Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,112

I hope you know that.” Guilt swam in his eyes, though I doubted its sincerity. “Aries knew I wasn’t his. Why do you think he was so untrusting? But he was using me to lure the other Zodia here so he could fight them on his terms, in his territory.”

“So there were never any humans plotting to kill him?” I mused.

“Oh no, they are. They were using me to get to him, too. I tried to tell them he was too strong for them to kill. The other Zodia, though… all they need to do is separate you two.”

“They still wouldn’t be strong enough to kill him!” I blustered. “Even if they attacked him together, Aries will always be the strongest of them, and the best.”

I wasn’t surprised when Leo appeared next to Xavier, his tufted tail whipping back and forth excitedly. His golden fur was spotless, as if he’d groomed himself for just this moment.

“Taurus is going to kill me.”

Xavier shook his head. “He promised you wouldn’t be hurt.”

“I’m Taurus’s descendant, Xavier. He’s been hunting me since he woke up because I’m the only thing that can kill him. It’s why Aries agreed to let me come here and vowed to protect me.”

Regret hung heavily on Xavier’s shoulders at the revelation, a yolk made of the weight of his deception. “I didn’t know, I swear,” he said.

“What’s done is done,” Leo purred to the one I thought was my friend, the one I’d confided in and trusted.

Watery footsteps crossed the floor, and in my periphery the invisible Pisces stood. My heart dropped into my stomach. Aries raged outside, battering the door with all his might, but it held firmly against his attempts. I regretted shutting him out as much as I regretted trusting Xavier.

Pisces allowed color to seep into her orange and white scaled skin. Her plump lips gaped then closed, gaped then closed like she was breathing water instead of air. The slits of gills opened and closed along either side of her neck, fluttering and rippling with every breath she took.

At the back of her head and running the length of her back was a delicate fin, torn in a few places. I pulled my knife as she approached. If she touched me, I’d do more than tear it. I’d fillet the bitch.

27

Xavier shouted as Leo sprang forward. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her. You promised!”

Aries roared outside. The door began to splinter as impact after impact raged against it.

As Pisces slinked closer, I told her, “You’re not going to touch me again.” I remembered her iron grip, the way she held me down and wanted me to die and felt nothing about it. I was nothing to her. But I was worth something to Taurus, and he and Libra had something I wanted.

I was not about to die at the hands of Leo or Pisces.

The stones around us, including the very house and foundation shook with Aries’s rage. Pisces and Leo slowly pressed forward until my back hit the wall beside the door. “If Taurus wants me dead, why isn’t he here?”

Leo gave a predatory smile, rearing back as if he might pounce, claws at the ready.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled my dress’s knot aside, pinched my skin – hard – over the hip, and before I could talk myself out of it, sliced Aries’s mark off my body. My hand shook as I threw the bloody flesh to the floor. Xavier cursed as I held a hand to my hip to stanch the blood, gasping from the pain.

I did it.

Aries cried out, desperation lacing his voice. “Larken, no!”

But it was too late.

I cried as he broke the door enough that I could see his anguished face through the splintering wood. His hand pushed at the door planks, breaking through whatever force Leo had used to seal them in place. He truly was stronger than they were, even now that the pledge lay on the ground and nothing tethered us together.

It was what I was banking on.

That strength, that anger, entirely focused on his enemies.

As Taurus appeared with a wry grin on his face, he took in the room, dismissing Xavier immediately and settling his gaze on me. He saw my knife, my white knuckles gripping it. He spotted my side, covered in blood, and his smirk fell away.

“I won’t fight you,” I panted, the pain lancing over my hip. “I’ll willingly go with you if you concede my dad and if Libra concedes my