He burst apart into a shower of gold dust.
Theo turned pale as Urian’s humor evaporated.
“Did you know we did that?” Theo breathed.
Urian opened a portal as the Dark-Hunter moved to engage them. He blocked him from Theo and shoved his brother through so that he could return home.
Or at least he tried to. Stubborn bastard wouldn’t go, and Urian didn’t have time to argue as the Dark-Hunter pulled out a kopis and made ready to carve him like a roast.
Using his powers, he manifested his own. But before he got a chance to parry, Theo bit into the Dark-Hunter’s neck. They both screamed out. However, the Dark-Hunter’s cry turned into cruel laughter.
“Didn’t anyone tell you, Daimon? Dark-Hunter blood is poisonous to your kind.”
Urian blasted the bastard with a god-bolt, then used his powers to fry him with everything he had. He didn’t wait around to see if it killed the Dark-Hunter. Instead, he seized his brother and carried him into the portal.
By the time they landed in Kalosis, Theo was barely breathing.
His father shot to his feet and came down from his throne as Urian laid Theo on the floor. “What is this?”
Theo gasped and choked as he shook from head to toe. “He’s been poisoned. By a Dark-Hunter.”
“A what?”
Urian met his father’s gaze. “A Dark-Hunter. Apparently Aunt Artemis has been busy. She’s created something to hunt and kill us.”
“Apollymi!” his father called.
Urian felt his arm begin to glow, but he wasn’t sure if his powers would work on this. He’d never tried to use them on a Daimon. “Theo? Look at me!”
Theo was barely coherent.
“Don’t you dare die!” Urian choked on his tears.
Apollymi appeared at his brother’s feet, then froze. “Xedrix! Fetch the sap!”
Her Charonte flew off to obey.
She immediately rushed to Theo’s side and knelt down to touch his forehead. Urian didn’t miss the tears in her own eyes as she met his gaze. “I didn’t know about these creatures.”
His father glared at her. “When were they created?”
She glanced toward his father. “I don’t know. But I will find out, and I promise if they have a weakness, I will learn it for you.”
“Uri?” Theo reached up and grabbed his chiton.
“Aye?”
“Be a father to my children for me. Tell Prax—” He burst apart into nothing.
Urian couldn’t breathe as he stared at the golden dust that had been his brother. Stunned disbelief kept him paralyzed. How could this be?
How?
Theo couldn’t be dead. Not like this.
Nay … He looked up to meet his father’s equally shocked gaze. Fury descended over his features as he summoned his armor.
“Trates!” he roared. “Give me six men. Now!”
Urian stood up.
His father blasted him with a god-bolt that sent him reeling and crashing into the far wall. “I will not lose another son tonight! Damn it to the farthest pit, boy, you will stay here if I have to feed you to the Charonte!”
And with that, his father and Trates, along with their team, were gone.
Embarrassed and in pain, Urian pushed himself to his feet. Apollymi came over to him with a sympathetic smile. “I’m so sorry, Urian.”
“For which part?”
“All of it, but mostly for your brother.”
He felt the tears stinging his eyes. “We were blindsided. The Dark-Hunter stabbed Manades in his mark and he burst apart. Did you know that about us?”
She shook her head.
“Then Theo bit him and he told us that their blood was poison to us.”
She cupped his cheek in her hand. “Artemis has always been a treacherous whore. If she’s created an army, you know it was for selfish reasons.”
That didn’t change the fact that he now had to go to Praxia and tell her that her husband wasn’t coming home. That he’d have to tell his other brothers about this. His stomach tightened so much that for a moment, he thought he might be sick.
A sob broke, but Urian caught it with a ragged breath.
Unexpectedly, Apollymi pulled him against her and held him in her arms. “Just breathe, child. Life is loss. It’s harsh and it’s pain. There are days when it seeks to drive us to our knees. When we’re left asking ourselves why we shouldn’t just slit the wrist and be done with it all.”
“I’ve been feeling a lot of that lately.”
“I know.” She kissed his brow. “But it also surprises us. Fills us with warmth and happiness, and those moments when we know there’s something more. Something wonderful.”
He scoffed at her words. “I haven’t felt that in a long, long time, akra. All I have inside me is an aching hollowness that wakes every night, seeking some reason as to why I should bother finding another soul to elongate my useless life.”
“I’ll tell you why, Urian. Don’t let the bastards win.”
“Pardon?”
“You want a reason to live? That’s one good reason, there. It pisses off your enemies. If you can’t live for those who love you, then live to spite those who hate your guts. Every breath you take is a spit in their eye. Savor it as such, knowing they begrudge you every intake that feeds your starving lungs.”
He actually gave a bitter laugh at that. “Spoken like a true goddess of destruction.”
“Absolutely. Sometimes it’s not a matter of being the best. You just have to be the last man standing.”
“Is that what you are?”
“Nay, good Urian. I’m the most dangerous enemy of all. I’m the patient one. I lie in wait, letting them think that they have me quelled when the truth is far different. I’m watching and learning. After all, the tiger lies low not from fear, but for aim.”
“It doesn’t matter if you strike the first blow, but you better make sure you strike the last one.” That was what his father had always said.
Apollymi nodded. “Exactly.”
Sighing, he wiped at his eyes. “Thank you, akra.”
She rubbed his back. “You know where I am if you need me.”
Urian didn’t move until she’d left him alone. His mind was still reeling with the events of the night and the fact that he needed a soul.
Artemis had changed the rules on them. A part of him wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that they’d been hunting and killing Apollo’s other lineage. But then, he couldn’t imagine that Artemis would care.
As Apollymi had noted, she was too selfish for that.
Paris and Davyn entered the hall, looking for his father. Urian flinched as he realized they had no idea what had happened. Unable to tell them about Theo, he opened a portal and for the first time in his life, he ran.
Which was a stupid thing since he didn’t know where the portal would drop him. Fortunately, it didn’t drop him in daylight.
It took him a full minute to realize that this was the ruins of Sheba’s capitol. He was standing in what had once been the hallway where she’d died.
Haunted by the ghosts of his past, he tried to remember that night. But time had dulled his memories. It was so long ago now. He could barely remember what she looked like. Even the fact that he’d been married seemed more like a dream than reality.
And still the human souls in his head screamed. The only time they gave him peace was whenever Xyn was with him. For some reason, he didn’t hear them with her around. He didn’t know if he was so occupied by her presence that he just didn’t pay attention or if there was something about her that blotted them out.
Whatever it was, her presence gave him a precious reprieve from the madness.
As Urian was thinking about Xyn, he caught a peculiar flash buried in the rubble. Scowling, he walked over to it. At first, he thought it was some bit of trash. Until he got closer and picked it up.
It was a piece of armor that had broken off.
Not just any armor.
This was a symbol he knew and had seen. Many times. His heart hammering, he took it and returned to Kalosis.
Without a word to anyone, he teleported to Apollymi’s palace and headed for her garden.
As always, she was sitting at her mirror, watching the world. But when she felt his approach, she came to her feet. “Has something else happened?”