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While he was relieved, I felt horrible. It was my fault we were here like this. My fault that we had ended up captured and separated from the others. This had turned into a disaster, and now we were both trapped. There was no telling if Barrett and the others were faring any better. They might be dead already, and I was the only one to blame.
“I’m so sorry, Damien. It was all a trap.” My eyes fell as the frustration built within me. “This was all my fault, I’m so sorry. I should have never com—”
“Cas.” Damien’s hand slid to the back of my neck, pressing his forehead to mine as he met my gaze. “If you hadn’t come, I would still be tied up. I’d probably be worse off than I am now. Marcus is a sick fuck, and you can’t help what he did to you.”
I smiled weakly, trying to push my guilt back.
Damien grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. “Where are the others? Where’s Marcus?”
“I think they’re outside. Marcus stormed out when one of my men came to tell him something, and he didn’t look too happy about it.”
He barked a low laugh. “Leave it to Barrett to piss in someone’s cheerios.”
Damien regained his bearings as he looked around for his things. I slid my dagger back into the sheath on my thigh and followed him to the table where his weapons lay. He gathered them as quickly as possible, rearming himself.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Damien asked as he glanced to me.
“When he figured out he couldn’t get through to me, he became more interested in hurting you instead.”
His body tensed and a growl slipped from his throat as he spoke. “I’m going to carve that bastard up when I see him.”
“I got some information out of him on the darkling leader.” Damien’s eyes flashed to me. “When he was luring me out to the alleys those nights, he was doing it not just to get to you. He was doing it because the darklings want me. He called the darkling’s leader Melantha, said she wanted to convert me.”
The color drained from Damien’s face. “Of course. Whywouldn’tthey want you for that? A demigoddess, gifted with your abilities, would all but ensure our defeat. It would be so easy for them to wipe us out with you at her side.”
My throat tightened at the thought. Me? Used as a tool to murder not only the human race, but the immortal race as well? To murder Damien. I didn’t want to imagine it. “Marcus also started yelling about some person. He was not happy with them, whoever they are. I think he said the name Eris.”
The gears turned in Damien’s mind before his eyes locked firmly with mine. His hands settled on my shoulders as he lowered himself to my eye level. “You’re sure he said Eris? Absolutely sure?”
I nodded.
“If Eris is involved then things just got a hell of a lot worse.”
“Who’s Eris?”
He slid his dagger into its sheath, fully rearmed and ready for a fight. “Eris is the Goddess of Strife and Discord. She gets off on sowing chaos and ruining people’s lives. She’s turned countless families, friends, and Gods against one another, just for a good laugh. Gods damn you if you upset or offend her in the slightest. She doesn’t hold back and has zero sympathy.”
It made my skin crawl to think about. Gods and goddesses, with powers that couldn’t be comprehended by a mere mortal like myself—what stopped them from destroying us all? Just how much influence did they hold in the daily lives of mortals? How many terrible occurrences weren’t just by chance but orchestrated at their fingertips?
Damien stalked past me toward the door. He pressed his back against the wall, cracking the door and peering out to check the surroundings. When he nodded for me, I approached and glanced out to see that the shop was empty past the doorway.
We slipped past the threshold, cautious as we hugged the wall, eyes peeled for any movement. That terrible feeling that I’d been trying to push back returned, the voice in my head whispering the twisted desires that I harbored deep within. My hand twitched at my side, as if it couldn’t wait for the moment when I could put my dagger to use. I gave in, gripping the hilt and pulling it from the sheath. Damien did the same.
Where had Marcus gotten off to?
Hurt him. Make him bleed.
I winced at the words, the images that flashed across my mind, and a feeling of dread crept over my skin. My fears were coming true. Marcus had succeeded. He had turned me into the same monster he was. I’d never felt such a strong desire to hurt someone, and while it sickened me, there was a part of me that longed for it more than anything.
“Cas?” Damien’s voice was soft as he spoke.
I blinked, pulled from the dark depths of my mind. “Sorry?”
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, lying, eyes averted from his gaze. I couldn’t tell him the thoughts that were clouding my rationale, the sickening need that had clawed its way into me.
My thoughts were interrupted as a strong smell caught my attention. I hadn’t noticed at first, but it had grown unbearable.
