And this particular one would be coming for her.
Things were about to get bloody and she would be in the very center of it.
"We have a problem."
Sitting in his leather chair in front of the fire in his study, Stryker looked up from the book he was reading to find his newest High General and second-in-command standing in front of him. He didn't like for his soldiers to materialize without warning. If she wasn't his daughter and if she didn't look so much like her mother whom he loved more than anything, he'd kill her for the intrusion.
Irritated at her, he turned the page slowly before he responded to her emotional outburst. "I don't have a problem, Medea. Care to tell me yours?"
With an annoyed expression that twisted her beautiful features into a fierce scowl, Medea glared furiously at him--another trait she shared with her fiery mother. "The demon who escaped your party that Phrix blasted with your latest toy? He went from here to Sanctuary where he exploded all over one of the bears."
He had to keep one corner of his mouth from quirking up in amusement. Too bad he'd missed seeing the bear doused with demon entrails. That had to have been entertaining. "And that concerns me how?"
"The Dark-Hunters now not only know for a fact, but believe we walk in daylight. The proverbial cat has escaped his bag and taken a dump all over your carefully laid plans...Father."
Oh, now that was truly upsetting and it made him want to rip out someone's heart. Lucky for Medea, he loved her enough to curb that impulse.
For the moment.
Stryker cursed at their lost advantage against their enemies. It was one they really couldn't afford. "And you know this how?"
"I have a spy in the club who heard the bears and wolves talking about it. Congratulations, Father. We're officially screwed."
He ignored her sarcasm. "You have a spy in Sanctuary?" He was impressed by her drive and resourcefulness. That was one of many reasons he'd replaced Davyn with her. Davyn had yet to say a word about being replaced. Of course he had no choice except to live with it.
If not, Stryker would kill him for daring to protest. Though to be honest, Davyn had seemed rather relieved to be removed from command. But that was neither here nor there.
Medea crossed her arms over her chest. "I have a lot of friends in low places." She gave him a look that was definitely inherited from her mother's mostly acerbic personality. "Family too."
And he couldn't be prouder even though it was an obvious dig. Another reason he'd promoted her. Unlike Davyn, he didn't get the impression she was about to wet herself every time she had an audience with him. "Good girl. Did this spy tell you anything else pertinent?"
"Acheron's wife is three months pregnant."
Stryker went completely still as raw anger overtook him. One cause was jealousy, pure and simple. It wasn't fair that Acheron could breed while that ability had been taken from Stryker and his fellow Daimons over something none of them had done or even participated in. As Apollites, they could have children--for a brief period during their seriously truncated lives. But the moment they refused to lie down and die horribly at age twenty-seven, when they crossed over to being Daimons that right ended.
Bastard Apollo. For that, among many reasons, he wanted to hold Apollo's heart in his fist and feast on it.
The second cause of his anger was that he couldn't touch Acheron's wife no matter how much he might want to. Gods how alliances sucked.
Acheron's mother, the goddess Apollymi, was their benefactor and Stryker's adoptive mother. But for Apollymi, he'd have a way to cripple the Dark-Hunters forever. Take out their weakened queen--Acheron's wife--and their king would follow. Pregnant women were always an easy target and Acheron loved her to such an extent that he'd never get over losing her. It was such a twofer that it was hard to resist.
But Stryker had enough self-preservation to let it go. Killing Soteria would anger the goddess he served and no one with a brain angered Apollymi. As the Atlantean goddess of destruction, she wielded a nasty tendency to disembowel anyone who irked her.
Even Stryker.
Damn.
Yet not completely bad. If Soteria was pregnant, Acheron would be distracted and wouldn't venture far from home. He'd be too worried about his enemies, especially Artemis, coming after his wife to harm her or the baby. And given what had happened to Acheron's sister and nephew when he'd left them alone and his own guilt over their deaths--The Atlantean would be semi-neutralized by that fear....
Stryker could work with that.
"What's that grin mean, Father?"
"It means he's plotting something, dearest. Something bloody and foul. The only question is who is his target, and pray to the gods the answer isn't you."
Stryker smiled wider as Zephyra joined them. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman to ever live. The mere sight or scent of her made him so hard that it was all he could do not to strip her naked and take her no matter the audience.
That woman moved like a flowing breeze, graceful and slow. Seductive. And just as quick to turn vicious without warning. Her long blond hair made his fingers itch to touch it. She stopped beside Medea to give her a hug and the sight of them together made his heart rush. His girls. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter and they were the only thing in the universe that meant anything to him.