Chapter 47 | The Devil of Siren City

Adrian

Skylar trembles, visibly shaken.

She’s afraid of you.

She doesn’t know you.

She doesn’t know what you’ll do when you find out what she’s done.

I step forward. She looks up, but her eyes fall quickly, not wanting to meet my gaze.

The Devil of Siren City.

“Skylar,” I say, standing in front of her. “Look at me.”

It takes a moment, but she obeys.

“Remember what I told you,” I say. “I take care of what’s mine.”

Skylar nods. “You said no one was safe in Siren City. Except me.”

“That’s right. As long as you are here, you are under my protection.” I reach out and touch her cheek. My heart, still beating fast, pulses with pain for a single breath. “Do you trust me, Skylar?”

She trembles again.

“They call him Hades,” Candy says by the table, clearly happy to interrupt the moment.

I exhale with annoyance and lower my hand.

“Who does?” Skylar asks, breaking our eye contact.

“The gods,” Candy says. “They don’t like to mention him by name. It’s forbidden in certain places.”

“Hades…” Skylar says, her brow furrowed as a bit of hurt passes over her eyes. “And Persephone?”

One of the most notorious couples in mythology. The king of the underworld and his captured bride.

Very funny, Persephone.

“Her little joke,” I say to Skylar as I turn. “Come with me.”

I walk into the hallway, passing the evidence of Skylar’s past. She follows close behind, perhaps wanting to stay close in case I collapse again. Of that, I am grateful.

Candy stays close as well, his focus on Skylar.

I enter my room and walk to my desk. On top sits the map, still spread out flat. “You looked at this,” I say, assuming.

Skylar nods beside me. “I did, yes.”

I move a finger along the map, drawing a line from Aurora Avenue to the bridge into Olympus. “Morgana is Aphrodite,” I say, pointing out the red names. “Kris is Ares. Theo is Poseidon. Ava is Hera.”

“And Zeus?”

“We don’t know who he is,” I answer. “But once I do…”

I don’t have to finish my sentence. She understands.

Skylar points at St. Nicholas’ Church. “Ethan?” she reads, his name written in red.

“Apparently, he is no longer involved with them,” I answer, studying her downturn face. “But he was there that night on the ship.”

She flinches. “He did this to you?”

“They all did.” I point at The Tower. “They killed me for Zeus. My brother, too.”

“You survived,” she says. “He didn’t?”

“No. He didn’t.”

Skylar scans the map again as she takes a breath. “I’m sorry,” she says, her eyes full of sincerity.

“So am I.” My heart tightens for a moment. I reach for the coin next to the map. “You’ve seen this before? This sigil?”

“Yes,” she answers.

“Where?”

“On Market Street.”

Candy steps closer, his ears perked. “Where?” he asks.

“Uh…” Skylar tenses slightly as he flanks her. “Near the bank on Fourth,” she says. “There were a few of Ares’ guys there, cleaning it up. They tried blocking it from view, but it was big. Easy to see.”

Candy looks at me nervously. “Hey, it wasn’t me,” he says.

“No,” I say. “But someone is trying to get my attention.”

“They want the ghost of Old Town to show himself?” he suggests. “Or they just want to piss off Zeus? Stir up trouble?”

I nod. Also a possibility. “Either way, it’s reckless.”

“Desperate people get reckless.”

“Yes,” I say, sighing at the map. “They do.”

A wave of exhaustion washes over me, the adrenaline in my system wearing off. I rest my hands on the desk to support myself.

Skylar notices, her hand instantly coming to my arm. “Adrian?” she asks.

“I’m okay,” I say, taking a breath.

“You need to rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“Your heart just stopped,” she says. “You are not fine. Sit down.”

Without allowing a response, Skylar takes hold of my arm and guides me with her toward the desk chair. I obey, of course. I know better than to argue with her medical advice by now.

“I’ll grab you some water,” she says once I’m sitting down.

Then she takes a step and pauses, Candy now standing between her and the door.

I give him a pointed look.

He lets her pass, but he doesn’t seem all that happy about it.

“Well?” I ask once she’s out of earshot. “Is she lying?”

Candy scoffs. “Really? You almost died, again, and that’s the first thing you say?”

“Candy—”

“No,” he answers. “She’s not lying when she says she didn’t know the doctor was married. The rest of it? Fuck, I don’t know.”

I nod. “Are you all right, Candy?”

He takes a breath. “Yes,” he says. “No.” He takes another deeper breath and holds it. “You knew something like this could happen. That’s why you needed a nurse.”

“Yes,” I say. “My heart was shredded in the attack. I knew…” I rethink my reply. “I needed someone close by. Just in case.”

Candy nods. “Shredded,” he repeats, hating the word.

I hate it, too.

“That’s how the doctor described it,” I say.

“Then, you…” He stops, hesitating. “It’s a miracle you’re even here at all.”

I say nothing. Miracle isn’t the word I’d choose, but I won’t take it away from him, either.

“You could go again at any moment,” he says. “Couldn’t you?”

“Yes,” I answer.

It’s the truth. He deserves the truth.

Candy closes his eyes.

“Candy,” I say. “I am not going anywhere. Not until I’ve had my vengeance.”

“And after?” he asks, his voice shaking. “Once they’re all gone, what happens to you, then?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

He doesn’t like that, but he moves past it. “Well, you’ve certainly got St. Nick or somebody on your side. At least that’s something. Right?”

I say nothing.

“And Skylar,” he says.

“Skylar?”

Candy hesitates again. “She’s good at her job.”

“She is.”

“Actually kind of like her now.”

I smile. “So do I.”

His brow furrows. “Are you sure we can trust her?” he asks, keeping his voice low. “I mean… she hears voices in her head.”

“I know.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“It’s complicated, Candy.”

“If that weren’t bad enough, she’s involved with Ethan.”

“That’s not what it looks like.”

“How do you know?”

“She told me.”

“Skylar?”

“No, Persephone.”

“The voice in her head told you she was innocent?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“While I was unconscious.”

He blinks. “Adrian.”

I pause as Skylar re-enters the hallway outside. “I know how it sounds,” I whisper.

“Do you?” he asks, concerned.

“I’m handling it, Candy.”

Candy tilts his head, but doesn’t argue.