Stygian (Dark-Hunter #27)

Cassandra frowned. “Why does the Destroyer hate Artemis?”

“Love. Why else?” Kat said simply. “Love, hatred, and revenge are the most powerful emotions on earth. Apollymi wants revenge on Artemis for killing the one thing she loved most in the universe.”

“And that is?”

“I would never betray either one by saying it.”

“Would you write it down?” Chris asked.

Kat rolled her eyes.

Cassandra and Phoebe shook their heads.

Chris scoffed at their reaction. “Oh yeah, like the two of you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

No, but Kat’s words made her think of Urian’s snarky pessimism whenever she made him watch a romcom instead of the horror movies he preferred—Love doesn’t conquer all. Only a quick sword does that.

And with that thought in mind, Phoebe took them to the residential area. “These are apartments. You’ll be given a large unit with four bedrooms. Mine is down a separate hallway. I would have liked to have you closer, but this was the only one available that was big enough to accommodate all of you.”

The last thing Shanus and the others wanted, or would agree to, was the four of them spread out. Not only would it make them harder to guard, it made them harder to watch. This was much easier and safer all the way around.

Cassandra hesitated at the door. “Is Wulf already there?”

“No. He was taken to a holding cell.”

Aghast, then angry, her sister gaped. “Excuse me?”

Phoebe had to ride herd on her own temper. She really wasn’t in the mood right then. She would have liked to go and verify the safety of her own husband, who was in a much, much worse situation at the moment than Sasquatch was. “He’s our enemy, Cassie. What would you expect us to do?”

“I expect you to release him. Now!”

“I can’t.”

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks. “Then show me the door out of here.”

Was she fucking kidding? After everything Urian had gone through for her? After everything they’d risked to save her life? Never had Phoebe wanted to hurt someone any more than she wanted to slap her sister right then and there. Cass better be grateful she was pregnant. “What?”

“You heard me. I will not stay here unless he’s welcomed. He has risked his life for me. His home was destroyed because of me and I will not live comfortably while the father of my baby is treated like a convict.”

Someone behind them started clapping.

Phoebe looked past her sister to see that Shanus had joined them.

Standing at almost seven feet in height, he was gorgeous and lithe. Very graceful, and fast approaching the age when he’d need to find his replacement because he would be decaying into dust courtesy of Apollo.

He smirked at Cassandra. “Nice speech, princess. It changes nothing.”

She narrowed her gaze on him. “Then how about a good ass-kicking?”

He laughed at the threat. “You’re pregnant.”

“Not that pregnant.” She shot one of the daggers from her wrist at the man. It embedded in the wall just past his head.

His face lost all humor and Phoebe couldn’t blame him. She was mortified and embarrassed by her sister’s lack of gratitude.

“The next one goes into your heart.”

“Cassie, stop!” Phoebe commanded, grabbing her arm.

Cassandra shrugged her hold off. “No. I’ve spent the whole of my adulthood putting any Daimon or Apollite who made the mistake of coming after me out of his misery. If you think for one minute Kat and I can’t tear down this place to free Wulf, then you need to think again.”

“And if you die?” the man asked.

“Then we all lose.”

He gazed at her thoughtfully. “You’re bluffing.”

Cassandra exchanged a determined look with Kat.

“You know I’m always itching for a good fight.” Kat pulled her fighting staff out of her coat pocket and extended it.

The man’s nostrils flared as he saw them preparing to engage him. “This is how you repay my kindness for sheltering you?”

Cassandra lifted her chin like the spoiled, ungrateful little bitch their father had made her. “No, this is how I repay the man who protects me. I won’t see Wulf kept like this after all he’s done.”

Shanus stepped back and bowed his head respectfully toward her. “She does have the courage of a Spathi.”

No, she had all the spunk of a brat wanting a cookie, with no care about how it affected anyone else around her. And Phoebe felt her face heat up with her embarrassment. She’d warned them that Cass could be difficult whenever she didn’t get her way, so in an effort to be diplomatic, she inclined her head. “I told you so.”

Shanus offered them a slight smile. “Go inside with Phoebe, princess, and I will have your Dark-Hunter brought to you.”

Even then, Cassandra eyed him suspiciously. “Promise?”

“Yes.”

Still skeptical, Cassandra looked at Phoebe, who at this point was about at her end with her. “Can I put any faith in that?”

Hold me back … Counting to three, she smiled through her anger. “You can. Shanus is our Supreme Counselor. He never lies.”

“Phoebe, look at me.”

Don’t take that tone with me, bitch. I’m about to slap you!

“Tell me the truth. Are we safe here?”

With them? “Yes, I swear it by everything I hold dear—even Urian’s life. You are here because Stryker will never think to look in an Apollite commune for you. Every one of us here knows that if your baby dies, so does our world. And our lives, such as they are, are still precious to us. Twenty-seven years to the people here is better than none at all.”

But if you don’t shut your hole and get in that room so that I can check on my husband, I’m going to beat your ass.

Finally, Cassandra took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

Passing an annoyed look behind her back to Shanus, Phoebe opened the door.

Shanus choked on a laugh and excused himself.

Furious, Phoebe followed them into their new home. Like all the units here, the main living room was about five hundred square feet and had everything a regular human home had. An oversized, stuffed sofa and love seat, and an entertainment center complete with television, stereo, and DVD player.

Chris headed straight for the entertainment center. “Does that stuff work?”

“Yes. We have relays and uplinks that can bring the human world down to us.”

Kat opened the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom, which were off the main living area. “Where’s the kitchen?”

Phoebe gave her a droll stare for the stupidity of that question. “We don’t have kitchens,” she reminded her. “But the counselors are working on getting a microwave and refrigerator brought in for you since you do actually eat. Along with groceries. There should be something here very soon for all of you.”

Since they didn’t have phones, Phoebe showed them the small dark green box on an end table. “If you need anything, the intercom is here. Just press the button and one of the operators will help you. If you want to buzz me, tell them you need Urian’s wife and they’ll know which Phoebe to put you through to.”

A knock sounded on the door.

Phoebe went to answer it while Cassandra stood back with Kat and Chris. “What do you guys think?”

Chris shrugged. “It seems okay. I’m not picking up any evil vibes, what about you two?”

Kat looked around. “I agree with Chris. But there’s still a part of me that doesn’t trust them. No offense, Cass, but Apollites aren’t known for being honest.”

“Tell me about it.”

Phoebe snorted at that comment, especially given the track record of human honesty. Um, yeah … Last article she read said the average person lied thirty times an hour. Average human. Thirty times an hour. Didn’t speak well for what a pathological or “unaverage” human did, did it? And they dared to call Apollites dishonest?

Yeah …

Irritated to the extreme, Phoebe exchanged a peeved smirk with Dr. Lakis, who was even in height to her and dressed in a light pink sweater and jeans. Since she was on duty, she had her shoulder-length blond hair pulled up into a loose bun.

Lucky for her sister, Dr. Lakis was better at hiding her irritation. “Cassandra?”