Page 4 of Flirting with Death

"Apollo?" I said, halting Samantha's steps.

The golden God's lips quirked up in the imitation of a smile. It didn't quite meet his eyes, it never did, his warmth was all on the outside, and his heart was cold inside his chest.

"The one and only," he replied. He held his hands out like he was a gift to the mortal realm, when half of them didn't even know he existed, and the other half thought he was a myth. "Niece," he said and closed the distance between Samantha and him. He had his hands on her shoulders, dropping kisses to her cheeks before she could even react.

"Niece?" she asked as she pulled out of his arms.

He twirled his finger in the air. "In a roundabout way. Artemis is your mother. I'm her brother. That makes you my niece."

"Wouldn't that also make you the God that put Orion in the stars?"

He gripped his heart and sighed. "That was a very long time ago."

"What do you want, Apollo?" I came around the counter and put myself between Sam and him.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, facing me. He ran his finger along the spotless bar as he stalled.

When he continued to avoid the question, I lifted my brow. "Well?"

"A muse is missing." When he brought his gaze back to mine, I could see the uncertainty in their depths. A foreign emotion for him, I was sure.

"What does that have to do with Lex?" Samantha asked as she moved around me to face him.

"Nothing, my sweet niece." He flicked his golden eyes back to her. "But you, on the other hand, you hunt demons, which means you can track my muse."

"Why can't you do that?" She crossed her arms and studied him. Her face gave none of her emotion away, and I wasn't even sure if she was entertaining the idea of helping the God.

"You see, I've tried. But I have little power in the mortal world. My followers are few and far between. The closest I have to worshipers are the people that need the sun. My muse is here. I know that much, but I don't know who has her or why, only that they are of the dark."

"Is your muse a demon?"

He laughed. "No. My creations walk in the light, not slink in the dark." He shot me a look. It was clearly a jab at my mother, and I barely held my anger inside.

"The dark is powerful," I replied.

"Oh yes, so powerful that it disappears if I shine a little light on it." He gave me a bored look before he turned his attention back to Samantha.

"Since you've been oh so charming, the answer is no," she said as her fingers tangled with mine, and she pulled me away.

"She is being tortured. I can feel it in our link," he said. It was the first authentic emotion I had felt off of him since he appeared.

Sam stopped and peered at him over her shoulder, hearing the same desperation in his voice that I had. "Apologize to Lex," she said as she turned back toward him.

"Apologize?" he sputtered. His golden eyes flicked to me. "For what? The truth?"

She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow as she glared at him.

"Fine. I apologize that the dark sucks," he muttered.

A smile pulled at my lips, and I wiped it away. I could almost see steam coming from Samantha's ears.

"Forget it," she growled.

"Lex, I'm sorry I insulted your mom," Apollo rushed to truly apologize before she could make it all the way out of the room.

Her face was stone cold as she looked at him, her jaw a tense line.

"And I know that the dark has power. People wouldn't be afraid of it if it didn't," he added after a small look at Sam to see if she accepted his words.

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