Because she was part human, up until she’d become a Daimon, she had some tolerance to sunshine. She couldn’t sunbathe or swim. But she could take a few minutes outside without becoming dust.
Urian couldn’t. And so Phoebe had done her best to make him understand what used to piss her off because she’d never realized how lucky she had it. Not until she met the boy who had never seen daylight at all. To this day, his story about trying to see a glimpse of the sun with his brother Paris brought tears to her eyes.
Damn her sister if anything had happened to him.
Wiping at her eyes, Phoebe stepped out of the elevator, into the central area that was roughly the size of a football field. From the center atrium, there were corridors that led to the other areas and centers of the facility.
This main part was the hub of Elysia and held most of their shops and vendors, with the exception of restaurants. Being Apollites, they didn’t need any.
“The city is named Elysia.” Without slowing her gait, Phoebe led them through a handful of residents who had paused to stare at them. “Most of the Apollites here live their entire lives below ground. They’ve no desire to go topside and see the humans and their violence. Nor do they wish to see their kind hunted.”
Once they’d passed through her people, Chris cleared his throat to get her attention. “What do they do with the Daimons?”
“No Daimons are tolerated here since they require a steady diet of human or Apollite souls. If an Apollite decides to go Daimon, they’re allowed to leave, but they can never return here. Ever.”
Kat arched a brow at that. “Yet you live here. Why?”
“I told you, Urian protects them. He was the one who showed them how to build this place.”
“Why?” Kat pressed.
Phoebe stopped and turned to give Kat a measuring stare as she fought the urge to slap her and Cassandra both for their continued mistrust, which was ridiculous at this point. What more did she have to do to prove herself to them? Light herself on fire? “In spite of what you might think of him, my husband is a good man. He only wants what’s best for his people.” Phoebe’s gaze went to Cassandra. “Urian was the first child to ever be born a cursed Apollite.”
Technically second, since his twin was the firstborn, but close enough. And as psycho as Stryker was, it was a fact that he’d tried his best to keep from Urian for years. He’d even lied to both of his sons about when they were really born so that they wouldn’t know.
Until their brother Archie had cruelly told him the truth one day when they’d been fighting as boys.At least I wasn’t the first one born cursed, Uri! That tells you how bad even our own grandfather must hate you!
The news had hit Urian like a sledgehammer and he’d never told a soul that he knew the truth.
Not until Phoebe. He’d only shared his shame with her.
Cassandra gasped. “That would make him—”
“Over eleven thousand years old.” Phoebe finished the sentence for her. “Yes. Most of the warriors who travel with him are that old. They go back to the very beginning of our history.”
Chris whistled low. “How is that possible?”
“The Destroyer protects them,” Kat said. “Just as the Dark-Hunters serve Artemis, the true Spathis serve her.” She sighed as if the conflict pained her just as deeply. “Artemis and Apollymi have been at war since day one. The Destroyer is in captivity because Artemis tricked her into it, and she spends all her time plotting Artemis’s torture and death. If she ever gets out, Apollymi will destroy her.”
Cassandra frowned. “Why does the Destroyer hate Artemis?”
“Love. Why else?” Kat said simply. “Love, hatred, and revenge are the most powerful emotions on earth. Apollymi wants revenge on Artemis for killing the one thing she loved most in the universe.”
“And that is?”
“I would never betray either one by saying it.”
“Would you write it down?” Chris asked.
Kat rolled her eyes.
Cassandra and Phoebe shook their heads.
Chris scoffed at their reaction. “Oh yeah, like the two of you weren’t thinking the same thing.”
No, but Kat’s words made her think of Urian’s snarky pessimism whenever she made him watch a romcom instead of the horror movies he preferred—Love doesn’t conquer all. Only a quick sword does that.
And with that thought in mind, Phoebe took them to the residential area. “These are apartments. You’ll be given a large unit with four bedrooms. Mine is down a separate hallway. I would have liked to have you closer, but this was the only one available that was big enough to accommodate all of you.”
