“And she’s trying to take us with her,” I added.
“Why is she this bad? She’s been feeding,” Sin said, sweat beading across his forehead.
“It’s like an addiction, remember? We’ve watched her go from snacking, to regular full meals, to insatiable. Her hunger has only grown with each passing day.” I ran a hand across the back of my neck in an effort to relieve some of my tension.
A look crossed Sin’s face, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was recognition.
“Something must have triggered this.”
Grim’s soft intake of breath was the only sign that Chaos’s words affected him.
Focus entirely on Merri, Chaos continued thinking aloud, “Is it a trap? Did someone get through the wards?” He stormed across the room and began searching the windows for something to prove him right.
Sin audibly swallowed. “I don’t think this is a trap. I think it might be part of her Famine heritage.”
All three of us turned to him.
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“Well, we’ve all been at a loss as to why her hunger only seems to grow, but we’ve been focusing on her succubus nature.”
“That’s because we didn’t know Famine was her mother until Hades told us,” I pointed out.
“Right,” Sin said with a nod. “If there’s one thing I know better than sex, it’s how famine works. One thing Sabine loved to remind me was that it always came down to feast or famine. And it’s true. Our nature is extremes. We take and take, leaving nothing behind, but still never manage to fill the void inside. Think of Merri’s hunger right now like a black hole. A supernova. She’s consuming herself because there’s nothing else to feed her.”
“But we’re right here,” I said.
“Exactly. We’re in her orbit, and she needs us to fill that emptiness before she burns out.”
“And if she burns out?” Grim asked, but I was pretty sure the question didn’t need an answer.
Sin stared us down, expression grave. “She dies.”
“How do you know that?” Chaos asked, eyes burning with an unnamed emotion.
“I’ve experienced it myself. Not like this, obviously, but the precursor. Remember that time Malice dared me to go a month without feeding?”
We all nodded.
“You broke after two weeks,” Grim reminded him.
“Right, well, it was more like my power forced the issue. I started feeding on people without even realizing it. I took out that VIP group in five minutes. They were all dead before I even knew what happened.”
Merri began a new chorus of pained moans as she tore at her clothing, rubbing her thighs together and murmuring unintelligibly.
“We have to do something for her,” Sin said.
Grim turned away, making for the door. “I can’t take this. I’ll kill her before she has the chance to burn out.”
I understood his plight, and fear stabbed through my heart at the thought of giving in and letting myself have her as well.
“No.” Sin’s protest was loud and strong, causing Grim to turn and face him. “We do this together. We have to. Remember the library? It works best when all four of us can share the burden.”
“What if there are side effects, even if we do split them?” I asked, thinking of Merri’s current state as some sort of super virus the four of us were coming into contact with for the first time. How were any of us supposed to survive this?
“There won’t be. We’ve all experienced it. She might take from us, but she gives as well.” Chaos returned to our group and wiped the sweat off his brow with the hem of his shirt.
“Yeah. He’s right. She fucking supercharged me.” Sin’s proud grin was almost boyish.