Daimon (Guardians of Hades #6) - Felicity Heaton Page 0,63

to her coven, to the man waiting for her.

He was no longer sure whether he had been attempting to drive a wedge between them to save himself, attempting to force a confession from her or something else.

But as he stood focused on the gate, his mind emptying, his heart supplied a possible answer.

He had done it because he wanted her to pick him.

He wanted Cass to look at him the way Megan looked at Ares. He wanted everything his brother had, everything he had denied himself for centuries, everything he had never wanted but now craved to the point it made him crazy.

And it wasn’t because he could touch Cass.

He had been craving her from the moment he had set eyes on her.

But he couldn’t have her.

So he kept trying to force her away from him, even when he knew it wouldn’t change how he felt.

But he couldn’t give in to her.

This kind of feeling was going to last longer than the time he had with her. When she left, he was going to feel bad enough as it was, but if he let her get any closer, it would destroy him. He would never get over her.

“Daimon, are you fucking listening?” Valen’s voice broke into his thoughts and he turned his head to his right, his gaze landing on his violet-haired brother where he stood right in front of him. “This is not the time to zone out. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Daimon had been asking himself that question since Cass had stormed into his life, throwing everything into disarray. He didn’t have an answer to give his brother.

Lightning struck all around them, shaking the hills that stretched in all directions, slender moonlight casting silver highlights on their sides and sloping peaks. Half a dozen screams rent the night air, the vile scent of daemon blood thickening and choking him. Wind swept across the battlefield beyond Valen, sending another half dozen daemons crashing into each other.

“I’m listening,” Daimon snapped, ignoring the look Valen gave him that blatantly said his brother didn’t believe him.

“Get your head out of your pants,” Valen barked and reached a hand towards him, looking as if he was going to seize Daimon and shake him. He stopped just inches from him and glared instead. “Because you’re fucking this all up.”

Valen’s golden eyes dropped.

Daimon looked down as warmth suddenly seeped across his stomach and hip on his left side, stared at the slick patch that was already several inches wide.

He hadn’t noticed someone had landed a blow on him.

He growled, anger at the daemon who had done this to him colliding with fury aimed at himself for letting his mind wander during a fight. He swiftly checked the Erinyes, relieved to find they were still at the gate, and were no longer focused on attempting to open it.

They were struggling to defend themselves.

Marek and Keras worked as a team, using earth and shadows to drive the daemons back, taking several down in the process as they fought to reach the Erinyes.

The two blonde goddesses had closed ranks and were holding hands now, their bright violet eyes glowing in the darkness as they slowly backed off.

Behind them, the gate shrank and winked out of existence with a violent burst of purple light that dampened Daimon’s vision.

Not only had he failed to notice a daemon had landed a blow on him, but he had failed to notice the arrival of his brothers.

He cursed Cass, and then himself.

Black shadows raced from Keras, screams filling the air as they cut a path through the daemons, and then a keening feminine shriek.

“Sister.” One of the Erinyes turned a growl on his oldest brother. “You will pay dearly for that.”

But rather than attacking him, she cast a portal. The violet-black smoke rapidly billowed outwards and she backed into it, helping the other furie as she hobbled. Marek and Cal stepped and sprinted for it, and Daimon kicked off too, determined to get his hands on one or both of the goddesses.

Daemons crowded the path ahead of him and he snarled through short fangs as he threw his arms forwards. Jagged shards of ice shot up from the grass, impaling several of the daemons. The rest were swift to leap out of the way. His gaze shot to the portal and he bit out a curse.

It was gone.

On a black growl, he turned on the remaining daemons, hurling spears of ice in rapid succession, quickly taking down six of them as