Divine Uprising (Divine Uprising #1)

Confused, I waited for him to clarify. Seth was immediately in front of me, and Adonis was slammed against the nearest wall. I cried out to him, but my voice would not cooperate.

My mouth opened to scream as Seth blew into my face. His breath smelled like honey, and I was instantly drawn in. I wanted to bathe in his presence. My body convulsed as if it had taken a direct hit. My soul was soothed at his words, yet I knew it was all wrong. My body wouldn’t listen, and it pushed towards the voice. I was desperate, starving, and needed him to be closer.

“Like I said before, Thena, there is no us, only you and I… only you and I. Do you get it, my love? My sweet, beautiful one? I will search the ends of the earth for you. You are my obsession, my life. I want to possess you…” Seth’s face transformed into that of a relative stranger. A heartbreakingly beautiful being, full of light. I was scared to touch him, but my body craved it.

His lips crushed mine and stole. They took but didn’t give anything in return. My treacherous body allowed him to steal all of my energy; I freely gave in, knowing it was wrong, and then, as I was coming out of the dream-like haze, something hard hit me across the face.

“Athena, wake up!” Adonis was standing over me, concern written all over his beautiful face. “Thena, can you hear me?”

“She’s passed out,” Seth said, looking bored yet somehow stronger than before. Was it possible that in the time I had been on the floor, he had grown? He’d been in the dream with me, hadn’t he?

My head ached. I wanted to scream.

“What happened?” I asked, feeling suddenly weak.

“You fell,” Seth said.

“Fell? When? How? I had this dream, I…”

Adonis pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. “Why are you so weak? What happened to you, Thena?”

“I… I don’t know. I just had this terrible nightmare, and then you slapped me. I don’t think I dreamed that up.” Adonis had the good measure to be a trifle embarrassed as he winced apologetically.

“We must go,” Seth announced, looking at me as if he could read the thoughts in my head and see the terrible waking dream I’d just had.

How had he been in it? I was losing my mind. Seth was there to help us, not to seduce me out of my wits. Was I that attracted to him that I would dream these things up?

Slowly, I got to my feet and allowed my body to lean against Adonis’s.

“You’re too weak. I don’t understand,” Adonis whispered against me, and then his lips were on mine. His hands touched me everywhere, and I didn’t care. I was on fire. I was so weak, and I needed him so desperately I wanted to cry.

My body reacted to his immediately, and I felt bad for being so parasitic in my need to be attached to him.

He pulled away, the light draining from his face. I felt better but knew it was at great cost to him. “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, touching his bruised lips.

“Don’t be… what I give you, I give willingly.” He kissed my cheek, and we followed Seth out, hoping the guy hadn’t watched that unnatural display of affection and strength.

I followed both men blindly. I had strength from Adonis, but my wits were absolutely fried.

Seth led us out of the room and into an elevator. I hoped we would be able to find some rest soon. My body was exhausted, and I knew Adonis needed time to recuperate.

“We will rest soon,” Seth said, not looking at either of us. “But first I would like to show you one more thing.”

“Perfect,” I mumbled.

The elevator stopped with a thud, and the doors opened with a whoosh, letting us into a lush apartment.

“Please tell me we get to sleep here,” I said, gaping at the plush couches and flat screen TV.

“You get to sleep here.” Seth laughed, and then his expression turned concerned. “Adonis, why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll take care of Athena.”

Adonis looked to me to see if it was all right; we didn’t often go to bed without one another, which sounded immoral and totally inappropriate, but it was more of a protection and comfort thing. The guy never touched me when we were actually in bed together, let alone kissed me.

“Go,” I found myself saying as I pushed him toward the hall where I hoped a bedroom awaited him. Nodding, he walked off, leaving Seth and me alone.

“Hungry?” Seth winked and trotted to the kitchen.

Surely that was a trick question, because I could have sworn Seth saw the greed in my eyes, as I looked at the gourmet kitchen. I was suddenly ravenous without any clue why food looked so good. Normally, I needed to eat maybe once a week, but now it felt like an entire cow wouldn’t be enough to satisfy my appetite.

“Pasta?” Seth asked, flipping on the lights.

I looked guiltily back to where Adonis had disappeared. He had taken such a hit when he gave me his energy earlier. Granted, I still felt tired, but I knew Adonis was the one who had suffered more. Faint bruises had lined his lips after he’d kissed me, probably from the force with which he pushed his mouth against mine. It was like he had been desperate to replenish what I had lost, as if the entire safety of the world depended on it.