by Kaye Draper
They reached the living room and Matheus trailed off, gesturing helplessly at Levi. The eerie violet man was sitting cross-legged, levitating over the middle of the coffee table, glowing faintly. His galaxy eyes glittered with sparks of light as he scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, muttering darkly to himself all the while. All around him, the floor and every horizontal piece of furniture was strewn with discarded, crumpled up papers.
Grey walked over and picked up a piece of paper off the floor, unbaling it to find it covered in weird symbols like the ones that decorated Levi’s arms and face. “Uh...Levi?” she said, feeling the dark magic in his aura crawl over her skin when she got too close. “Dude, what the hell is going on?”
At the sharp sound of her voice, he sneered, revealing those sharp teeth but not looking up from his paper. “Spellwork, idiot master. Bring me the stone.”
Grey kept her hand wrapped protectively around the kleidí and didn’t move. “Why?” Was this the part where he showed his true colors, broke his connection to the rock, and started eating people?
He finally looked up, his deep voice so cold it burned. “You’re planning to leave the island.”
Grey licked her lips, feeling like maybe she shouldn’t just tell the powerful creature from lore “No duh, dipshit.”
“For the tour, yeah,” she said, inching half a step closer to see what he was drawing in...fuck, was that blood? She looked down at the paper she held in her hand, only now registering the faintly rust-colored ink. “Is that a problem?”
He scowled at her. “A problem? No, it’s an impossibility. ” Steam poured from his mouth as he spoke. “I may be free from my prison, but I am still tethered to the island. I can’t leave this place.”
Grey rolled her eyes. “So stay here. I’ll only be gone like...what? A few weeks? A month?” She looked around the room to confirm with the others, since she hadn’t heard what George’s plans were.
Luca nodded. “Three weeks, a month tops. We all said we were happy to get off the island, but we also need to figure out how this all works, so we’re going to go slow.”
Levi snorted.
Grey crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down, too tired to be intimidated by the power radiating off him. “So what? How long were you planning on hanging around, anyway?” She had a sinking feeling she knew the answer.
Levi stood, right there in the middle of the coffee table, as if he was a king on a dais or something. “Are you dimwitted, woman? I am an immortal. And you hold my gods-cursed tether. Where in all the realms do you expect me to go ?”
Grey swallowed and slipped the kleidí off her neck, holding it out to him. “Well, take it. Go wherever you want. I’m not your jailer.”
His eye snapped with a rage she didn’t understand. Stepping gracefully down off his platform, he slapped her hand away, sending the kleidí flying through the air to clatter against the wall. “I can’t hold it, stupid girl. What kind of idiot would bind me to an object I could just steal away so easily?” He stopped mere inches from her, the heat of his dark violet aura pressing against her skin, his hand snaking up to fist in her curls, tilting her head back. “Where you go, I must go, you foolish, blind mortal terror.” He gave her a little shake, like a bad dog. “You will not leave me behind.”
Grey’s years of martial arts training kicked in without conscious thought. She brought her arm up in a forceful swipe, weakening his grip on her hair. At the same time, she whipped her knee up, aiming for his crotch.
He twisted aside at the last second and took the bruising blow to his thigh, grunting in amusement. “You hate my presence so much that the thought of having me near drives you to violence?”
Grey stopped moving and waved a hand at the others as they shouted and tried to intervene. “I don’t hate your presence. I hate your fucking attitude. Let go of my hair before I beat your ass.”
He smiled. “So feisty.” His grip on her curls loosened, turning into a caress instead as he carded his long fingers through her hair like Grey was his favorite pet. “I apologize. I haven’t been awake long, but I don’t think I’m usually quite so easy to rage.” Grey saw the flash of anger and fear in his eyes before he hid it, and suddenly realized what this was all about.
“Levi, I’m not going to give the stone to the gods or the sirens,” she whispered. “I wasn’t just saying that to piss Arianna off. I won’t let anyone take you away and lock you up or use you. I promise.”
His expression said he was unfazed as he bent and picked up the paper he’d been writing on when she came in. “You won’t leave me behind when you leave the island.”
Grey sighed. “Okay, I won’t leave you here, you big baby.” She gestured at his glorious, absolutely-not-human body. “But you can’t even leave the house looking like that. How the heck are you planning on coming with us to the mainland?”
He waved the paper in front of her. “A spell. I nearly have all the steps figured out. I just need a god to help me implement it.” He gave her a sweet, scary smile. “One who won’t try to subjugate me or take the stone from you.” His eyes slid to Luca and Grey groaned.
Looked like they were going to have an extra guest when they went to visit Pontus tonight.
Chapter 22
Grey slid into the passenger seat of Luca’s Monte Carlo, loving the way she felt so low to the ground. They had stuffed Levi into the cramped backseat, but he didn’t complain. The weirdo might have the whole I’m-superior-to-all-mortals attitude sometimes, but he really was remarkably tolerant of all the times they treated him like a peasant. Sure, Grey and the others were pretty well off these days because of the band, but they still tended to live like poor college kids crammed into a dorm at times. Old habits died hard. Levi just went along with everything—with haughty dignity, sure, but he was at least quiet about it. He tucked his long legs into the space on either side of the middle console and leaned back against the seat in his weird flowy pants and an oversized hoodie. The hood helped to cover his horns, but it did nothing for his strange skin and silvery markings, so they had waited until dark before heading out.
Grey glanced nervously over her shoulder at the monster sprawled in the back seat. “Are you okay?”
Levi arched one silvery-blue brow at her and flashed his sharp teeth in an evil smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?” His voice went all sugary and sarcastic. “Why...do you not trust the benevolence of the gods?”
Grey rolled her eyes. “The rest of them? Probably not. But Pontus hasn’t ever given me reason to doubt his motives. And I wasn’t talking about that anyway. I just meant...in general.” Grey felt guilty. She’d been so caught up in her own drama lately that she hadn’t really taken time to talk to Levi and figure out what was going on with him and what the hell they were supposed to do now. Did he really plan to just follow her around forever? He couldn’t possibly be content being tethered the way he was. Aside from his little outburst earlier, he was just this...silent presence at the edges of her consciousness. But every once in a while she’d see something—a flash of anger or bitterness. A powerful, ancient being like him couldn’t possibly be content tied to one place—especially when the person supposedly controlling him was a weird, messed-up twenty-two-year-old half-breed with no fucking clue what she was doing.
He tilted his head, those dark, galaxy eyes regarding her curiously. “Do you really care so about everyone you meet?”
Luca huffed a soft laugh as she took the next turn, her eyes flicking to the rearview mirror to meet Levi’s before returning to the road. “Grey likes to say she hates people. But that’s such a load of crap.”
At Grey’s glare, she shrugged. “What? You’ve spent too much time as an underdog yourself to ignore anyone who needs you.”
Levi let out a deep, smoky chuckle that crept over Grey’s skin like a caress. “So if I say I need you, you’ll keep me?”
Grey turned back around to face the front. “Oh screw both of you. I’m sorry I asked. That’s what I get for c
aring.”
Luca laughed and reached over to pat Grey’s knee. “I love you, adoptive tendencies and all.”
Grey slapped her hand away. “I don’t adopt people. They aren’t puppies.”
Luca snorted. “So...you’re just gonna kick Steff to the curb when we get back, right? Sure, he’s a raw, needy mess, but he’s a pain in the ass who probably stole your boyfriend out from under you. Anyone would hate him. So out he goes!”
“Of course not.” Luca was oversimplifying things on purpose, just to be an ass. They both knew Grey wouldn’t throw Steff out when he so clearly needed them. Grey heaved a sigh and stared out at the dark streets as they drove out to Pontus’s extravagant cliffside mansion. Gods, how had she never seen it before? She really was a pushover. Like one of those crazy old ladies who took in every stray animal within a hundred-mile radius and ended up with a house full of animals that smelled like cat pee and canned pate. “Kill me now,” she muttered.
Levi leaned forward and ruffled her hair with his graceful, four-fingered hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be a good pet. Much less troublesome than your others. I’ll be your favorite. I promise. ”
Oh. My. Gods. Grey went hot and cold at that, not sure whether to assume he was teasing or hope he wasn’t. The hungry, slutty sea seductress in her practically purred. They were all hers, every one of them. Good pets. Pretty pets. She shook herself. Down girl. Christ on a cracker. “Are we there yet?”
Luca shot her a sideways glance that said she knew all about what Grey’s twisted little mind was thinking but, thankfully, she kept her mouth shut and turned on the radio instead.
It wasn’t long before they were pulling up to the house of the primordial sea god. They clambered out of the car and headed up the path to the front door, Luca taking Grey’s hand and giving it a squeeze. She might tease, but Luca was just as perceptive as ever. She knew Grey was about one weird new complication away from losing her mind.
Grey paused on the stoop, turning to look behind her. She had the weirdest feeling that she was being watched. Levi stepped up behind her and put a hand on her hip, leaning in to breathe in her ear. “They’ve been following us since we left your home. Pay them no mind.”
Grey shivered, both at his words and at his deep voice in her ear. “Who?”
He turned his head, his lips brushing the shell of her ear in a parody of a kiss. “Elementals. Spies. Probably siren sent. I imagine your siren friends will think you’ve brought me and the kleidí here to hand us over to the gods.”
Luca opened the front door and waved them inside. “Come on. We can talk about it inside.”
Once the door was closed, Levi pulled away, curiously inspecting the expensive house as they headed deeper into Pontus’s lair. Grey felt a wash of buzzing energy against her skin, the feeling harsh in a way it never had been before. Levi shuddered, then rolled his shoulders, like shaking off a mild discomfort. “The wards don’t appreciate my presence,” he said in a bland voice.
Grey didn’t like the grating, inhospitable feeling of the magic that was clamoring around her. She reached for Levi, impulsively taking his hand.
“Well, that certainly explains the ruckus,” Pontus’s powerful voice commented as they entered the kitchen. The god looked like nothing more than a middle-aged lumberjack, short and stocky, with wavy black hair, a black beard, and a red and black checked flannel shirt. He didn’t even stop what he was doing—chopping up salad stuff and tossing it into a bowl as he spoke. “What the hell are you dragging into my house now, siren?”
Luca sighed as she went to perch on a barstool at the center island and snag a carrot. “Hey, dad. Good to see you, too.”
Grey didn’t know what to say. Her whole body was rigid, and the annoying sensation of the ward or whatever hadn’t let up. If Pontus tried to hurt Levi...well...she had no fucking clue what she’d do, but she’d do... something.
Levi laced his fingers through hers and brought their hands up to kiss the back of her hand. “Settle, master. I sense nothing overtly hostile. Merely godly posturing. It makes them feel sure of their questionable place in the natural order of things.”
Pontus narrowed his eyes at the sea monster, then glanced at Luca. “Your girlfriend seems to have a parasite.”
Luca shrugged. “Symbiote, maybe? Doesn’t seem to be hurting anything. Besides, he’s pretty handy to have around. You should have seen the way Arianna screamed. I thought she was going to wet herself.”
Pontus rubbed his forehead as if they all gave him a tension headache. Which...fair. “Arianna knows about...whatever the hell this is?” He waved at Levi like he was weird bug they’d found in the yard.
Levi glanced at Grey, one eyebrow raised in question. This was the god she trusted? The one who was supposed to help them?
Grey shrugged, purposefully not lowering her voice as she explained to the leviathan. “Don’t worry, he always sounds like a complete dickhead, but it grows on you. Eventually it almost seems like part of his charm. Just do what I do—take everything he says and pretend he said the opposite of that.”
Levi smirked at her, humor dancing in his starry eyes. “Oh? I see. Then yes, he’s quite pleasant. Thank you.”
Pontus stared at them. Hard. “Look, kid,” he told Grey, pointing salad tongs at her. “I’ll tolerate a lot of things for the sake of Luca’s happiness, but don’t push your luck.”
“Why are you growling?” A tall, slender woman drifted in. She looked a lot like Luca, but had the same blond hair as Cameron. She was maybe in her mid-forties, but with that grace that people would call “timeless” in a couple more decades. A loose sundress flowed around her as she paced into the kitchen. “Grey! Finally. I feel like I haven’t seen you girls in ages!”
Luca’s human mom wrapped her arms around Grey, displacing Levi, who looked down his nose at her in confusion. Grey patted her on the back, not even a bit surprised. Luca definitely got her personality from her mom—the way she just accepted everyone and everything around her with such ease. “Hi, Stella. Sorry for not visiting sooner. Things have been...weird.”
Stella’s brown eyes shifted to study Levi and she smiled. “I see. Hello. I’m Luca’s mom, Stella.” She held out a hand.
Levi’s brows went up to his hairline, but he took the hand and shook it. “They call me Levi at present. I am...Grace’s.”
Stella just accepted that weird explanation and went to ruffle Luca’s silky black hair, before moving on to set the table. Pontus huffed. “Levi?”
Grey rolled her eyes and went to pour herself a glass of the lemonade that had been set out on the counter. “Yes, Levi. Leviathan got to be a bit of a mouthful.”
Pontus shook his head. “The leviathan. Of course. That’s what it was!”
Luca frowned. “The earthquakes? Yeah, that was him. Grey apparently woke him up on accident through the kleidí.”
But Pontus set the salad bowl on the table and waved his hand dismissively. “No, no. That power I sensed in your lover back when she was still a male.”
Luca’s frown turned into dawning realization, then she just looked confused all over again. “I don’t get it.”
Grey threw her hands up in the air. “Makes two of us. What the heck are you yammering about now, old man?” She waved Levi over to take the chair next to hers, between her and Luca, and away from Pontus.
Luca shook her head. “Something we talked about a long time ago, back before the Swap Back. We found out you were a siren, but Pontus was going on about you having something else in your blood. He said he thought maybe you’d inherited some dormant magic blood from your dad’s side of the family or something. Latent stuff. It happens a lot. Most people are completely unaware they had a non-human relative a few generations back.”
Grey glanced at Levi in surprise. “Are they talking about how you’re my great grandpa?”
Levi closed his eyes in a long blink, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I am not your grandfather. Please stop this. It’s...disturbing
.”
Grey snorted in amusement. She knew why she found the idea disturbing, but why did it bother Levi so much? Unless...no, not going there. She held up her hands. “Okay, okay. Sorry, Gramps.”
He ignored her and looked at Pontus. “I believe Grace carries echoes of my power in her being. Likely from a distant dalliance.” He shot a dark look at Grey. “ Thousands of years ago.” Looking back at Pontus he continued, “I believe that is why she was able to call to me once she came to possess the stone. Her connection to me must have allowed her to reach me and rouse me from my spelled sleep.”
Pontus nodded. “Makes as much sense as anything else, I suppose. I admit, I don’t recall the story of your capture. I’m afraid there have been so many monsters defeated and buried over the eons that it all just runs together.” He held up a hand to stall Grey’s protests at his callous words. “And yes, I’m well aware the term ‘monster’ is defined by the victors.”
Grey huffed, but settled herself and took a bite of the delicious food Pontus and Stella had laid out for them.
“As to that,” Levi said slowly, pausing to take a roll when Stella offered the basket. “I cannot say who finally imprisoned me or how it happened. All I know is that the mortals and immortals alike were always trying. One day I was free, swimming in the depths of the ocean, leaping toward the clouds to taste the sun. The next I was trapped in the dark and cold. I slept, trapped in dreams of darkness, until I heard a voice in my dreams and felt my new master’s distress.”
Grey’s heart did a little flip-flop and tears prickled in her eyes. What he described sounded a heck of a lot like the dream Grey had had not long ago, and she could feel the joy of that freedom, feel the water on her scales. To be so wild and free, then be trapped for centuries in darkness...she didn’t know how he’d endured it.
Levi met her eyes, as if he could feel what she was feeling. “It is over now,” he whispered. “Don’t cry for a monster, my little master.”
Grey focused on her food so she wouldn’t see the others staring at them.