Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)(28)

That would be embarrassing.

I might have even fist-pumped when the dust cleared and I noticed that we were already ten feet above them and still rising.

“Oh my gods!” I exclaimed, as the other panteras also started flapping, each of them shaking their heads and flinging the collars free. Guardians pulled little boxes from their cloaks, aiming them at the creatures. One or two, who hadn’t managed to shake their collars free, let out a high-pitched shriek before they collapsed on the ground in convulsing spasms.

Those bastards.

I must have projected my angry thoughts, because the pantera answered me. They just have to shake the binding free; you unclipped all of them already.

Panteras rose around us, the sound of flapping filling the air. Guardians were converging on the few who they’d managed to zap with their collar buttons, but before they could do anything to contain them, bodies started falling from the sky.

Literally.

The dwellers, who had been strapped across the panteras, were being dropped onto the guardians below, each one landing with a thump, and eliciting a muffled groan from beneath a cloak.

“Ten points!” I chuckled as a pure black pantera managed to knock down two in one shot. “Bonus points for you,” I added, pointing at him.

As the guardians started to run around like crazy people below, the few panteras on the ground were given time to shake their collars free and launch into the sky. Soon, the guardians were forgotten as the entire herd rose. I couldn’t do anything but hold on for the ride and hope that I wouldn’t get dumped somewhere even worse than the dead zone. The harness was still across Lucille’s back, so I quickly looped a few of the straps around my legs, just for extra protection against the possibility of falling to my death. I then slumped forward and let the soothing rhythm of her wings calm the erratic tic in my mind. The Chaos was growing stronger, I could feel it roaring inside of me … trying to get free.

I didn’t want to fall asleep, since I couldn’t be sure I was out of danger yet, but it was hard to keep my eyes open. Despite the numerous amount of times I had lost consciousness over the past few sun-cycles, it felt as if I had not had any decent rest.

I was exhausted.





Eight





“I don’t care what Cyrus says, I won’t leave her out there for one more click on her own. She needs us. I’m going to fucking kill him.” Yael’s face was a little fuzzy, which was when I realised that I had somehow slipped into one of their heads. I must have fallen asleep after all.

Wait a click … I was in one of their heads!

An overwhelming amount of emotion rocked through me as I drank in the sight of my Abcurses. Well, one of my Abcurses, and then a few Abcurse-shaped-blurs in my peripheral vision. Whoever I was currently hijacking was staring straight at Yael.

He was furious, his voice laced with more venom then I’d ever heard from him. “She has been missing for almost four sun-cycles now. Willa can get into trouble in a fraction of a click, and she’s been running around on her own now for four sun-cycles.”

The head I was in started shaking left to right, before speaking. “We need to get around Staviti’s order. We’re grounded to this platform until the next arena battle, and if Siret hadn’t stolen D.O.D’s mortal glass, we wouldn’t have even been able to see into Blesswood and we wouldn’t even know that Willa was missing.”

Rome. I was seeing through Rome’s eyes, which I should have known from the fact that I was actually looking over Yael’s head. Only one god was that tall.

“Maybe we can just call his bluff. Disobey him again and deal with the consequences when they happen.” Obviously, that had been spoken in Siret’s voice.

You’re going to get yourselves killed! I wanted to shout at them, but I had no control over Rome, I was just a silent stowaway.

Right?

There couldn’t be a way for me to speak through Rome, surely? I would have figured it out by now. The concept wouldn’t leave me alone, though, so I decided to give it a shot.

Scratch your nose.

I thought the command with all the concentration I could muster, and there was a brief pause in conversation as disappointment rocked through me … until suddenly, a huge hand appeared right in my line of sight and started rubbing the bridge of Rome’s nose.

It worked? Something I tried actually worked? Hell yeah! I started silently congratulating myself, only to find Rome shouting, “Hell yeah,” at the same time as my mental thought.

Yael briefly paused from where he had been explaining his plan to take down Staviti, and looked up to eye his brother. “Did you just have a seizure? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Ugh, Yael was so mean. Dick.

“Ugh, Yael. You’re such a dick.”

Rome’s voice was far higher pitched than usual, his big body jumping in surprise as he spoke. Four sets of eyes were turned on him, each with a look of disbelief clouding their faces.

“If you don’t get yourself together, I’m going to put you through a wall.” Aros wasn’t normally the violent type, but this sun-cycle, apparently, he was channelling it hard.

Rome lifted both hands up then, as if to say I have no idea what is going on. To be fair, he really didn’t. I could just imagine the look on his face. He would be so confused—and for someone as contained as Rome, I could only imagine how much he must be freaking out. It almost made me want to try something else, just for the fun of it. Peals of laughter burst from me, echoed by Rome. The longer I tried to control him, the more natural it became … but I needed to stop before I did something he would kill me for later.