Blood Flows Deep (Ryze #1) Read online

  Zen’s voice booms through the very walls of the hall. “I can fucking hear you, human!”

  “Good! Then you know you’re an asshole!”

  I sigh as the others start laughing again. I don’t know why Eve was brought here, but I suspect it has something to do with Nylicia. Something I’ll confirm with her later. “All right . . . let’s get you to bed. You’re cranky.”

  “Goddamn right I’m cranky.” Eve falls in step behind Lizzisi when she motions for her to follow. “I was mentally fucked by a creepy motherfucker. Who, I might add, hog-tied me and dragged me here only to learn my best friend is being killed by some selfish asshole. A fucking sacrifice? Seriously, you’re all full of shit. And here I’d hoped that if gods did exist, they’d be smarter than human men. Hah! I’ve been lying to myself.”

  She continues to ramble as she’s led out of the hall.

  “It’s just bullshit man. Like, seriously, tell me, was Mother Nature—”

  “The Illion,” Lizzisi corrects her in a soft tone.

  “The what?”

  “The source of everything.”

  “Yeah, well, that thing. Was it incapable of creating smart men in any species? Is their stupidity a universal law, like gravity? Something that has to exist no matter what?”

  “Girl, I’ve been asking myself that same question for millennia.” I can hear Lizissi’s smile in her tone.

  Liz’s dark-haired twin looks at me. “How about you? Would you like to rest?”

  I nod and start heading toward the entrance. “I know my own way back.”

  “But that’s the medical wing . . . never mind.” Sillizi obviously remembers why it’s a good idea that I return there. “If you should need anything . . .”

  Her kindness warms my heart. Even though I feel Dyletri’s stare on my back, I can’t help but stop and smile at Sillizi over my shoulder. “I’ll let you know. Thank you, Sillizi.”

  “Call me Sil. Everyone else does.”

  “Got it. See you later, Sil.” I’m still smiling as I walk out into the hall. Not that it lasts long. I barely make it a few steps beyond the now unguarded entryway when Dyletri calls out for me.

  “Ismini!”

  Ah, fuck my life.

  I freeze, heart almost bursting. It’s like I can almost see the small, throbbing ball of fire inside my chest. At least that’s what it feels like it is. A tiny sun within me, expanding and preparing to go supernova before it implodes and kills me.

  I inhale deeply.

  And realize too late what a mistake that is.

  It has to be this stupid mating thing. Suddenly my nose has superpowers, and I’m able to pick up Dyletri’s scent unlike ever before. I smell every inch he gets closer. His scent grows stronger, filling me. I want to run away, hide, but if I do, he’ll suspect something.

  Oh, who am I kidding? He’s a god. He probably already does.

  “Ismini?”

  “Yes?” I don’t turn around. His presence behind me feels like a caress even though he isn’t touching me.

  “Are . . . are you alright?” he asks.

  “I’m fine.” I answered too quickly, I realize, and my whole body screams that I’m a liar.

  “Are you sure?” he whispers. Air rushes along the nerves of my back. His chest moved against me as he spoke.

  I swallow back a whimper.

  Too fucking close this time. He’s way too close.

  I gather my strength to respond and hope he’ll just drop it after this. “I’m fine. Just need to go lay down for a bit.”

  “Did they tell you what’s wrong?”

  “No.” I hope lying doesn’t equate a spot in one of the many hells. You’re already there, genius. “If you don’t mind—”

  I jerk when his hand lands on my shoulder. Moving away from him so fast I even surprise myself, I try to hide how I’m shaking. I’m afraid of what he can do to me. The spot where he touched me is burning like a motherfucker.

  He has the nerve to grab my waist and spin me around before I can get away. I do manage to stumble back out of his grip but not before meeting his gaze. Dyletri looks angry, his eyes hooded and wild, and it’s obvious he knows I’m lying.

  It doesn’t matter. I have no plans of letting him ever know the truth. Why should I? So he can live in guilt because he already loves another woman more worthy than me? Even taking Dimithinia’s past into account, clearly something about her makes her the better woman.

  Yeah, well . . . you remember what she looked like.

  Yup. Damn right I do. As if I could forget the exotic beauty Nylicia showed me. With that long black hair and those unholy blue eyes, it’s no wonder the God of Lust fell for her.

  “I really need to go.” My statement sounds weak even to my ears. I’m so tired from holding back tears, and I hate it.

  Damn him. Damn him to fucking hell. Even if I know that my “problem” isn’t his fault, it still feels good to imagine it is.

  I really need to get away from him.

  He doesn’t give me the chance.

  Gods move too damn fast, and before I know it, I find myself pressed against the wall.

  And pressed against me? The most delicious, unyielding and hot length of muscle I’ve ever felt.

  Honestly, the only one I’ve ever felt.

  In a rush, my world dissolves into violent throbbing.

  The pain. It’s gone. So good. I need . . . oh God, I need . . .

  Dyletri rubs his nose across my jaw, inhaling.

  God . . . Damn. Surely it isn’t possible to survive this level of arousal.

  His hard chest vibrates, rubbing against mine. Hot breath moistens my flesh, making all the hairs on my body stand on end. Dyletri breathes me in violently, a groan echoing in my ear and growing louder.

  Oh God. I’m going to come. It’s too much. Oh . . . fuck.

  I need to arch into him, grind on his body. Fighting the urge, I try to control the sensations running through me.

  I fail.

  “You . . . make me . . . ache,” Dyletri mumbles, his hands pressed into the wall on either side of my head. He inhales my scent again, and in a moment of semi-clarity, I know.

  He can smell how wet I am.

  “Fucking unbelievable . . . the heat. What are you doing to me?” There’s something brutal in his tone. Something angry and pained.

  I tremble. “I . . . I don’t know. What am I doing?” I bit down on my lip hard. The trembling is getting worse. Like I’m on the verge of a seizure.

  Dyletri exhales, the fingers of one hand tickling along the edge of my jaw. “I brought your things.”

  Killing me. Please, Dyletri. You have no idea.

  My unseeing eyes lock on the wall behind him. “I know.”

  “Really?” He fucking purrs.

  I look at his arm. A pulse of light shoots through his veins, making me gasp. That light again. I saw it in the alley. What the hell?

  “So you saw that I brought your toy?”

  Again, what the hell?

  For two seconds, it occurs to me that he’s talking about my new sock monkey. And I’ll thank him for it somehow, the moment I found my voice.

  Which likely won’t be anytime soon. My pussy is pulsating, begging me to fill the emptiness. Fill it with him.

  I want him so deep inside me, I’ll choke on his skin.

  “I want you to use it tonight.” Dyletri’s raspy voice echoes, changing. He sounds possessed. His hand cups my face as he takes hit after hit of my scent. He’s inhaling my need—need that’s cremating me from the inside out.

  And he seems to love it. As if he can’t get enough.

  What’s going on?

  Confused, I almost don’t catch what he means. Then it hits me.

  He brought my fucking vibrator!

  And he’s asking me to use it.

  Dyletri’s snarls his next demand harshly into my ear. “Did you hear me, Ismini? I want you to use it tonight. And I want you to do what you always do. Think of me.”r />
  With a growl, he disappears.

  Relief floods me. He didn’t realize. Dyletri may have known he turns me on like crazy, but he didn’t figure out there’s more to it.

  Not yet, at least.

  CHAPTER 9

  ISMINI

  “I don’t want to.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Cyake, shut it. Stop mimicking me.”

  “Iss, I’ve gone through a lot of trouble.”

  “And by trouble you mean that you snapped your fingers and made everything appear.”

  Cyake glares at me over his shoulder. “It’s the thought that counts, remember?”

  I’d barely made it out of bed, feeling like utter shit, when he stormed into my room, a party hat on his head, and dimples flashing with his huge smile. He rushed me through my shower, threatening me with his “help” if I didn’t hurry, and forced me out of the room.

  And all because he’s gotten it into his head to throw me a belated birthday party.

  “This is so not necessary,” I grumble under my breath.

  I’m lying. It feels absolutely necessary. I know I’m coming off as an ungrateful brat but it’s better than the alternative: having a melodramatic breakdown because I’m so touched that it’s breaking my heart.

  Every day that I spend here, I fall in love with these beings more and more.

  Pointless. I’m going to die soon.

  The two black, wooden doors we’re heading toward fling open. Lizzisi is standing on the other side, hands on her hips and lights glinting off her pale, blond hair. The scowl on her face makes both Cyake and I stop in our tracks.

  “Taking all the credit already, aren’t you, asstard?”

  Cy has the grace to look sheepish under Liz’s glare. “Okay.” He looks down at me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I might’ve had help with the whole ‘finger-snapping’ thing . . .”

  Liz and I roll our eyes.

  “Come.” Liz steps forward and grabs my arm gently.

  “Guys. I’m serious.” I cringe as I’m led inside. “This isn’t necessa—”

  “Happy birthday!”

  That massive yell sends me stumbling back into Cyake. He places his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

  I blink, taking in the room we stepped into. It looks like a ballroom, complete with the same marble floors and pillars that litter the entire compound.

  One wall is nothing but glass and I can see out into one of the courtyards below. The sun glints off the tiles and the water in the huge fountain that lays in the middle.

  Buffet tables cover the whole right side of the room; on my left is a big table with an even bigger six-tiered cake on top, and a pool table stands right in front of a movie screen.

  All the gods are here, as well as Evesse. She comes forward, a red and black party hat placed askew on her head.

  Zeniel, who’s standing by one of the tables with Sillizi, looks odd but adorable in his.

  Is Eve aware that they’re wearing identical hats?

  I’ve lived long enough to meet real gods . . . and see them wearing party hats.

  “Happy birthday times two, bitch!” Eve cries with a smile on her face.

  I point at her head, looking back and forth between her and Zen. “Hat.”

  Eve stops and looks up toward her hat. “What?”

  “Ismini means to convey her gratitude for helping me come up with this idea, Evesse.” Cyake places his hand on my upper back and leads me deeper into the room. “And,” he mumbles, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes, “she will also not interfere with my matchmaking genius, correct?”

  “Huh?” I stare up at him, convinced that the God of Divination is out of his ever-loving mind. Even if there is an attraction between those two, neither will ever give in to it.

  Right?

  “Your plan isn’t going to work.”

  “Listen,” Cy whispers. “As far as I know, my boy hasn’t gotten laid in centuries. This is my chance to undo this travesty.”

  “She’s a virgin.” As far as I know.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be gentle with her.”

  A few awkward grunts sound out around the room.

  Dear God, the supersonic hearing on these motherfuckers.

  “Keep talking,” Zeniel snarls at Cyake. “And watch how fast I break your face apart.”

  “What? What is he saying?” Eve asks everyone.

  No one has the balls to answer that question.

  The others walk up to me, each of them offering me a hug and birthday wishes. I feel my throat tighten, but manage to give each of the gods a smile.

  It isn’t lost on me that Dyletri isn’t among them. Actually, I haven’t seen him for two days now. He just left me, sick and confused, not giving a damn. Which is to be expected right? I obviously don’t mean anything to him, so why would he stick around?

  Still, pathetic as I am, I can’t help but wonder where exactly he’s run off to.

  I will not ask. I will not ask.

  “He’s off taking care of business,” Cyake says in a low voice.

  Guess I was going to.

  “How is it that you do that annoying thing again?” I ask.

  “I see everyone’s future decisions within a three second span.”

  “Even when I change my mind.”

  “Even when you change your mind. It’s quite funny when you fuckers do.”

  Ianthen drapes his arm over my shoulders and directs me away from Cyake. “We each got you a little something.” A box appears in his hand and he hands it to me, smiling.

  Yeah, okay. Little. It barely fits in my arms. “Thanks, Ianthen.” I smile up at him as we stop before one of the buffet tables.

  Sillizi offers me a cup. “You can open these later,” she says and takes the box from me.

  I look around, noticing for the first time the banners hanging between the pillars. Two of them have the customary “Happy Birthday Ismini” on them. The other two . . .

  “Cyake,” I growl, knowing he’s responsible. I’ve come to know him very well the last few days.

  Cyake grins and points at a smirking Ianthen. “He put up the second one.”

  I stare at the other gods in the room. The ones I’d assumed had common sense. Obviously, I was wrong. “And you guys let them put it up?”

  One of those signs seriously starts with: “There’s an easy way for people your age to add a little variety to your sex life . . .”

  “That’s more like a perverted birthday card greeting.” I glare at Cyake. “And you’re a pervert for putting it up.”

  “But that’s the one Ianthen picked.”

  Vedlyl walks up to me, a large smile on his face, and I notice the dimple on the corner of his mouth for the first time. “I told them they’re sick. I’m technically a doctor, and they still don’t believe me.” He wraps his massive arms around me and gives me a light hug. “Happy Birthday.”

  I press my lips together, waiting for something to hit me. Anything. Why the hell is my body not reacting to any of the gods in the room? Especially the uber-hot one currently holding me up to his beautifully sculpted chest, damn it.

  “Thank you.” I smile up shyly at him, returning his hug and stepping back.

  Liz claps her hands. “Okay. What do you want to do first?”

  “Eat.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you, Cyake. It’s Ismini’s party.”

  “But I’m hungry.”

  Liz stomps her foot, her irises shuttering between gray and black like a camera lens. “You don’t need to really eat, motherfucker.” The lights in the room flicker like they’re about to burst before settling back to normal. She grimaces sheepishly at me, eyes returning to their light gray shade. “Sorry, he drives me insane. Now, what do you want to do, hun?”

  “Food sounds good.”

  Eve loops her arm around mine and leads me toward a large settee. “How are you feeling?” she asks, urging me to sit down.

  Shitty. Despe
rate. Confused. So angry at myself that I want to rip off my own skin. “I’m fine.”

  Evesse stares at me out of the corner of her eye. “Uh-huh.”

  I hold her stare, hoping that makes me seem honest. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Eve pounces on that question, sidling up to me and nailing me with a hard look.

  “What’s going on between you and Dyletri?”

  What the hell? Is it written on my face or something? That question burns, and the truth behind the answer mocks me. “Nothing,” I mumble under my breath. And that really is the truth, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter that I was attracted to him for years before actually meeting him.

  It certainly doesn’t matter that that attraction has now morphed into something much more tragic. I’m on a path that means certain death, no matter what.

  Eve’s still giving me that disbelieving look.

  “He’s sacrificing me, as you now know. That’s all.”

  “And why are you just letting him do so?”

  “If he doesn’t, bad things happen. As in, millions of innocents might be hurt.” Bitterness is truly the type of emotion that can be tasted. I drink the soda in my hand even though its sweetness can do nothing to overcome the acrid flavor at the back of my throat. The look on Eve’s face doesn’t make the situation any better. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  Of course, she doesn’t.

  “I think it’s really funny how you think I’m just letting this happen to you.”

  I sigh. “Evesse, let’s not talk about this anymore. Supersonic hearing abounds in this place.”

  “Whatever. I haven’t asked to be taken home because I’m not letting it happen. Period.”

  Zeniel stops in front of us and offers each of us a plate. His gray-blue eyes are bloodshot. The smile on his face is slightly uncertain.

  I nibble on my lip, sneaking a peek at Eve as Zen hands her the plate.

  And, yeah, Evesse is avoiding his stare and there’s a pink tinge forming on her cheeks.

  Across the room, Cyake smirks with that all-knowing gleam in his eye.

  I know he told me that he refuses to look too far into the future. Something about his powers going berserk if he does. But I’m starting to suspect he saw something when it comes to those two.