Page 31 of Scion of Chaos

“Tell me why you changed your mind.” She yanks her hands out of my grasp, crosses her arms, and glares up at me.

“You’re too dangerous to let roam free here.”

She looks hurt, and Pan’s voice fills my head in response.“Ouch. Could you be any more insensitive? Just give her what she wants.”

“I have a feeling that’ll make things worse. You felt how powerful she is.”

In a shaky voice, Nemea says, “Maybe if you taught me how my powers work, I could control them better. And maybe if you—I don’t know—showed me a little fuckingtrust, I’d try not to let you down. I trusted you enough to let you bring me to a prison, for fuck’s sakes. I trusted you enough to believe you wouldn’tactuallylock me up. I’m pretty fucking sure Cassandra would’ve done that on the island, so maybe I should’ve just stayed there instead.”

I heave a sigh and rake both hands through my hair. “Cassandra wouldn’t have been able to contain you. Have a seat and I’ll give you what you asked for.” I gesture to the bed, then turn, shrugging out of my coat and tossing it over one of the large folding screens that separates the central area with the bed from the rest of the room. Then I drag over a footlocker and sit facing her where she’s perched on the end of my bed, still glaring at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

While I stare at her, I begin rolling up my sleeves, huffing as I try to decide how this should go.

“You’re stalling,”Pan accuses.“You know what she needs to do. It’s what we both want. I think you’re just afraid of how she’ll react when she remembers what happened. When she figures out that you’re the one who took her memories to begin with.”

He has a point, so I mentally seal the outer walls of my chamber to prevent any escape when she learns the truth. I can sense Pan’s eyes rolling in response.

“Open the bottle,” I say, dropping my gaze to the small piece of me that dangles between her breasts.

“Who were you talking to?” she asks, rather than following my command.

“Nobody. Do as I say if you want answers, Nemea.”

“I see the way your expression shifts sometimes—it’s just like the dragons’ when they’re telepathically communicating with each other. But I know you’re not a dragon. You were having a mental conversation just now with someone. Who was it? Who else knows I’m here? If they’re involved, I deserve to know who they are and what they know about me.”

I suppress the frustrated growl, but I can’t ignore the excited murmurs from the others demanding I tell her about all of them.

“It’s too soon,” I say, partly to my guards and partly to Nemea. “But you’re right, there are others who you will meet in time.”

“Are they the ones from my sketchbook? I saw you looking when I flipped through earlier.”

“Do you want your memories returned or not? Let’s tackle one demand at a time here, shall we?”

My frustration bleeds into my tone, and she raises an eyebrow and smirks. “Fine, have it your way.” She clasps the perfume bottle in one hand and removes the stopper. “Now what?”

“Channel your magic into it. I think you know how, considering you were able to craft that container to begin with.”

She nods, nostrils flaring as she raises it aloft in both hands. The scents from inside seep into the air, so potent I can see a faint glimmer of power from the essence alone. She closes her eyes and focuses, and fuck me if the void glass doesn’t start to glow and become malleable under her touch.

Twin tendrils of smoke rise from the opening, green and violet entwined. She inhales some, but it will take all of it to restore the memories I took from her, along with a physical element replicating some of them. She can give it to herself, or I can give it to her, but I’m not sure which is the better option.

“I can give it to her too,”Pan offers.“Let me come up there. We can both help her.”

“Not a fucking chance,” I mutter, which catches her attention. Her eyes widen and she points at me.

“See! I knew you were talking to someone. Who is it?”

I close my eyes in the hope of reclaiming some patience. But Pan’s offer to help remains at the back of my mind… mostly because his mental begging doesn’t stop. But even if she doesn’t choose the second option, I’ll appreciate the help if she’s angry after her memories return.

“Fine! You both win. Nemea, the surest way to reclaim your memories is to repeat the experience. There are two options, and the perfume is important regardless of which one you choose. I am giving you a choice.” I turn toward the entry hall where I can sense Pan standing just beyond my sealed doorway. I open it, and his heavy hooves clop across the hard floor.

Nemea’s brows draw inward when she turns toward the inner doorway, then her eyes go wide when Pan appears in the inner arch. She reaches for her sketchpad and flips open to a page, stares at it, then points at him. “It’s you! You’re Pan!”

The faun chuckles. “In the flesh. It’s good to see you again.” I peer over my shoulder and find him leaning in the doorway, his gaze hungrily taking her in. He shifts his attention to me and gestures. “Do go on. Tell her what her choices are.”

I lift a hand and wave it at her satchel which rests on the floor by her feet. The flap opens and the shards of void glass shift and rise on my gesture. I direct them into the air between us, and the dozen or so shards revolve in a glimmering circle, her dildo the largest of the bunch hovering in the center. With a twitch of my finger, the broken shards turn ninety degrees and shoot into my flesh. Nemea gasps and covers her mouth, but when she sees I’m unhurt, she blinks and drops her hand.

“How did that not hurt you?”

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