by Meg Xuemei X
I rolled my eyes. “I’m just going for a walk! I’m not a prisoner here. Haven’t you heard? I’m Apollo’s precious future bride. If you offend me, I can have your head when I officially become queen!”
As if that would happen.
The sentinels didn’t answer but kept a blank look as they continued trailing me. Reys’s elite guards were much more fun than this unresponsive bunch.
“Do you need some fresh air, Goddess Cass?” Aurora said.
“Yes, yes,” I said. “Take me to the entrance of the palace where Apollo and I came in.”
The palace was vast, and shifting halls kept me lost and confused.
If I could get to the slipstream, I could escape through it before the two obsessive gods returned.
Urgency kicked me in the gut. They could be back at any time. I had to get back to my mates. I couldn’t stand one more minute away from them. I’d been gone for... I couldn’t even tell how long I’d been gone.
“Of course, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said, and, thank goodness, she glided ahead.
“No one’s looking at your graceful gait right now, Aurora,” I told her. “If you hurry up, there’ll be rewards.”
“Yes, Goddess Cass.”
She didn’t ask what kind of rewards, though, unlike I would have done. She was easy. I’d always ask. There were crooks in this world, and I didn’t like to be cheated.
My spirit lifted when I spotted the entrance ahead, only to sink again as I saw the stream of white flame encircling the gold double-door.
“This is my limit, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said, pausing a few feet from the door. “I’m an in-house servant, so I don’t have access outdoors. I hope you inhale a lungful of fresh air.”
She didn’t question if I could pass through the door, because I was a goddess in her eyes. She didn’t seem to grasp the concept that I was Apollo’s captive.
I halted before the fire, studying it. The white flame seemed alive, and so different from my own fire.
Fuck it!
No flame would stop me from getting back to my mates. I’d stepped through it unscathed before. I would do it again.
Just step through the door, Cass, and leave this place for good.
My pulse racing, I kicked open the door. Sparks of fire fell on my hair, yet none burned me. I charged out before the door swung back, not caring if they hit the sentinels’ faces.
I had hoped they were limited to the house as well, but all five sentinels followed me through the doorway in stony silence.
Fine, I might not be able to take them down, but I could certainly outrun them. The torque bound my power, but it couldn’t suppress my natural strength and speed.
Jolting to an abrupt halt at the scene before me, I realized this wasn’t the same as what I’d remembered. When Apollo first hauled me here, the slipstream had been a clear path with infinite clouds on either side of it.
Where was the slipstream?
“This isn’t right,” I said, glaring at the sentinels over my shoulder. “The garden wasn’t here last time!”
“It doesn’t matter, Goddess Cass,” a silver-haired sentinel informed me. “The view changes according to His Lord God’s mood and intention. The landscape shifts all the time.”
The ringleader was gorgeous and built large, like all the minor gods, but his power grade was below Phobos. He must be a third-tier god.
“Then where is the edge of this place?” I demanded.
“There is no edge,” he said, “in a sense.”
I couldn’t believe this. Refused to accept it. I had seen the Amethyst Palace floating in the air, so there must be an edge. If I could find it, then I could get to the slipstream. All I needed was to pick one direction and stick to it.
I closed my eyes and centered my mind to listen to the wind, to determine its direction. Then I heard the burbling of a river. If Apollo’s lair was a fucking maze, I’d follow the stream out of the maze.
I picked up my pace and jogged toward the stream, passing by a lush garden of living rainbows that were kaleidoscopic blossoms.
The Amethyst Palace was beautiful, yet I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here. I hadn’t thought beauty could also be a nightmare, but there it was.
I followed along the pale blue stream and started running.
The sentinels didn’t try to stop me, instead they raced after me. I zoomed toward the far distance, as did they, but I was faster. I didn’t know how long I sprinted as if hellfire was catching my tail, but the river lasted for miles and miles, and the plain bank in front of me extended forever.
Finally, I halted, panting a little now. I might have run hundreds of miles.
“Just as I said,” the silver-haired sentinel said as he caught up with me, “there’s no edge. Should we return, Goddess Cass?”
Rage beat an angry drum in my chest. I wouldn’t admit defeat. But running forever wasn’t the solution. I had to figure out the mechanics of Apollo’s realm, but it currently evaded me.
“Hello, little Cass. Long time no see,” a familiar, vicious voice boomed.
Phobos, in a brand-new armor that encased him from neck to toe, appeared in the sky, and another god descended alongside him.
The new god had the same violet eyes as Phobos, but he looked younger, and if possible, meaner. He didn’t cover all his skin like Phobos but wore a fashionable dark-golden armor that showed off his bulky biceps and thighs, which weren’t that enticing since he vibrated with imposing fear and nothing else.
I instantly knew that he was Phobos’s younger brother, Deimos, the God of Fear.
Just as I realized it, a cascade of fear slammed into my chest with brutal force, knocking the breath out of my lungs in a gasp of pain. I had once neutralized Phobos’s terror strike—though that was before I had a torque on my neck.
I straightened my spine, hissing, pushing back, and shoving out every last ounce of fear and terror writhing in my insides.
Apollo’s sentinels, except for their silver-haired leader, doubled over, their features distorting, reflecting fear and terror.
“Greetings, Phobos and Deimos,” the sentinel captain said. “Please withhold your power in God Apollo’s home. And Goddess Cass shall not be harmed.”
Phobos clasped Deimos’s shoulder, and they both reined in their powers.
“Who said I’d harm Cass, Thy?” Phobos said. “We’re old friends. I just want to have a nice chat with her, catching up, you know. Shall we, little Cass?”
I narrowed my eyes. What was his game?
“How did you even get here?” I asked. “I don’t see the slipstream!”
“Still so demanding, aren’t you, little Cass?” Phobos said. “Of course you can’t see the slipstream. You aren’t officially initiated into the godhood, so the path isn’t open to you.”
What the fuck? How was I going to escape then?
“I can see how your little mind whirls and twirls. How amazing. It’s always busy.” He chuckled, but his left eye twitched. He was still nervous around me, though he tried hard to cover it. He turned to nod at Deimos, and his brother snapped his thick fingers.
A dome-like, bronze structure materialized a dozen yards ahead of us.
“You should not alter God Apollo’s domain,” Thy said. “My Lord won’t be pleased.”
“Take it easy, Thy,” Deimos said. “My brother just wants to get reacquainted with Cass, and then I’ll erase the dome in no time. I’ll lend you a power grade after we’re done. You can join us if you want, and you can report back to Apollo about the inside trade, but the rest of your guards must stay outside and guard the door.”
Thy looked hesitant for a second, and then he nodded curtly. A power upgrading was irresistible for a minor god. “The meeting can’t be long,” he said.
“Shall we, little Cass?” Phobos gestured to the entrance of the dome.
“Ladies first,” Deimos added.
“I’m not getting in that tomb with you,” I said. I didn’t trust the brot
hers.
“Then you’ll rot in this jail,” Deimos said.
I snorted. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t give a fuck if you rot, but Phobos wants to talk to you first,” Deimos said. “My brother is the sentimental type. I bet you’ll gain more than we stand to from this meeting, considering how helpless and powerless you are now. How do you like the torque? It looks exquisite and fits you perfectly.”
I flipped him the bird.
But he was right. The brothers’ coming here did provide me with a chance to flee. I’d thought Artemis was my last straw, but I had been wrong. The virgin defender had abandoned me, even after I’d befriended her.
I needed to know more about the slipstream, and the brothers were the ones to give me answers. I could probably just initiate myself into the godhood and ride the slipstream home.
“If you want to talk, talk,” I said.
“Do you really want us to share secrets out in the open, little Cass?” Phobos said. “I thought you were clever. I might have to take back my high opinion of you.”
“I don’t give a fuck of your opinion,” I said. “I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks about me. You don’t pay my bills. No one pays my bills except for my mates.”
Deimos glared at me, and a shockwave of fear slammed into me, but I shoved it back with determination.
Thy looked uncertain. “Maybe you should return to your chamber and wait for God Apollo, Goddess Cass?”
Like hell I would do that. My hope of ever leaving this gilded prison would be smashed once Apollo and Ares returned. They’d force me to wed them, probably tonight. I doubted Artemis could be of any help.
“You two enter the room first, then Thy,” I said. “I’ll go last because I don’t like this lady first tradition.” If I didn’t like what I saw inside, I could always jump back and use Thy as a shield. He was assigned to guard me anyway, even though I was a prisoner.
Then it occurred to me that it might not be convenient to have Thy as a witness. If this didn’t work out, I didn’t want him to report to Apollo.
“Maybe Thy doesn’t need to join us,” I said.
Phobos and Deimos shrugged and headed into the dome.
“I must supervise all dealings in my lord’s realm,” Thy said, then turned to bark at the rest of the sentinels. “Guard the door.”
As soon as Thy and I stepped into room, the bronze door shut behind us. Thy tried to shout but Deimos grabbed him, and Phobos thrust his silver spear into his chest.
The sentinel fell in a pool of blood, his eyes still widened in shock.
“What the fuck?” I yelped and jumped back.
Without anyone blocking my view, I saw what lay in front of me: chains, iron whips, and other sharp torture tools.
I threw myself toward the door and pried at it, but it was completely sealed.
Deimos’s chilly voice rose and echoed in the cold, dark room. “Hello, little Cass. Now we’re going to have some fun.”
9
I should have known Phobos was a vindictive dick, but I couldn’t have guessed they’d go after Apollo’s guards to get to me. The brothers had planned well for this revenge, taking advantage of Apollo and Ares being summoned to Mount Olympus.
I screamed out as loud as I could, “Fire!”
I’d heard that if you shouted help, no one would show up. This was how the world operated now.
“No one can hear you, little Cass,” Deimos said. “The dome seals everything. And my dad and Apollo won’t return until tomorrow. Zeus loves long meetings. So we’re going to have you for the whole night.”
“You killed Apollo’s captain,” I said. “He’ll know it’s you. And I’m the future bride of Ares and Apollo. If you damage me and ruin their plan, you’ll be in a world of hurt.”
Deimos chortled, as if I amused him to no end. “You’re right, brother. She does think like a mortal. Unlike the human and supernatural insects, gods hold different standards. And I, the God of Fear, am the expert on all things criminal in nature. Do you know what that means?”
“Like a professional criminal?” I offered.
“You’re mouthy, even caught in a dire situation,” he said. “But yes, I’ll recreate the crime scene, and after we’re done with you everyone will think you attacked us and killed the sentinel in order to escape. You have the motivation.”
“One logical problem there, sugar dolls,” I said.
Phobos flinched at his old nickname.
“With this torque binding me,” I continued, “I’m incapable of killing Thy. Although, if you unshackle the torque I won’t even complain that you pin all the misdeeds on me.”
As I stalled for time, my eyes scanned the chamber, searching for an exit, but there was none.
Phobos narrowed his eyes to violet slits. “You can no longer manipulate me, Cass. I don’t do fair fights. It’s beneath me. I’m a terror god for a reason!”
“We’ve planned this visit for a while,” Deimos said. “We got the key from our dear mother, the Goddess of Love. Yes, she’s full of love for us, so she handed over the spare key. After we beat you within an inch of your pathetic life, we’ll take the torque off you. You won’t be able to leave this realm. You’re trapped here until my father comes back and beats you again before he fucks you. How does that sound, little Cass? Believe me, you won’t be this cute in a few hours. And we’ll do it slowly, taking our time. As I said, we have the entire night.”
Phobos eyed his brother. “We might not want to do this slowly. Cass is the sneakiest, nastiest bitch I’ve ever met. She always has something up her sleeve. Let’s punish her, seek justice for me, finish my last therapy session, and get the hell out of here.”
“Don’t worry about it, brother,” Deimos assured him. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you.”
There wasn’t a chance I’d get out of here then. I jumped up and kicked Deimos in the face without giving him any warning. He took the hit and grabbed my leg, spinning me in the air.
And just like that, he had me.
Without my potent power, my kick didn’t even dent his enraged, handsome face.
He dragged me toward the center of the room, where chains awaited.
With one last attempt, I clawed at the torque, desperate to pry it open.
It didn’t budge.
In no time, despite my frantic kicks and punches and curses, the brothers strung me up, my feet dangling in the air, the heavy chains around my ankles clanging sharply.
When Deimos struck the first nail into the center of my left palm, I screamed in agony.
Phobos flinched.
“No, brother, you don’t cringe,” Deimos said. “You want her to scream. Let her scream for you, and you won’t ever scream again after waking up from a nightmare the little bitch caused you. This is a full therapy session for you. You’re the God of Terror. You strike terror into every living being’s heart, not the other way around. She stole your birth gift away from you. Now you take it back, along with your manhood!” He handed a long nail to Phobos. “Now you do it. Face your nightmare, brother.”
Phobos held the nail and studied it.
“Are you going to beg, Cass?” asked the god of terror.
“Good question,” Deimos nodded in approval. “That’s the start.”
I clenched my jaw and promised myself that I wouldn’t scream again for these assholes.
A muscle under his left eye twitched as Phobos placed the nail in the center of my other palm and hammered into it while Deimos pinned me.
I didn’t scream, but tears that I had no control over streamed down my face at the debilitating pain. Blood poured from my palms, and I couldn’t regenerate while the torque bound my power.
“Tell her how you feel, brother,” Deimos urged.
“You’ll never hurt me again, Cass,” Phobos said. A crystal tear dropped out of the corner of his eye, and he wiped it off with the back of the same hand that struck the nail into my defenseless body. “I was o
nce a courageous god, but you pumped terror into me and paralyzed me. I’m telling you now: no more! After I’m done with you, you psychopathic little whore, I’ll transfer the nightmare to you, and you’ll be the one to wake screaming.”
“Really, sugar doll?” I asked. “This is your last therapy session? It’s sweet, but it won’t work. You’ll always have nightmares, and I’ll be featured in them every fucking time. Do you know why?”
“Don’t take her bait,” Deimos said. “She’s trying to psych you out.”
“Why the heck is that?” Phobos asked. He couldn’t help it.
“Because you two are wrongly made,” I said with a vicious smile. “You dolls came out the wrong hole.”
Both brothers looked confused and frowned at me.
“You want the answer, don’t you, sugar dolls?” I said, wrinkling my nose. “You stink so badly because you filth came out of your momma’s asshole.”
Both enraged gods struck me with fear and terror, yet I took it all with a maniacal laugh.
What else could they do to me?
“Wait, you dolls didn’t know? It was your mommy’s fault.”
Then a large fist slammed into my face, breaking bone.
10
I didn’t know how long they’d been beating me. I lost count of the number of times they’d struck me early on in their little therapy session.
Sharp pain knifed through every inch of my flesh, every one of my bones, over and over. It seemed this torment would never end.
I no longer cried. I hadn’t screamed after the first nail had pierced my palm, but I had to bite my bottom lip to stop a whimper from escaping my throat.
I couldn’t see my face, but I knew it was swollen and bloody. The gods had deformed me. My left eye could barely open, yet I laughed at them, mocking them.
I only hoped my mates would never have to see me like this. I hoped that they wouldn’t find my corpse. I wanted them to go on with their lives, but there was no way I could send my last wishes to them.
When Apollo tore me away from them, I hadn’t said farewell.