3 - DECLAN
Am I shocked that Quaid has hidden powers? Yes. Yes I am. But am I worried about it? Hell no. Like Aric said, he’s nobody. A stupid mortal. Even if Star did choose to go with him over me, how far would they get? He can’t take her to Olympus. Whatever touching Apollo has done to Quaid, it was on this side of things, not that one.
Plus, Star doesn’t even remember who she is. And this memory hole goes far beyond what happened last night. I’m not exactly sure who she is either, but it doesn’t matter. Aric was wrong about why I’m here. While Iwassent here by my father, I’m not here to take Star back to him. I’ve been undercover, working for Hera, queen of the Gods, and I’ve got her blessing inside me. She gave me a boost of power that melds perfectly with my own—the ability to travel between worlds.
Quaid lives here in this realm, so I guess I can see him showing up at the last minute to ruin things. But Aric was a problem I didn’t anticipate. Because he should not be here. Not even the son of Ares can walk through worlds. And he wasn’t gifted with this power like I was. Hera said there was only one way for a demigod to make the journey—they must be able to carry information with them as they cross. Coordinates, asit turns out. But the message isn’t the important part, it’s the messenger. And that’s me, son of Hermes. The most famous messenger of all time.
But the most pressing problem at the moment is that Aric has deployed an attraction curse on my Star and I don’t understand how he’s doing it. He shouldn’t be able to affect her that way. Attraction against one’s will isn’t a blessing that might come from Ares, it’s a curse which needs to be executed with an artifact. But he’s not wearing any jewelry that I can see. Not even a watch.
All I know is that whatever is powering this curse is on his body somewhere, and I need to find it before he steals her away and ruins everything. Because if he can cross over to this side, then he must have a way to cross back as well.
He can’t have her. Not ever. She’s mine.
And I can prove it.
“Star, look at me.” She doesn’t, of course, because she’s staring at Aric’s dick. He’s such a sick motherfucker. But in this instance, I don’t need her eyes. I just need her ears…
“Da, da, dahhh, da, da, da, lies,” I sing, using the melody we were working on last night, but inserting the word she just came up with. I have no clue what is up with this song, but it doesn’t matter. My little Star is fixated on it and when I sing the melody, Aric’s hold on her wavers.
His seduction curse weakens and Star looks in my direction as I sing the other part she came up with just before she was cursed by Aric. “Something, something, something,eyes!”
Star blinks, just like she did when Quaid broke Aric’s hold over her, and stares at me.
“Damn you,” Aric growls. “Stop fucking things up!”
I ignore him. Starting to panic. Because this is the extent of my knowledge about this stupid song. Which means it’s my last chance to influence Star unless I get some more info. “Look atme, Star. You know the rest of the song, I know you do. Let’s sing it now! Come on, dig deep into that brain of yours and tell me the rest of the words!”
“Don’t listen to him, Star.” This comes from Quaid. “If you give him those words, he’ll cross back over to Olympus and he’s gonna take you with him! Everyone you know on this side of things will be gone. Everything you have will be gone.You’ll be gone! And there’s no way back!”
I scoff at him. “That’s not even true!”
“Star,” Aric says, using that commanding voice again. “Look at me!”
“Don’t,” I yell. “Do not look at him! He’s putting a curse on you, Star! To make you sexually want him! Don’t you remember what you were doing last night when we got arrested? He had you humping his leg like a fucking dog!”
Aric’s laugh is hearty. “You’re jealous. Because that charm of yours is nothing compared to this.” He pans his hand to his dick again. Which is now hard.
I make a face. “Gross, bru.”
Poor Star. She looks like a deer in headlights. I wish I could just reach out and bring her into a great big hug. Mostly because that she wouldn’t be able to look at Aric’s dick or that weird flash in Quaid’s eyes, but also because women like tenderness in a stressful situation.
I’m the tender one. That’s me. Charming, easygoing Declan.
“Enough!” Star yells.
And suddenly, the whole place goes dark.
