Fruit of Misfortune (18 page)

I placed my hand over Eros’ grip, applying
pressure to the knife against my skin.

“Do it,” I said. “Kill me.”

Eros’ breath was unsteady, his stare like a
warrior’s at the onset of battle, widened and crazed.

“Please,” I begged, closing my eyes.
“Please.”

Eros was
as quiet and still as the marble statues I had seen of him at the
historical museum days earlier. I waited, shaking, yet eager for
the blade to slice through my skin. For a long while, the only
sound in the room was that of our ragged breathing.

The silence broke when Eros asked, “Does
Alezzander know—that you’re Creatura?”

“Yes,” I said, with my eyes closed.

“And he did nothing?”

“He tried, but his family stopped him.”

“Tried what?”

“He strangled me.”

“He should have killed you.” His grip on my
hair tightened, and I let out a short cry. “Open your eyes and look
at me.” I parted my lids. His platinum stare grew wide. “Look at
yourself,” he said, lifting the dagger from my throat and placing
the blade in front of my face. On the mirrored blade, a pair of
green reptilian eyes looked back at me.

“You have no place in this world,” Eros said.
“Not even in hell.”

Slowly, I turned to view him. I placed the
palm of my hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. His lids
closed for a moment. The creased lines between his brows softened.
I reached for his hand, which was still grasping the dagger. I
lifted his arm, and with trembling fingers, I placed the blade to
my throat. “Then, please, help me stop this.”

Eros pulled his hand away from my hold. “Damn
you.” He dropped the dagger beside him and lunged toward me,
pushing my back against the cool marble floor. “I want to hate you,
to loathe you, to detest you, but for all my attempts, the need to
touch you is ten times more powerful.” His fingers grazed the curve
of my jaw and traveled down my neck, stopping at my collarbone.

“Don’t,” I said, trying to push him off me.
He locked my wrists in his hands and restrained them against his
chest.

“I can’t kill you, my sweet. You’re the only
person that, like me, is a misfit. With you, I’m not alone.”

“Get off me, Eros.” I writhed under him. I
twisted my hands, trying to pry them free from his grip.

Eros gave me a wicked smile as he looked down
at me. “You’re by far the most sickening Creatura I’ve ever come
across. I want to throw up every time I look at you.”

As I fought harder to loosen his grip, Eros
yanked my arms, pulling me to a sitting position. “Let me go, you
schizophrenic ass—”

Before I had the chance to verbalize the key
syllable in my insult, Eros pressed his lips to mine. For a moment,
my head swirled and my body tingled with tiny shocks of delight.
His lips were so soft, so inviting, and so…
No!
My conscious
screamed loud and clear. I jerked my head back, and then thrust it
forward with all my strength. My forehead hit Eros on the mouth,
full on, sending him flying back. I stumbled onto my feet with my
hands on my head, dizzy from the head-to-mouth collision.

Eros wiped his bloody lips with the back of
his hand. His eyes were wide-open. “Did I not warn you about the
consequences of striking a deity?”

Uh oh
. I remembered the flesh-eating
maggots. Being eaten alive by worms wasn’t on my top three picks of
how I should die. Still, it was death and a sure fire way to end
what was happening to everyone around me. Resigned, I sighed and
sat on the chair that Camilla had used to take vigil when I was
ill. I looked to the floor, thinking of the only person on my mind
at that moment.

“Tell my mother the truth, would you?” I said
to Eros. “Tell her I died. It doesn’t matter what lie you make up
about it. Just don’t leave her with the hope that I might be alive
somewhere.”

“You’re not going to die,” he said.

“I have to.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want you to.” Eros
walked to the bathroom and returned with a small towel in his hand.
“I know how to forgive. I’ve been around for a very long time.” He
pressed the cut on his lip with a corner of the cloth.

My head dropped back on the chair, and I let
out a breath of both relief and disappointment. From the corner of
my eye, I noticed the bright reflection dancing on the silver
dagger on the floor. I moved closer and appraised the fine
craftsmanship. It was ancient and elegant. The handle looked like
it was made of ivory, shapes resembling gold thorns encasing it.
One red tear-shaped ruby was placed at the tip of each thorn,
simulating blood.

“If you want something done right…” I
said.

I picked up the dagger and held it with both
hands, the blade horizontal on the side of my neck at the main
artery. I breathed deep breaths as I counted, “One… two…” From
behind me, Eros pulled the dagger away from my throat and tried to
force it from my grip. My elbow dug into his ribcage, and he drew
in a gasp of air. I raised the dagger again, but this time Eros
came at me from the front and held an arm around me as we
struggled.

“You’re getting very strong, my sweet, and
very, very stupid.” His thumb dug into the inside of my wrist and I
let out a short cry, but I didn’t let go of the dagger.

“Release it,” Eros said, pushing me back.

I gritted my teeth. “No.”

My back hit the wall, and Eros slammed my
hand against the hard surface, making me drop the blade.

“Why won’t you just let me die?” Tears rolled
down my smoldering cheeks. I slapped Eros’ face more times than I
could count. Each time my palm hit his face, a snapping sound
bounced off the walls. I wanted him to fight back, but all Eros did
was take each strike and turn the other cheek, waiting for the
next.

By the time my hands ached from the blows and
my rage had died, Eros’ face had turned a bright shade of red. My
finger marks were painted raw across his cheeks. I saw what I had
done, and I wanted to apologize. But how do you apologize for
something like that? I opened my mouth, not really knowing what I
was going to say. Eros put his finger on my lips.

“It’s okay,” Eros said. “I won’t let you
die.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“That’s what you believe.”

“But you were ready to slit my throat just a
few minutes ago.”

“What did you expect? Your eyes changed when
I threw the journal at you. I thought you were going to attack
me.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Wait until I
turn into a monster so that you can kill me then?” I shook my head.
“I can’t wait. I need to stop this.”

“Okay. So ask for my help again.” The back of
his hand trailed down my neck, and I slapped it away.

“I don’t trust you. You can’t help me.”

“I can take you to Kyparissia. That’s where
you need to go to find your father, isn’t it?”

Surprised at his offer, I looked up at him. I
could tell by the slight smile on his lips that he saw hope light
up in me. There had to be a catch.

“In exchange for what?” I narrowed my
eyes.

“You.”

“
Excuse me
?”

“You were going to leave Dahveed anyway.” He
shrugged. “You wanted to die, remember? It’ll be noble on your part
to save him. So, if I help you and stop this change,” he tapped my
chest with his index finger, “I keep you.”

“I’m not a piece of real estate.”

“I know, but you can be a part of
my
estate, oui?”

“You said I made you want to throw up. Why
would you want me?”

Eros cocked his head to one side. “You don’t
think much of yourself, do you, my sweet?”

My mouth tightened. He was right, and it
upset me that he knew this about me.

“I have to confess something,” he said,
raising an eyebrow. “I’m not disgusted by you. I like to see the
ferocious creature that stirs inside you. I can read your hormone
levels and vitals so much better when you’re angry. Even your body
temperature rises.” He swept my cheek with the back of his hand.
“You’re beautiful, Isis. But when you let your feelings run wild,
you’re gorgeous.” He pulled me against him.

Blood raced up my neck and face. Eros had
been playing a twisted mind game with me all this time to reassure
himself that I might be crushing on him. I tried to move past his
toned, lean body, but he didn’t budge.

“Let me through.”

“You haven’t answered me.”

I stared at the red streaks my fingers had
left on his face. I didn’t trust Eros, but I also didn’t have a lot
of other options. Was this deal such a bad one?

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

He took a step to the side and bent over to
fetch the dagger. “I would tell you to take your time, but you know
better than I do that you haven’t any to waste.” Eros opened the
balcony doors and smiled back at me. “I think you already know what
a man says after he willfully lets a woman beat the living crap out
of him, oui?”

“What?”

His face turned serious. “I’m in love with
you.”

I took in a breath and held it while I
blinked at his words.
In love?
That was impossible. Eros’
silhouette disappeared as he stepped onto the balcony and into the
night. The wind caught a single white feather that danced with the
current. I watched it twirl and spiral into my bedroom and land on
the floor next to my journal.

The
police were in the kitchen questioning Paulina when the doorbell
rang in the early morning. I was the only one not contributing to
the report so I volunteered to get the door, expecting more men in
uniform. My head hurt from lack of sleep, and the sunlight that
seeped in through the windows in the foyer made it worse. I opened
the front door.

“Dr. Gunn? What are you doing here?”

“Good morning,” he said, and looked back to
the street. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.” He took a second peek past
his shoulder and over his dark sunglasses.

“Come in,” I said. “You look nervous.”

“There are two police cars in your driveway,”
he said. “Is this a bad time?” He hugged the leather messenger bag
in his arms tighter against his chest. “Are they here for me?”

“No, no. You’re fine doctor. There was
a—a—never mind. You can wait in the den while I go tell David and
Galen that you’re here. I’ll show you where it is.”

After I left the doctor, I walked back to the
kitchen. Paulina was still being questioned. Not wanting to
interrupt the interrogation by speaking, I wrapped my arm around
David’s and pulled him out of the room.

“Dr. Gunn is in the den,” I said. “He’s
worried about the police being here. You should get Galen.”

“We don’t need Galen. This concerns us, and I
think we should be the first to know the results.” David gave my
hand a light tug. “Come on. Let’s see what the good doctor has to
say.”

When we walked into the den, Dr. Gunn was
powering up his laptop on the desk, his sunglasses still in
place.

“Morning, Doctor.” David extended his hand.
“I was expecting you to call.”

“In all my excitement, I forgot.” The doctor
took David's hand. “My goodness,” Gunn said with a wide smile.
“I’ve been searching for you almost half of my life.” The
geneticist shook his head. “I don’t know where to begin. I have so
many questions,” he turned to look at me, “about the both of
you.”

“First things first, Doctor. We need to know
what you’ve found.”

“I had prepared a full report for each of
your case studies, but…” Gunn tightened his mouth as he drew in air
through his lips.

“But?” David raised his brows.

The scientist removed his sunglasses,
revealing a stitched cut over his left brow. His eyelid looked like
a golf-sized ball with hues of red, blue, and purple on and around
it. I cringed at the sight of his swollen eye.