Torment: Book Two of Shadow goddess series (COMPLETE)

Chapter Two

Cassius had finally talked me into going back into the manor. I didn’t want to go in, I didn’t want to face any of them. Would they blame me like I blamed myself? Would they be upset with me for not coming to them? Or would they be as understanding as Cassius was? You would think I would know by now. But seeing as we have never been put in such a position before I find myself scared. Scared to see or know their reactions.

“Everything will be fine.” Cassius assured me, leading me by the small of my back. I clung to his arm for support. Not only because I was frightened of their reaction, but because I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Drained dry, and him being by my side was helping me stay stable. When the front door opened everyone jumped like they were a jack in the box. No one approached me though, they all just stood there staring at me. I think this was worse than them screaming at me. The dead silence of the room making chills break out along my skin.

“Rose, are you alright?” Phoenix finally had the courage to step forward and ask.

I smiled at him the best I could through the pain and anger within me. “No, I’m not.” I admitted. “But I will be. I just need time to process everything.”

Cassius let go of me, gently nudging me towards Phoenix. I didn’t need urging though, I all but threw myself at him. His arms wound around me as he pulled me off my feet, closer to his height and kissed me. The passion, love and sorrow mixed into the kiss, making tears sting my eyes again. I didn’t let them flow. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck fisting his hair into my hands to hold him to me. There was no way I was going to let him go, not yet. In this moment there was only me and him, the world had dissolved around us, no longer existing to me. I don’t even know how long it had been before we pulled apart, but it was long enough for the other to have left the room. I guess we made them uncomfortable. I looked back to Phoenix after scanning the room and laughed. I actually laughed for the first time since Tristian was killed.

“I guess we need to join the others.” I told him smiling.

“Yes, I guess we should.” He responded smiling back at me. But he never let me go, never put me back on my feet.

“Uh…Are you going to put me down?”

“Nope.” He stated before carrying me to where the others were waiting, and setting me on my feet.

“Well, thanks for the ride I guess.” Looking back up into his eyes.

“You’re welcome.” He smirked, before going to sit with the others.

I didn’t really know what to do, or where to go. Everyone was staring at me with expectations and concern. When I could feel and see their emotions, it was overwhelming. The most emotion was coming from Ryker. He was confused, scared, concerned. He didn’t quite understand what was happening or why he was here. He didn’t know how he was miraculously healed. He still had scars that I couldn’t heal, but scars were better than being dead. His confusion was what made the decision for me. I walked over to him, sitting on his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. I guess on instinct his arms went around my waist, holding me tightly to him.

“What are you confused about?” I asked, running my fingers through his hair.

“Everything.” He admitted, hid brow furrowing. “Like, why are you on my lap? Don’t get me wrong, I want you here, want to hold you. But why?”

“Well, I recently went through a very painful change. Another soul awoken within me, a witch soul. Her name is Alethea and she says you are our consort. A withes version of a bonded. That’s why I am here on your lap.” I swear I had never seen a brighter, happier smile on his face before. His red eyes shone with his pure joy. It was hypnotic to watch.

“So, you’re mine? I am yours?” He asked, needing to confirm what I said. I smiled at his eagerness but also his joy. It radiated off of him in waves. When I nodded at him, confirming it all, he crashed his lips onto mine. I could feel everything through the kiss. His love for me, his joy of finally getting to be with me. I felt his concern that I was lying and he’d lose me. But mostly it was all good.

I pulled away cupping his face between both my hands. “I’m not lying, and I’m not leaving.” I assured him. Well, I did the best I could. I laughed when Ryker looked at me funny. “I can feel emotions, remember?” I chuckled. This made him still for a moment, before he shrugged and his body relaxed.

“Okay, so second. How am I not dead?” I knew he’d ask this, and I thought I was prepared. But I wasn’t. the anger lingering just behind a very weak wall broke through. It consumed me so completely, burning through my body like fire.

“I am not totally sure. A man who claims to be my father and another man I had never seen before. The bigger one was the one who gave the orders. Blackwood obeyed.” I clenched my hands into fists. “When I found you. Saw you that way, it broke something in me. I pulled you into the shadows with me and brought you out of the academy. I healed you some inside the shadows, but I felt a small draining of my power so I pulled you outside the walls and into the real world to finish healing you. I couldn’t take the chance of heling you completely there, then not being able to get out.”

I slid my hand under his shirt and pulled it over his head. “I couldn’t heal all of you though.” I whispered, tracing one of the scars with my finger tip. I felt him shiver beneath my touch making me smile. “But I figured you being alive with scars, was better than you being dead.” I looked back up into his red eyes searching for any sign he may resent me for leaving him scared.

“I can live with the scars.” He told me, grabbing my hand and holding it to his chest.

“Good.” I smiled slightly before looking back down to his chest, and feeling the scars along his back. I scowled down at them. They didn’t take away from his beauty, if anything they added to it. I just didn’t like the thought of him getting them because of me.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” I shook my head slightly. “I should have been there, to protect you, protect the Academy. You never would have been hurt if it weren’t for me.”

“Rose. Don’t do that,” Ryker placed two fingers under my chin and brought my eyes up to his. “You are a queen, the queen, and you had people who needed help, who needed free. They were your priority, not the Academy. Anyway, they could have killed me and I still wouldn’t have told them anything about you. I’ve always loved you Rose.” Ryker whispered, pushing hair behind my ears. “You jut never noticed.”

“I’m sorry. And I love you too. I didn’t know how much until I saw you hurt, almost dead.” I shook my head again. “I never, never want to see you or anyone else like that.”

“Don’t worry.” Ryker nuzzled my nose. “I’ll fight next time. Now that I have something to fight for.”

“I’m glad. Are you curious about anything else?”

“Yeah. What’s up with him?” Ryker pointed over his shoulder at Hades. It hadn’t passed my notice he was always close to me. There, not visible, but also close enough were I could feel him, and see his aura.

“You know why.” I murmured. “You were there, you saw and heard everything.”

“Yes, you’re right. I did. But I am still unsure about him.”

“Don’t worry. He means no harm. He…well he is going to train me. Teach me.” An edge of fury entered my tone. “Then I am going to kill the man who claims to be my father, and help Hades go after Zeus. We need to find Poseidon though.”

“Wait, what?” Cassius flew to his feet.

I sighed heavily, burying my face into Ryker’s neck. “Hades, can you explain please?” I asked, too tired to go into a long tirade over this whole god and training thing. Hell, I didn’t even know a lot of it myself yet.

“Of course.” Were the only words I heard before his heavy footfalls sounded across the floor, until he was standing dead center of the room. “Before Zeus took total control of Olympus all of us gods were at peace, friends. We live peacefully among each other. We had no laws because we had no crime. It was what you humans would call utopia.” I felt his anger flare. I looked up from Ryker’s shoulder and saw his body trembling with his anger. I could see the affect it was having on the others. Their eyes were wide, fear within their depths.

I sighed internally, before getting up and walking towards him. I had been practicing the emotion sucking thing and thought it might help him. It was hard to keep focused though, he was always shirtless and I wondered if there were even shirts in his size. Cursing myself in my head I placed my hands over where his heart was and felt the rhythm of his heart. It beat fast, faster than I would believe was safe. Then I felt for the anger that coated him. I drew all of that into myself, converting into energy I could use later. But there was just so much of it. Millenia of pain, sorrow and betrayal. There was no way I could take all of that away from him, not all at once. It would take weeks, years to get Hades back to himself.

“Thank you Rose.” I heard him say, before his hands swallowed mine and moved them from his chest. I felt myself disconnect from him, but also still felt him at the same time. It was odd. I looked at my hands in his, completely encompassed by his, then up to his golden eyes. Were they always molten gold?

I backed away from him, pulling my hands from his and made my way back to Ryker. Hades had started to continue his explanations, but I couldn’t get over that feeling. I knew I had connected with him and his emotions when I took them from him, but that never happened with Alistar. I took only his sorrow, I didn’t even feel anything else, I didn’t look for anything else. But with Hades it was like my power took over. Like it spread itself through all of him, feeling his every emotion. I knew what I felt from him was nothing compared to what he felt himself. And I didn’t like it. Everyone feels pain, I understand that. But the sheer amount Hades felt was a hundred times worse than what I felt from Cassius. Hades was just better at hiding it from me. He knew my power though, so he knew what to do to block himself off from me.

“Rose? Rose?” Someone shouted, catching my attention.

“Yes?” I looked around the room in confusion.

“Did you hear anything Hades just said?” One of the elves asked me sternly.

My eyes met Hades for a brief moment, before I turned to the elf. “No, I didn’t.” I stood and made my way over to him until I was towering over him. Darcel hunkered down in the chair he was in as he stared at me in fear. “I just lost someone I loved, I do not have to pay attention to anyone right now, god or no god. And you. You self-serving selfish son of a b***h have no place to speak to me in such a way.” I turned from him, my anger once again taking over. I called my kitsune to my side and ran my hand through her shadowed fur. “You see Darcel.” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I know all about your plans. You and the others.”

I wiped all emotion from my face and eyes before turning back to him. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t figure it out? That I was truly naïve enough to believe you came here in search of your brother out of concern?” I shook my head laughing. “No one who wishes peace would bring shadow assassins. That was your first give away. Another was your sheer insistence on finding him, like your life depended on it. When in truth, the only thing depended on it was you and the others gaining his land and slaughtering his people.” I smiled cruelly. “Tell me Darcel, should I allow my kitsune to kill you? Drag you into the farthest depths of the shadows? Sounds fair to me. You did want to murder Micha after all, why shouldn’t I just kill you first?”

The kitsune seemed to purr at the idea. She hunkered down with her but in the air. Her many tails whipped around us in her excitement. Her teeth were barred and the smallest of snarls could be heard from her. She was waiting on my say. I looked from the kitsune to Darcel with a menacing smile. “Looks like she’s ready for dinner.” I laughed darkly.

“Rose, stop.” It was Phoenix’s voice.

“Why should I?” I asked turning to him. “Trusting the wrong people is what got Tristian killed. Why should I trust someone who is willing to kill an innocent, kill an entire race of people just to gain land and power? Why should people like this get to live and Tristian die.” I scoffed. “He deserves to rot in the pits of hell.” I hissed, turning back to Darcel who had moved to join the other elves. I sneered over at them. “Whatever. But I want all except Ciaran locked up somewhere they can’t harm anyone, or speak to each other. I can’t have them planning some elaborate escape.” A morbid idea hit me. “Or, we could put them together, let them plan, let them try to escape. Then I could kill them, Lilith could consume their souls.” I laughed at the idea.

There were a few guards who had accompanied us and I commanded they do something with them, just to get them out of my sight. Micha, posing as a guard, of course was part of that small group. I tried to calm myself, but it just kept building and building. I was so mad, so angry and hurt. I didn’t know how to deal with it, how to handle it. At least if I was angry I could use that when I destroy Apollo. Wait. My eyes grew wide and I turned to Hades.

“Please tell me it’s not true.” I all but commanded of him. “Tell me he is not who I think he is.”

“No. He is not my nephew. The god Apollo left many, many years ago. This Apollo is merely a witch.”

Relief hit me like a tidal wave. Well thank God, for that. I actually got some good news for once. I don’t know what I’d do if my father was a god. That would be weird. Weird beyond even what I know about this realm. “Well. I’ll take that as a blessing.” I muttered under my breath.

Hades laughed. “Yes, that it is.”

There was something in his voice that made me look up at him in confusion. What was that? And why was he looking at me that way? And why the hell did I feel drawn to him? I’ve learned not to believe what my body was telling me. It has been right without fail. But right now, I was not sure what I was feeling, or what was happening. It was odd. Like one of those tugging sensations, I had. This one though I could barely even feel. It felt like it was just a feather running across my abdomen. What the hell was going on?