A low rumble echoed in the distance, gradually growing into a deafening roar that reverberated through the very core of the atmosphere. The angry grumble of thunder seemed to emanate directly from the heart of Zeus himself, as if his rage had taken on a tangible form. Flashes of lightning illuminated the sky with blinding brilliance, casting shadows that danced with an eerie energy across the landscape.
The shift from tranquility to tempest was sudden and stark. The wind picked up, carrying with it a sense of tension and unease that seemed to radiate from the very air.
I could only hope that Maria was in a place where she was able to see the gathering tempest. After all, it was the signal that began our plan. If she failed, there was no way I would escape this room.
“No, Zeus,” Casus roared, his voice deafened slightly by the windstorm around us, “today you learn that we are no one’s pets.”
Raindrops, initially sparse and gentle, transformed into a torrential downpour, drenching the earth below in a deluge that mirrored the intensity of Zeus' wrath toward Casus and his words.
My head turned fully as I saw shadows form from Casus' raised hand. My eyes widened slightly, watching as it seemed as if he plucked a dagger out of the air, utilizing the shadowed portal in a move that happened so fast I barely had time to react.
Helen screamed and lept, holding her hand out as if she could stop Casus, but Zeus had made the attack too easy with his closeness. He assumed himself invincible, and as I watched in what felt like slow-motion, the tip of the black dagger sank into Zeus’ chest. I turned and ran back toward the door to put space between myself and whatever Zeus was about to do in return.
“Kill the guards!” Zora shouted. Seconds later, Elias appeared in front of me in a whirl of shadows, a smirk on his face as his hands closed around my arms.
“They can’t hurt you, baby curse.”
I watched, my jaw going slack as he poofed around the room in a swirl of shadows, snapping necks with his bare hands. My heart panged at the proof of the guards’ mortality. He didn’t need a special weapon to take their lives, and my eyes pooled with tears at the realization that the guards were likely in the same position as Maria. After all, they hadn’t made a move to intervene when Casus drew the dagger on Zeus.
The rain stopped falling as the wind ceased to blow, leaving the vast space above us full of an eerie silence.
Elias appeared in front of me, and I had to push down the profound sadness I felt at the loss of the lives around me. He shoved me back to the center of the room, and I turned to take in the aftermath of the chaos, gasping at the sight that met my eyes. Zeus’ mouth hung open, eyes fully focused on Casus as the latter pulled the dagger slowly out of him.
Helen lay on the ground next to them, tears falling from her eyes as Zora pinned her to the ground. “Father!” she cried as the towering god careened forward.
Casus stepped to the side as the god fell, crashing into the marble that broke beneath his weight.
I held my breath, waiting to see if he would get up again. When Casus gave the fallen god his back to walk toward Helen, I realized he’d been telling the truth this whole time. He somehow found a weapon powerful enough to kill a god.
Elias’ hot breath fanned over my ear as he whispered, “It’s black iron that was forged by Hephaestus on Mount Olympus. The dagger was created by Zeus’ own son to protect his mother, Hera, from the god. He was cast out of Olympus for his ability to create a god-killing weapon after Zeus bested him, taking the dagger for himself.”
I didn’t feel any remorse over Zeus being slain if he truly was gone for good. He was a tyrant over this world and the inhabitants of Olympus.
“Where did you get that?” Helen cried out as Zora climbed off of her, though not before shoving her knee into Helen’s back one last time. “It was locked away.No oneknew where it was.”
Casus dropped to a crouch in front of her, letting the tip of the dagger sit beneath her chin and using it to drag her gaze up until their eyes met. “We are the masters of the shadows. Nothing is hidden from us in their depths.”
Agony was etched all over her blotchy, red face. “Are you going to kill me next, then?”
His eerie black gaze swung to me then. “It seems you were the baby curses’ tormentor. It’s up to her.”
Despite Helen being an absolute shithead to me at pretty muchall times, I had yet to hear one actual horrendous thing she’d done to someone like her father had. I didn’t actively think she deserved death. Did she need a reality check about how she treated people? Without a doubt. I wanted justice to be dealt out for her plan to kill me, but I wasn’t the judge, jury, and executioner who needed to decide how that happened.
But this was a test of my commitment to the other curses. It was so easy to see.
How did I keep that dagger from turning my way and keep it from finding its way into Helen’s chest as well?
I let my voice grow cold, acting on instinct as I crossed to them. “I want her to be my new pet,” I seethed, putting as much bitterness into my words as I could muster on the spot. “I want her to do my bidding until I’m done having my fun with her. She continually made it her mission to make me feel like I was worthless, and I am determined to return that favor.”
Helen’s face turned into a scowl, just as I needed it to, to pass this off as genuine hatred between us. She spat out, “I would rather die.”
Chapter 22
ALEXANDRA
Damnit,Helen.
Casus moved quickly, grabbing her hair to pull her head back and exposing her chest as he shifted the dagger to rest over her heart. “I don’t think you’ll be able to control her, baby curse. It’s best for us all to end her now.”
