Daughter of Asteria (The Daughter Trilogy) (25 page)

He doesn’t seem impressed by her answer, and I feel like I’m missing something. They’ve

probably argued about this numerous times in my absence. I’m sure Deacon has thrived on their

constant conflict.

“Why did you have to
smuggle
in plants?” Jace asks in bemusement.

“Because she also tried to kill Adisia,” Devin says with a clenched jaw.

“What? And you’re letting her stay here?” Jace yells as he springs to his feet.

Vines shoot up from the small plant on the counter and dare him to try something as electricity

simmers over the surface of his body.

“She also died beside us before the rewind,” I explain. “It’s a long story with very different,

somewhat less psychotic details.”

Her eyes narrow at me, but she shrugs when she assesses my comment to be fair, given the

situation. Jace doesn’t back down, and I’m almost worried earth and electricity are about to collide.

“I can’t believe you claim to love her, and yet you’re keeping
her
in the same place as Adisia

while she’s a helpless mortal,” Jace admonishes while pointing at Gemma.

“Hey,” I say in a higher octave, offense in my tone.

“Sucks don’t it?” Hale chirps snidely while he enjoys the moment of the insults not being thrown

at him for a change.

I roll my eyes, and Deacon quickly pops into the conversation.

“Gemma has proven herself since. She’s just as dedicated to this as anyone else.”

Jace rolls his eyes, and the currents swirling his body creep back in. Gemma’s vines turn back

into the harmless tulips in the small pot.

It’s amazing at the life she can bring to such a small plant, but then again, she’s a goddess - a

dangerous goddess. I’m just as worried as Jace for my safety around her, but I can’t say that aloud.

“I think Camara’s right. It’s starting to sound like Devin’s the son of Helios instead of that guy,”

Jace growls while motioning to Hale.

“And now we’re back to dissing me,” Hale pouts.

Devin doesn’t smirk like I expect. He actually acts a little disappointed by that assessment.

“I never meant to do this to anyone. I never knew how bad it could hurt to love and lose until I

met Adisia. If I had known, I wouldn’t have been so cruel in my dismissals,” he almost mumbles.

Gemma’s eyes water and I feel as though she’s gotten the closest thing to an apology she’ll ever

get.

Devin’s hand tightens around mine, and he moves me closer to his body very gently. He nuzzles

his head into the back of my hair, and I respond by leaning back into his perfect body.

“I don’t see why you let her play with her plants in the open if you’re worried about Adisia. It’s

obvious she doesn’t want to play by the rules,” Jace adds.

“I need plants. I connect with them on a different level than your foul mind could ever

understand. You just shock things and sizzle when you’re mad. I feel as they feel, and I live through

them. Sadly enough, these plants are the best friends I’ve ever had,” she reprimands.

“That’s because you refuse to connect with anyone else,” Ther pops off.

Her eyes lift to Devin, but she quickly shies away before speaking. “Not everyone.”

So much for the notion of her being over him.

It’s beginning to look more and more like she’s still obsessed with him.

“I need a drink,” Jace grumbles. “You guys are pretty twisted. I remember why I fly solo now.”

“How long have you been on your own?” I ask curiously as he clanks the ice into the cup.

“I lost count a few centuries ago. My parents were killed in a stand of with the Athena Sheilas.

The few contacts we trusted ran away with their tails between their legs and up their asses during the

fight.

“I was left for dead, but then a mortal family found me and drug me to their home. They never

had a clue who I was, and they were astonished when my body healed so quickly. I snuck out, and

began my life as a loner. My only mission has been to find the daughter of Aphrodite, and now I’ve

found two.”

“Only one can kill Safina,” Hale mutters lowly under his breath.

“That’s the one I’m supposed to be with,” Jace almost whispers, his eyes staring down at his

glass.

Devin’s jaw clenches tighter, and I can tell he’s starting to worry that Jace’s persistence is going

to be a greater issue than he had anticipated.

Deacon snorts derisively before spouting, “Why is it you’re so convinced you’ll be with Adisia?”

“My mother’s visions were always very precise and accurate. She saw me with the daughter of

Aphrodite.”

“First of all, no one besides Persia can see Adisia - not even Devin can see her, and he’s the

strongest visionary I’ve ever known,” Deacon rebuts.

“Mom could see more at the end than she’s ever been able to see. Her last vision came just before

her last breath. I don’t doubt that she saw exactly what she said. I was to stand beside the daughter of

Aphrodite,” he asserts definitively.

“That could mean something completely different than what you’re insinuating. We all tend to

stand by Adisia, but Devin will be her only mate. Fate has brought them together twice, and both

times they fell in love. I think that in itself is evidence enough to disprove your poorly constructed

theory.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this. I know what she meant by it, and eventually you’ll

see. Destiny overrules fate,” he murmurs before walking off.

I lean into Devin’s warm arms, but he withdraws from the contact as his phone buzzes in his

pocket.

“You got it?” He asks secretively as he leans away from me and flashes outside.

My hearing seems to have declined because I can’t hear him once he’s on the balcony. A dull

ringing erupts when I try straining to hear, and I almost feel sick when I snap out of the moment.

“Adisia? You okay?” Deacon asks worriedly.

“Yeah.”
I think.

I stand up and use the one good crutch to hobble into the kitchen. I start pulling down various

ingredients to make a sandwich, and Jace returns to join me.

“I’ll help you,” he says as he scoops me up and places me on the bar.

My eyes dash to see if Devin just saw that, but he’s still engaged in a mysterious conversation

that my ears refuse to hear.

I start scratching just behind my right ear when it feels like something is crawling on it. I shiver a

little at the alarming and terribly unwelcome sensation, and Camara comes to inspect me.

“There’s nothing on you. What’s wrong?” she worries.

“I don’t know. I think the jetlag is getting to me. I’ll be okay after I eat,” I say reassuringly.

“You have a fever,” Jace says as he touches my face with the back of his hand.

Camara scowls at the man she barely knows who is touching me. She hates outsiders, and here he

is acting as though he knows me a little better than he does.

I do feel comfortable around him though. Denying death together brings you a little closer

quicker.

“The doctor said the cuts could cause infection. I need to take my antibiotics. I’m sure it’s

nothing. Stop looking so worried. Mortals have issues from time to time,” I huff.

“What’s going on?” Devin asks as he returns to see everyone making a fuss over me.

“Adisia has a fever,” Jace answers as he studies me.

Devin flashes to me to check for himself, and again I feel like a kid in a house full of

overprotective parents.

“I’m fine,” I exasperate.

“We might need to call a doctor, and we may need to go to his office,” Devin murmurs as he

inspects me.

“What happened to the back of your ear?” he gasps.

“She was clawing at it when I came over here,” Camara says in a low, almost mortally muted

tone.

“Stop worrying,” I grumble.

A wet sensation catches me off guard as I look down to see two drops of blood that have dripped

from my nose to my hand. Devin tilts my head up, and the ringing returns to my ears.

I feel the room starting to spin wildly out of control. Nausea mixed with sharp stings of pain

flood me simultaneously, and I feel myself falling endlessly in a dizzy spiral as the light fades from

my sight. Darkness hides the world that seemed to finally be getting back to normal, and it steals the

breath I had just gotten back.

Exactly spaced flashes of light
with an offensive fluorescent blare attack my eyes as they

attempt to wake. Rushing footsteps and hollow voices clash incoherently. Sterile cleanliness mixes

with sickness and fear, and it all overwhelms my still bleeding nose.

A thin mattress barely jostles to warn me of the fast moving bed I’m strapped to. Cold latex

hands check my pulse with powdery fingertips, and I gasp inwardly when I realize what’s going on.

No. I’m in a hospital. No!

I try to scream, but silence is all that flees my trembling lips. A warm hand grips mine to comfort

me, and I know Devin’s here.

It doesn’t change the fact I’m in a hospital, and I can feel my lungs struggling to expand as the

panic overtakes me completely. My feeble body begins convulsing as the fear spreads, and more cold

latex hands constrict my movements to keep me still.

Still no scream escapes, and no sound around me makes any sense. I feel the breath wheezing

into my lungs, and the panic in the hand clinging to mine before a small, stinging prick forcing

something warm into my arm.

The medicine burns more as a feverish liquid calms me, instantly making me relax despite my

terror.

Devin’s lips move to my hand, but I’m almost too numb to feel it now. I smile, and pray I’m not

drooling.

I can’t tell if we’re still moving until I feel my body being lifted. A mask covers my face, and

another prick stings against my skin.

I feel myself drifting until I can’t fight it anymore, and the darkness returns.

“How long has she been
out” I hear Camara ask with a yawn.

I try to open my eyes or move my mouth, but all my cognitive functions are flipping me off right

now as they rebel against my wishes.

“Too damn long. Where’s the fucking doctor?” Devin barks, and I feel a squeeze against my

hand.

My feeling is slowly returning, but my languid body refuses to respond.

“I’ll get her,” Hale responds, and even he sounds too serious and worried.

At least I can understand what everyone is saying now.

“I still don’t understand what this could be. If they couldn’t find anything, then it obviously isn’t

mortal. Her heart rate seems to be steadier, and the bleeding stopped on its own. What’s going on?”

Jace growls.

Way to read my mind, shock boy.

“I don’t know, but we’ve got some of the oldest, wisest minds in the world at our fingertips. I’ve

contacted every-damn-one of them, and they better come up with something. I won’t lose her,” Devin

chokes out.

“They’ll find something, son. We’ll find something. This could have something to do with the

siren attack. No mortal has ever lived through something like that,” Theia comforts. “This could be a

side effect we weren’t prepared for.”

“Then we need to find a way to fix it,” Devin asserts.

“I’ll call Deidra. She’s dealt with sirens more than any of us, and she’ll know what to do if this is

the case,” she offers.

“She’s not going to be happy when she wakes up here,” Persia murmurs guiltily. “I’ll force the

doctor to release her, and we can take her somewhere more comfortable until we can find out what’s

going on for sure.”

My eyes finally flutter open, and I realize there’s a tube in my mouth. I start choking against the

intruding object as my throat constricts around it, and Devin screams for a nurse.

He flashes to my far side and grips my hand as two women rush in. One tries to scoot him out of

the way, but he barely gives her any of the space she’s demanding.

I gag slightly as they free me from the foreign intrusion, and I choke on the air as it filters

through my lungs.

“Adisia?” a blond woman says as she shines a light into my eyes. “Your throat might sore, so try

not to talk unless you have to. The doctor is going to ask you some yes or no questions, and you can

respond by nodding or shaking your head. Can you do that for me?”

I start to speak, but she’s right - my throat is killing me. I take her advice and provide a nod.

The white sloshed room offers me a chill, and the cold hands continue to freak me the hell out. I

try to move, but my body is still too heavy to respond.

The nurses check my hanging medicine bag that is dripping through the needle in my hand, and

then they scurry out to find the doctor.

“Forget the doctor. She’s a female. You can’t force her, and it’ll take to long to deal with them,”

Devin murmurs as he scoops me up. “I dare someone to try and stop me,” he growls.

I lie limply in his arms, and Jace walks over to the outlet on the wall.

“I’ll give them something else to focus on,” he murmurs, and the power begins flickering on and