Daughter of Asteria (The Daughter Trilogy) (15 page)

remind him of what he’s missing with me,” she snidely remarks.

“I didn’t drag him to the bedroom. He’s the one that led that expedition. I don’t feel threatened

by you because Devin loves me. It’s not a ploy - he’s my trigger, and he’s seen it with his own eyes.

The only thing you’re right about is the fact I stayed in here last night to deter any foolish attempt you

might have made. If Devin kept me in here after I went to sleep, then he was attempting to

accomplish the same feat,” I blare.

I storm by her on my way to wake Devin. I’m not going to deal with this shit. I shouldn’t be

subjected to this so early in the morning.

I feel my breath catch in my throat, and suddenly I’m struggling for air. I slowly wheeze in a

fraction of the breath I need as I fall to my knees.

She strides toward me with a slow, sauntering pace until she stops in front of me, reveling in my

excruciating pain as the blood pounds in my head.

“Do you know how the breath catchers received such a name?” she asks as if she expects me to

respond, but all I can do is continue to gasp for the air that is barely there. “We can’t kill an

immortal, but we can pull their powers from their breath long enough for someone else to carry out

the task. That’s not how we received our name though.

“It’s actually a very self explanatory sort of thing really. We can draw out the breath a mortal

needs to survive. Right now, you’re still mortal. Devin can’t hear you, see you, or see me doing this

to you. Every door is shut, every immortal still asleep, and it’s just you and me in here. I’ll simply

tell Devin you finished what you started, and hung yourself to keep him safe,” she snickers out with

her ominous laugh.

I try to slither across the floor while on my belly to reach the bedroom, but she restricts the air

intake I’m already scarcely getting.

My lungs tighten to the point of collapsing inwardly, and I can’t even scream out from the

excruciating pain piercing my chest.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Just know that I’ll take good care of Devin. I’ve spent centuries being the

opposite of that clingy bitch he just wanted to be free from. All the other girls begged him to be more

than just a once-and-a-while man, but I accepted him for who I thought he was. I knew one day all of

my patience and strategic planning would pay off. Then you show up, and within a month he’s in

love, and he proposed to you. To you!” she screams.

Every fucking room here is padded, so she can scream as loud as she wants to. I can’t make a

sound as I roll over onto my back while clapping my lips together to try and force air into my lungs,

but to no avail.

“I deserve to be his wife. I’ve earned it. You’re just some slutty bitch that fell into a pot of gold

so many have been searching for. I’ve waited centuries, and you’ve waited weeks. I damn well won’t

lose him to anyone, let alone you,” she threatens.

Suddenly a vine clasps around her throat, jerking her backwards from her attack stance. She flies

into the wall behind her as the tables turn, and she’s the one gasping for air.

The oxygen fills my desperate lungs so quickly that it forces me to cough ruthlessly when a

startled Stasia loses her grip on my breath.

“Well, isn’t this sweet. I finally have a reason to exact some long awaited revenge,” Gemma

snarks as she slowly approaches the restrained Stasia.

“Put me down. Devin will kill you for hurting me,” Stasia barks through strain.

I keep my hand on my chest as the breaths coming so vigorously ache with a pounding depth.

Gemma smiles at her captured and struggling prey that can’t paralyze her powers for some reason.

“I’m not trying to hurt you. You’re just a Nuri, but I’m a goddess,” she gloats.

The vines snap together, and I look away as the body of Stasia folds into the vines while they

lower her deadweight to the ground.

I shiver slightly as I barely catch a glimpse of her open, glazed over eyes.

Gemma dusts her hands off as she murmurs, “I’ve been waiting on a reason to kill that bitch.”

She turns toward me, and I scramble backwards on my elbows until I bump into the couch. She

rolls her eyes at my panic, and puts her hand down to help me up.

“I don’t want to kill you, or you’d be dead by now. I love Devin, but I’m not the psycho you just

dealt with. I’ll survive without him, and I’ll be better off now that I can stop wondering ‘what if’ all

the time. It’s very freeing in fact,” she offers.

“How did you know she was killing me?” I ask suspiciously.

Did she listen to all of that? Was she hoping I’d be dead before she finally got to kill Stasia?

“I didn’t. I came out to sneak in some water to my smuggled in babies,” she says while

motioning to the retracting plant slithering back across the floor. “The second I heard your wheezes, I

flashed in. To put you’re worried mind at ease, I saved you the moment I knew you were in trouble,”

she adds.

I very warily accept her proffered hand, and she pulls me to my feet in one swift motion.

I continue to massage my aching chest, and then the stench of burning bacon overwhelms me as

the smoke detectors ring out all over. Gemma flashes to the kitchen, and doors begin whirling open in

unison as the smell finds everyone else at once.

Everyone stumbles to a halt when they catch a glimpse of the dead blond curled up on the floor.

Devin’s eyes grow wide as he flashes over to me.

“What the hell happened?” he gasps.

I cough a little once more as my lungs still sting from their weakened posture.

“Stasia tried to kill me, and…” I pause as Gemma returns, and my eyes thank her. “Gemma saved

me,” I sigh.

Devin’s arms instantly embrace me in a horrified hug, and his breaths become erratic.

“What the fuck? Why did she try to kill you?” he snaps in complete terror.

“Because she’s been psychotically in love with you for centuries,” Gemma snorts.

Devin shakes his head. “We weren’t in that sort of relationship. She never wanted that sort of

thing and neither did I,” he sighs.

“Gemma’s right. She said she deserved you, not me. She’s been playing a waiting game. She

thought you would choose her if she played it casual, and then suddenly I was in her way,” I cough

out.

His eyes show disbelief and guilt.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know she would do something like this,” he murmurs

through strain.

“I did,” Gemma scoffs.

I can feel Devin’s lips tightening, but he can’t counter her snarky remark. She was right about

Stasia all along, and he’s been accusing her of lying for who knows how long.

“Why didn’t she paralyze your powers?” I ask curiously, my steadier breaths allowing my tone to

sound a little less hoarse.

“Because her powers were focused on you before she knew I was anywhere close to intervening,

and once an immortal’s power is active, a breath catcher can’t stop them. That’s why I didn’t give her

any lulls,” Gemma explains.

Her eyes flash expectantly toward Devin. I suppose she’s not as over him as she wanted me to

think.

Now what? I can’t be mad at her right this minute.

“Thank you, Gemma,” he murmurs.

She looks a little disappointed. I’m not sure if she was also expecting an apology, or if she was

expecting him to fall for her. She just nods before flashing out of the room.

Devin’s face wears more burden than I’ve seen yet. He scoops me up and carries me over to the

couch to hold me to him.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he breathes in a pained wince.

“Please don’t take this on. You’re not responsible for her extra dose of crazy,” I mumble as I try

to hold back the tears.

I know he’ll feel even worse if I release the floodgates right now.

“I should have seen that. Why didn’t I see that?” Persia whines as she paces back and forth.

“Because it wasn’t premeditated. It was just an opportunity she tried to capitalize on. I don’t

want you blaming yourself either,” I murmur through the pain in my chest.

“How badly does it hurt?” Devin asks with such guilt still pouring free.

“It’s not unbearable. I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed,” I pout.

He kisses me softly on my trembling lips that I’ve been unable to steady, and then he pulls me

back to him.

“That fucking bitch,” Kry blares as he grabs his head in disbelief. “We sat there and told her how

crucial Adisia was to all of this, but she still tried to kill her. We told her how much we all cared

about her, and she just thought everyone would be okay with her pulling the air from her lungs?”

I smile a little at everyone’s reactions, but it disappears when I answer the question he didn’t

know actually had an answer.

“She was going to string me up and make it look like I hung myself. She knew of my past suicide

attempt, and she was going to make everyone believe I carried through with it,” I shakily reply.

The color completely drains from Devin’s face, and the ghostly hue creeps into everyone else’s as

well.

“I can’t believe this,” Ther gasps while falling to the chair behind him. “I wish you could have

zapped her into a pile of ashes,” he growls.

“She wouldn’t have come at me if I hadn’t been mortal. That’s why she was so eager to take her

shot at me this morning,” I mumble.

“I’d like to fucking revive the bloody psycho so that I can kill her my damn self,” Deacon

mumbles as his fists clench so tight they make a gripping rattle.

“I should have killed her last night when she made the comment about Adisia lying about your

being her trigger,” Camara hisses.

“She said that last night? She said it today too,” I murmur.

“I missed that part,” Devin grumbles.

“You had already gone on to bed with Adisia, and she watched you until the door closed. I just

chalked it up to a scorned woman. I never dreamt she’d attempt something like this, or I would have

burned her alive,” Hale gripes as he buries his head in his hands.

“We told her to watch what she said because we all love Adisia. She just went to bed after that. I

was hoping she had drunk too much,” Camara whimpers.

“I should have listened to Gemma, and I can’t believe I’m saying that,” Devin grumbles.

“No more exes are allowed to join this convoy,” I joke in an effort to lighten the intensity in the

air.

Crap. Crickets.

No one even tries to smile at my failed attempt at a joke. Devin’s eyes continue to be weighed

with more anxiety than he deserves to suffer.

“This wasn’t your fault,” I say again while getting attacked by a yawn.

He kisses my forehead as he scoops me up.

“Go back to sleep. I know that was exhausting, and you need to rest for a while after enduring

such a vicious attack. I’ll wake you in a bit so you can eat,” he murmurs so softly, and I’m worried I

detect something else lacing his tone.

“Are you mad at me?” I worry.

“Of course not,” he gasps. “I’m pissed off I let a crazy bitch in here that was trying to kill you,”

he chokes out.

I stroke his cheek as we find the bed.

“In all fairness, I tend to draw out crazy bitches,” I say jokingly.

He still doesn’t crack a grin. I huff lightly as I stand up and grab a ponytail holder to swish my

hair off my neck.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting half dressed so we can go get breakfast. I just burned the last of the bacon, and the

eggs are now officially ruined since they’ve been left alone for so long. I thought all of us could go

out and grab something together. I’m hungry more than I am tired,” I murmur as I brush on a little

makeup to kill the early morning, not-yet-showered look.

“I can send out for something,” he protests.

“Please just let me go out for breakfast,” I plead like a sixteen-year-old begging to for a later

curfew.

“No. I’ll send out for something, and then you can rest. We have stuff to do anyways. We have

to dispose of Stasia’s body, and explain to the Vegas immortal community what has happened before

we spark a war,” he asserts.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that,” I mumble.

Dead bodies don’t even rattle me at all anymore. Not since the apocalypse brought about from my

hands.

“You don’t have to think about that. You’re still mortal, and you have a long time before you

should have to deal with the politics of our world. Even after you change, I will be here to deal with

this. Right now, you have mortal needs, and we have immortal obligations. I’ll send out for food,” he

murmurs as he stands back up.

Tears invade my eyes from his stern tone. He says he’s not mad at me, but he seems completely

different. I feel like he’s not telling me something.

“Are you upset she’s gone?” I choke out as that possibility rumbles around in my mind.

His eyes scold me. “She tried to kill the woman I love. The only thing I regret is not killing her

myself. I won’t miss her at all, but the community will want her body and an explanation. I have to