Page 32 of Deadly Games
“That would be you,” I taunted, taking another swing. He anticipated my moves this time and stepped back, grabbing my elbow to wrench my arm forward. Gravity shifted as I pitched forward and landed facedown, but I was on my feet before he could catch me again.
Fenrir wiped the blood off his upper lip with the back of his sleeve, his eyes glowing with a feral edge that grew muted in the mundane life within these walls. We had both grown accustomed to hiding our feelings, it seemed, but the time for that was over. We might have had to work together in the Ether, to escape, but there was still plenty of bad blood between us.
“She’s not your property,” he said, circling me. “You keep treating her like she is, and she’s not going to want anything to do with you, consort or not.”
That word still got under my skin, especially since it now gave him the impression that he had an equal claim to what was mine. It didn’t matter that I’d hated her at first, and wanted nothing to do with her bad attitude and sharp tongue. The possessiveness I felt over Kore was more intense than any positive emotion I’d ever felt for another girl, and it only grew worse the more of those I developed for her in turn.
“I don’t need relationship advice from a dog.”
“So you do admit it’s a relationship, then,” he said with a smug air of triumph. “Or at least, you want it to be.”
I flung myself at him, headbutting him even though I split my eyebrow open in the effort. His nose snapped and blood sprayed as he staggered back, clutching his face. His eyes flashed again, but there was more admiration in them than hatred.
“That was low, even for you.”
I couldn’t help but smirk, my bleeding knuckles stretched over a clenched fist. “I learned from the worst.”
Fenrir snorted, and moved as if he was about to attack again. The sound of a buzz against the hardwood floors drew our attention to the phone that must have fallen out of my pocket at some point in the fight.
“Shit,” I muttered, reaching for the phone. Ten missed calls and a slew of texts, all from Loki. The last one read, “GET YOUR ASS DOWNSTAIRS. KORE’S IN TROUBLE.”
The same heart-racing, stomach-clenching dread that had filled me that night when Kore drowned in the siren’s well came back full force. I scrolled through the other texts, piecing together a story that made little sense.
“What is it?” Fenrir asked gruffly, clearly irritated by the abrupt truce he’d been forced into.
“Kore has been arrested,” I said, looking up at him. Knowing Loki, I would’ve assumed he was just fucking around, but there was something different about those texts. Even he never went this far.
“Arrested?” he asked in disbelief. Evidently, he thought it was as absurd as I did, but the rules of reality always found a way to bend when it came to her, for better or for worse. “For what?”
“Killing Phrixus, apparently.”
He blinked. “That’s bullshit.”
“No kidding,” I said, wiping my bloody knuckles off on my pants, ignoring the raw pain. I flung the door open and headed for the stairwell, hearing Fenrir follow close behind me.
“You’re in an awful hurry for someone who doesn’t really care about her.”
I shot him a furious glance over my shoulder. "If Ares is right, I need her to stop my father.”
“Bullshit,” he scoffed. “You love her.”
“Are you insane? I can’t stand her,” I said, walking faster in my agitation.
“Never said otherwise, but there’s room for both. Especially with someone as fucked up as you.”
I clenched my jaw and chose not to answer. Namely because there was nothing I could say that would convince him otherwise, but also because I wasn’t sure I really believed it myself.
Chapter 16
Loki
I checked my phone display every few minutes, waiting for the two MIA idiots to show up, and when they finally did, they were both bruised and bloody. We were definitely not doing a great job giving off the impression of a united front.
“What the fuck happened to you?” I demanded, looking between them to figure out who started it. Anyone’s guess, really. Usually Hades was the troublemaker, but sometimes Fenrir got a bug up his ass.
Actually… I recognized the change in his energy. He’d been with Kore.
Yeah, that would definitely do it.
