Daughter of Kaos (The Daughter Trilogy Book 3) (55 page)

“What do you want?” I bark as soon as I barge into his room, and my anger flees the moment I see

a picture of us sitting proudly on the table beside the door.

My face greets all of his guests?
He probably just set it there for me to see. Conniving bastard.

“That was the day you said you’d marry me,” he softly inserts while walking over to me.

“I know when it was, Hale. I don’t know why you felt it necessary to put it out before forcing me

to come here,” I mumble.

“I didn’t. It’s been everywhere I’ve been since the day you left me. I always make sure to put it

directly by the door so that whatever place I’m living in feels a little more like home. That’s what you

are to me - home,” he says much too sincerely, and my eyes water fiercely.

“Stop it. You don’t have the right to do this to me. It took me a fucking year to move on and

longer than that to get over you. You don’t get to make me feel guilty after all the shit you put me

through,” I cry.

“Hey. Whoa. I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty, and I sure as hell wasn’t trying to make you

cry. I swear I was just trying to tell you the truth about the damn picture. I told you, I’m playing it

completely honest with you.”

He takes a deep breath as I glare at him, and he shifts his weight uncomfortably as if he’s trying

to figure out how to proceed.

It’s too late for honesty, damn it. Too fucking late!

He sighs out while clasping his hands behind his head, and then he continues with, “I didn’t call

you here to hash out our fucked up relationship. I called you to tell you Clay contacted me via

messenger to say they were coming back to Seminole in three days. You can leave - as you intend to -

but then you’ll have to come right back. It takes at least eight hours to drive from Javeline to here, so

I think you should just stay. We’ll debrief, they’ll rest for a couple of days, and then they’ll head back

out,” he says very informatively.

“I’ll just drive back. Then I’ll leave the second they do,” I grumble, and I start to walk back out

the door when his phone rings.

He sighs before answering, and I linger accidentally while trying to find out who is calling him.

I’m so fucking nosy.

“Captain Banner,” he answers.

“Sir, this is Corporal James Verlon. We’ve got a situation in Hensen, and our United officers are

taking fire,” the man panics, and my heart almost drops to the floor as I stare into Hale’s terrified

eyes.

“Commander Jude and the others, what’s their status?” Hale prompts.

“They’ve been hit hard. These people have uranium dipped bullets and other weapons built for

the demise of our stronger kinds. We’re trying to get to them, but we’re outgunned, Sir. They’re cut

off from communication any other way, leaving you in charge, Sir. They don’t have shelter. Right

now the only thing protecting them from the hailing uranium bullets is a small, natural bunker.

They’re running low on ammo, and we can’t get close enough to supply them with more. We don’t

have much time either, Sir.”

“I’ve already sent a message to the three nearest armies, and they’ll be there within three hours.

I’m on my way right now,” Hale asserts, and he grabs his keys before swishing by me in a blur.

“I’m coming with you,” I blare from behind.

“No you’re not. It’s too dangerous,” he counters, and we’re outside within a blink.

He races over to a convertible, and I flash over to the blood bank.

“I’m going with or without you,” I snap, and I break the door free from its hinges when I feel the

locked resistance.

“What the hell are you doing?” he barks.

“They’re going to be hurt. They’ll need blood to heal,” I explain.

“They’ll have blood there.”

“If they’ve got our weapons, they won’t have enough blood to go around by the time we get

there,” I counter.

He lets out a dramatic huff and starts aiding me in my fervent attempt to fill the trunk of his

convertible. I don’t give him another second to argue before he slams it into drive, and I jump in the

passenger seat.

“I don’t want you coming,” he growls.

“I really don’t give a fuck. They don’t have shelter, and the atmosphere’s timer is ticking. The

sky will lose its tint and be in full glow for an hour in less than forty-five minutes. The armies are

three hours out. The fight will be over with by then. We can be at Hensen in less than forty minutes if

you drive the way I remember you driving. I’m not letting Brazen turn to ash just because you don’t

want me coming,” I bark.

“I can still drive, baby, but five minutes is all we’ll have to get them out of there,” he worries.

“Five minutes is all I’ll need,” I murmur as the demons within me start to howl.

My human half has never held me back the way it does the rest of our kind. I’m stronger, faster,

and damn near impossible to stop when I’m pissed. Right now, I’d register a full blown fifteen on a

scale of one to ten.

“What happens if you-”

“I haven’t done that since before you left. My emotions are in check,” I interrupt, quickly halting

his concerns.

“What if something has happened to Brazen? Will you be okay then?” he continues.

I take a deep, steadying breath before answering, “Then you’ll have to bring me down before I

hurt someone.”

He doesn’t breathe another word. I think he was basically asking for permission to do what only

he can. The demons of my past, the monster inside me, and the daily struggle just to live is constantly

taking its toll on me. If anything happens to Brazen, they’ll all collide at once.

The
Curse Trilogy
is on Kindle now, starting with
Gifted Curse,
followed by
Forgotten Curse,
and

finally
Lifted Curse.

• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2 Relentless
  
• Chapter 3 Wedding Day; Take Two
  
• Chapter 4 Churning Tides
  
• Chapter 5 The Tidal Storm
  
• Chapter 6 Filling in the Blanks.
  
• Chapter 7 Pushed into Reality
  
• Chapter 8 A New Player
  
• Chapter 9 Not So Sweet Dreams
  
• Chapter 10 Confusing Threats
  
• Chapter 11 New Life in an Old World
  
• Chapter 12 Timing
  
• Chapter 13 A Brewing Thunder
  
• Chapter 14 The… Waiting
  
• Chapter 15 Venus Flytrap
  
• Chapter 16 A Sea of Suspense
  
• Chapter 17 Our Eternity
  
• Epilogue
  
• Through the eyes of a Poseidon
  
• A note from the Author
  
• Excerpt From Gifted Curse