Page 17 of Death God

I lied a little.

He gave me an unappreciative look. “He had a huge fight with the Alpha King over you after he learned about you being starved and then being taken by the Vampire King. He’s been estranged ever since.”

So, the Alpha King and his commander hadn’t learned about Shade’s part in helping me. He should be safe. I let out a breath of relief. Marlowe’s vampires wouldn’t harm my friends under any circumstances, and he was at the top of my list to be protected or left alone.

“Marlowe didn’t kidnap me,” I said. “If he hadn’t saved me from been chained and starved, I’d have died. I hadn’t had a drop of water in ten days in that dungeon.”

“Five days,” he corrected me, but then he winced. “Princess Viviane bribed and bought the guards. All the guards involved were sentenced to death. I should’ve checked on you sooner, but even I wasn’t allowed to talk to you. Anyway, I was at fault too, but you should still let go of the grudge, since it won’t do your mental health any good. You don’t want to end up being a bitter old woman, believe me.”

“Or end up being a bitter old man,” I said.

“I have to say it again, Pip girl. You can’t trust any bloodsuckers, especially their king!”

Shifters and vampires were natural enemies. The sun would rise in the south before either side would put themselves in the other’s shoes. All the more reason why I appreciated Danielle and Paris’ loyalty and friendship when they chose to side with me.

“Oh yeah? How come they treat me much nicer?” I asked.

“They deceived you,” he said. “All they want is to use you. You’ll be in a better place if you’re smart enough to remember that!”

I laughed, knowing I could never convince him to see the vampires in a different light. It’d be a waste of time beating this dead horse. I’d be better off leaving the topic of the conflict between the vampires and shifters and focusing on planting doubts in GG, the Alpha King’s right-hand man.

“And you don’t think the dark lord wants to exploit me?” Over his growl, I raised my hands to show him the cuffs. “Who would chain their true mate? Marlowe would kill anyone who did that to me. Marlowe would never take my power. He cleaved his wings a century ago because he thought he did me wrong even though he didn’t. Your noble Alpha King, however, wants me for my rare power. He’d happily drive your beloved Shifter City into the ground in order to obtain me. And the horseman of war, who possessed your cousin king, has only one purpose for me—to siphon my power and absorb my essence. He has failed for a century, but now he believes your alpha can get the dirty job done for him.

“When Jared took me to his remote cabin and had sex with me that one time, a temporary mating bond was formed between us. He gained new powers and became much stronger because of the bond until I tore it out. He’s addicted to the powers that only I could offer him, which gave him the incentive to break off his engagement to BJ since I proved to be far more useful. But Jared alone could never tear me away from Marlowe, as he wasn’t in the same league as the Vampire God. Meanwhile, the horseman of war needed a powerful vessel. No one else could host him for long until the wolf alpha came along.

“War never left Earth after he wrecked the planet with his global war two centuries ago. He called himself Spartoi and had been running the shadow government with the dark mages and witches as his foot soldiers. When he rebelled against Heaven, refusing to return after his assignment was over, Heaven stripped him of some of his power, and he lost his corporeal form. He stole me from Marlowe after the Vampire God put me into a long sleep. The dark angel failed to consume my essence, but he found a way to use me to boost his power like a battery. I knew he’d been working on a final black spell that might give him the means to harvest my power and drain me so he could regain his former glory.

“I escaped before that happened. Jared, you, and Shade found me and brought me to the Shifters Academy. You know the rest of the story. War is also convinced that if his vessel mates with me and forces the mating bond, he can finally take my power for himself through the bond. Jared is a fool to think he can get both War’s and my powers through their merge and through re-forging the mating bond with me. It won’t be long before the dark angel takes everything from him, and I was never really his fated mate, so I could shatter the bond. I’ll never be his.”

Going-gray was silent for a long moment, his face pale and grim.

“Why did you tell me all this?”

“You helped me,” I said. “After all, you’re Shade’s cousin.”

The truth was that I also wanted to give him a way out. I didn’t want to see him go down with the worst villain when I rained my wrath down on this place and burned War and everyone who wronged me with it.

“I won’t help you, Pip girl,” he said, his voice regaining viciousness like the old bulldog he was. “We’ll have no more talk like that. No matter what comes next, I’ll be doing my job as a dutiful soldier, and I won’t break my vow to serve my king faithfully!”

But he let out a ragged breath. No matter what his choice was, I’d shaken him with the hard truth.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” I said. “I don’t need your help. But I hope you won’t get in my way.”

“Don’t let any crazy ideas get into your head,” Going-gray said harshly. “Or you’ll go down faster than a runaway train off the side of a cliff. Slow to anger and slower to act, and you’ll survive. I pray for your sake this isn’t going to be a habit—murdering a man on your first day here.”

“Killing a bad man in self-defense,” I said.

The van cruised around a circle of vast fountains and pulled up in front of a lime-colored, Italian-style, five-story building under the gloomy sky.

CHAPTER 6

Going-gray insisted on me staying on the same floor as him. Actually, he kicked one of his aides out of the room across from his and assigned it to me. The aide glared at me as he dragged a big suitcase behind him, and two guards carried a couple of boxes that probably contained his personal stuff to help him move out quickly.

He didn’t seem to have much, but he had more than me, so he should not scowl.

I would have preferred to take an empty room instead of inheriting a room from that dude, but GG ignored my protests. I hoped the aide took care of hygiene stuff.

I was a glorified prisoner here, so maybe I should quit whining.

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