“I don’t want your love,” he said when he stopped laughing. “Love is weakness. I want a powerful partner at my side. One who has energy that complements my own so I can utilize that source as well.”
And there it was. Finally we had the truth.
A truth that made sense.
He’d told me that he wanted a mate. That he was lonely.
But that was all bullshit. He wanted a mate alright, one he could share power with. And by share, he meant to steal their power. This bastard had tried to manipulate a true mate bond so that he’d have access to my energy.
What the fuck was it with gods always wanting more power?
My energy surged in protest, crashing uselessly at the binds holding me. My skin grew clammy as I fought, trying any spell I could think of. But nothing worked. A long drawn out battle scream ripped from my throat, and I focused more than I ever had before, not hiding from the heat that swirled in my gut. I let it all loose. Sonaris cocked his head to the side, examining me, the warm inviting smile replaced by a smirk. It was actually less creepy, because this was the real god now, no pretending to be anything other than a psycho.
“You’re absolutely spectacular,” he said, brushing a finger across my cheek. I snarled and jerked my head in an attempt to bite him.
I was under no illusion that I was the most beautiful, or smartest, or even the most powerful supe around. I was none of those things. But there was something in my energy that drew these powerful men to me. Jesse, Sonaris, even Asher—though I did believe we were truly soulmates. The connection went both ways with Asher. It certainly didn’t with the other two.
I tried a different tactic. “There’s a true mate out there for you,” I told him softly, quenching some of my sarcasm and anger in an attempt to connect on an emotional level. “It’s probably someone you least expect. Shit! It could be a human.”
He scoffed. “I need a power source to draw from, not a black hole to suck it out of me. If my mate was a human, I’d kill her before she could weaken me.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re already one of the most powerful gods in the fucking world, and still it’s not enough. What if you did have my power? It wouldn’t be enough after a while either. You have to learn to be satisfied with what you have. Especially when you’re already blessed.”
His smirk wavered, just briefly, and for a second I wondered if I’d gotten through to him. His irises dilated as he remained unblinking, staring at me. Then that moment was gone. He shook his head like he could shake out my words in those two swift movements. He picked me up and threw me into the water off the side of the island.
As the cool liquid closed over my head, a sigh escaped. I was still bound, but being in here actually made me feel a tiny bit better. The water was surprisingly deep, and since I remained bound up like a mummy, I could do nothing but sink.
Shadows danced beside my face and I managed to flip over to see what was following me.
Sonaris.
“You need some time to think,” he said, conversationally. “Since I have you for a month now, I’m going to leave you here for a while. I’ll be back to check on your attitude soon.”
He moved through the water the same way he’d stepped through the air, like neither was a barrier to his movement, both there to support and help him. So graceful.
I wondered if he’d die just as gracefully. Because I was going to fucking kill him. Even if it took me the rest of my life.
I would figure out how to destroy that god.
Chapter 12
When I hit the bottom of the ocean floor, I managed to flip myself over to lie on my back. The pressure down here was not uncomfortable and I had no problem breathing or seeing clearly, but I was still bound. With no Sonaris to focus on, I was having some trouble with that old fear again.
Breathe. Just breathe.In and out. In and out.You’re okay. You’re alive.
The water was my home. Not my enemy. There had to be something I could do to help myself. Closing my eyes, I focused on the currents, drifting around me. After some time, even with my eyes closed, I could sense everything around me. The billions of creatures. The life and death of the great circle happening down here.
My heart beat in rhythm with so many others, and when I finally opened my eyes, I wasn’t surprised to see hundreds of creatures around me. I’d done this before. Called the sea animals to me. Not on this scale though.
There were so many. More than I could see or count. They spanned way back to what looked like a whale. It should have been eerie—okay, it was a little freaky—to have them all just hovering there before me, like a captive audience waiting for me to say something highly inspirational.
Inspiration wasn’t really my thing though.
“Can you get word to Asher?” I asked. “Tell him that I’m okay and I’ll be back as soon as I can free myself from the binds.”
Two dolphins, close to me, sent out their squeaks and whistles. I wouldn’t swear on it, but it definitely felt like they could understand me. In any case, they zoomed off and I crossed my fingers they were going to figure out how to “speak” to Asher.
Asher.Dude probably flipped out when I disappeared. Ten to one he punched Jesse thinking he’d killed me and buried the body. Hopefully their fight didn’t last long before they figured out there was another enemy in their midst, and that we had to stop fighting amongst ourselves.
