Ice ripped through Xia’s veins. Brooks wouldn’t.
That mask of pity slipped through the tears, and Xia hated the way it made her feel. Like she was a stupid, blind girl with no knowledge of the world.
“I tried to tell you. He is so controlling, Xia. Watching your every move and quick to decide your next. I worried about you, but who was I to stop you from going with him?” Ruby stepped toward Xia with every word, her hands out placatingly as if she were a wild animal ready to flee. “I saw the signs, Xia, but I didn’t know how to make you believe me.”
The Siren squirmed as it worked to understand the information.
“He is the god of the gods, Xia. Zeus is cruel, but the Father of Darkness rules with an iron fist. He does not have the ability to love or empathize.”
“Yes, he does.” Xia stood tall, every bone in her body rigid and defiant. “I’ve felt his love. I have seen his love.”
Ruby’s mouth thinned again, and there it was. That fucking pity.
“No. You’ve seen the man’s love. You haven’t seen the monster. He ripped the chaos from every daemon in our town and shredded their souls to do it. Do you understand what that means? He took their power and they are just… gone. No chance at the cycle of life and death. Their souls are wiped clean from the universe. And now that the Chaos has been fed, he will be strong enough to destroy the man and take back his throne of darkness.”
“No…” Xia stumbled. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I know. Gods, Xia, I swear I know it. But you know their cruelness. You’ve lived it first hand, and that was just from some low level daemon. If the Lord of Nightmares was capable of that cruelty, what do you think the god of us all is capable of?”
Xia swallowed. When it stuck, she tried again but nothing made it past the lump in her throat.
“I… I can prove it. I don’t want to have to, but we need to leave before he comes back. I’m afraid he’s consuming power so that he is strong enough to take yours. You were so strong on that river bank, Xia. He’s going to need your chaos in order to take on the rest of Olympia.”
“How do you know that’s what he wants?”
“What else would he want? You say he loves you. Do you think he doesn’t want to avenge you?”
“I asked him not to, Ruby. He wouldn’t go against my wishes–” Xia stopped.
He has gone against our wishes every step of the way,the Siren hissed.He said he would kill them all, and then lock us in a pretty cage to keep us safe.
“Come on.” Ruby held her hand out. “I think seeing it is the only way to understand the danger you’re in. Thatweare in.”
Xia couldn't move. She stared at the proffered hand for what could have been the span of a heartbeat or years. Brooks couldn’t have hurt anyone. Not after the asylum. Gods, he was torturedin that place, his mind ripped apart and sewn together only to be shredded again.
But…
Xia knew firsthand how that rage felt. How the beast inside simmers until the pressure releases with the force of a supernova. She’d lost herself on the black sands of her home, Anthemoessa, and she was only a daemon. The Twelve proclaimed themselves gods, but what would it be like if the true god of them all decided the world deserved his wrath?
Xia placed her trembling hand into Ruby’s and let the woman lead her from the room. The moment Ruby opened the door, the stench of copper assaulted her nose.
Blood. A lot of it.
Dread hit her harder than the Lord of Nightmares ever did as Ruby walked her directly across to the hall to room nine. The door was cracked and fragments of rust and metal lay on the ground in front of it.
When Ruby’s hand touched the door, she hesitated and looked back at Xia. With a squeeze of the hand, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Xia.”
Ruby pushed the door open and pressed her back against it, her head bowing and bottom lip trembling. Xia let go of Ruby’s hand, closed her eyes, and lowered her chin. She allowed one last heavy breath before facing the reality of her situation. When she opened her eyes, though, she wished she hadn’t.
A boot mark was imprinted with blood into the carpet beside her foot. It was twice the size of hers. There was no denying that it was a man’s, but that didn't mean it was Brooks’.
Did it?
Her gaze followed each print down the short entry hall until they ended and the massacre began. The bed was soaked in pools of blood so thick it had yet to dry. Black spots stained the carpet and spattered against the wall furthest from the door.
Tears streamed down Xia’s face, dripping from her chin and joining the boot prints on the floor. Apprehension set her stomach to roiling, the contents threatening to spill with each step she took.
Xia stepped around the largest parts of the mess, but there was too much gore to avoid it completely. Her eyes closed each time her bare foot made contact, a sob escaping with every sticky pull. When her vision crested the edge of the bed, Xia wished she’d turned around at the sight of blood. Wished she’d taken Ruby’s word and gone no further.
