Artemis kept waiting for all of the powers to fade from her temple.
They didn't. She felt Acheron's primary ones leave, but there was more still here. Powerful. Cold. Calculating.
That wasn't Acheron.
And when Soteria came through the doors of her bathing chamber and into her throne room with a deadly lope, the blood completely drained from Artemis's face. There was no denying the woman wanted a piece of her and was ready to fight for it.
Still she refused to let the girl see her panic. "You're nothing to me, human."
Tory scoffed, and spoke to her in perfect Greek. "Oh you're wrong about that, Artemis. I'm not nothing. I'm the one who's going to kick your butt if you ever go near Acheron again."
Artemis flung her hand out and sent Tory flying across the room. "You don't threaten me."
Tory lifted her hands and just as she would have hit the wall, she stopped moving. Opening her eyes, she was stunned to find herself floating over the ground a few inches from the stone that Artemis had intended to slam her into.
Artemis shrieked in outrage while Tory laughed in relief. These powers were very cool.
Holding her hands out, she centered herself back on the ground. Artemis ran at her and caught her about the neck. Tory slid out of her grasp, then shoved her away. "Oh, bitch, please." She threw her hand out and pinned Artemis to the wall.
"Let me go!"
Tory tightened the hold on her. "For all the times you've hurt Ash, you're lucky I'm not ripping the heart out of your chest right now. How could you?"
Tears formed in Artemis's green eyes as she struggled to free herself. "I love him."
Tory shook her head. "How can you say that? You don't even understand what love means. Love isn't being ashamed to be seen with the one you care about. It isn't about punishment or hurt."
Feeling sorry for the goddess, Tory let her go. "Love is what gives you the strength you need to face anything no matter how brutal or frightening. It's what allowed Ash to be beaten rather than tell his father about you. It's what allowed him to be gutted on the floor at your feet rather than publicly shame you. And you spat on him for that love and tore him apart. For a goddess, you're pathetic."
Artemis sneered at her. "You're human. No one cares if you sleep with a whore."
Tory did something she'd never in her life done before. She slapped another person.
Artemis shrieked and tried to claw her, but Tory caught her wrists in her hands and pushed her back. She leveled a murderous look on the goddess to let her know she meant business. "You ever insult Acheron again and so help me, I'll do to you what you allowed your brother to do to him. I'll cut your tongue out for it. Acheron is the man I love and no one, ever, takes issue with him without having issues with me."
Artemis snatched one hand free and tried to backhand her, but Tory caught her wrist again. "You're no better than I am," Artemis snarled. "You would sacrifice him in an instant to save yourself and I know it."
Tory shook her head in denial. "You're wrong. There is nothing on this earth, above or below, that I value more than Acheron. And we're both done with you. Have a great eternity and if you want to continue having an eternity, stay out of my way and leave Acheron alone."
Artemis curled her lip. "You're not done with me entirely, human. I'm the mother of his daughter."
That turned her stomach. "You're right. You are Katra's mother, poor her. But you're wrong about one thing."
"And that is?"
Tory let the Destroyer's power unite with Ash's inside her. One minute, she was normal and in the next, she felt her hair turn white blond and fan out around her as lightning engulfed her and flew out of her fingertips. "I'm no longer human," she said in a demonic voice. "I'm the Atlantia Kedemonia Theony-the guardian of the Atlantean gods. And right now there's only one of them walking about and to save him from one more bad memory created by you, I'd bathe in your entrails, bitch. As for Kat, she's a big girl-I know, I used to live with her. She'll survive the death of her mother. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with the subject."
Artemis gaped at her. "You would destroy the entire world for him?"
"Yes, I would. Would you?"
Artemis looked away.
"And that is why you're going to wish him well and get out of our lives. The next time I see you, Goddess, you better be bringing presents that make me smile, otherwise the Greek pantheon will be looking around for a new goddess of the hunt. Do you understand me?"
"I understand." But her eyes said she was already plotting some way to get back at them.
So be it. Enemies were an unfortunate part of life. There was nothing Tory could do about that except make good her promise should Artemis ever discover enough backbone to come after her again.
No one took from her without a fight, and for Ash she'd lay down her life.
"Good-bye, Artemis, and for your own sake, should you ever find someone who loves you the way Ash once did, take better care of him."
With those words spoken, Tory returned to New Orleans where she found Ash waiting on the couch of his apartment. He shot to his feet before he inspected her body for damage-it was actually quite adorable. "Are you all right?"
"I told you I'd be fine."
His gaze was filled with doubt. "She didn't hurt you?"
"Nope." She held her hands up to show him exactly how undamaged she was. "I'm all hunky-dory."
The relief in his eyes touched her deeply as he bent down to place a light kiss on her lips. Oh how she loved this man.
"I'm so sorry for what I did to you," he breathed. "I never meant to hurt you."
"I know, sweetie." She smiled up at him. "What was it Wulf quoted from you? Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right? Had you not fed on me, I wouldn't have the powers I need to be with you. So don't be sorry, Ash. I'm not."
He winced as if she'd struck him and that made her ache for him. "I never wanted you to see me like that."
"See you like what?"
"A monster. I despise my true form."
She shook her head at him as he put his arms around her waist. "I can't imagine why. Other than killing me, you were actually cute in a very Papa Smurf kind of way."
"Papa Smurf?" He made a sound of ultimate suffering and scowled at her. "I don't look like Papa Smurf."
"No, baby," she said in a feigned patronizing tone as she playfully patted his cheek, "you don't at all. You look like sex on a stick. Now is your ego all better?"
One eyebrow shot up at her words. At least until she reached down to cup him in her hand. Then he sucked his breath in sharply as she slowly unzipped his pants. "What are you doing?"
She licked her lips at the heat that pounded through her veins. "I'm still feeling rather . . . perky from that feeding. And honestly, Papa Smurf, you look good enough to eat."
Ash could barely breathe as she sank to the floor in front of him and opened his fly. She looked up at him, her eyes bright with love an instant before she took him into her mouth.
All reason flew out of his head as he watched her tease and lick. "You've been reading your book again, haven't you?"
She laughed and the sensation of her throat vibrating around him was more than he could stand. Before he could stop himself, his body released. Ash leaned back against the wall as his body spasmed. Honestly, it was one of the best he'd ever had and the fact that she didn't pull away from him only made it sweeter.
Until he realized what he'd done. Then he cursed at his stupidity while he waited for her to let him have it. "I didn't mean to, Tory. I should have warned you."
She scowled up at him as she zipped his pants. "Warned me about what?"
He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "I normally have more control. I promise I'll give you time to pull away in the future."
Tory rose up and turned his chin until he met her gaze. "Ash, there is nothing about you that I find disgusting. Nothing. Not your eyes. Not your funky blue body. And especially not something that I initiated. In fact, I love the way you taste and I like it that you lost control. It means I'm doing it right."
Cupping her cheek, he nuzzled her cheek, delighting in the smoothness of her skin against his. "You're too good to be true."
"You only say that 'cause there's no hammer around."
He laughed and dipped his head to nuzzle her neck. "I'm so grateful you don't find me repulsive anymore."
She teased his ear with her fingers. "Just remember to always warn me before you drop fang on me again."
He looked at her with a frown. "Drop fang?"
She smiled playfully. "Yeah, it's a term from the vampire series L.A. Banks writes. You should read her books sometime. They're great."
"With an endorsement like that, how could I refuse? But first, I think we need to read more of this Tickle Pickle book of yours."
She laughed until pickles made her think of food. "Hey, does the blood thing mean I can't eat anymore?"
"No, Tory," he teased. "You just don't have to eat real food. You can taste it, but it won't quench the blood hunger. That you'll have to feed every couple of weeks."
"Or I turn into Mrs. Smurf?"
He laughed. "No. Only I do that. You'll just turn into . . ."
"What?"
"I was thinking of Simi's term. A bitch-goddess."
She punched playfully at his stomach. "Don't you ever call me that! You evil man."
Ash sobered as he realized the way they were playing and bantering. Not once in all of his life had he been so at ease with anyone. She knew everything about him.
Everything.
And none of it mattered to her. His past was nothing.
But she was his future.
Taking her hand, he led her to his bed where he intended to make love to her for the rest of the day. He kissed her as he dissolved their clothes and placed her in the bed. "I love you, Soteria."
Tory rolled him over, wrapped her long, lean body against his and held him close. "Sagapo, Achimou. Sagapo."
Her Greek warmed him as the hairs at the juncture of her thighs teased his stomach and made his body start to harden again. "Agapay, Sota."
Tory frowned up at him. "Agapay?"
He nodded. "Atlantean for I love you. Sota is the Atlantean endearment for your name."
Tory loved the sound of that, especially the way it rolled off his tongue in that sexy, lilting accent of his, and she loved most that he was sharing his language with her. "What would an endearment of your name be?"
"Acho."
"Agapay, Acho."
He toyed with her hair as he smiled down at her. "I always hated Atlantean, but not when you speak it."
She couldn't imagine why, given how beautiful it was. She could listen to him speak it all day and when he did-watch out. It made her extremely hot.
Nipping his shoulder made her wonder something else. "Out of curiosity, how many languages do you know?"
"I'm a god, Tory. I know all of them. And when you come into contact with them, you will too."
"Now that's impressive." She bit her lip in glee and then her eyes widened. "Ooo and I have another thought. You're omniscient, right?"
"For the most part, yes."
"Then you have to tell me this 'cause I have to know. What's at the end of everything?"
He shrugged. "That's easy enough."
"Then tell me."
"The letter G."
Groaning, Tory hit him in the head with a pillow. "You're rotten, Achimou. For that, you get a tongue lashing." She rolled him over until he was under her.
Ash sucked his breath in as she encircled his nipple with her tongue. Now this was the kind of tongue lashing a man could look forward to. "What else can I do to piss you off?"
She nipped at his ribs. "You can leave me."
He sobered with the thought. "I would never do that, Tory. No one can live without their heart and that's what you are to me."
Tory lay down over him and held him close. Until another horrible thought occurred to her. She tensed and pushed herself up so that she could meet his gaze. "Wait, Ash . . . doesn't Artemis own your soul?"
"No. I'm not really a Dark-Hunter. Unlike them, I didn't willingly give my soul to her. She used my powers to trick me and brought me back against my will. But because I'm a god, she couldn't take my soul from me. I've always had it"
"But you had the bow and arrow mark." Which wasn't on his body at present.
"Only because I didn't want the other Dark-Hunters to know I wasn't one of them. I just wanted them to treat me like I was normal. It's the same reason I have fangs whenever they're around even though they recede unless I'm about to feed."
She propped her head up in her hand and made circles over his chest. "You know you don't have to be normal around me, right?"
"I know."
"Good."
And for the rest of the night, Ash took his time making love to her. Showing her exactly how much she meant to him and how much he treasured her.
It was just after midnight when she finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. His body fully sated, Ash covered her with a blanket before he left the bed and dressed himself in black leather pants and a long VG Cat Rat Flail T-shirt. Pulling his long coat over it, he flashed himself from New Orleans to Mount Olympus.
For once he didn't go to see Artemis. Instead he made his way over to the temple of the Fates. The moment he set foot in the foyer, Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis appeared to block him from the rest of their domain. Not that they could. As the Final Fate, he ruled them and they knew it.
"What are you doing here?" Clotho asked, her voice high-pitched from her nervousness.
"I wanted to speak to you."
"About what?"
He looked at Atropos who was tall and blond and who absolutely hated him with a passion he'd never understood. In that moment, he allowed her to see every ounce of fury inside him. "You ever sever the thread for Soteria's life again and there's no power in existence that will keep me from tearing your throat out. The three of you have screwed me over for the last time. In all these centuries, I've left you alone. Now, I'm warning you to return the favor because the next time you tamper with my fate, I will end yours."
The fear on their faces told him that they understood and had taken his point to heart. Good.
He was through playing games. When it came to Soteria, he had no sense of humor whatsoever. Anyone who threatened her, ended their own life.
It was that simple.
She'd taught him to finally embrace who and what he was. Woe to the rest of them. Because he was now the Harbinger not just for his mother, but for a slip of a woman who held his heart.
For her, he'd do anything.
Even end the world.
