Page 11 of Guided by the Stars
The bartender brings our food, completely lost in Jax’s spell. He thanks everyone once more before returning to the bar with a stack of cash in his hand.
“Where the fuck did that come from? If the nymphs knew you could do that, you’d have more than just Kelsey to play with.”
“What can I say, I’m talented as shit,” he says with a chuckle and pops a fry in his mouth.
The evening passes by with excellent food and good company, and I allow myself to forget my troubles for a little while. Forget the job I have to do tomorrow, the bullshit at home, and my fucked-up family. My future looks bright and I’m ready to enjoy it.
Alexius
When Instincts Appear
“A, get over here. You gotta check this out.” The girl named Nora waves her friend over with a smile beaming across her warm, sun-kissed face while keeping her focus straight ahead. She’s staring down the stadium towards the entrance, not noticing that her friend is deep in conversation a few feet away. She’s distracted, living in her own world, snapping photos of different rocks from the original Olympic games.
Her friend, the red-head bombshell, doesn’t seem as impressed. Still, she stops her conversation by waving bye to the couple and marches over. She rolls her eyes laughing along the way. “Nor, there is no way you’re this excited about more dirt and stone. I get the gods, but why did Bill make us come here?” she asks, standing next to Nora, looping her arm through hers.
“Are we sure this wasn’t a mistake?” I question Daemyn, keeping my eyes on the girls as Nora pushes the red-head into the right pose. Simple, innocent mortals unprepared for whattheir gene could mean. If true, they’ll face a world of danger, one where gods will wage wars to claim ownership over them.
Daemyn’s heavy sigh grabs my attention as he rubs his chin, deep in thought. “There’s no mistake. The visions have shown us. I’ve told you about this one.” His head turns, and he opens his mouth, but holds back, not sharing any more.
He bears the ability of sight, which grants him the power to peer into the future as it is in the current moment. When he was little, his mother trained him as much as she could before fate intervened, separating them from each other. When he became my guard, we agreed to help build on our strengths together. We would practice and I would help him however I could, agreeing only to share details if it mattered. Too much knowledge is dangerous. If Zeus knew about even half of his skill, or mine, we would face far greater problems than we already have. It could even lead to one of us having our power stripped, and that’s a best-case scenario.
“They are important. You know this, that’s why Hades wants them. My guess is that you’re wishing I could deny it,” he says tensely as he folds his arms across his chest. Truth is, I wish he could. I screwed up. My duty was to report back to Zeus the moment I discovered who Kai was chasing. Withholding information from him for so long will only cause Zeus to regard it as a betrayal. I can’t even dispute it. He’s determined to discover the cause of the shift, and I can’t convince myself to tell him.
“Damn, the girl’s got an ass.” My head jerks up with Daemyn’s whistle, bringing my attention back to the cause of my stress. There is Nora, bending over, digging through her purse, in tight jeans, showing off the perfect ass to grip. Enough cheek to fit right into my palms.
Fuck.Daemyn’s elbow crashes into my ribs. “Checking out Baby Girl again?” he chuckles, licking his lips, keeping his gaze right on her. “Can’t blame you, she’s got that whole begging-to-be-broken vibe. Bet she’s hot in bed.”
“You’re the one pointing out her ass,” I growl, annoyed with him catching me again. She hides her body more than her friend, but even under that t-shirt you can tell she’s got some curves. Perky tits, round ass, and hips just begging you to hold on to as you break her in. It’s a body that’s distracting the both of us.
“And why the fuck are you calling her Baby Girl?” I hiss out. He’s been doing that since last night. Attaching a nickname to our target makes this too personal.
“The restaurant last night, remember?” he asks with raised eyebrows, expecting me to know the answer. I don’t know shit except Kai and Jax ditching the spying act. They missed out on learning that the girls were pulled under in the Aegean Sea when the shift erupted through our worlds. Won’t take much for him to figure it out, but us knowing first will piss him off, guaranteed.
“When I got up to piss, I made sure to walk past her table. It was worth it. Up close, she looks even better. She looked up right in time for me to see those baby-blue eyes, shining bright on that pretty face of hers,” he says, making my teeth grind together as I take steady breaths to ease the anger rising from within me. I’m about to lose my shit and do something stupid.
He just grins, shaking his head, “Pull your boxers out of your ass. Baby Girl didn’t see me. We’re safe. She was too busy staring at her girl laughing about some fountain they danced in.”
His words do little to calm me down. He’s getting too comfortable here. Nicknames. Eye color. It doesn’t matter, their fate has been decided. Kai’s here to fulfill it.
“Don’t get attached, she’s not our problem,” I hiss as my gaze gravitates back towards her. Despite the redhead talking, Nora’s eyes are looking straight at our hiding spot, making my blood pump a little faster. She has her head tilted to the side as she plays with that golden-brown braid of hers and her teeth are pulling in her bottom lip. I don’t need to be up close to tell. She’s not just pretty, she’s fucking gorgeous.
Daemyn leans in closer, aligning his vision with mine. “Yup, same view. No attachment whatsoever,” he teases, slapping his hand against my back. “Just keep telling yourself that.”
“Let’s get out of here. I’m ready to mark off the King of Gods from our to-do list,” says the redhead tugging Nora forward.
They make their way through the gateway arches, walking side by side out of the stadium. We’re quick and follow behind them.
“Kai.” I nod his way as he steps in line with us.
If looks could kill, the disdain lining his face would obliterate me. In his eyes, I’m the bastard living the dream in Olympus, reaping all the benefits of being the son of Zeus. If he opened his damn eyes and looked past the hatred, he would recognize that every world has shadows pulling you under.
“Alexius,” he says, like it’s a curse. On some wavelength, it is, and he must agree as he shakes his head, slowing his pace to fall behind us.
I roll my shoulders, shrugging off every thought of him, and refocus on the girls ahead as they stroll towards Zeus’ temple.
We’re about to turn onto an open street when the energy surrounding me grows dense. A current in the air ignites anitch in my veins as the earth starts to shake and the energy from a portal emerges.
“Shit!” I turn, tugging Daemyn towards the trees and throwing open my portal to the exact location I need.
