Chapter 27
Standing in front of the Goddess House, palms sweating and heart racing, Duncan felt like a teenage boy on his first date.
What if Ava rejected him like he’d rejected her?
Ever since Llion told him of his final words to Ava, a cloud of shame hung over him. Ava saved his life, and he threw her love for him back in her face. Tortured by the pain he’d brought down on both of them, Duncan hesitated before knocking.
With one deep breath to steady his nerves, he gripped the handle of the Celestial knocker and slammed it down three times.
After a few seconds, Mona answered the door. Dressed in a denim blouse, jeans, and snake-skin boots, she looked ready for work. Her complexion paled, and her eyes grew wide.
“Duncan!”
Before he could say a word, the door swung the rest of the way open, slamming against the wall with a crash. Carman flew toward him, a murderous expression on her face.
“How could you be so cruel?” She pounded on his chest, but Duncan grabbed her wrists and held her at arm’s length.
Ignoring Carman’s tirade, he spoke with calm determination. “I want to see her.”
“Well, that’s just too damn bad, Shifter.” Carman wrenched her wrists from his grasp. “She’s gone.”
The breath whooshed from his lungs. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
“She left.” Mona’s curt tone and accusing glare further heightened his considerable guilt. “Ava left because you broke her heart.”
A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Ava’s safety could be at risk because he failed to recognize what they’d had together. The dragons slithered along his skin, snapping their tails and emitting a static pulse that stung like needles plunging through his flesh. Their warning of impending danger gripped his spine.
“Where did she go?” He didn’t care that he sounded pathetic and desperate.
“We didn’t even know she left until a few minutes ago. For all we know she could walk through the door any minute now.”
Ahlma’s hope-filled words did nothing to soothe him. Until Ava was safe and in his arms, nothing could ease his mind.
“When did she leave?”
“We don’t know—maybe an hour or two ago?” Carman grabbed her skull-shaped bag and headed toward the door with Mona right behind her.
“We were just leaving to look for her. Ava is in no condition to be out in this crazy city on her own right now.” The look Carman tossed over her shoulder could have melted steel.
“I’m right behind you, Carman,” Mona declared. “We’ll find her together.” The huge wooden door slammed behind her, leaving the house eerily silent.
As Duncan turned to leave, Ahlma laid a hand on his arm.
Her sky-blue gaze searched his. “The bond between you still exists, and that bond will take you to her if you listen with your heart.”
Duncan nodded and strode to the door, Ahlma’s words repeating in his brain. If only it were that simple.
As he reached the gate, the dragons he carried with him writhed and screeched in high-pitched wailing tones.
His foot made contact with a hard object on the sidewalk, causing him to stumble. Barely able to catch himself before falling, his curses were both loud and profuse. He stared at the offending object for several seconds before realizing what he was looking at. Ava’s backpack lay on the ground, partially obscured by a shrub. The knowledge that she had most likely never made it to her destination burned through his soul like acid. She wouldn’t have bothered to pack her backpack and leave it behind. He had to find her before it was too late.
~ ~ ~
Ava shivered as she lay on the icy metal surface beneath her, in spite of the burning welts covering her skin. Heavy boots pounded on the floor. She could hear each long, casual stride of her captor pacing back and forth. She kept her eyes closed and feigned sleep. The extra time gave her an opportunity to calm herself and prepare for whatever the fates planned for her.
A familiar scent caught her attention. Where the hell had she smelled that before? Impending doom hung heavily in the air.
Regardless of what befell her, she would meet her destiny alone. While certain the other goddesses would soon be looking for her, they probably believed she had just taken a walk—not been kidnapped by a whip-yielding stranger. Duncan certainly wouldn’t come for her, and that knowledge stung like a poison-laced dagger to the heart.
She lay still, contemplating her fate. Sooner or later, she would have to face her captor, but for now Ava continued to feign sleep, and set her mind on a plan of escape.
“Ava. Darling. I grow weary of watching you pretend to sleep.”
The sound of the familiar voice shocked her to the core. Ava’s eyes flew open as fury replaced her fear. “Trayan! What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m merely keeping my word. I vowed that I would have you, and now I do.”
Ava’s gaze darted around the room and found familiar surroundings, masculine leather furniture, big-screen plasma TV, and a Celtic coat of arms over the roaring fireplace.
Duncan’s penthouse.
She glanced up and found herself in a cage dangling from exposed support beams that ran the expanse of the cathedral ceiling. At only a few feet above the floor, if she were able to break the lock, she could easily leap to the ground.
Trayan moved closer and extended his hand through the bars, playing with a strand of her hair. “What a pretty little caged bird you are. I will keep you here as long as you amuse me.” His words reeked of satisfaction. “Fail to amuse me . . . suffer the consequences.”
Trayan turned his back on her and strode to a massive, brown leather chair. There was something very different about the arrogant god. His shoulders had broadened, his voice, once high-pitched, was now a deep baritone, and his height had gained a good four inches.
He sat in the chair facing her, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. With a gasp, Ava realized another difference—Trayan’s once blue eyes were pitch black, two round obsidian orbs devoid of any shred of humanity.
“What the hell happened to you?” Barely managing to keep the fear out of her voice, she turned away from his intense gaze.
“Let’s just say, I’ve acquired a few enhancements.” He paused for a heart-pounding moment, and a menacing smile spread across his face. “You will come to appreciate my new attributes in time.” As he spoke, Trayan fingered a glowing orb on a silver chain around his neck.
Ava’s skin crawled with disgust, as she wondered whether Trayan’s power was connected to the orb. Whatever his enhancements were, evil intent oozed through his pores. Black eyes usually meant demonic possession—or worse. What if he had become a demon? Trayan had evil tendencies as a god. As a demon, he would be ten times more depraved.
She looked at her captor. His eyes were now a clear sky blue, his sneer full of contempt.
Was he a demon, a god, or both?
“I’m both—a singular entity, a unique being—ready to explore my newfound abilities.”
Trayan could now read minds—the thought made her shiver. If she found a way to escape, he would know about it. She vowed to keep her mind as clear as possible.
The obsidian color had returned to his eyes, and he sported a set of protruding horns from his head. A wave of his hand produced a mattress on the steel floor of her cage.
“Get some rest little bird. Sooner or later, the big bad cat will come back to play.”
Before she had a chance to respond, Trayan vanished in a burst of flames and smoke.