Reysalor use me as a weapon to kill them, which was fucking suicide anyway.
I didn’t say it out aloud, but I was sure a cunning killing light flashed in my eyes, because the vampire lord’s bitch was about to charge me, even though Lorcan simply regarded me coolly with slight distaste.
I glanced at the food on the table, and I no longer had the appetite.
“When the world is all burned, you’ll have no place to stay, either,” Lorcan said. “And the gods won’t leave you alone, especially if they know who you are.”
My nose wrinkled. “Who am I?”
A dangerous light glinted in his eyes. The vampire had icy fire, but beneath it I read his uncertainty. He didn’t know either. But I had a hunch he’d interrogated Jezebel and her vampire king about my legacy and hadn’t gotten much out of it.
She would never reveal her parentage and who my father was to anyone. She’d only told me once that I was a bastard in blood. I knew what that meant. I was unwanted.
The High Lord of Night was frustrated.
Jezebel’s mind was a mess of threads, tainted by her madness. Her only good use was her blood. And she must have been a good fuck for King Dario to keep her around all this time.
I didn’t know how or why, but Jezebel was even more damaged than I.
“Why don’t you tell me who you are, Cass?” Lorcan taunted with a purr in his voice.
“Here’s what I am,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m the wildest thing who never should have been caged. The mistake Jezebel made will be corrected. You can’t control me, so don’t even try. I’m ruthless and reckless. I won’t obey any laws or rules—not yours or anyone’s. I have no sense of morals, shame, or honor. It’ll be pointless to use those damn concepts to mold and manipulate me. I carry no bond but my own freedom. And I won’t allow anyone to use me as a weapon. Use me as a pawn, and I’ll kill the kings and queens on both sides.”
A lick of black fire twirled up my arms and into my tri-colored hair like a snake. It should have scared them, but both the vampire lord and panther stared at me, mesmerized.
“You’re a survivor, Cass,” Lorcan said.
“And my every survivor instinct tells me not to do your bidding,” I said. “When you tore open that cage, you thought you found the treasure—a weapon you could use. Unfortunately, you got me.”
You are the treasure, Reysalor said in my head.
I glanced at him. He looked sincere and gazed at me like I was the most precious thing to him. My heart fluttered, and I was turned on. I was so fucked.
“You’re exactly what I’ve been searching and waiting for, for an eon, Cass,” Lorcan said. “Even though we don’t know your true heritage yet.”
Hadn’t they heard my fierce statement?
“If you’re trying to mess with my head, it won’t work,” I said. “I’m not naïve.”
Why don’t we do this, Cass baby? Reysalor said, and Lorcan leaned forward. He could hear the beast talking to me. You’ll have the final say on whether you want to kill the gods or not. In the meantime, we’ll train you and make you stronger. We have eons of experience at your disposal. Use us. Take advantage of us. When you’re powerful enough, no one will ever put you away like your mother did or they’ll suffer your wrath, and ours.
That sounded fine. But too easy. The terms were all for my benefit. Reysalor might be on my side, but Lorcan didn’t strike me as someone who would put other people’s interests first.
My suspicious gaze traveled between the vampire and the beast.
“What do you have to lose, Cass?” Lorcan said. “Strike a deal with us. Lay down your conditions. Make your demands. I’ll meet them if they’re reasonable.”
Right, they needed me in the future, but I needed them now. As Reysalor had said, it was up to me in the end if I wanted to kill the gods or not. I’d watch out for myself every step of the way, so they couldn’t dictate my path.
“I don’t like the idea of brunch,” I ground out.
Lorcan arched an eyebrow.
“There must be three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” I insisted.
“Fine,” Lorcan said.
“And in between, there’ll be snacks to my liking,” I said, deciding to push it further.
“That can be arranged as well,” Lorcan said on a sigh.
Our gazes locked. He looked at me as if I was his snack.
“No one’s fangs get near my neck,” I said. “If anyone thinks I’m the snack, they better be ready to have their teeth pulled out. I’ll never be a blood whore.”
Reysalor snarled. I’ll kill anyone before they can seek your blood. He glared at Lorcan in warning, and Lorcan returned the glare, albeit wearily.
Two conditions settled. I ventured for more.
“I’ll have a hot bath daily,” I said. “Sometimes two if I’m too hot and sweaty.”
“You’ll have your hot bath,” Lorcan said.
“I want my own, independent suite.”
“That’s pushing it, Cass,” Lorcan said. “You’ll stay in the secured room next to mine so the panther can guard you at daytime and I’ll guard you at night. One of us will always be with you. We can’t trust anyone here.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but his statement “we can’t trust anyone here” struck a chord in me.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll compromise on that. You two really know how to drive a hard bargain.” I pursed my lips. “I think that’s it. I’ll amend my terms when I think of something else.”
“And I have my conditions as well,” Lorcan said.
I frowned at him.
“Can’t let you have all the fun,” he said, but there was nothing teasing about his tone. “You’ll not be lazy.”
I glared at him. “That’s an insult.”
“You’ll train as hard as you can,” he continued, holding my gaze coolly. “You won’t make an excuse to stay in bed. And I don’t want to hear constant whining, either.”
“I don’t whine!”
“And you’ll listen to our instructions instead of constantly defying us.” His list kept going.
“Our? Us? Please define who that consists of,” I cut in. “I’m not going to take everyone’s stupid instructions.”
“There are only two you need to listen for now: Reysalor and me,” Lorcan said. “And most important, you’ll promise not to run away before you come to full power.”
“When will that be?” I asked. That would be the day I would truly be free.
“It’ll depend on how well you listen to us and practice as instructed,” Lorcan said, regarding me with a brooding and calculated look.
He made it sound like he was the star mentor everyone craved.
I snorted. My ass.
“Oh, one more thing,” I said slyly. “I pick my own clothing.”
“You have a closet full of them,” he said. “Pick whatever you want.”
“None of them are what I want,” I said, shuffling my skirt. “We’ll need to go shopping, and the sooner the better, so we can start the training.”
That was a ruse.
I had dream-visited the shopping malls. I desperately wanted to go there in the flesh, and maybe sneak into a theater with a large bucket of salty, buttered popcorn. That would be like heaven.
From now on, I wanted to live a little, even though they demanded I train to kill the gods.
“We can’t go to the mortal realm,” Lorcan said. “It’s not safe for you. As I said, we don’t want any spies to get the wind of you. Besides, half of the mortal realm was burned.”
That sounded depressing. What if the places that I’d wanted to go to had already been leveled? It seemed the gods were menaces. Maybe one day I would take them out if they pissed me off enough—that is, if I could.
“We’ll take you to a clothing store around here,” Lorcan sighed, as if he’d suffered enough of me. “And after that, you’ll train.”
“Deal,” I said with a smirk, running my fingers over Reysalor’s thick fur in victory. The motion brought a hungry, envious look to Lorcan’s eyes, as if he wanted to be the panther. I glanced at the beast, who winked at Lorcan.
I got up so fast that the chair screeched on the floor.
“Who’s going shopping with me then?” I grinned. But as Lorcan turned to glance at Jade, I shook my head and wiggled a finger. “No, no, no. I don’t want her. She’ll suck the joy out of everything.”
There was no way I was going to give the vampire bitch a chance to strike me first.
READ War of the Gods Complete Series Boxed Set: Books 1-4