Page 41 of The Chosen Son

Choking out a bitter laugh, I grabbed the other spoon and dug in. “It’s perfect, actually, fitting with how things have always gone for me. My life has never belonged to me, not even before I was conceived. The prophecy readers had me flagged as a person of interest, and when I turned five, the government swooped in and just… bought me. Everyone has always wanted something from me. The government, my so-called friends, even my ex-boyfriend.” I shoved the spoon into my mouth and let the ice cream melt on my tongue.

Deimos shoved the tainted food out of the way, picking up the tub of ice cream. “Shove over,” he said, scooting me aside to make some room for him, then he kicked up his feet and leaned back against the headboard beside me. He offered up the dessert, and we took turns taking spoonfuls. We lapsed into an oddly companionable silence as we watched the reality show wrap up. One of the omegas was crying, hugging the other contestants goodbye as they were evicted from the house, returning to their everyday life. I wondered what that would feel like, a life without expectations, without an audience.

Deimos sighed. “I don’t envy you. It can’t have been easy, knowing you had some grand purpose to save humanity, all under the assumption that you were going to die. That’s a lot for a kid to deal with. I do understand, though, probably better than you know.”

“How’s that?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“I had a purpose too, one I never asked for and didn’t want.” His voice had gone flat, guarded, and I peeked at him. He was staring down at his hands in his lap. “As soon as Phobos and I were born, my father knew exactly what he’d been given. We were a pair of the most dreadful creatures, and he wasso excited.”

“But you were just babies,” I protested, feeling defensive of the children they once were. “Babies aren’t dreadful, they’re cute and innocent.”

“Not us,” he assured me, his eyes stormy. “We made our mother cry. She wailed and begged for him to take us away, to drown us, to leave us in the forest for the nymphs.”

I tried to picture the stunning Aphrodite I’d met trying to banish her sons, but I couldn’t get the images to align. She seemed to genuinely adore her children, I never would’ve guessed. “What happened?” I asked in a small voice. “What changed her mind?”

“My father. He saw potential in us. He is the god of war, after all, and what better weapon than the awe-inspiring terror coming off us. And so, we fulfilled our awful purpose. I have seen so much blood and death and horror.” He sounded so haunted, I had no doubt it was the truth. “Our mother did accept us eventually, once we learned to control ourgifts, and in the end, she tried her best to offset our father’s tutelage, to create a balance. Look how well that turned out.” Deimos’s laugh lacked humor. “So I guess that’s why I am the way I am.” He shrugged like it was no biggie, but I could feel the weight of his confession.

“Our fates have really done a number on us, haven’t they?”

“They have.”

“To be fair, I don’t think you’re as bad as you think you are. You’re not irredeemable. I mean, I haven’t been around as long as you have, but I’ve seen some true evil. I’ve known worse humans than you.”

“Really? Like who?” Was that curiosity or a hint of hope I heard in his voice? I saw that innocence in him, just a flicker, of the child whose mother hadn’t loved him, the father he’d tried to please, and I felt an ache, a need to soothe the centuries-old hurt.

“Yeah, my ex, he…” I couldn’t believe I was about to admit my darkest secret to him, just to make him feel better. To cover up my discomfort, I dug out a massive spoonful of ice cream and shoved it into my mouth. My next words were garbled around the utensil. “The asshole actually recorded us as he took my virginity and then sold the video to the highest bidder.”

“Hewhat?!” Deimos sat up so fast that the ice cream tub rolled off his lap and hit the floor with a thud. His face was a mask of fire and fury, and I could feel the lashing of his dread lapping at my skin. Goosebumps pricked at me, and I tasted bile in the back of my throat as every human instinct told me to flee. I didn’t, though. I stayed right where I was, staring into the void of terror and seeing… concern.

Deimos cared about me.

“It’s okay, I’m over it,” I tried to tell him, feeling cold and shaky, but he refused to hear it.

“It’snotokay, and you shouldn’t be over it,” he thundered, turning toward me. He reached up and caught my jaw, turning my face so he could look me in the eye. His touch felt warm and safe, a contrast to his expression which promised violence. “What he did to you was not just wrong, it was illegal. Did you report him? Please tell me he was punished.” I somehow didn’t think he meant with jailtime.

I opened my mouth to admit my failure, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, to see my own disappointment reflected back at me, because the truth was—I’d never told a soul. So instead, I said, “Like you’re really one to talk about breaking the law.”

His hand dropped away, and I instantly missed the contact. “There’s a reason for everything I’ve done. It’s justified. Loki needs to pay for the harm he’s caused.”

“And so you cause more harm to innocent people who have nothing to do with you or Loki? Where’s the sense in that? Nope, I’mnot buying it.” No one had every made me so angry, so frustrated, as Deimos. “You could’ve found another way.”

“Like what?” he snapped, standing off the bed to pace to small space. “Get over it?” he sneered, throwing my own words back at me.

I held my hands out, fingers splayed. “Like me. Take my power.” The words were out before I’d even really considered what I was saying, but I instantly knew it was the perfect answer to both our problems. “You let all the shifters go, and promise me that you won’t kidnap anyone again, and it’s all yours. You can have every single drop of the power inside me.”

He scoffed, doubt written all over his face. “You have been gifted with more power than most gods. Men have killed for less. Why the hell would you give it up freely?”

“Because it’s not a gift, it’s a curse!” I snapped, and he flinched, frowning. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want this, I never did. No one should have this much power. It has always ruined my life, right from minute one, and now it’s making me sick! Please!”

We remained in our standoff, neither of us saying a word, adrenaline surging through me. Deimos’s chest was heaving with his rapid breath. I didn’t know which one of us would break first, but the tension was taut between us.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, Deimos reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Without breaking eye contact, he pressed a button and held the phone to his ear. “Zeek, let the shifters go.” I couldn’t hear Zeek’s reply, but it must’ve been confusion, because Deimos said, “Yes, I’m sure. And let the guild know we won’t be needing any more of them either… No, not anymore. I’ve found an alternate source of energy.”

He hung up and tossed his phone onto the nightstand. “So, is that a deal then?” He took one predatory step toward me, closing thedistance between us by half. It sent a frisson of fear through me, but I liked the way it lit me up. It made me feelalivein a way I’d been missing.

I nodded. “It’s a deal.” I held my hand out for him to shake, and when he clasped it in his, I gasped.

His grip on me was tight, his jaw clenched as he focused. A tingling sensation began in my palm where we touched, but it quickly crept up my arm, around my shoulder, then extended to my back and chest. It was warm, not entirely unpleasant, but the further it enveloped me, the warmer it got.

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