Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)(13)
He trailed off as I was passed to another Abcurse. Yael’s strong arms swept around my lower back and hauled me up higher so that we were practically face to face. I blinked a few times, mesmerised by the strange intensity shining from him. It was the glow of god-energy: I had seen it on some of the beings when we went to Topia, but my boys rarely displayed it. It was possibly because Minatsol drained them of their powers gradually, but it was also possible that they were deliberately toning it down to blend in.
We stared for some time, before he set me on my feet and ushered me across to Coen, who was patiently waiting. It was unlike Yael to have nothing to say, but in all truth, that look had held a lot, if you read between the lines of silence. Possession. Reluctance. Relief.
Frustration.
I waited for Coen to hug me, anticipating his strength and those tendrils of pain that he liked to lace across my skin, and I wasn’t disappointed. Just as I was relaxing against his body, Rome joined us. The twins held me. I couldn’t properly describe the sensation of being surrounded like that. Heat and strength and power. It thrummed across my skin and I stopped thinking, letting myself enjoy the moment.
Over the top of my head I heard Rome say something, but it took a few clicks before my ears and brain registered what it was.
Tell Staviti to go screw himself.
I stiffened, before pulling back. They parted slightly, letting me see the other three again.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “You can’t tell that … guy … to go screw himself! He will … un-create you—or whatever he does!” The words burst from me in an angry whisper.
Each of them seemed to be staring directly at me with no unease in their expressions whatsoever, but I knew that they had something to tell me. It was obvious. They didn’t just go around muttering that the Creator could go screw himself all the time.
A thought occurred to me, then. “You were all close enough to Emmy’s room to come as soon as you felt my pain. You were already up there waiting for me with Five? Which means … you all came to find me?”
Aros lifted a hand in a placating gesture, which only had my worry spiralling out of control further. “You’re right,” he said, “we were all waiting for you. Staviti has called us for the trial tonight. We just got a message from D.O.D.”
My stomach clenched, and probably everyone in the dweller-dungeon could hear the rapid pulse thrumming through me. “Is that normal? For him to make a date and then change his mind just as quickly?”
Why was I the only one who seemed worried or upset by that? Couldn’t they feel the ominous clouds on the horizon? It felt like we were teetering on the precipice of something terrible, and as soon as the storm hit, the winds would push us right over the edge.
“It’s going to be fine, Willa-toy.” Yael’s voice was low and rumbly, his Persuasion trickling across my mind, calming the rush of adrenaline that had been trying to kick me into action. “Staviti almost always does this; we were expecting it.”
I wanted to growl at them, and I could have fought against Yael. He wasn’t hitting me with too much energy, but another part of me needed to take the edge off my worry. It was too much. So I let him continue to influence me.
“We’ll have to leave soon, which means that we need to try and see if we can lengthen the link between us now.” Rome started ushering me toward the door.
Yael’s Persuasion stayed with me all the way back to Coen’s room, which was also where my little hidey hole still was. I might have a schedule where I slept in a different room and bed each night, and had my clothes and things scattered between all five, but I always felt like Coen’s space was a little bit more mine than the others.
As soon as we were fully inside with the door closed behind us, a figure stepped out from my little area and I couldn’t stop the small snarl that escaped from me.
What the hell was he doing here?
Four
Cyrus had his long white hair pulled back from his face, his pale eyes flicking right over me, as though he refused to acknowledge me at all. The severity of his hair only highlighted the unnatural beauty he possessed. And by beauty, I really meant that he was clearly still a gorgeous, arrogant bastard.
“Is she sleeping in there?” he asked, motioning to the little room with a nudge of his head.
“No.” Coen was the one to answer, while the rest of them stood around, watching Cyrus.
Nobody seemed surprised to see him, but maybe they had been expecting him to appear at some point. He was the Neutral God—the one who enforced Topian law and handled the disputes of the gods. I supposed it made sense that he would be there, seeing as the Abcurses had been called in to trial. He arched a brow at Coen’s response, but nobody said anything further.
After a moment, his eyes settled on me, and he brought up his hand, his fingers flicking in a ‘come here’ gesture.
“Bring her here,” he ordered. “I’ll do what I can, but you five need to be back in Topia within the next five clicks, or Staviti will rule a sentence in your absence, and it won’t be a favourable one.”
“Whoa.” I planted my feet before any of them could ‘bring’ me anywhere, a frown suddenly tugging down my lips. “What’s going on? I thought you said we weren’t going to transfer the link back to Cyrus?”