Cursing, Stryker caught her hand before she could hit him again and shoved her back. His body aching, he wanted to kill her for what she'd done. But she was her mother's daughter. And his.
Using his powers, he pinned her to the wall behind her. "You've no idea how lucky you are that I've been regretting killing my son for doing a lot less to me than you just did. But for that, you'd be dead already."
"I love you, too, Dad." The sarcastic tone was acerbic and cold. But at least she wasn't like Urian, telling him how much she hated his guts and wanted to kill him.
"Davyn!" he shouted, calling in one of his commanders. He stood upright and refused to let his man see the fact that he was in pain. No one would ever know his weaknesses.
Davyn entered the room. "My lord?"
He jerked his chin toward Medea. "Take our guest to my quarters and lock her in until I have time to deal with her." He lifted his hand, letting her fall free from the wall before he manifested a pair of shackles on her wrists.
She sucked her breath in as she tried to break them. "I'll get you for this."
"And your little dog, too," he added snidely.
Davyn wisely ignored their comments. "Yes, sir. I'm on it."
Medea didn't speak as the handsome man stepped forward. To his credit, he didn't touch her. "If you'll follow me." He held his hand out toward the door. As if she had a choice? Bugger bastards!
Furious, she glared at her father before she allowed Davyn to lead her from the room. "You always obey him?" she asked as soon as they were alone.
Davyn glanced back at her over his shoulder. Tall and blond, he had short hair and a small goatee. "If I didn't want to live, I'd stop taking human souls and expire. It would be a lot less painful than crossing Stryker."
"So you fear him?"
Davyn snorted. "Everyone fears him. The man killed his own son."
"So he keeps telling me."
"Yeah, well, I was there when it happened. We were facing our enemies when Stryker walked up to him all calm and collected, hugged him close, then cut his throat and left him to die."
That description actually sent a shiver down her spine. How could any father be so coldblooded? The fact that he was hers was even more chilling.
Davyn turned left and headed down another hallway. "Urian was one of my best friends and he loved his father more than anything. He'd served him for centuries with absolute loyalty. Believe me, he didn't deserve what he got."
What had her half brother done to cause so severe a punishment? "Why did Stryker kill him?"
"He married one of our enemies behind his back."
She stumbled at his low words, unable to believe so slight an offense would be worth taking a life over, never mind that of one's own child. "That was it?"
Davyn paused to open a door. "That was it."
Unable to believe the man's cruelty, Medea hesitated as she sensed something about her escort. "You're Anglekos." They were Daimons who only preyed on evil humans. Daimons who vowed to take only the souls that deserved to die. Pedophiles. Rapists. Murderers. The lowest of the low.
He blanched. "How do you know that?"
"I can sense the souls inside you. You took three kills recently." It was then she realized another fact about him. He wasn't like her father. He still had a heart that hadn't been destroyed. Yet.
"I know why you pick the ones you do, but let me give you some advice. Those souls will wear you down. They will corrupt you until you become the very thing you feed on."
Davyn watched her warily. "How do you know?"
That was one question she had no intention of answering.
STRYKER SAT IN HIS OFFICE, WATCHING ZEPHYRA pace furiously through his new sfora. That woman moved like liquid silver. Hot. Fluid. Graceful. It made every hormone in his body fire into overdrive as he remembered how she'd felt in his arms. How it felt to make love to such a hell brand. Her scent and touch were seared into his memories.
He'd always loved it when she was angry. One time not long after they'd married, he'd pissed her off by flirting with another woman. When they'd returned home, she'd grabbed him and shoved him to the floor, then made love to him until he'd all but gone blind from the plea sure of it. He'd had rug burns on his knees for a solid week afterward.
"You ever look at another woman and I'll claw your eyes out."
Instead, she'd clawed most of the skin off his back as they made love the entire night. His heart raced at the memory of her skills and he was instantly hard as he ached for another taste of her.
Walking away from her had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. But had he stayed, his father would have mercilessly killed her. There was no way Apollo would have allowed them as mortals to defy his divine plans. He was even less forgiving than Stryker was.