Not a demon, after all.
Lucifer, she realized. Lucifer was her Temptation. He didnt have to leave hell to cast his voice elsewhere, or to whisper to one particular person. He merely had to link with a soul open to corruption.
Bye-bye blessed numbness. Her horror returned, as did her dread, both mixed with shame. How could she not have known? How had she missed the truth? Stupid angel.
Why would you make such a bargain? Aeron demanded.
The tears continued to flow down Legions cheeks. I wanted to be pretty. To be what you needed. I thought I would win you, make you forget the angel. I thought I would make you happy.
Aeron scrubbed a hand down his face, his nails scraping, leaving angry red welts. I cant believe this. Do you have any idea what youve done? Do you have any idea of the things youve put into motion?
Legion nodded, chin trembling. Im sorry. So sorry.
A pause, then a sorrowful, So am I.
With those words, Olivia knew. She knew. Hed already made up his mind. Aeron would sleep with Legion. He would enter her body the same way hed entered Olivias. To save the little demon from possession. To save his friends from Lucifer. To keep the Hunters from victory.
Tears filled her own eyes, but she blinked them back. With this act, Aeron would prove that what hed done with Olivia meant nothing. With this act, she would leave. He had to know she would leave.
Had that knowledge made the decision easier for him? she wondered with a bitter laugh. No way she could stay here, knowing hed bedded another woman. No matter the reason.
Olivia had her own choice to make, then, it seemed. She would leave, there was no question of that. Not now. But would she return to the heavens, possibly saving Aerons life, or simply travel to a new location here on earth?
Here, most likely, for how could she possibly return home now? She was changed, human in all the ways that mattered. She would be miserable up there, bringing joy to no one, least of all herself. She would be useless. And if ever she changed her mind about having returned, she wouldnt be allowed to fall again. No, she would be put to death or permanently cast into hell. There could be no other choice for an angel who lost her way twice.
But how could she stay here and live with herself, knowing she could have saved Aeron and hadnt? Even though saving him meant that he would be with another woman?
Was she truly that selfless?
No, she wasnt. She should have killed him when shed had the chance and saved each of them this pain. Another bitter laugh filled her head, but this one escaped.
Aeron rose, the action stiff, uncoordinated. We have a little time. We dont have to take care of this right this moment.
So he didnt plan to sleep with Legion right away. That was a small comfort, at least.
Thank you, Legion said, grateful, pleased and shamed all at once. I promise I wont
He turned, cutting her off, and Olivias gaze ate him up. His masculine beauty, his power. No, she wasnt that selfless, but she was that in love, she realized.
Love. The word echoed in her mind. She loved him. Fully, utterly, wholly, completely. He was the reason her heart beat, the source of her joy. She would die for him. He was strong and brave, fierce and caring. Giving, selfless himself. What wasnt to love?
She would stay here with him until he bedded Legion. She would soak up every moment she had with him. And thenthen she would return to the heavens. She would ensure Lysander kept his end of the bargain and petitioned the Council for Aerons life.
Still. That didnt guarantee their cooperation.
Well, she would just have to find another way.
What a difference a few days made, she thought sadly. Shed come here resigned to Aerons approaching death, happy with the time they would have and determined to experience joy as humans did. Yet shed spent time with her warrior, and everything had changed. She could no longer accept the thought of him dying. Of his courage and strength being extinguished.
Dont worry, Aeron, she said, squaring her shoulders. Soon Ill leave, and you and Legion will be safe. A promise welded to her soul.
Legion gaped at her.
Lucifer screeched an unholy sound inside her head.
Aerons lips pulled tight in a scowl, his teeth bared, his eyes red, glowing. Demon eyes. I said we have time. We dont have to take care of this now. Therefore, you will stay. Now, enough about that. I have a meeting to attend. Im going to leave the two of you in here and you will play nice. Understand? You wont like what happens if you harm each other, I promise you that. He didnt wait for their replies but stormed from the room.
Unlike William, he didnt gently shut the door behind him. He slammed it, rattling the pictures on the walls.
After everything shed just agonized over, realized and decided, a little compassionand a goodbye kisswouldnt have been amiss.
Olivia stared over at Legion. Legion stared back.
Well, Olivia said, at a loss. She still ached from Aerons possession. Still felt the wetness hed left behind. Yet very soon this female would be with Aeron the way she had just been with him.
I wont stay here with you, Legion lashed out.
That makes two of us. Im leaving.
Grinning, Legion jolted upright. Youre returning to the sky already?
Not yet. Ill be listening to whats said at the meeting.
Her grin faded, but she glanced at the door. Your ears are probably so feeble youll need someone there to interpret the murmurings.
She offered no reply, wanting to hate the woman but unable to do so. Hate required energy, and just then she had none to spare. Besides, this demon would have been like her stepdaughter if things had progressed the way shed wanted. More than that, Legion had done what was necessary to win her man. Just as Olivia had.
Only, Legion had won.
IT WAS GOOD TO BE HOME, Strider thought, gazing around the entertainment room. All the men and women were accounted for. All three thousand of them, it seemed. Except for Gideon, whoaccording to the gossiping hens and William, the gossiping cock, as he happily called himselfwas in the dungeon making nice with the newest prisoner.
The warriors, with their big, hard bodies, seemed to consume every inch of space, saturating the air with testosterone. The women perched on the couches and chairs, forcing the men to stand against the walls. Those who werent otherwise occupied, that is.
Lucien and Sabin were playing a game of pool and talking amongst themselves, probably trying to sort things out before they spoke to the group. William was sitting in front of the TV, playing a video game. Aeron and Paris were in the far corner and passing a flask back and forth. Both looked miserable. Especially Aeron. His expression was carved from granitelivid graniteand his tattoos were stark against his now-pale skin. And his eyeshell. They were demon red.
Still healing from that poisoned bullet? Or something more personal?
Strider had only been home a day, but hed already heard about the mans angel problems from three different sources. Cameo, Kaia and Legionan unbelievably improved Legion. All three had been a font of conflicting information. Cameo liked Olivia, talked about how knowledgeable and helpful she was. Kaia talked about how delightfully naughty the real Olivia was. And Legion thought she was a bitch who would murder Aeron in his sleep.
Kaia thought Aeron would marry the girl. Cameo thought Aeron would kick the girl out and never see her again. And Legion thought she was a bitch and a murderer. (That was pretty much all Legion had said. Oh, wait. Shed asked Strider to kill that bitch and murderer.) When hed refused, shed threatened to pay someone to do him prison-style.
Im waiting, Strider called. Me no likes to wait.
Finally, Lucien and Sabin ended their game, nodded to each other as if theyd reached an understanding and approached the front of the room. Conversations tapered to quiet.
Both men anchored their arms behind their backs, their legs braced apart. They were ready for action. Good thing. Everyone else in the room was tense and ready to receive that action.
We called this meeting so that each group could bring the other up to speed on whats been happening in Rome and Buda, Sabin began. Ill go first. The Unspoken Ones want us to bring them Cronuss head, but that little deed will free them, and if theyre freed He shuddered. No telling what evil theyll unleash.
However, Lucien said, picking up where Sabin had stopped. Theyve hedged their bets and asked the Hunters to bring them Cronuss head, as well. Whoever succeeds in doing so, us or the Hunters, will be given the fourth and final artifact.
The Paring Rod. No one knew what it did. Not really. Even if it was useless, Strider wouldve massacred an army to possess it. If there was the slightest chance it was powerful, and there was, it couldnt end up in his enemies hands.
But Cronus is a god, Maddox said. And theyd all been up against the gods before. Thats why they were here, rather than in the heavens. Thats why they were demon-possessed. We cant contain him. Despite the grim topic, the man had never looked happier.
Why? Later. The gods had always been more powerful than they were, able to strike them down with only a wave of their capricious hands.
But hes also possessed, Cameo said. His demon will have a weakness. All of ours do.
Oh, the agony of her voice. Strider was too busy cringing to process her words.
His demon is Greed. This was said by Aeron, and the agony of his voice was a thousand times worse than Cameos.
Holy hell, Strider needed to gouge out his ears andWait, wait, wait. Backtracking. Cronus was possessed by Greed. Lucien had told him this already, but Cameo had made a very good point. All the demons had a weakness. That weakness made the warriors vulnerable. His was losing and the coma that followed. Anyone could attack him then, and he wouldnt be able to protect himself.
What was Cronuss weakness?
That kind of intel would be critical in a fightnot that he planned to fight the god king, but a guy had to be prepared.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Amun sign with his hands.
What of Danikas painting? Strider translated. The one where she predicted that Galen would take Cronuss head? For himself, he added, I know were hoping we can change the course she saw, but maybe the way to change it isnt to kill Cronus ourselves. Maybe we should increase our efforts to kill Galen.
But Galen has the Cloak, Reyes said, striding to the couch, lifting Danika, sitting down and pulling her into his lap. He might be harder to destroy than even a god.
Galen has the Cloak, Aeron repeated, so why hasnt he acted against us? His troops have been here a while. So again, why havent they attacked us?
Maddox shrugged. Maybe they were waiting for their little Distrust experiment to succeed. And now that it has
We have to strike first, Aeron said, and catch them unawares. Hopefully we can cut their numbers significantly, buy ourselves time to figure out what to do about Distrust and maybe even force Galen out of hiding.
Good rationale, but was his bloodlust returning? Besides that glint of red in his eyes, his hands were clenched and his posture rigid.
Will they be unaware, though? Reyes asked. What if theyre waiting for us to attack?
The soldiers on the island had waited. That might be the new Hunter M.O. Plus, a lot of warriors were still recovering from that battle. They werent at their strongest, and their strongest would be needed for a victory of this magnitude. And lets not forget theyve got Rhea on their side. No telling how shell aid them.
Not true, Torin said, speaking up for the first time. Hed placed a speaker and monitor in the room so that he could attend the meeting without actually having to enter the too-crowded room. Ive spoken to Cronus. Hes distracting his beloved wife as long as he can today. Thats why I asked Lucien and Sabin to call this meeting now. Anything we do today, we do without godly interference. From the queen or the king.
No one to hinder, but no one to help, either.
A murmur drifted through the crowd. And then a single word began to echo from everyones lips. Yes.
We cant sleep, anyway, Maddox grumbled. Not with Nightmares in residence. When are we going to get rid of her, by the way?
No one had an answer to that. The other, however, was quickly decided. Tonight, they would attack.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GIDEON COULD HEAR the warriors shuffling around above him. Their footsteps were harried, and he thought he even detected the click of guns being locked and loaded, the whistle of metal being sheathed.
He didnt care. Didnt budge. Nearly a full day had passed since hed first entered the dungeon. After Scarlet had made her announcementLies, were together at lastshed hissed a curse at him, said, And now that I know its you, you can go, then turned her back on him, lain down on her cot and ignored him, humming under her breath as if she hadnt a care. Shed fallen asleep at sunrise, nothing he did or screamed able to rouse her, and had only woken up a few minutes ago as the sun set again.
Shed sat up with a gasp, her gaze frantic. When shed spotted him, the wildness had left her, replaced by anger and resentmentneither of which he understoodand shed flopped back against the mattress.
I cant stay here all day, you know, he said. Torin, who watched him from the many cameras set up down here, must have felt sorry for him because Disease had long ago brought him a chair. A chair he had pushed as close to Scarlets cell as possible. His long legs were outstretched, his ankles propped on the bars.
Go away.
Hearing her voice after all that silence was like finding a pool of acid with Hunters already inside it: a whole lot of awesome. He even shivered. Thank the gods hed never be able to admit that aloud, though. Em-bar-rassing.
What, youre ignoring me now? she grumbled.
It would serve her right, as much as shed ignored him. Yep. Ignoring you. Every cell in his body was attuned to every move she made, so even though he wouldve liked to give her what she deserved, he couldnt.