He can’t hurt me here.
“Can’t I?” he asked softly, his teeth glistening in the muted light of my dream as he read my thoughts.
“No, you can’t,” I answered sharply. “You can’t. What have I ever done to you to deserve what you have done?”
Satisfaction rose in my chest, a delicious feeling. I had never been able to face him before- to demand answers. I realized in this instant how unsettling that had been. I deserved answers. I deserved closure.
“It’s never been about you,” he answered in disgust. “Why are you so self-centered? Your goddess blood shows itself. Everything is not about you.”
He practically spit his last sentence and I recoiled from the venom in his tone.
“If it’s not about me, then why do you hate me so much?” I whispered. “I’m your daughter- your own blood. But you would kill me if you could. How could I not take that personally?”
His smile grew wider, like a wolf’s, and I once again drew away from him. He approached me, moving as quietly and quickly as the wind. I could feel his breath on my cheek, on my neck, as he glided to a stop behind me.
“It’s not personal,” he breathed into my ear, his voice like ice. “But I will kill you. I have to. It’s the only way I can survive.”
“So it’s you or me, then?”
I whirled to face him, backing away once again. I knew he couldn’t hurt me here. But that didn’t put me at ease.
“I’m glad you understand.” His gray eyes, just like mine, glittered menacingly. My heart, even though I had always protected it from him, seemed to wither just a little at the knowledge that my own father hated me so much.
“I don’t hate you,” he answered my thought. “You aren’t anything to me.”
Another piece of my heart dried up and I tried to harden myself against him.
“Why are you here?” I snapped. “What do you want to say to me if I’m nothing to you?”
“Oh, nothing,” he replied casually, his hands dropping to his sides. “I just thought I would check in on you.”
“And offer me a warning?” My words were like icy arrows aimed at his heart, but I should have known they would fall impotent to the ground. He didn’t have one.
He laughed, a chilling sound in the bleakness of my nightmare. “Perhaps,” he conceded with a nod. “And perhaps I just wanted to distract you.”
The icy tendrils grasping my shoulders slipped to my stomach, gripping it tightly.
“Distract me?” I whispered, not comprehending. “From what?”
“And what fun would I glean from simply telling you?” he asked humorlessly. “It will be ever so much more satisfying to watch you discover it for yourself.”
“Discover it…” my voice trailed off as I studied his satisfied expression. What had he done?
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
Brennan.
My heart raced and my vision blurred as I struggled to wake.
Wake up.
Wake up.
Wake up.
My eyes popped open and I gasped for air, trying to breathe, to make sense of what had just happened. And as I did, I realized something. I was cold. I was cold when I shouldn’t be because Brennan was very, very warm. I had fallen asleep to his warmth. I glanced around me. My bed was very, very empty.
“Brennan!” I screamed, my voice shrill and fragile as I leapt from the bed and blurred with inhuman velocity toward the door.
Our suite was empty.
The hall outside of our suite was empty.
“Brennan!” I screeched again, flying down the empty corridors of Poseidon’s palace as fast as I could move.
“Stop!” Poseidon roared from the other end of the hall. I slid to a stop in front of him, certain that I was as wild-eyed as a crazy woman.
“Where’s Brennan?” I cried. “Something’s wrong.”
“Brennan left,” Poseidon answered calmly, his hands on his hips as he filled the corridor. “He insisted.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Why? He wouldn’t leave me.”
Poseidon shrugged and blew into his hand, then opened his palm and blew again in my direction. A puff of filmy mist floated in my direction. A memory.
I leaned forward and inhaled it, tossing my head back like I was swallowing a pill.
Instantly, Brennan filled my mind as clearly as if he were standing in front of me. I reached out with shaking fingers, but of course he wasn’t really there and my fingers clenched at empty air.
“I have to leave!” he begged someone, presumably Poseidon. “If I stay, she will die.”
“She can’t die,” Poseidon answered, his voice bored. “She’s immortal.”
“Listen to me,” Brennan pleaded. “Please. Her mother came to me in a dream. Apparently, Mormo can shape-shift. He appeared to Empusa as Ahmose, an old ancient. Mormo’s the one who led us here. Empusa’s not safe here. I have to find her mother.”
Poseidon’s laugh boomed and I shrank away from the tone. He was pleased with himself. Why?
Brennan’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why do you laugh?” he asked.
“Why do you speak to me as if you’re telling me something that I didn’t already know?” Poseidon countered. “Of course I knew it was Mormo. And of course I know that it isn’t safe for Empusa here. It’s my kingdom, after all. I know everything.”
A chill settled onto me and I snapped out of his memory and into the present, staring into Poseidon’s silver eyes.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why have you betrayed me?”
He smiled patiently. “Mormo paid the highest price,” he explained with a shrug. “It’s nothing personal.”
It was the second time in a space of five minutes that I had heard that line. And it still felt very, very personal.
Chapter Thirteen
“Where did Brennan go?” I demanded, unafraid of the god of the sea. Poseidon seemed amused at my impertinence, as I stood facing him with my hands on my hips.
“He left for the mortal world, of course,” Poseidon answered with a smile.
“You let him leave?” I was fairly astonished.
“Why would I not?” Poseidon asked, his amusement apparent. “I wish him gone. We only wanted you.”
“We?” I was scared to know… but I had to.
“Yes, we,” he confirmed. “Your father and me.”
My heart stilled.
“Why are you working with my father? He’s a hateful, horrible person. He would stab you in the back as quick as he would look at you. I should know.”
Poseidon nodded. “I know. But your father… he certainly knows how to pitch something. The deal he offered was very attractive, too attractive to turn down.”
My words froze in my throat and I struggled to swallow past them as they formed a heavy lump. Fear turned to ice in my stomach and my heart raced as I finally managed to speak.
“What deal did he offer? What has he done to me this time?” My voice was calm and cold and didn’t portray the terror that was coursing through my veins. I allowed myself some pride for that Herculean act.
Poseidon stared at me, his silver eyes rippling as he thought. “He told me of your Moonstone.”
My Moonstone. I tried to act nonchalant, but inside, I was quaking. How had I forgotten? They had tricked me into giving it to Poseidon in exchange for his safekeeping. That was a joke now. I forced my lip not to curl.
“What of it?” I asked coolly. “It was enchanted to protect me from my father. You have it now.”
Poseidon unconsciously patted the side of his cloak where, presumably, he had stashed my bracelet. “That I do, princess,” he murmured. “But obviously that is the least of the Moonstone’s powers.”
I couldn’t keep the surprise off of my face, but I quickly masked it as I remembered something. When my mother had first given me the bracelet, she had told me that it had other powers… powers that we could discuss ‘later’. We never had a chance and I had forgotten. The
most important thing on my mind was survival and the bracelet had served its purpose in that. Until now. Until I had willingly given it away. I cringed at the thought.
“Oh, sweet princess,” Poseidon said softly, moving to my side and running a long, cold finger down my cheek. “Why the gloom? I won’t hurt you.”
“Yet,” I said through gritted teeth as I drew away from his cold hand. I could feel his chilling presence directly behind me as I turned. He seemed almost amphibious and I wondered if, as the god of the sea, that was exactly the case.
“You won’t hurt me, “I clarified. “You’ll just turn me over to my father- who will kill me with a smile.”
“But I won’t watch,” Poseidon promised. “Does that make a difference?”
“Not really,” I snapped. “I’ll still be dead whether you watch or not. My mother will come for you. You know that, right?”
A brief flash of something- fear?- flashed over his face, but Poseidon quickly masked it.
“I am the god of the sea,” he boomed. “I fear no one.” He drew his arm back as though he were going to slap me, but didn’t. After a moment, he dropped his arm to his side.
“You fear no one but your brother Zeus and my mother,” I corrected stonily. “And with good reason. My mother will track you to the ends of the earth if you allow any harm to come to me.”
“I’m not afraid of your mother,” Poseidon insisted, but it wasn’t convincing. All of the Olympians had a healthy respect for my mother, with good reason.
“As you say,” I said agreeably, knowing full well that it was a lie. “Where is Mormo? When shall I die?”
I thought I sounded stunningly calm, considering my circumstances. I clenched my fists to keep them from shaking and betraying my fear.
“He’s gone to track your boyfriend,” Poseidon replied pleasantly. Panic lurched into my chest once again.
“He’s tracking Brennan? Why?”
“After seeing the two of you together, he’s got a crazy idea that you and Apollo’s son have a strong connection- as strong as his and Hecate’s. If you are true soul mates, then Mormo thinks that he can strengthen the power of the Moonstone even further.”
My worry for Brennan was clouded by confusion. “Why is the Moonstone so important to you?” I asked. “What important powers does it hold?”
Poseidon studied me thoughtfully once again, stroking his chiseled chin. “You truly do not know?” he asked. “I find that difficult to believe.”
“I have nothing to gain by lying at this juncture,” I replied with my chin stuck out. “I truly do not know the extent of my Moonstone’s powers. I only used it as a protective charm. All that has ever mattered to me was staying safe.”
“And see where that landed you,” Poseidon observed humorlessly. “I find that I am not enjoying this as much as I had envisioned, little witch princess. I am almost regretful. But not quite.”
“Of course not,” I said wryly under my breath. “So, since you are not regretful, what will you do with me?”
I did a remarkable job of simply sounding interested rather than afraid.
Poseidon didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind him as he blurred into motion and flew down the corridor. We spiraled down the staircases of the palace until we were in the bowels, the musty dampness all around us.
He stopped in the middle of a darkened room, bare except for the stone floor itself. Chains and manacles were hanging from the ceiling and I knew that we were in the dungeon. I looked around warily.
“What are we doing here?” I asked quietly.
Moisture dripped from the ceiling onto the stones next to me and I shivered from the cold.
“Welcome to your new room,” Poseidon said, as if he was welcoming me to the Beverly Wilshire hotel. “I do hope you enjoy your stay.”
I stared at him for a moment before I yanked my arm from his grasp.
“Get away from me!” I hissed, hurling him across the room with goddess strength. He wasn’t expecting it, so he hadn’t braced himself. He crashed into the stone wall and bounced back up with the agility of a lion.
He circled me, his silver eyes glittering.
“Now, now, Empusa,” he murmured, his voice dangerous. “Is that any way to treat your host?”
“You can’t keep me here!” I tossed my head haughtily, blurring toward the door. Before I had taken two steps, though, Poseidon spoke.
“Stop.”
The word was quiet, almost so quiet that I couldn’t hear it. But I found that once he had spoken it, I was literally not able to lift my feet again to walk. It was as if they were bound to the floor with invisible cables. I glanced around in confusion and found Poseidon holding my bracelet, smiling patiently.
“What have you done?” I whispered.
“Oh, I haven’t done anything,” he argued politely. “It was your mother. Did she never tell you? The same enchantment used to protect you, when held in the wrong hands, can be used to control you. Minor detail.”
Minor detail. I swallowed hard and took a steadying breath. Poseidon watched in pleasure.
“I would have thought that Hecate would have explained that to you. She should have told you to never let the bracelet out of your sight.”
She had. She had told me to never take the bracelet off. She hadn’t mentioned why. That would have been a good detail to know.
Poseidon read my face. “Ah. She did warn you. It is interesting that you didn’t heed your mother’s advice. She’s a very wise woman.”
He clutched my bracelet in his hand, stroking the smooth face of the moonstone with his other fingers.
“Come to me, Empusa,” he commanded.
I couldn’t disobey. My feet practically moved on their own accord. I tried to stop, to force them to still, but it was like trying to stop a moving train. My traitorous body moved to a smooth stop in front of the god of the sea.
Poseidon’s chiseled features were pleased and rock hard as he appraised me, his cold gaze stroking me from top to bottom. It was almost as if he was touching me. I shuddered.
“I could save you,“ he stated emotionlessly, as though he didn’t truly care one way or the other.
“At what price?” I asked, almost afraid to know, my breath hitching in my throat. His grin stretched evilly.
“All you would need to do would be to stay with me,” he suggested. “Stay here in my underwater world.”
I sucked in my breath. Stay here?
“But I don’t want to,” I almost stuttered, my words feeling wooden on my tongue. “I don’t wish to be here.”
“You know,” Poseidon pondered. “I’m not known for giving a woman’s wishes much weight. I’ll give you until tomorrow morning to change your mind willingly. After that, I could- if I chose- command you to stay.”
He held up my bracelet as a reminder. He could control my every move. My head and shoulders slumped in defeat. What chance did I have now?
“Think about it overnight,” he instructed softly, leaning over to kiss my lips. His were cold and hard. I felt like I was kissing a Great White shark. “The tables have turned, haven’t they, Empusa? You’re so accustomed to being the dangerous one. And now you are helpless. Have a good night.”
With a swirl of his cloak, he was gone. The metal door clanged loudly behind him and I heard a key turn in the lock. I flew to the door and pounded on it, kicked at it with every ounce of my considerable strength, but it didn’t budge.
In my head, I heard Poseidon’s voice. Don’t resist. Resistance is futile.
In response to his unspoken command, my arms dropped to my sides. I screamed in frustration- in my mind- but nothing came from lips. I was helpless here. I was simply a puppet with invisible strings.
I leaned against the cold stone wall and slid to the ground. I knew that the rough stone was scratching my back, but I didn’t care. By this time tomorrow, I would either be dead by Mormo’s hand or an unwilling sex slave to the god of the sea. Neither of th
ose options were appealing, although out of the two, I would actually rather be dead.
I sighed and laid on my side, my cheek pressed to the cool floor.