Page 45 of Stuck with my Frenemy
Chapter Seventeen
Ebony
Ialways believed that I would die in some glorious, mention-worthy manner, in a gruesome battle where I would take as many opponents as I possibly could down along with me. If I lived a thousand years, I never would’ve thought all would end for me in the front yard of a stupid house in the middle of the human realm.
With Cherry.
The fates hated my guts. It was official.
It sort of brought many things into perspective while I leaned forward on the porch chair, arms draped over my knees, staring unseeing into the night. Frogs and crickets chirped and croaked like some funeral music preceding a progression that would send us off to the Underworld. Even the soft, gentle breeze grazing the exposed skin of my arms and face couldn’t sooth the dreadful feeling churning in my gut. I was ready to toss my cookies from the bile rising at the back of my throat, burning through my esophagus.
“We made it in time. I told you we would.” Cherry excitedly panted from next to me, proud of herself that she got us here by driving forty miles an hour on the way back.
I focused on her instead of the two men broodingly leaning on the wall of the house. With arms crossed over their chest, there was frustration oozing out of them in waves because we told them they had to stay quiet when Karma arrived. Like they had any right to be there in the first place. If Loki hadn’t gotten his arrogant self-involved in things that didn’t concern him in some misguided quest to help me get my shit together, the two humans wouldn’t even know the world of gods existed.
I liked Loki.
Well, I liked him as much as one could possibly like a snake they found in the grass and tried to pet without knowing how poisonous it was. I found him fascinating the way he fucked with everyone, and when they found out about his plotting, he just shrugged nonchalantly and brushed them off like lint off his well-tailored suit. Maybe I just envied that he was brave enough to do things, while I bowed my head every time my mother decided to make me tough instead of standing up to her.
“We are sure that this Karma is coming?” Ash rumbled from deep in his chest, his low tone sending goosebumps all over me.
So the human was not pleased to be ordered around. He could join the club and stick his attitude up his ass for all I cared.
“Feel free to take your grumpy ass home if waiting for an entity that can smite you with a look is too inconvenient for you, human.” Great, now I sounded like Cherry.
Next thing I knew, I’d be dressed in bright colors and bouncing around on needle-like heels while singing “I Will Always Love You” from the top of my lungs. The reminder of the asinine song and the high-pitched tones Cherry tried her best to reach—though she only achieved sounding like a whale dying—made me cringe.
“I know you are her mate, Ash, but you should pay attention when I tell you what her limits are if you want to survive your relationship with the Princess of Darkness over here.” For the first time, Cherry didn’t grin or giggle. “She has walls, my man. Likewallsup to our realm.” Arms raised above her head, she stared at him wide-eyed. “You need to be persistent like me and ignore her growling, snarling, and glaring. I have it on good authority that’s all just a front. Plus, you see how she talks to me, and I’m her friend.” Preening, she threw an affectionate smile my way that made my heart drop to my feet. “If she is insulting you, it means she cares. Trust me.”
“Or”—I jabbed a thumb at myself—“she is about to kill you. It’s an either-or type of thing. You should really test the odds.”
Cold sweat drenched the shirt on my back when Cherry mentioned the mate thing—the one little nugget of shit in this situation I tried my best to forget. My entire life I’d been told what to do and how to feel by my mother. If the Fates thought I’d be sitting back and watching them do the same, they had another thing coming. Against all odds, I’d persevered Morrigan’s cruelty, so I’d be damned if I failed while they attempted to control me. With the disaster spiraling around me, I had nothing to lose. They wanted to have a go at me?
I’d give them a war they’d never forget.
“See?” Cherry snickered. “She likes you. When she doesn’t care, she won’t even acknowledge your existence. You’d be some random human that doesn’t register in her mind. You got this.” She gave him two thumbs up.
Steeling my resolve to win this battle, I tilted my head to Ash with an expressionless face. “You should listen to her. See how it works out for you.”
He said nothing but kept his smoldering gaze locked on mine for a long moment, the blue of his irises churning with things I refused to read into. Practice made me appear cold and emotionless, while inside a storm brewed that could tear me apart at any minute. Every breath he took and every twitch of a muscle in his body felt like it was my own. I hated that I was too aware of his presence, and it was to the point that the croaking and chirping sounded too loud in my ears. The wet strands of his long hair seemed dark around his handsome face from the shower he took before they returned to our house with his brother.
I shouldn’t have noticed, but I did.
I noticed everything.
Strangest of all was the fact that while we waited, the proximity both humans had to the hammer at my feet made them feel different somehow. Their energy was stronger, and it poked at my power as if testing it. Teasing brushes of magic tried to get my attention with the same flavor I felt at Ash’s bar. A sinking feeling that Loki meddled not just in our lives but in theirs spread through me, but I pushed it away. Too focused on my thoughts, I missed the moment everything changed.
Silence.
All sound disappeared as if they’d been sucked out of the air like a vacuum forming around the house. The subtle changes became apparent when the moonlight shimmered like liquid silver over everything, and the few trees around the house made no noise with the rustling leaves. My breathing slowed, and I could see every blink of my companions’ eyes in slow motion at the same time as every one of my inhales and exhales whooshed inside my head. That was when I heard it.
A stiletto heel smacking the pavement.
All sound returned at once, lurching my heart hard against my ribs. The breeze brushed against me, the crickets and frogs sang together, and the three people around me got animated. Unfortunately, the incoming footsteps continued, and each smack over the concrete was like another nail hammered in my coffin. Whatever Cherry had been preparing to say trailed off, too.
Karma appeared before us, her body wavering like we were looking down a lake full of crystal-clear waters. Unhurriedly, she moved forward with her arms folded at the small of her back and her head held high. Her platinum pixie cut stuck out on her head in a crown of pointy tips, and her eyes were locked on me like an executioner’s axe. Dressed in a white suit that deceptively softened her harsh features, she had a deep red tie draped over her ample breasts that stood out like a bloodstain in the middle of all the whiteness. As far as threats went, it fucking worked.
Ice filled my veins, and since I was dumb at that point, I jerked out of the chair and stepped in front of Cherry. The corners of Karma’s thin lips curled slightly into the cruel mockery of a smile, which told me my idiocy hadn’t gone as unnoticed as I’d hoped. Still staring down her nose at me—quite a feat if you asked me since she was a few steps below the porch we stood on—she was almost in front of us when two faceless sentinels popped into existence behind her. I had no time to panic because my attention was drawn back to her when she pulled a long, thin cigarette from the inside of her jacket, and I watched dumbly as she took a drag from it, the tip glowing bright orange. Talon-sharp nails stuck out of her fingers, which were painted the same color as her tie.
