Page 33 of The Chosen Son

He crouched down in front of me, his eyes too kind for his actions. “Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon.”

And true to his word, darkness enveloped me, dragging me down into unconsciousness.

Chapter 14

Deimos

“No hard feelings,” I’d told Cameron, and I’d meant it. It wasn’t personal, merely the means to an end. The fact that my brother was currently losing his shit was just a bonus.

“Give me back my sidekick!” he raged through the phone, his voice cracking.

I hummed as if I were thinking it over. “No, I don’t think I will. His tight ass really matches my décor.”

He snarled, and I pulled the phone away from my ear, wincing. “I have forgiven you a lot of things, Brother, but this is low even for you. If you hurt even one hair on his head, I will—”

“Oh, relax, would you? I’m not going to hurt him. I’m just going to borrow him for a little bit, then I’ll return him to you unharmed. I promise.”

Phobos snorted. “Yeah, like your word is worth anything.”

“Hey,” I said, pretending to be offended, “I’ll have you know I’ve never broken an oath in my life. Do you think I want to be forcedto drink from the River Styx and be unable to speak for seven years? Or worse, driven to madness or put in a coma for a century? Pfft, no thanks.”

“Why do you even want him? Are you trying to get back at me for something? Is this because I wouldn’t side with you against Loki? Because Cameron doesn’t have anything to do with any of that.”

I sighed. “This has nothing to do with you,” I said, giving him a half-truth.

“What if we… shared him,” he suggested, his voice tight and stilted, and I knew how the offer pained him. He wanted Cameron all to himself. Well, too bad, because so did I.

Zeek appeared at my office door, indicating that Cameron had started to wake up. “Oh, sorry, Brother, I’ve gotta go.”

“Deimos, don’t you dare hang up on me. We’re not finish—” he was saying as I disconnected the call and pushed away from my desk.

I didn’t have to worry about Phobos. Not only did he not know where my secret lair was, but even if he did, he couldn’t break his way in without risking collapsing the street above onto his beloved sidekick. No, we were fine for now. All I had to do now was find a way to crack Cameron open like a nut and get at what was inside…

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I said as I stepped through into what would act as Cameron’s bedroom for the duration of his stay.

He struggled to push himself up from the bed, his hair adorably floppy, eyes heavy-lidded. “What did you do to me?” he slurred.

“Oh, the net? My uncle Hephaestus made it. Pretty sweet, don’t you think? Such a simple design, even a baby could get out of it, but it was charged up using your own energy against you. Ingenious.” I strolled the length of the cage, arms casually placed behind my back.

“And did Hephaestus know what you intended to do with the net?” he asked, all judgy.

I chuckled. “Oh, dear, sweet, innocent Cameron. Of course he knew. Even the gods have to make a living, but you’ll find that most gods don’t care so much about the fate of humans. You tend to die so quickly, you see. Doesn’t do us any good to get attached.” I struggled to keep my smile as Gorgias came to mind. If only I’d followed my own advice and let him go.

He blinked blearily before rubbing a palm down his face, and the arm he was using to prop himself up wobbled dangerously, threatening to collapse. “You were never really going to kidnap the babies from the hospital, were you?”

“Of course not. Let me guess—Phobos totally bought it. For being my twin, he’s not very smart. He should know me better. I might play the role of villain, but even I havesomehumanity.” I leaned back against the concrete wall and crossed my arms over my chest, drawing Cameron’s eyes down my body. I maybe flexed a little, angled my hips so the fabric over my crotch stretched over my bulge.

Cameron rolled his eyes and allowed himself to drop back on the pillows. “Right, you just kidnap innocent omegas for your own selfish purposes.”

“Have you already forgotten what I said? The gods don’t care about humans. You’re tools, to be used for our amusement and personal gain. So if I were you, I’d start asking what you can do for me, lest you become obsolete.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” he said flatly without even looking at me, then he rolled away to face the wall. It wasn’t a smooth roll, his movements stiff, and he failed to conceal a grunt as he came to rest on his side.

I didn’t particularly like being ignored. I was used to Zeek’s groveling, simpering, begging. Cameron’s indifference was… irritating. Itried to walk around the cage to be in his line of sight, but his eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply.

“Aren’t you going to fight back?” I asked. “Blast me with some fire or ice? Or it looked like you were carrying an electrical charge back at the hospital. Wanna give me a zap? Come on, give me your best shot.” I hated how needy I sounded.

He sighed, eyes still closed. “Nah, I’m good.”

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