sadness in her eyes. “I will be away with your children, though, and can’t be called back for some time.”
“How will I know my children are safe?” I asked cautiously.
“You won’t. You must trust in their destinies,” Eris swallowed, bending over to reach for Cade. Then she gasped before hitting the floor hard.
I stared down at Eris as her mouth opened and closed through the pain that enveloped her. I knew that pain. I knew it all too well. The debilitating agony that the god bolt shot through your system, rendering you both powerless and paralyzed. Zander grew until he became Zahruk, stark-ass naked, leaning over Eris’s unmoving form. My gaze settled on the curve of his ass, appreciating the sleek muscles until a deep growl pulled my attention to the bed, where black eyes flecked with gold stared up at me.
I grimaced at being busted checking out his brother’s ass, but it was a nice ass. Zahruk snorted, glamouring on clothes. Fang, who had pretended to be Cade, cracked his neck, glaring at me while I ignored him. I waved my hand, dressing him in the same outfit he’d been wearing before I had snatched him out of the forest and forced him to help us.
“You traitorous bitch!” Eris hissed.
“Me? I’m not the one who slithered her way into this stronghold with a potion that promised to make Ryder a god, ensuring enough strength to survive the war. You are the cause of the chaos and endless drama unfolding within these walls, Eris, Goddess of Discord and Chaos. Did you think I would be so stupid to agree to your proposition? Tell me, were you supposed to murder my children, or deliver them to our enemies to be murdered?” I asked, stepping on her throat and leaning over, pushing the bolt further into her side. “They are babies! They are innocent of any wrongdoings and have not even begun to live yet.”
“It wasn’t personal,” she muttered hoarsely, wincing as I twisted the bolt, hurting her further. “I didn’t have a choice!”
“No? There is always a choice in which side you join.”
“You can’t hold me,” she whispered. “I am a fucking goddess, an ancient one. You are a fucking newborn!”
“I’m aware, which is why I brought someone even the gods will bow before. Tell me, have you met Lucian Blackstone yet?”
“Lucian, who?” she snarled, slowly turning her angry gaze to the door that had just opened. “No! No, no, he can’t be here!”
I smiled coldly as she shrieked, enjoying it way too much.
“Hello, Eris, does your mother know you’re intervening in the games of gods?” Lucian asked, snorting when she shook her head vigorously. “Didn’t think so, because I’m sure Nyx would kick your ass all the way to the Underworld if she did.”
“I am under an oath owed,” Eris hissed. “I had no fucking choice! It wasn’t personal.”
“It wasn’t personal?” I asked coldly, producing the clear blue vial she’d given me. Removing the cork, I leaned over her, pushing it against her mouth as she struggled, clamping her lips closed. “Drink,” I ordered.
“Mmm!” she screamed, shaking her head.
“What does it do?” I asked, pulling it away.
“It would kill him!”
“You wanted me to kill my mate? Why?”
“I can’t say!” she hissed.
“Tell me, or you can fucking choke on your own poison, bitch,” I warned, watching as she struggled against the vial of poison I was about to shove down her throat.
“If she is bound by an oath owed, she cannot tell you,” Lucian said, studying Eris as she pleaded with him silently.
“She can’t say who did this?”
“No, Goddess, I’m afraid not. She can tell you everything but who they are.”
“I know who it is,” I admitted. “Bilé is marching toward us with the mages. I’ve seen him. What I want to know is, what were his plans for us?”