Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (23 page)

“She’s my responsibility. This is my clan, and her mother was injured on my watch,” Nina

almost chokes out.

“She’s not scared when Adisia is around,” Jace interjects. “I saw it in her dreams. Adisia is the

hero slaying the dragons, so to speak. I think they formed a bit of a bond during the action, and it’s

possible Aphrodite is forcing a bit of a protective touch from Adisia as well. The weird power came

to life when the child was almost struck in Adisia’s arms.”

I had forgotten about the pulsating energy blast that had ripped across my side, and I look down to

see it has completely healed.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on it,” Devin says softly.

“Where are the Furies?” Jace muses.

“Upstairs. They’re staying in one room. Apparently the three of them can’t be separated when

frightened. I’ve never seen Furies speak, but these have evolved to be as we are,” Devin answers with

a bit of bemusement.

“Have you seen it for yourself?” I ask Jace.

“No, but I can assure you I will,” he murmurs, and Faith rolls her eyes.

“They were part of a flock that fed on the lands of Egypt for over a century. They pulled the life

from cheating men, and they watched as the women turned to salt when they cried too many tears.

These girls weren’t like the others.

“We heard them pleading with the others, and they were turned on by their own flock. I saved

them, and then I realized they were different. Talking is just part of their evolution. They feel, cry,

worry, and they even eat as we do. They’re just scared women stuck in limbo. They were trying to

help,” Faith explains.

“I’m still taking a look. They might be frightened women, or they might be clever bitches. Either

way, I’m going to see for myself,” Jace sternly asserts, and Faith’s lips tighten in distaste.

“Fine. I’ll go get them, but you have to apologize to me when they prove you wrong,” she

grumbles.

“Oh, I will,” Jace says with a seductive smirk, and Faith blushes instantly before covering her

girly grin with her hand.

She flashes up the steps, and I give Jace a slight roll of my eyes. He points to me like a father

scolding a child.

“I don’t want to hear any lip out of you, Mrs. Seductress. Between the club, the broken bedroom,

and the piping hot innuendo you always use, every man here has been on edge. This is all your fault,”

he teases, and it feels like we’ve moved past a huge hump in the road.

Devin even seems pleased - and a little turned on when reminded of all my sexy sauciness. His

lips call to mine, and I can see Nina turning away from the show he doesn’t care to put on.

Jace grumbles a little and Devin smiles against the kiss until Faith returns.

“This is Ambora, Samara, and Ember. Please don’t push their memories too far. They don’t trust

easily. I don’t even know everything,” Faith murmurs, and the last part is a whisper to Jace that only

he was supposed to hear.

“We don’t trust easily either. That’s the point of this,” Jace explains, and his hand holds hers as

he walks over to the girls.

“I’m Jace, and this isn’t going to hurt. We need to know about you, and I’ll hold Faith’s hand the

whole time. She’ll stop me if I pry too deep, but it’s important we be able to trust you. If we do, then

you’ll forever have a protective circle,” he promises, and his eyes look toward Devin and me before

turning back to the girls and continuing. “There’s nothing these people won’t do for each other’s

safety. Do you understand?”

“We do, but can you do all of us at once?” Ambora asks timidly.

“I could,” Hale says very suggestively, and his brow bounces with seductive menace.

The girls giggle and blush, and I do my best to stifle a grin when I try to scowl at his crudeness.

Devin actually covers his mouth to hide the laughing expression, and Jace adjusts his collar while

refraining from giving into the humor.

Faith glares at Hale threateningly, and he shrugs while still bearing his salacious grin.

“I can look at your memories together if you prefer. Just hold the hands of Ember and Samara,”

Jace murmurs to Ambora with a touch of a snickering in his tone - he had very carefully worded his

phrasing to drown out any other attempts at scandalous innuendo.

They do as he asks, and Devin’s hand intertwines with mine as Jace closes his eyes to see the

girls’ memories. Nina steps out from behind the bar while still sipping the vodka acquired for me, and

Hale’s humor disappears while he joins us on the couch.

Deacon and Camara ease to the edge of their seat and wait impatiently on the verdict. I see

Gemma gripping Ther’s hand, and it’s as if we’re watching a suspenseful movie.

Jace releases their hands, but he clings to Faith’s as he turns to face us.

“They’re telling the truth. The strike intended for harpies accidentally grazed Adisia’s side. They

didn’t fight back out of fear of hurting you when you were attacking them,” he explains. “They could

have.”

I feel a little guilty now, but they did come out of nowhere and strike me.

My protectiveness for the child still baffles me. It was the one thing that provoked my Aphrodite

because Devin was never in any danger.

“That didn’t hurt at all,” Ember gasps in disbelief. “I was expecting it to be painful,” she adds.

“It’s not painful unless the memories are painful. I just needed to see the truth,” Jace murmurs

indifferently.

“How far back can you see?” Samara asks.

“As far back as someone will let me,” Jace says a little smugly.

“Can you see how we got this way? It has always baffled us, and we can’t remember anything

before the day we turned into real… people,” Ember adds.

“You weren’t always this way?” I ask curiously.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so,” Ambora answers.

“We knew our flock, but we didn’t have memories to tie us to them. One morning we all three

woke up to a world we couldn’t remember existing in before that day,” Ember whimpers. “I want to

know.”

“We all do,” Samara adds.

“I can look, but these memories might be painful if they’ve been blocked. Something could have

happened to trigger such a change, and it could have been too painful for your mind to allow you

access to,” Jace warns.

“We trust you. You could have pried further, but you did as you told us, and we need to see what

happened,” Ambora asserts.

Faith squeezes his hand, and the girls do as before. Jace cracks his neck to the side before closing

his eyes, and again we’re all waiting in suspense while glued to the scene.

Jace gasps and the girls begin sniffling as he pries into something deep. Faith struggles against

his grip, but he clings to her as though she’s a lifeline.

“I can’t,” he breathes out in heavy exhaustion, and the girls sink down as though they’ve been

drained of their energy. “Someone blocked it for them. Someone did this to them, but whoever it was

didn’t want anyone to know,” he explains.

“What did you see?” Deacon prompts.

“Blurry images and a muffled voice that murmured incoherent nonsense. I can’t get a deep

enough grip,” he gripes.

“Please try again. That’s the closest we’ve ever come to answers,” Ambora urges.

“Adisia can help,” Devin interjects.

I look at him quizzically, and everyone else stares with the same puzzled face.

I can?

“She has the untapped power of mind from Prometheus, and she’s stronger than any of us, even

with parts of her blocked off. She can give you the strength you need if she channels her energy

through Aphrodite,” he explains.

“Devin, I don’t know how,” I mumble with a bit of unworthiness for his praise.

“You don’t have to. Aphrodite does know how, and she’ll help you. These girls need to know

where they came from. You know what that’s like,” he reminds, and suddenly I do feel a little

empathetic for their situation.

I stand up nervously, and Faith moves from Jace’s side to allow me access. Everyone stares

expectantly as I take Jace’s hand, but my eyes won’t flash green on command.

I suddenly feel impotent again, and it really sucks. There’s no miracle pill for limp goddess

libido.

“I can’t get Aphrodite to-”

My rambling gripe is brought to a halt as Devin’s lips consume mine, and the fire inside me

erupts to a boiling lava pit. The passion releases into my mouth and his hand grips the back of my

head while tugging my hair just painfully enough to arouse my inner and outer goddess.

Suddenly, I feel the green surging forward, and Devin has to force himself to pull back.

Jace gasps as my energy surges into him, and the girls seem drunk as it travels to them. A wave

of rushed images scroll past my eyes as the girls’ memories come to life inside my mind.

We slam into a wall Jace struggles to break through, and I feel the power inside me surging more

to aide him in his quest. A tearing sound threatens the wall, and the girls squeal slightly.

“Stop them,” Faith demands.

“No,” Ambora strains. “Let them.”

Finally, the dam bursts open, and we fall into the section that has been closed off to their mind.

It’s a dark abyss with terrible scenes as the girls reveal their once savage selves. They’re preying

on the men they’ve torn free from the confines of loyalty, and they revel in the misery of the women

brought about by the cheating husbands they’ve infected.

Then I see a woman, though it’s a distant silhouette. I try to focus the image, and I gasp when I

realize its Pyrrha.

She’s scooting into a corner while the girls stalk toward her with deadly intent, and she releases a

power from her hands that knocks the girls down.

Instantly, I see Pyrrha age a couple of years, and I gasp again at the revelation.

She’s bending down now, and her eyes are staring into the girls’. I can hear her dark words

chilling the room with its ominous promise.

“You’ll feel the flesh and blood in a new light. You’ll feel misery of your own and pain’s

stinging bite. You’ll be as I am, and you’ll see your flock tear you apart. No one can save you from

the new dark. You’ll die as you tried to kill me today, and I’ll laugh from a distance when you become

the prey,” she taunts, but it’s far more than a menacing mock.

She ages again, and the girls’ eyes lose the savage glare. They soften, and I see their veins

running red blood instead of blue. They’re terrified suddenly, and then they black out when the

overwhelming change takes hold of them.

Jace grips my hand tighter as we sit in the darkness and listen to the exiting footsteps of Pyrrha. I

gasp again when he releases my hand, and I almost fall from the arm of the couch just as Jace does.

Devin’s arms wrap me up, and Hale quickly steadies Jace. Faith rushes over to inquire about our

breathless journey, and the girls have completely blacked out from it all.

“What the hell happened?” She prompts.

“We found it,” Jace breathes out with harsh, sharp breaths.

“What was it?” Camara demands.

“Pyrrha. She did this,” my ragged voice delivers. “She wanted them to feel the pain of the flock

turning on them when the three of them tried to tear her apart,” I answer.

“Pyrrha? You’re sure?” Devin asks.

“Positive, but she has a nasty little secret. I know why she has remained hidden, and I know why

she doesn’t look like she’s twenty anymore,” I gush out.

“Why?” Hale impatiently gripes.

“She’s aging every time she uses her power. I could taste her hesitance when faced with her only

option. She couldn’t kill the girls herself without exerting far more energy, and each use of power

costs her years in appearance. The water from the fountain of youth stopped sustaining both. She has

to choose between her power and her youth. That’s why she dropped off the grid. She couldn’t assert

dominance without power, and she couldn’t expel power without consequence,” I explain.

“Damn,” Ther mumbles. “So she’s been hiding for centuries just to keep her powers dormant.”

“She’s been hiding to stay alive,” Jace adds. “Her aging isn’t just in appearance, it’s mortality

she fears. If she ages too much, she’ll die just as a mortal would. I could see her trembling hand after

the second aging, and I could smell her fear. She wanted to get the hell out of there, and it took

serious restraint not to use the power she’s addicted to.”

“So why come after Adisia and me?” Devin ponders aloud.

“That part still doesn’t make sense. She had to have aged after using her magic, so why even risk

it for such an unremarkable quest? She wouldn’t kill someone attacking her for fear of years lost, so

why age herself to instigate a breakup?” Jace muses.

“This is all giving me a headache,” I groan.

Devin scoops me up, and I feel the exhaustion setting in. That was harder than taking on an army

of hellhounds, and it was more grueling than dealing with the Medusas.

“I’ll try to research this. It’s possible some of my older contacts could have an answer,” Nina