“No one is good enough to marry any of my brothers. But regardless, I approved of you because I knew a stray dog would always be loyal. And that’s what you were. A stray dog from the Eastside of Heathens Hollow. So take the bone I’m giving you and leave my office. I won’t tell my father, oryour husband,that you came.”
“Why are you such a bi—”
“Bitch?” she cuts in. “You bet your ass I’m a bitch. It’s far better than being a victim like you.”
“Fuck you,” I hiss. “I’m not a victim.”
She gives an evil grin. “No? You sure as hell are acting like one sitting across from me, begging. You came from nothing. Less than nothing. You were nothing but an Eastsider living in a shack with your sister and piece of shit abusive father. You were just a poor kid with a constant black eye with fantasies of what you have now. You owe my brother everything you have. So I don’t give a fuck if you’re miserable or not. Maybe Apollo isn’t the best husband. But one thing he has done for you is give you a life others would dream of. So stop being a goddamn baby and suck it up.”
Athena can cut me to the core with her words alone. She has that wicked eloquence over all her opponents. And in her life, every single person she knows is her opponent. Athena doesn’t have friends. Friends make you weak. She has enemies. Just not everyone knows that fact when they meet her. She’s led by fire, and poisonous water courses through her veins, making her one of the most vicious and dangerous women I know. But she’s powerful, and I had desperately hoped she’d use some of her ascendancy to help me.
How wrong I was.
I’m suffocating.
I’m fading.
But Athena will only stand there and watch me fall to my demise and simply consider it a good day’s work.
“Are we done?” she asks. I can see her annoyance that I’m not picking up on the fact that this conversation was over before I even took the seat across from her.
There’s a knock on her office door and her assistant peeks her head in. “Ms. Godwin… I have a call you need to take on hold.”
Athena scowls at the poor woman. “I’m busy. I’ll call them back.”
“He says it’s urgent,” the woman pushes. I feel bad for the secretary because most likely she won’t have a job by the end of the day for not instantly doing as Athena ordered.
“What part of ‘I’m busy’ do you not understand?”
The woman swallows but doesn’t back down. “Ms. Godwin, you are going to want to take his call.”
Athena’s eyes narrow, but she reaches for the phone as the secretary scurries away. “Yes?”
Whoever is on the other line has accomplished the impossible. They’ve chiseled at Athena’s stone exterior. It’s a small chip, but I see it. Her eyelashes flutter, her lip quivers ever so slightly, and her breath hitches.
“Daphne’s with me,” she says, but her voice cracks. She takes a breath and adds, “We’re on our way.”
I tilt my head in question. After the conversation we just had, I have no intention of going anywhere with her.
She hangs up the phone and reaches for her purse. “There’s been an accident. Ares and Apollo were flying to Seattle from Heathens Hollow. The helicopter went down near Whidbey Island.”
I’ve heard the sayingmy hearts stopsbut never really knew what that meant until now. “Are they—”
“We need to get to the hospital.”
ChapterThree
Ares
Living like kings can come with a ransom. Every time we rode on that helicopter, we were rolling the dice. You can’t soar with eagles, fly too close to the sun, and not have your wings eventually melt.
My eyelashes act as binds, preventing me from opening my eyes. Molten fire seems to ooze down my throat with every swallow. I hear beeping, machines humming, and distant voices I recognize and also ones I don’t.
Someone squeezes my hand. “It’s okay. Take your time. We’re here.”
Not caring if I rip every eyelash off, I pry my eyes open and see hazy images of people towering over me, around me, swarming me. I blink away the fog and notice my brother’s wife sitting to my left, holding my hand.
Why is Daphne holding my hand?