Page 60 of Blood

“Um, forgive me, Mrs. Athena, ma’am.” I anxiously lick my upper lip. “But you seem almost...how do I put this delicately? Too nice. Yes, you seem almost too nice to be legitimate. How do I know you aren’t planning on killing me and my parents, then taking over the world?”

Athena’s jaw actually drops at my audacity, and Balor has to hide his laughter with the back of his hand. Only Memphis seems unperturbed by my super innocent question. He merely pushes himself off the back wall he’s been perched against and says, “I told you, Violet. I saw that they’ll help you.”

I wave away his words. “You’re not exactly the most trustworthy monster. You did stab me repeatedly, after all.”

“Hurtful,” Memphis mumbles under his breath.

“I can understand why you’d be wary of me, Violet.” Athena seems to be choosing her words carefully. Her beautiful face is grim. “Especially after everything my son put you through.”

“He tried to blow me up—”

“Us,” Cal corrects. “He tried to blow us up.”

I nod decisively. “And he murdered a bunch of people. And he tried to frame me for the murders. And he tried to kill me—”

Balor rolls his gray eyes. “Can we let the past remain in the past? My god. I helped your mates, didn’t I?” He gestures toward the runes I can still see on my mate’s skin, a dark stain that I’m not sure will ever go away, no matter how much time passes. “Those runes hold no power over them. And I can teach you how to do it yourself, so you can save your friends and all the monsters who’ll try to kill you in the future. Doesn’t that make us even?”

“No,” all of my mates chorus at once.

Athena just clicks her tongue and sends Balor a look rife with disapproval. “I’m ashamed of how you handled things in my absence, son.”

“Mother—”

“Don’t mother me.” She wags a finger in front of his face like he’s a disobedient dog who stole a treat when his owner wasn’t looking.

Mama Athena reprimanding her asshole son? Yeah. I can definitely get behind that. This might be the happiest I’ve felt in months.

Balor bares his teeth at her. “I’ve been alone for hundreds of years. This entire time, I was trying to get revenge for you and the others—”

“By hurting innocent people!” Athena throws her hands into the air in exasperation. It’s an oddly modern gesture, considering that she’s been locked away. Then again, this entire conversation proves that Athena and the rest of the Fomorians aren’t as unaware as I initially expected them to be. It’s apparent they used their time in Hell’s prison to keep an eye on Earth and all of its new customs.

“You and Dad—”

“You better hope your father doesn’t find you!” Athena scolds. “He’ll take a paddle to that ass for your behavior.”

Cal snorts a laugh, though he quickly tries to hide it as a cough when Balor tosses a penetrating glare his way.

Barret isn’t as subtle. He throws his head back and guffaws, the movement causing my body to vibrate where it’s still flushed against his.

“Balor’s going to get spanked,” he singsongs.

“Fuck off!” Balor hisses.

“Language,” Athena chides.

This time, not even Dimitri can keep his apathetic mask in place. I swear—I fucking swear—that his lips twitch a centimeter upward in the barest hint of a smile.

Or maybe he’s just farting and trying to be subtle about it.

With Dimitri, it’s hard to know for certain.

Hoping to steer the conversation back on track, I clear my throat. Honestly, it’s shocking even to me that I’m the one trying to be responsible. When did I become an adult, and how can I go back in time and change it?

“So, if you know what’s happening with Zeus, then are you willing to help us?” I can barely breathe around the sudden tightness in my throat. It feels as if I swallowed a dozen tacks, and all of them are poking at my stomach lining in unison.

We need the Fomorians' help if we have any hope of winning this battle. I know that. They know that. The world knows that.

But would they be willing?

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