Stygian Page 5

  Urian had been the first “human” she’d seen since …

  She couldn’t remember. That was how long it’d been. And she couldn’t remember a more fair, handsome one.

  Like her, he appeared young. Though she wasn’t really sure how Apollites aged. He could be older than dirt, for all she knew. Like some of the gods who appeared as children, even though they were thousands of years old.

  It was why she preferred to live her days as a dragon. In that form, no one knew she was just a girl. Plus, as a dragon, she was a lot stronger, which was much safer for her as she was less likely to get eaten by something larger or meaner.

  Her brother Veles had drilled that into her with iron spikes. Whatever you do, Xyn, remain a drakoma! They can’t harm you easily. Stay strong. Above all, stay alive!

  ’Course, Veles hated his human form. Just as he hated all humans.

  And everyone else, too. Especially the gods who’d cursed them and their mothers.

  Normally, Xyn agreed with her brother. She didn’t care for others herself. They were too quick to betray. Quicker still to strike the first blow, and she had no time for that.

  But Urian had been a nice, brief distraction from her boredom and loneliness. Seldom did anyone or anything venture here. Not even a cockroach.

  Sighing, she shifted back to her alternate body before the goddess happened to spy upon her and catch her away from her post. That would never do.

  Apollymi was a terrible mistress. Demanding and fierce. Ever harsh whenever she felt someone was slacking. And in particular she seemed to hold a grudge against Xyn.

  Yet this time, Xyn had something more to do than count the pebbles lining the ground around the base of her tree. She had a handsome, fair-haired boy to think about.

  One with vivid blue eyes and a beautiful smile.

  March 21, 9522 BC

  “Don’t eat the boy! While tasty, he won’t be worth the indigestion. And he’s probably gamey-tasting, too.”

  Xyn had to force herself not to laugh at Urian’s bold and outrageous declaration in the still darkness. She’d sensed him the instant he’d returned to her grove. There was no mistaking that unique scent of leather and male. It had filled her nostrils the moment he came near her lair.

  That was the beauty of her kind. Nothing and no one could hide from them. And it was also their curse given the propensity of many humans to avoid a regular bathing routine.

  However, this particular male smelled delectable. He made her want to nuzzle him … which would probably terrify him if he knew that.

  Just as it did her. So instead, she wrinkled her nose and headed through the thick copse of trees to see what it was he wanted with her.

  Xyn froze as soon as she caught sight of him in the small clearing, holding what appeared to be a rather large crystal. Had he stolen it?

  What did you do?

  Setting it down, he shrugged. “Do you know how hard it is to find a gift for a dragon?”

  No. We’re quite easy. We eat anything smaller than us. That tends to leave a lot.

  Her flippant comment made him nervous. “Oh … well.” He cleared his throat as he gestured toward the crystal. “Um, I didn’t go there with my shopping. In my experience, parents tend to get a little cranky if you try to steal their children and use them as sweetmeats for dragons.” Scratching at his neck, he hastened to the large crystal near him. “But I asked around and the elders all said that dragons like shiny things, so I found you this.”

  He struggled to carry it closer to her.

  Xyn smiled. It’s lovely. Thank you!

  “You’re welcome. It was the least I could do since you saved my solren.”

  Warmth spread through her at his thoughtfulness. It was remarkably kind. And even more rare. It was my pleasure … for once.

  He paused in his struggle to grimace at her. “What do you mean?”

  Just that I normally don’t care for the people I help. Yet for you, I’m glad I was able to do something.

  “Ah.” There was a peculiar note in his voice. “So I was right. You are lonely here, aren’t you?”

  She wanted to deny it. But what was the use? The truth was apparent to even the most dense. And it wasn’t like she had so many to speak to about it, anyway.

  Aye. Terribly.

  Urian leaned against his gift and sighed in the most adorable fashion. Perhaps it was her loneliness speaking, but she found him absolutely enchanting. And gorgeous.

  Worse was the peculiar desire she had to be human around him. To take his hand and stand uncommonly close. She’d never had such a desire before. But she wanted him to look at her the way the men looked at the women they hungered for.

  That was something that could be deadly to them both, as the goddess would never allow her to fraternize with anyone.

  “Can I tell you a secret?”

  Xyn forced her thoughts to return to a more reasonable, and much safer topic. Sure.

  Glancing around as if afraid someone might hear him, Urian stepped closer to speak in a soft whisper. “I’m lonely, too. A lot.” He pressed his lips together. “Do you think it might be okay if I come and visit you sometimes so that we can be lonely together?”

  She bit back a laugh at his words. He was so unbelievably charming and hilarious. And though she should send him on his way, she couldn’t quite bear the thought of not seeing him again.

  So she made a very bad decision that she prayed she wouldn’t one day regret. We’d have to be careful not to get caught. The goddess would be terribly upset if she learned I was allowing someone near her tree, or her waters.

  “What do you suggest, then?”

  Xyn hesitated. This was a bad idea. She knew it with every part of her being. And yet she couldn’t stop herself. Was it honestly that bad that she wanted a friend?

  Didn’t she deserve to have someone? Anyone?

  Before she could stop herself, she spoke words she prayed wouldn’t come back to harm either of them. You can come on Áreos when the goddess is in mourning for her son. No one disturbs her during that time, and she never ventures out. All is silent in the land.

  Neither of them should ever get caught then. It was the one day of the week when Apollymi kept to her schedule and held it sacred. Nobody dared to disturb her on that holy day.

  Urian nodded. “Hesperus Hour.” Like the day, that hour was the most sacred time when the goddess would tolerate no interruption on pain of death.

  Not even Stryker would dare to encroach on it.

  We can visit then and none will be the wiser.

  Urian’s smile lightened her mood instantly. “I’ll see you then, my dragon.”

  Happier than she had a right to be, and to a level that actually scared her, she didn’t speak as she watched him run away.

  I’ll see you, my friend.

  But in her heart, she had a terrified feeling that this wasn’t going to end well for either of them.

  June 19, 9516 BC

  “She’ll be a beautiful bride.”

  “Don’t make me rip out your throat, Trates.”

  Urian choked on his laughter as he saw the raw fear his father’s wry threat wrung from Trates, who quickly excused himself so that he could put as much distance between himself and Stryker as possible. Not that he blamed him. His father was in a rotten mood, and had been for the last few days since Tannis had announced her intentions of tying herself to a worthless bit of Apollite trash.

  In fact, no one wanted Tannis to marry Erol. Especially their father, and this engagement party was thoroughly pissing off everyone.

  Even though she was a full-grown woman who was fully developed thanks to their Apollite curse that had her appearing the same age as a human in her late teens or early twenties, she was still only twelve years old.

  As her father, Stryker couldn’t get past her real age, and the fact that had they not been cursed, he would still have a few more years with her at home. Which was why he was insisting on a long engagement. Something that had left his daughter, her future groom, and Tannis’s future in-laws complaining.

  Aside from their father, Urian and his mother seemed to be the only two who agreed about the long engagement. But then Urian hated Erol. He was a massive beast of an arrogant bastard, and they had a long history of fighting between them.

  Then again, Urian had a long history of fighting with most everyone.

  His mother sighed as she hugged Urian’s arm. “I can’t believe I’m losing another baby so soon.”

  “I’m sorry, Mata.” He jerked his chin toward his father, who was sharpening a knife while glaring at Erol. “Though I’m thinking if Solren has his way, there won’t be a wedding. Maybe just a wedding feast …”

  She laughed. “There are times when I simply adore your solren, Uri.” Patting his arm, she stepped away as if she knew her human blood tempted him in spite of his deep love and respect for her. She adjusted her cloak higher around her neck. “So … who here has your fancy?”

  Urian felt the color rising in his cheeks at a question he always dreaded. Especially since it made his stomach rumble from hunger. It seemed ever his destiny to starve. Even though he was in a room full of walking meals. But there wasn’t anyone here who would feed him.

  “Haven’t found anyone yet.”

  “You’re still not being fed?”

  He didn’t miss the note of panicked fear underlying her question. It was a secret he and his father had intentionally been keeping from her … and everyone else. The fact that his father had a handful of loyal men he forced to bleed so that he could bring their blood to Urian in bladders or cups. While it wasn’t the same as eating the way Apollo intended Apollites to feed, it kept Urian from starving to death.

  The one advantage to it was that it left him a bit edgier than the others.

  Leaner and meaner, as the humans would say. Because he was perpetually hungry, his senses were sharper. His powers stronger—more focused. And he was always angry and looking for a fight.

  Except where his mother and sister were concerned. And of course the goddess. But that was simply because he knew Apollymi would rip out his throat if he ever showed his temper around her.

  Luckily, Tannis called his mother away at that moment and saved him from having to answer as his sister took her home for the small meal she’d prepared for their mother to eat. Since their mother was the only one here who required food, Urian, Tannis, Paris, and Davyn took turns cooking meals for her.

  Apollymi always made sure she had vegetables, fruits, and fresh meats. And they took it as a source of pride to make sure their mother was well cared for.

  And protected from any threat.

  Restless, Urian drifted through the crowd in the dark hall where many of their community had gathered to celebrate his sister’s news and feed. Which meant the hall was quickly turning into an orgy, so parents were covering the eyes of their smaller children and rushing them home. No doubt that was really why Tannis had called their mother away. They were all careful to keep their human mother separate from any of their “parties.” Aside from the fact that the way they ate tended to horrify her, as a non-Apollite she could easily find herself someone’s prime course—and the witness to Urian’s first massacre, as he was rabidly protective of his mother and sister to a frightening level. While his father might sharpen the knife, Urian was a little too quick to use it.

  Another reason no one would feed him. His temper was quite legendary among their people already.

  As were his powers.

  Davyn staggered over to him. By the glazed and dazed appearance of his eyes, it was obvious he’d been feeding quite a bit already and was more than a little blood-drunk. Licking his fangs, he smiled as he draped himself against Urian’s back and rested his chin on Urian’s bare shoulder. Because they’d grown up together, he alone held no fear of Urian.

  Or much of anyone else.

  “Hey, brother Uri. Sure you don’t want to join us?” His hand drifted a little too far south, toward the hem of Urian’s short chiton.

  Urian laughed as he extricated himself from Davyn’s hug and sloppy grope. “You’re a little too happy, Dav, and Paris doesn’t share. Believe me, I know. I still have a bruise from the last time I hogged too much blanket. Given the ass-whipping I took from that, I’d hate to think what he’d do if he found his boyfriend draped all over me.”

  Davyn tsked. “I know you’re hungry. Don’t you get tired of drinking reheated blood? Wouldn’t you like someone fresh to eat?”

  His breathing turned ragged at an invitation that was extremely hard to say no to. Every part of him was attuned to the scent of Davyn’s blood. To the hunger inside him to feed.

  However …

  I won’t be an asshole.

  Not to his brother.

  And definitely not to Davyn, who would be horrified if he were sober. Davyn would never act like this if he weren’t high from the bloodlust. Paris should have known better than to have fed him and left him alone to find his way home. It’d been a stupid thing for his brother to do. Davyn was too young and inexperienced to have been abandoned in a crowd where someone could easily prey on him.

  “Tell you what, Davy. Let’s find Paris, shall we?”

  “Ooo, three of us, frolicking. Good idea. I like that even better!”

  “Yeah.” Urian draped Davyn’s arm around his shoulders and led him through the crowd to hunt for his twin.

  Yet the sight and smell of the others feeding while he was starving and this close to a willing donor … it was torture. And it made his stomach rumble with need. Not to mention, other parts of his body reacted with a disturbing hunger of their own that he didn’t even want to contemplate.

  “Where did you leave Paris?”

  Davyn was almost unconscious.

  Urian had to shake him awake. “Davyn! Where did you leave my brother?”

  “In a room.”

  Oh, that was so unhelpful. Had Davyn been sober, Urian would have slapped him. Instead, he sighed in irritation. It was a good thing Davyn was the only friend he had or the temptation to gut him would have been harder to resist.

  Unsure of how to best handle this, Urian decided to find his brother Theo, who had taken his wife and children home the moment the first set of clothing had started coming off. While Theo was far from prudish and had been known to participate in some of the most lascivious parties ever thrown—as had Theo’s wife, Praxia, prior to their marriage—Theo’s eldest child was a daughter and he was extremely protective of her virtue.

  Not to mention, Theo’s home was the closest to the hall so it made sense to head there first and start with him.

  After Urian’s insistent knocking, a barely dressed Theo answered the door with an annoyed frown. Given his brother’s state of dishabille and the redness of his throat, Urian would say Theo had been in the midst of his own sexual encounter with Praxia.

  Something further confirmed by the bite in Theo’s bark when he growled at Urian. “What do you want?”

  He blinked slowly, just for maximum annoyance as that was a moral imperative whenever dealing with one of his older siblings, then he spoke slowly, drawing out his words to again irritate his brother as much as possible. “Apollo’s death. Apollite domination over the world of mankind, and an end to our curse. But at the moment, I’d settle for you returning your attitude to whatever asshole gave it to you, and finding Paris.”

  Urian caught Davyn as he began to slowly sink sideways to the floor and helped to right him. “Our good and thoughtful brother abandoned Davyn and vanished to who knows where, to do who knows whom. Can you lend us a hand and watch over Davyn while I try to find the stupid bastard?”

  Davyn finally stopped trying to grope Urian long enough to scowl at them both. “I don’t want to sleep with Theo, Uri. He’s an asshole. Let’s find Paris. He’s very cuddly.”

  Urian passed a see-what-I-mean stare at his older brother.

  That took the edge off Theo’s anger. “How long has he been like this?”

  “Since I found him.”

  Theo rolled his eyes at Urian’s sarcasm. “And Paris left him in this condition?”

  “You’re making all my points, genius.” Gah! Was he the only member of his family who possessed a functioning brain? There were times—like this—when Urian suspected he might be hoarding the only one capable of any semblance of reason in his whole sibling gene pool.

  Smirking, Urian gave him a peeved glare. “Davyn’s right. You are an asshole.”

  With a disgusted sneer, Theo grabbed Davyn by his chalmys and pulled him deeper into his home before he called out to his wife. “Prax? Get dressed. I need you to watch Davyn until we return.”

  “Where are you going?” she called from the other room. There was no missing the irritation in her shrill tone.

  “Just do what I say, woman!”

  Urian paused at the door. “You shouldn’t talk to her like that. She’s the mother of your children, you know.” Not to mention, she put up with Theo when Urian couldn’t imagine why.

  “Mind your own business, Uri. This is my house and I’ll run it as I see fit.”

  Oooh, leave it to Theo to default to the same cave logic that had made all of them resent their father. “And your solren would have your ass if he heard you speaking to your wife in that tone.”

  Theo’s nostrils flared with anger as he pinned on his chalmys.

  Ignoring his brother’s anger and disgusted by his behavior, Urian looked past Theo to where Praxia was coming down the stairs to take over watch duty. “We’re going to look for Paris. As soon as we find him, I’ll bring Theo back.”

  Maybe not unbruised, especially if he kept lipping off, but …

  “Thank you, Urimou.”

  Respectfully, he inclined his head to her, then made his exit.

  As soon as they were outside Theo’s house, Theo grabbed him and slammed Urian against the wall of his neighbor’s home. “You ever do that again, and I’ll—”

  Urian punched him in the gut. “Don’t threaten me, Theo. I’m not a child anymore.”

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