is over.” Her stomach growled and whined as a hunger pang seized her.
“And I know eventually we’ll have you eating healthy, so it’s a win for both of us.”
“You shouldn’t push too hard for that. I do love my junk food.” She stepped from his arms and cast a look toward his unnaturally still sister. A swath of silvery sparkles adorned her forehead. “Who put her into a supernatural slumber?” she asked.
Simon moved from his post by the door. “I summoned Hygeia. Emma fainted in the Hollow and Ben and I agreed it might be better to keep her asleep until you arrived.” The gaze the partisan directed toward the sleeping woman was filled with longing. It appeared someone had taken a shine to Ben’s delicate blond sister.
“What happened to the partisan who was supposed to guard her? How did Abu get past him?” she demanded.
“The protectors Mars sent reported that there is no sign of the guard. We fear the worst.”
The news made her heart twist viciously. Up until now, the contest hadn’t caused any deaths, mortal or immortal. “How did Abu sneak through the wards on Emma’s apartment?”
“He possessed a mortal.” Simon crossed his arms over his chest. His massive biceps popped out.
Freaking cheaters! “Is he… ”
“He is fine. Once we separated Abu from the mortal, Mnemosyne saw to him.”
“Good.” Lia’s stomach rumbled again. She’d missed lunch and dinner, and the emptiness in her belly churned uncomfortably. Summoning power from the Earth to frost Hunger had created a desperate need for nourishment. Her knees actually trembled. “Hades, I’m depleted. Can one of you stay with Emma? I’ll fix us all something to eat.”
“Lia, the undomestic goddess skills of the Muses are legendary,” Stewart laughed. “I’ll order take-out Chinese. Simon, you stay with Emma. Shelly, please reinforce the wards.”
Lia was going to request promotions for all her partisans. Grasping Ben’s hand, she led him into the kitchen.
The wrought iron legs of the barstool scraped the floor when Ben pulled it away from the counter. Before he took a seat, he pulled Lia close, wrapping his arms tightly around her. His heart thudded heavily against her sternum. Worry and fear had made it beat too fast. She rested one hand on his hip, and the other in the center of his back. Even though she was drained and heartsick, she summoned power from the very soles of her feet. She pushed it through the heel of her hand, easing calm into Ben’s body as she cooed words of love directly into his mind. Ben’s pulse slowed to nearly normal. He gathered her closer, making her heart sing.
Lia’s stomach growled and rolled, drawing a dismayed grunt from Ben. “Let’s get some food in you.” He stepped away from her, his hands lingering on her ribs, his gaze deep and no longer troubled.
Pressing up on her toes, she swept a kiss over his mouth. Would this be her last kiss with him after she freed him from helping her? Would he fight to remain in her life, or just walk away? The thought shortened her breath and made her head reel.
Averting her face, she ducked away from his grasp and scurried toward the refrigerator. First she pulled out a bag of pizza rolls. Following that, she grabbed a container of frozen burritos. She flashed Ben a cheeky grin and gestured to the open freezer compartment filled with her favorite junk foods. “You want anything to tide you over?” She dropped one of the bags, but waited to retrieve it until he shook his head.
The plate rattled as she snagged it from the rack by the sink. She dumped the entire contents of the spicy treats from the bag.
Ben frowned at her as she set the time on the microwave. “Lia, that stuff isn’t good for you.”
“It’s what I’m craving.” Well, that and Ben’s body covering hers. The machine hummed to life.
“Don’t you have any vegetables, or a yogurt? Anything but the empty, synthetic calories in those things?” Ben eased from the stool he’d sat upon. He opened the fridge door and bent to explore the contents.
Lia feasted her eyes on the tight curve of his butt and the strong muscular line of his thighs.
Harsh beeping indicated the rolls had been sufficiently nuked. “You see salt and carbs and fat.” She pulled out one plate and put the other loaded with burritos in. “But I see an instant source of energy to fill the crater inside me. Goddessing is hard work. Pulling power from the Earth is draining, buster. I feel like an empty husk.” She put the fragrant plate of pizza goodness on the granite countertop, waving her hand over it to cool the contents. Cheese oozed out of the corner of one, singeing her fingers when she picked it up. She shoved it in her mouth and kept her lips parted to suck air in to cool her tongue.
Ben rooted through her fruit drawer and dragged out a gnarly looking apple. Goddess, was that left from a previous lifetime? He studied it a moment, a dubious look on his face. Lia stuffed another roll in her mouth, savoring the artificial pepperoni taste as she chewed.
“I have a question.” Ben diligently washed any lingering microscopic germs from the apple. “The guy who broke into my sister’s apartment was a possessed mortal. What’s to keep that from happening again here? Is this the safest place for Emma?”
Lia swallowed hard, forcing the wad of chewed up food past the lump of trepidation in her throat. “No. Emma would be safer moving to Olympus until this is over. Gaia is already making arrangements for rooms for her.”
The smooth motion of Ben’s knife faltered. “So you’re afraid they’ll try to get her again?”
Lia shrugged. “My thought is to play it safe where she’s concerned. Thomas’s niece, Hailey, got caught in Pierus’s game, and it almost ended badly for her. I won’t take chances with Emma’s life. Or yours.” There, she’d introduced the subject of sending him away with Emma.
That earned her a sharp grimace from Ben. “Sounds like you think you’re going to lose.”
She studied the counting down time on the microwave. “I don’t know, Ben. I want to believe I’ll be victorious, but I think it’s better to be prepared.” Kind of makes me a freaking girl scout.
“Moving on.” Ben set the fruit aside. “Is it possible for Emma to be sensitive to the presence of immortals?”
Lia started at the change of topic. “You mean because she is hearing impaired and her other senses are heightened?” As she considered the idea, she plucked another snack from the plate. “Remember when the birds were making a racket in the tree? She covered her ears as though she heard it. I’d say there is a strong possibility.”
“She didn’t seem at all surprised when Simon and I emerged from the Hollow in front of her. Terrified, but not by us.”
“It’s definitely a question for one of the Oracles.”
One side of Ben’s mouth kicked up into a lopsided smile. “Of course Oracles are real. Why wouldn’t they be?”
Lia desperately wished one of them were present right now to deliver her next decree to Ben. “I think it would be safer for you to move to Olympus until this is over. Gaia is making those arrangements as well.”
“No. No fucking way. I’m not leaving you. You’re stuck with me until the end.” Ben’s tone was resolute. He glowered at her, as if denying her intention to keep him from harm.
“Ben, we knew what we had…this relationship…was temporary. It was only meant to be for the duration of the challenge.”
Hurt bloomed in his eyes. “You might have thought that, but I worked under the assumption that we were building something that would last.”
If only. Lia concentrated on the plate in front of her, nudging the bite-sized morsels about with a flick of her finger. “We’re in uncharted territory. Pierus picked you as my partner for this. I doubt he had a happily-ever-after in mind for us.”
Ben reached out and stilled her fidgeting. “Does it matter what Pierus wants for us? This is our relationship. The only two people who belong in it are me and you, tiger. I believe we were meant to be a couple. I kind of thought you did, too.”
“I do, but I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“Hey, you’re getting sugar on my pizza!” She scooped up a tiny bundle and popped it between her lips. Not great, but the extra sugar would go a long way toward replenishing her weakened reserves.
Ben snagged a roll for himself and tossed it in his mouth. He chewed a moment, then swallowed hard, his lips pursed and brows lifted. He picked up a second roll and thrust it in his pie hole, this time closing his eyes as if savoring the flavor.
“See, you love my junk food, even if you say you don’t.”
“Food like this is…” He snagged another piece and chowed down on it.
Okay, if he was willing to try her junk food, she should return the favor. She eyed the apple slices, picking up the least wizened looking one. Holding her breath, she bit a tiny corner off. The flesh was rubbery and gritty, like it had grown leathery in its old age. Her lip curled as she forced the swallow down. She took another bite, for Ben’s sake, before she laid the remainder back on the plate.
She released a pent-up breath and squared her shoulders. Tipping her chin his direction, she pinned a steely gaze on him. “This isn’t open for discussion, Ben. You are freed from this challenge. If you want to continue helping you can do so from the safety of Olympus. Ian is already working with Enlil’s staff on a remedy for Enki’s poisoned rain. They’ll need your experience as a botanist. When this is over, Mnemosyne will remove your memories of me.” The words burned her lips as they left her mouth.
Hunger: Goddesses of Delphi Page 15