Adonis’s lips moved quickly over mine. His hand tightened in my hair; his other gripped my waist. His lips tasted like lavender. I shivered. Maybe that was another thing he had been hiding from me? Probably a good thing, considering it made me want to devour him.
I pulled back and looked into his eyes. They were blazing an icy blue as he kissed my head. “You need your rest.”
“I’m not tired,” I argued as I stifled a yawn.
“Right, okay, we’ll just rest our eyes, “ he said patronizingly as he picked me up and walked me to the room.
With a sigh, I cuddled into the bed, but it didn’t dip under his weight.
I flipped around and gave him a questioning look.
He grinned. “Sorry, Thena. But you’re still part human, wouldn’t want to cause you to fall.” With a wink he sauntered out of the room and shut the door.
Many mean names came to mind, but instead of yelling after him, I laughed and closed my eyes. He was probably right, and we both knew I would just be making a fool of myself. I didn’t have the self-control right now to keep myself from mauling him, and that was the last thing our relationship needed. Complications.
I sighed into the pillow, savoring the scent of Adonis, and closed my eyes.
“Thena, I have come for you,” a voice said in my ear. “Follow me, come with me,” the voice whispered again. “You are so perfect. So precious. Be mine.”
I turned on my side and was met by warmth. I groggily opened my eyes. Adonis was lying next to me, his eyes open as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
Weird, but he tasted different than before. His mouth was too hot, almost scorching. I tried to pull back, but he held me there. I beat against his chest, but he was too strong, and then he grabbed my wrists and pinned me against the bed.
His face morphed into Thanatus’s.
“You have failed,” he sneered, sniffing my hair. “You will be mine.”
“Never,” I vowed.
He chuckled, his teeth grazing my cheek. He bit my lip and licked my blood. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. “Come with me, or I’ll kill you.”
“I’d rather die.”
“That, my dear, can be arranged.”
“They’ll come for me,” I spat.
“My dear…” Thanatus drew out a dagger and held it close to my throat. “That is what we are counting on.”
Uprising
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adonis
I knew something was wrong the minute I didn’t hear Athena snoring. I would never say it to her face, for fear she would impale me on the end of her favorite dagger, but she always snored.
Every night.
I used to stuff a pillow over her face. It never made sense to me that she would snore when she didn’t even need to breathe. Obviously, it was just more of her humanness trying to break through. It irritated me that the only time it would choose to show itself would be when I was also trying to get some sleep.
With a sigh, I rose from the couch and went to her door. I knocked twice and waited. No answer.
I knocked again. Panic slowly rose in my chest. There was no way something was wrong. I’d been on the couch the entire time.
“Athena.” I pounded the door.
I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. With a little push the door flew off the hinges. Her bed was empty. I knet down and noticed her dagger on the floor. She would have never left it behind. The last time she’d forgotten it, she’d made me drive three hours back to Headquarters to find it.
Once, Apollo had stolen the dagger as a joke. Well, the joke had been on him. He’d walked around with a bruise under his eye for two weeks.
Sickness threatened to take over as I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of the room.
Sulfur.
It smelled like death.
Thanatus.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Michael’s number.
He answered on the first ring.
“Yes.”
“She’s gone.”
He sighed heavily into the phone. “How long?”
I smelled the room and looked at the clock by her bed. “Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.”
Michael said something in his ancient tongue then barked orders. “Meet back at Headquarters in ten minutes. We’ll have everyone assembled by then. Bring any evidence.”
“Where would they go?” I asked.
“The only place Azazeel has power.”
Dread shot straight to my chest. “Sheol.”
“We’ll talk about this later.” The phone line went dead.
I grabbed my keys, threw a shirt over my head, and ran for the door. Around Athena, I had always had to dumb my powers down. I couldn’t appear too smart or too serious. Now, with her gone, I could use the full range given me by El. In an instant, I was by the pier and boarding the elevator.