warmth, her laughter. 'I'm sorry, but I'm no longer interested.'
Again, deserved. She'd once asked him to reveal the worst thing he'd ever done. Now he knew. It was causing this, this change in her. She looked colder. Harsh. Hard. He battled despair. 'You should never be sorry. Not to me. It is I who owe you a thousand apologies. I know a thousand will not be enough, but however long it takes, whatever I have to do, I am willing. For you, anything.'
'Go away,' she said again, just as bored.
Never. 'All I ask is that—'
There was a screech, high-pitched, infuriated, and then a spear was sailing toward him. Lightning fast it happened, yet he watched as if the world had slowed to a crawl. He heard the whistle of air and managed to reach out and catch the limb just before it penetrated his heart. A second longer, and he would have been dead. As it was, the razor-fine tip managed only to slice his skin.
There was no time to search out his attacker. No need, either. Nola was shoving him down before he could drop the weapon. He allowed her to pin him, punch him and claw at him. He had vowed never to let anyone hurt him without retaliation. But her, he let. She was avenging her sister.
Delilah watched, her blank expression never changing.
A hard right was delivered to his nose, and the cartilage snapped out of place. Nails scored his cheek, drawing blood. Another right, then a left.
'That's enough. Stop!' Brand had issued the command with enough force to halt the Amazon's fist midair.
She glanced at him, murder in her eyes. 'Don't interfere, or you'll be next.'
Then someone was lifting Nola off Layel, and she was cursing in outrage.
Zane, he realized. The warrior held the now struggling Nola, and released a roar the likes of which Layel had never heard. 'Be still, woman! And be quiet.'
Zane, willingly touching a female?
'I warned you what would happen if you neared her again!' Brand launched himself at the vampire.
Layel scooted back, out of the way. A war had erupted, it seemed. The three rolled on the sandy beach in a tangle of fists and kicks. Both Brand and Zane tried to shove Nola aside as they punched and bit at each other, but she kept returning, going for Zane's throat every time.
Her fury was like a living thing.
I was like her, Layel mused. He'd been filled with hatred and anger, not really living for anything but death. Susan would have been ashamed of him had she met the man he'd become. But Delilah had found a way to love him, anyway.
She was a gift. A treasure.
And she was striding toward the bloody trio, he realized. He popped to his feet and dashed to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. She turned to him, still expressionless.
'Release me,' she said.
'Stay here. Please. I will help your friend.' It would be his pleasure, giving her something she desired.
She opened her mouth to reply, but another voice stopped her.
'Actually, we will stop them.'
Layel's stomach clenched as the trio was frozen in place. How he despised these gods and their seemingly all-consuming power.
In a blink, the fighters were on their knees, bowing, blood trickling from their wounds. They were panting as a clear jellylike being materialized in front of them. No, not one. But five. Five beings. Layel's eyes widened. He'd known there was more than one god pulling the strings, but hadn't expected so many.
'I admire your vehemence, vampire,' one of them said, solidifying into a tall, muscled, dark man. Fire blazed in his eyes, fierce and war-hungry. Ares. Ancient scrolls and portraits of the gods had once filled his palace. After Susan's death, Layel had removed them. He'd felt forgotten, abandoned, and had wanted no part of the beings who seemed more concerned with their own selfish pleasure than with the well-being of their children.
'Enough is enough,' another added, solidifying, as well. Hestia. She was plain of face yet somehow so sensual she would have made any other man hard as a rock in seconds. Any but Layel. His body existed only for Delilah.
'The time has finally come to end this.' Another female. Dark-haired, lovely. Dressed in a bright yellow robe. Artemis.
'I, too, am tired of waiting.' A man. Blond, muscled, casting an aura so vibrant Layel had to squint. Apollo.
'Vampires, Amazons, dragons and nymphs. At last we come face-to-face. You've become predictable, the lot of you. My amusement with our little game has rapidly waned. You were to prove your strength to us, as well as demonstrating which race is superior to all others.' Dark hair he sometimes changed to gold, male, tall and muscled, with eyes as blue and fathomless as the sea. Poseidon. 'We could not decide, you see, and fought amongst ourselves. You were brought here to settle that argument, but all you've done is prove you are as weak and foolish as the humans, placing your hearts above your own survival.'
'What more do you want from us?' Layel asked them, inching in front of Delilah to shield her. He didn't trust these beings, and wouldn't tolerate their attention being turned to his woman. 'We've done everything you've asked.'
He was on his stomach a moment later, writhing in pain beyond imagining. Dirt filled his mouth as he gasped for breath.
'No questions are allowed, vampire,' Ares said. 'Damn, but I'm disappointed in you! You should have slayed them all by now.'
'And you.' Hestia looked at Delilah and tsked under her tongue. 'I had such high hopes for your independence and strength, yet you focused on a man and lost sight of the true prize.'
'I know you,' Delilah said, frowning. 'Your voice. You were there. In the forest. You—'
'Enough from you,' Hestia rushed out, and then Delilah, too, was on her knees. At least she wasn't writhing.
'Enough from all of you. You had your chance, yet here you are. While we admire your fortitude, your continued refusal to remove the threat of your enemy has been…disappointing,' Ares said to the still-bowing trio. 'The time has come to narrow the combatants to only one creature per race. That means you three are no longer needed. Brand, Zane, Nola, rise.'
Hestia stepped forward as they obeyed. All three blanched, opened their mouths to protest, he was sure, but no sound emerged. 'Dragon, vampire, you fought over the Amazon, and so you shall soon be surrounded by them. We are sentencing you both to be their slaves.'
Zane roared with fury and terror, leaping backward, away from the crowd. 'No.' Finally, sound. 'No!'
'I'm begging you not to do this,' Brand gasped out. 'I never wanted the Amazon. She is like a sister to me.'
Their cries went unheeded. Each of the gods waved their hands through the air, an eerily synchronized movement, and the two warriors disappeared, only the imprints of their feet left behind. Layel had been reaching for his soldier, trying to grab hold of him. Beside him, Delilah remained unmoved. With his other hand he grabbed her calf, stroking, offering comfort though he could see she felt no fear.
'Great Ones, please,' Nola said on a shaky breath, backing away. 'I beg you, do not—'
'Silence!' Artemis bellowed.
And so there was silence, even the insects ceasing their songs.
'Better.' Hestia relaxed, her expression softening. 'I don't like the thought of a woman being enslaved, nor do I like the thought of destroying you when you have not yet had a chance to truly live. And so you will not be given to the vampires or the dragons.'
Gradually Nola, too, relaxed. Until…
'Therefore, because you failed time and again to kill your targets,' Hestia continued, her tone cold, 'you will be sentenced to watch them live, unable to be seen or heard by those around you.' The goddess paused. 'Let this be a lesson to you. When a goddess demands a favor of you, promising a reward beyond imagining in return, see it through. Had you done so, you would have known a different outcome this day.'
All color leached from Nola's cheeks. Shock and terror filled her eyes, and tremors rocked her body so
