Page 91 of Blood

“Shhh.” She waves a hand at him.

I stare at the caller ID, my frown deepening when I don’t recognize the number, before answering it.

Speaker, Jack mouths.

With a sigh, I do as he instructs and place my phone on the table.

“Hello, Violet,” a deep, rumbling voice greets, and a cold pebble of dread lodges in my stomach.

No...

“Zeus,” I breathe as a veil of silence stretches over the room. Everyone seems to be holding their breath, wondering what the fuck is happening right now.

My breathing turns thready.

Why is he calling me?

What does he want?

“I have something of yours that I believe you want,” Zeus begins, a malicious chuckle escaping him.

“And what is that?” I don’t know why I ask. I don’t want to know. I really, really don’t want to know.

“Have you even bothered to look for your parents since I took them?” He tsks his tongue in mock disapproval. “Of course, you haven’t. They sacrificed everything for you, but you’re not willing to do the same.”

Anger burns through me, a lance of fire across my vision, white-hot and blistering.

“Shut the fuck up, you overgrown nose hair!” I snap, and Cal gives me a what the fuck? look. I shrug helplessly. Yeah, it probably wasn’t my best insult, but I’m not thinking coherently. My brain is all muddled, like a pinball has been set loose and is bouncing around, ricocheting off every wall, with no hole for it to drop into.

“You see,” Zeus continues indolently, “I no longer require use of your parents. They’re rather...cumbersome.”

“If you hurt them—” I rasp as horror shoots through me.

A figure moves into the doorway, momentarily drawing my attention, and I see Dimitri standing there, his gallant face hard and his sensual lips curved into a frown. He gestures for me to continue speaking.

“Meet me in Mount Olympus in one hour. Alone,” Zeus continues. “And in exchange, I’ll free your parents.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I demand before I can stop myself. All of my mates turn to glare at me, as if wondering why I would even consider his ridiculous request, but my mind is moving a mile a minute.

Time.

We’re out of time.

That’s what this all comes down to.

The hands on the clock are blades, slicing through time, cutting its life short.

No more planning. No more meetings. No more training.

Zeus is giving us a deadline.

“What reason would I have to keep your parents with me once I have you?” Zeus asks, cackling. “All I want is you, Violet. All I’ve ever wanted was you.”

I begin to tap my fingers against the mahogany table as my brain churns, trying desperately to hear everything Zeus isn’t saying.

“My mates won’t like this.”

“Your mates...” Anger deepens Zeus’s voice, turning those two words into a guttural growl. “If you, your mates, or any of those monsters on the fucking council try to cross me, you’ll all live to regret it.”

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