Page 46 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

My laughter echoed after her, bouncing off the walls.

CHAPTER 18

CORDELIA

Gods, that man is an asshole. A sexy, tempting asshole.

Visions of him “punishing” me with those big hands flashed across my mind, and I squashed them immediately. And his laughter? Oof… deep and husky; it heated my blood. I wanted to record it just to play it back later like some unhinged fangirl. Which was deeply, deeply disturbing.

I stomped down the hallway to go and rouse Guinn, noticing Ajax loitering by the main door of Drakos’s villa. ‘Hey, Ajax.’ I smiled smugly at the grim-faced man. ‘Still being a stalking creep?’

‘Your sense of humour is irritating.’

‘And you’ve got the frowniest fucking face I’ve ever seen.’ His glare could've cracked concrete. I sighed. Why did people never find my sarcasm charming?

He stepped closer, voice low and venom-laced. ‘Once he’s had his fill of you, he’ll discard you like the trash you are.’ His words hit hard, almost fracturing my heart. A small, treacherous part of me already feared that might be true. That’s why I couldn’t succumb to Si Thalassa. Couldn’t let myself feel.

He leaned in, voice now a rasp. ‘And when that happens, I’ll be waiting.’ His vicious eyes held my gaze.

‘Do you work at being a buzzkill, or does it just come naturally?’ I asked, arching a brow as I held his hostile glare. His lip curled, but I turned on my heel, refusing to give him even a hint of satisfaction. Even though his threat had rattled me, I wouldn’t show him one ounce of vulnerability.

Yeah… I definitely needed to keep my beady little eyes on Ajax.

When I walked into the bedroom, Guinn’s bed was empty, but the sound of running water came from the bathroom. I sat on the bed and pondered on Ajax’s words—about Si; about me. About being discarded. I reckoned he was most definitely on Team Lets Kill Cordelia.

‘Cordie?’ Guinn’s voice snapped me from the spiral. ‘Are you okay?’ She padded out in yoga pants and a fitted white crop tee.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Oh, I got you a present.’ I grabbed my backpack and tossed her the cutesy purple crop sweatshirt with the dolphin motif.

‘Oh, dolphins! My fave. Thanks, Cordie,’ she said as she slipped it on, before flopping down beside me.

‘We need to go into hiding, until all this shit is sorted out.’ I held her gaze. ‘We’re going to the Underworld⁠—’

She interrupted me, screeching, ‘What the fu⁠—’

I raised a finger, cutting her off. ‘Nope. Nope. No swearing.’

She scowled at me. ‘The Underworld? Seriously? Why can’t he hide us in the Maldives or somewhere? Are we really in that much danger?’

I could feel Guinn’s agitation—it wrapped around me like wisps of smoke—I needed to protect her. She was my responsibility; she was smart as a whip, beautiful, brave, and somehow still full of spark even after everything.

I stared at her and smiled.

‘Your eyes are serious, but you’re smiling weirdly. What’s up? You look kinda creepy.’ Guinn frowned at me.

My smile vanished. ‘Listen, Guinn. Ixion are ramping up their stand against the gods, and we’re mere casualties of their resistance. They’ll be tying up loose threads, and that includes me, and most probably you. Si, erm Poseidon, thinks we’ll be safer in the Underworld, just until things cool off.’

‘Si, huh?’ Her brows inched up her forehead as a smile twitched on her lips. ‘You sure you’re not banging him?’

‘Come on, let’s pack.’ I stood without justifying an answer to the nosy little shit. ‘The safest place for now is the Underworld. It’s a temporary measure… But we will get back our lives, and the school, if you want to return there. Or we can live wherever you want, eventually. Alright?’

Guinn’s lips pulled to the side before she nodded thoughtfully. ‘Okay. I guess it’ll be an adventure, if nothing else.’

We met Perseus waiting outside the room and popped the bags on the floor. His stance was relaxed but alert, the way a predator watches from the shade.

‘What’s the plan?’ I asked.

‘Waiting for the boss to return from Genesion. Then we move.’