Page 16 of Divine Violence
I never understood why we had to tolerate the useless mingling with the other patrons, when they all knew what they were getting into.
Well, all of them except for the Maiden.
A smile pulled at my face, knowing that by the end of the night, that defiant little smirk she sent my way would be wiped away from her face. I would break her, make her submit to me—to us—until she understood that the only gods she would worship from now on were the ones from the Infernal Triumvirat.
Alexander was too soft for that. Kairos… Kairos was a motherfucking psychopath who wouldn’t mind killing them if that was what it took. But me, I liked to take my sweet time. Their fear tasted better than any other aphrodisiac, and I bet that Echo tasted exquisite.
“We’re here, Mr. Talon,” the old man driving announced as we stopped in front of the main entrance to the Manor. The butlers stood at the main door, greeting the guests who kept spilling out of their own cars.
I hated every single one of them.
Kairos was no doubt already waiting inside, expecting us all to go to him, but I would let him mingle with his little minions before I even attempted to talk to him.
I opened the door of the car, unable to wait another second, as the valet kept opening the door of all the cars in front of us and strolled over the gravel road toward the entrance door.
“Welcome back, Mr. Talon.” One of the waitresses smiled at me, extending the tray filled with drinks toward me. I knew her from last year, and the twinkle in her eyes said that she wanted a repeat of the performance from back then.
Not going to happen.
Grimly, I nodded at her and took a champagne glass from the second girl who kept avoiding my eyes, and strolled inside of the Manor.
I laughed when Kairos told us about this place for the first time. His father got it as a gift—or at least that’s what he called it—and decided to let it rot while he traveled all over the world with his girlfriends and friends. Kairos refurbished the place, bringing it to what it was today.
He turned this haunted place into a home, an escape for us. Even though I hated October thirty-first with a passion, I couldn’t hate this house.
But the fact that Kairos and Alexander kept insisting to hold this motherfucking ball every single year somehow tarnished this place in my eyes. I tried to steer clear from here the rest of the year, preferring to meet with them somewhere in the city. But there was a weird kind of electricity running amok tonight, and I wanted to see what would happen.
Things went more than wrong last year, and we had to make up for all the lost time.
The last time I saw Kairos was five months ago when I told him to fuck off. But he did tell me about the girl. He told me about the perfect girl that could be our final—
“Dom.” A high-pitched voice wrapped around my throat, annoying me even before I saw the familiar face as I turned around.
Anastasia fucking Dawson.
Ethereal beauty and a rotten soul went hand in hand, and she was a prime example of everything that was wrong with society. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at me, expecting… what? A hug?
“Hi, Anastasia,” I grumbled, looking around me.
“It’s been a long time,” she purred, placing her hand on my chest. There was a time, not so long ago, where having the attention of a pretty woman like her meant I was the king of the world. Not anymore.
I saw them all for what they were. All these serpents danced among angels, waiting for their final fall. And I fell.
Oh, how I fell.
And this bitch standing in front of me, with her fake eyelashes, shiny hair, and a new set of boobs, was the first one to sell me out. To sell my friends out.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her, enjoying the way she squirmed. She fucked us all up, shattering the dream we all had.
“Don’t be like that.” She swatted my hand. “Kairos invited me.” Her saccharine smile made me sick. The fact that she thought something good would come out of this for her made the hair at the nape of neck stand up.
I narrowed my eyes on her. “Kairos?” I was going to throw him into the pool. “When did this happen?”
“Just the other day. He came to the premiere ofJust Another Boyand gave me an invitation.”
“Kairos?” I asked again, sounding like a parrot to myself.
Her eyes rolled, annoyance as clear as the day on her face. “Yes, Dom.” She huffed. “Kairos invited me. He told me he missed seeing me.”
