Page 19 of Call of the Ride
“What does ahumanknow about our laws?” Jarilo scoffed, opening the door to Vasi’s suite without knocking. Anthia chased him inside, loudly clearing her throat, most likely to alert anyone in the vicinity that morning naked time was over. “This needs to be settled the old-fashioned way—through battle.”
I followed them into the sitting room, closing the door behind me and sighing heavily. Jarilo choosing to live in the Prav with Perun was clearly rubbing off on him, as evidenced by his “kill first and ask questions later” attitude.
Like not-father, like not-son.
“We need to talk,” a smooth voice interrupted my thoughts, and my gaze snapped to where a fully clothed Asa was leaning against the doorframe, leveling the three of us with a hard stare. This was in sharp contrast to the Rider’s deceptively pretty face and innocent blond curls. I couldn’t help seeing the family resemblance between him and Jarilo, in terms of looks, at least.
While my twin felt the need to share every—often inappropriate—thought that popped into his head, Asa was reserved and thoughtful, which made sense when pairing him with high-energy Tan. It also explained why he was such a natural leader when given the chance.
Even if he seems to enjoy letting Vasi boss him around…
“Nox’s father intercepted us during a stakeout yesterday. We have absolutely no idea how he knew we were going to be there,” Asa continued, gesturing for us to follow him back into the bedroom. “And one of his men shot Nox.”
This last statement was so oddly nonchalant that my attention immediately snapped to where Nox was reclining on the bed. The enormous man appeared relaxed and uninjured while casually chatting with Tan over various firearms spread out on the duvet.
Registering my confusion, Vasi elaborated. “Nox was shot in the shoulder, and while he briefly went into shock, his…darkness healed his injury by pushing the foreign object out of his body.” She opened her palm to reveal an oddly shaped bullet that gave off a hint of electricity.
Jarilo promptly snatched the bullet from her for closer inspection. “How interesting that he would try to kill you with this silly human ammunition,” my twin mused. “Unless, of course, your father doesn’t know you’re a demigod…”
“Oh, he fucking knows,” Nox growled bitterly. “But this is him being the methodical sociopath he is. I guarantee you, every one of his men was armed with thesamebullets today, because he was treating the encounter like a controlled test. Now that he knows these particular bullets can’t kill me, he’ll move on to something else.”
“He’s…experimenting,” Anthia quietly added from where she hung back in the doorway, shaking so slightly I almost missed it. Vasi immediately rushed over before gently leading her friend to a nearby velvet chaise.
“‘Thia,” Vasi hesitantly began, clutching the other woman’s hand as they sat down together. “We hoped you could tell us more about what happened to you at the Facility. If you’d feel more comfortable talking privately to me, I could then relay…”
“No,” Anthia interrupted. “Iwantto help, it’s just...I’m having trouble remembering. Those bastards drugged me most of the time, so it’s difficult to know what was actually done to me versus what only happened in my imagination—or my nightmares...”
Another blast of vengeful heat brought my attention back to Jarilo. “Let Marena in, Anthia,” he commanded, ignoring everyone else in the room to stare at the shifter with predatory focus. “She can access your memories and separate fact from fiction. That way we’ll know what we’re truly up against here.”
Well, look who’s suddenly invested.
While I wasn’t surprised the god would see Anthia as a challenging conquest destined for his bed, this almost felt like hecared, which amused me to no end. Turning my gaze back to the swan, I waited until she nodded before entering her mind as if it was my own.
I was instantly hit with a suffocating wave of nausea and panic. My vision was blurry and fading fast, but I could vaguely hear male voices discussing what they would do to me after I’d passed out. My body was so bruised and beaten—inside and out—that I didn’t even flinch when a syringe was stabbed into my arm. They’d already taken so much blood from me, it was a wonder I hadn’t died in this cursed place. But I knew they’d keep me alive as long as possible, because I was different from the other shifters here. And it was only a matter of time before Matthew and his men figured out why.
Gasping, I yanked myself back to the present to find Anthia watching me with tear-filled violet eyes and a shattered expression.
“You’re…” I choked out before stopping myself, unsure if it was my place to share a secret so unbelievable.
“Tell them,” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she collapsed into Vasi’s arms, burying her face against her friend’s chest.
Overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust Anthia was placing in me, I took a steadying breath and faced the men. They didn’t need to know the exact details of the abuse she’d suffered while imprisoned. It would be easy enough to guess how a woman would be treated in such a place, especially when paired with the inhumane conditions the other shifters were kept in.
But from what I’d learned of the Facility’s experiments, the existence of a creature like Anthia could provide them with dangerous knowledge. This knowledge could be used as a tool to ensure thathumansbecame the dominant species on earth, over shifters and other supernatural beings.
Perhaps even over the gods themselves.
Most supernaturals were decidedly stronger than humans. Unless man manufactured a weapon powerful enough to compete with these enhanced abilities, they had no hope of ever completely taking out the competition. Unless, of course, they figured out a way to turn a supernatural’s own strengths against them.
“Anthia here…” I began, still processing how this information fit into the puzzle. “Is proof that shifters and humans can procreate.”
Chapter 16
Vasilisa
Discovering Anthia had royal blood was shocking enough, but learning my oldest friend was also part-humanwas almost beyond comprehension.
Ever since Cassandra Moonstone revealed the truth about Anthia’s bloodline, the shifter had made herself scarce. These revelations—and Anthia’s continued silence on the subject—hurt more than I cared to admit. More than anything, I was struggling to understand why she would feel the need to keep her heritage a secret from me, especially after centuries of close friendship.
