She felt so betrayed she couldn't breathe. After all these centuries, she had dutifully served both Apollymi and Artemis. Now the two of them were using her against each other and she didn't like it in the least.
And they both wondered why her father didn't want to play their reindeer games. He was far wiser than Kat since he had always managed to keep himself out of these situations. Only he seemed to understand both goddesses.
How she wished she could call him. He could probably end this in a matter of seconds. But involving him would only make things worse. No, she had to handle this on her own.
Besides, she no longer cared what either goddess wanted. She had grown extremely fond of Cassandra these last five years and she didn't want to see her friend used, let alone hurt. It was time for all of them to just leave Cassandra alone. Corbin got out of the car.
Kat followed her into the garage, then stopped as Corbin unlocked the door to her house. "Look, we're all on the same team."
The Huntress looked at her as if she were insane. "Sure we are, hon. Now come inside so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything like leave Cassandra to her enemies again."
Kat used enough of her powers to hold the door shut. Corbin rattled the knob and smacked the wood with her hand.
"You know," Kat said angrily, "if I wanted Cassandra dead, don't you think in the last five years I could have killed her? Why would I wait until now?"
Corbin turned away from the door. "How do I know you've known her for five years?"
Kat laughed sarcastically at that. "Ask her and you'll see."
Corbin looked at her thoughtfully. "Then why did you leave her unprotected tonight?"
Kat locked gazes with her so that Corbin could see her sincerity. "I swear to you, had I known those homicidal loons were going to show up, I wouldn't have stepped one foot out of that apartment."
Still, Corbin's gaze doubted her. On the one hand, Kat admired the woman's protectiveness. On the other, she wanted to strangle her.
"I don't know," Corbin said slowly. "Maybe you're being honest and maybe you're full of shit."
"Fine." Kat threw her hands up in frustration. "You want proof?"
"You got any?"
Turning around, Kat lifted the hem of her shirt and showed Corbin the skin just above her left hip where her own double bow-and-arrow mark resided. That brand was the mark of Artemis.
Corbin's eyes widened. "I know you're not a Dark-Hunter. What are you?"
"I'm one of Artemis's handmaidens, and just like you, I've been charged with seeing Cassandra safe. Now take me to her."
Wulf knocked briefly, then pushed the door open to find Cassandra wiping her eyes. He froze at the sight. "Are you crying?"
"No," she said, clearing her throat. "I had something in my eye."
He knew she was lying, but he respected her strength. It was nice to find a woman who didn't use tears to manipulate men. He entered the room hesitantly. The thought of her crying made his own chest ache. Worse, he felt an insane need to pull her into his arms and comfort her. He couldn't. He needed to keep his distance from her.
"I… um… I borrowed these from Chris." He handed her the sweatpants and T-shirt in his hand. "Thanks."
Wulf couldn't tear his gaze away from her. Her long strawberry-blond hair was pulled back from her face. Something about her reminded him of a scared little girl and at the same time there was something that was rock-solid and determined.
He cupped her cool cheek in his hand and tilted her head so that she was looking up at him. In his dreams, he would be laying her back on her bed and tasting her lips. Unbuttoning her shirt…
"Have you been fighting like this all your life?"
She nodded. "Both Daimons and Apollites hunt my family. At one time, there were hundreds of us and now it's down to me. My mother always told us that we must have more children. That it was up to us to continue the line."
"Why didn't you?"
She sniffed daintily. "Why should I? If I die, then they will see that there is no truth to the myth that says our death will free them."
"So you've never thought of going Daimon then?"
She pulled away from him and he saw the truth in her eyes. "Could you do it?" he asked her. "Could you kill an innocent person to live?"
"I don't know," she said, moving away from the bed to place the shirt and pants on the dresser. "They say it gets easier after the first one. And once you have a foreign soul in you, it changes everything about you. You become something else. Something evil and uncaring. My mother had a brother who turned. I was only six when he came to her and tried to make her a Daimon as well. When she refused, he tried to kill her. In the end, her bodyguard killed him while my sisters and I hid in a closet. It was terrifying. Uncle Demos had always been so good to us."