Page 292 of Fated to be Enemies

I stepped back, almost toppling over an out-of-place rock. He reached his arm around my back and pulled me up before I could hit the ground. His unworldly speed jolted me as the air whooshed from my lungs.

A low growl left his lips as he pulled me back against him. “You never listen. I’m taking you home.”

As much as I loved rainy days, I preferred watching them from behind a window, snuggled in the warmth of a blanket. The cold made me shiver, dancing my spine into a full-body shudder. “I’m going because I want to.”

He picked me up into his arms, as if I weighed nothing, then sped us through the woods. My heart raced as the world around us blurred into browns and greens. Before I could catch my breath, we were at the closed iron gates of the mansion. He pressed the button and waited.

“I could tell them,” I said flatly.

“You could.” He ran his hand through his rain-soaked hair and looked down at me. “But you won’t.”

“Does your arrogance have no bounds?”

He smirked. “Not really.”

I gritted my teeth and flexed my fingers. The gates opened, and before I could say another word, Dora opened the front doors, beckoning us inside. She was home. Thank the gods. No, wait, thanks to something else. Not gods. I hated gods… and goddesses.

He walked ahead of me, shooting her a charming smile, and I watched her melt. I hated him for it. Who did he think he was? The goddamned puppet master? He couldn’t get away with manipulating everyone, but… He was a god, and his powers were, well, godly. Goose bumps raised along my skin. He could kill us all in a heartbeat if he wanted to. We were no match for him, and if I told everyone the truth, he’d be forced to show his hand.

He wasn’t leaving without the keys to free his family, and I was pretty sure if I tried to stop him, he’d only end up hurting me or the others. It was why he wasn’t concerned about my telling the others or getting in his way. He didn’t see me as a threat. He glanced back, his bottomless dark

Chapter Fourteen

Three More Dead, the headlines read. I glanced over the newspaper, glaring at Viktor—or should I say Raiden—as he drank his morning coffee like nothing had happened.

Edmund dragged a chair out, placing his breakfast on the kitchen table. “Maddox should be released today. The potioneers did excellent work healing him. I believe Aaron was one of the ones healing him.”

I smiled. “Of course he was. Not that it matters because Maddox doesn’t see a good thing when he has it.”

Dora finished making her eggs and grabbed a bread roll from the middle of the table, leaning over Edmund’s shoulder. “I’m just happy he’s okay. My poor Maddox. He must have been so afraid. Those intruders,” she said, balling her fists, “they could have killed him. I’m furious. Alma has been looking for the ones you both described, but they haven’t found them yet.”

My gaze caught Raiden’s. They would never find the “intruders” because we’d made them up. I wasn’t going to set them on the trail of a goddess who could tear them apart, and I didn’t want to face what Raiden would do to me if I did tell anyone. I imagined it would start with my death and end with my coven’s. Their unintelligible words floated around as I lost myself in dark daydreams.

“You okay, Elle, honey?” Dora asked.

“Sorry.” I snapped back to the conversation. “Yesterday was a lot. That’s all.”

She reached across the table and grabbed my hand, gently squeezing my fingers. “You’ve been through so much as of late.”

I inhaled deeply. “What were you saying before?”

“We couldn’t track down the goddess either,” Edmund explained.

Yep, because she had been here, locked in a divine fight with the liar over there. “Perhaps it’s best to let sleeping goddesses lie.”

Edmund gave me a look. “I suppose. She always has been elusive. Supposedly.” He drank the last of his vanilla bean coffee. “How many did you say broke in here yesterday again? That floor is costing a bucket of skal to fix.”

Raiden grinned. “Five,” he lied. “Elle almost shot one of them.”

“What?” Dora’s eyes widened.

“Almost.” I scowled. He knew I did.

“That’s my girl,” Edmund said and turned his attention to Raiden. “Viktor.” Edmund pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Why did you decide to put your name in the mix for the position of keeper? You have no experience and couldn’t have had time to learn everything.”

“I’ve been studying a lot.”

I scoffed. Edmund looked at me, and I masked it as a cough.

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