The Darkest Lie

CHAPTER TEN

"THAT STUPID, stupid man. That pig. That jerk. That raging asshat!"

As Scarlet stomped through the forest, slapping tree trunks along the way, she called Gideon every vile name she could think of.

"That shithead. That brainless caveman. That...father."

Goodbye, steam.

She stilled, panting, sweating, palms stinging. He hadn't known he was a father. She'd thrown the information at him, then left him to deal with it on his own. And too well did she know how impossible it was to deal on one's own.

For months after Steel's death, she'd done nothing but cry. She'd stopped eating, had even stopped speaking. Maybe, if she'd had someone there to care for her, to pick up the shattered pieces of her soul, she would have recuperated sooner.

Much as she hated—no, hate was too strong a word just then. And she didn't know why. Still. Much as she disliked Gideon, she didn't want him wallowing. He was in the middle of a war. He couldn't afford to wallow.

One more night with him, Scarlet thought, hating herself. And it wasn't too strong a word when directed at herself. She turned around and stalked back to Gideon's camp. She'd heard him shouting to Cronus, the god king who had despised her all her life because she was the evidence of his wife's betrayal. Evidence his peers could see.

Had Gideon thought to ask him for confirmation about Steel, like her word and pain weren't good enough? Or had he been seeking vengeance against Zeus, as she once had?

If that was the case, she would have to stop him. The former sovereign suffered more locked away, his power taken from him, the knowledge that his greatest rival was controlling his throne a constant in his mind, than he ever would have suffered if she'd killed him.

Too quick. Too easy.

Still. She couldn't leave Gideon alone. So she would stay with him for what remained of the night, comfort him as best she was able. Not that he deserved it, but hell, she'd always been a giver. But after this, she was done with him. For real this time.

Only, when she broke through the final wall of leaves, she saw that he'd already left the camp. So soon? She hadn't heard him take a single step. Where the hell had he gone?

Scarlet spun, searching for any sign of him. All she found was a bag. Scowling, she stalked to it. Along the way, something hard, hot and thin hooked around her bare toe, and she stopped.

Her scowl became a frown of confusion and then irritation as she bent down and lifted...his butterfly necklace. Why had he left it? Because he was done with her and didn't want to match her anymore?

She popped her jaw, removed her own necklace—how stupid she'd been to wear it—and clenched them both tightly in her fist. Metal crunched against metal.

"Rotten scum." She drew in a deep breath and caught a whiff of godly majesty. It was like a cloying perfume, pungent enough to sting the nostrils. She'd endured that scent most of her life, and had been ecstatic to finally escape it when she'd left Tartarus.

Cronus had been here, she realized. Son of a bitch! Where had the king taken Gideon? Had the god hurt him or helped him?

She had to know. And there was only one way to find out...

"Mother!" she shouted. Gods. She'd sworn never to do this again. Leaving Gideon helpless to Cronus's cruel whims was not an option, however. And yeah, maybe the two got along and Gideon was happy right now. She'd still do everything in her power to separate them.

Without a doubt, Cronus would try to poison Gideon against her. That shouldn't have mattered since she planned to take off tomorrow, but some part of her couldn't accept such an outcome.

Several minutes passed, but nothing happened.

"Gonna play difficult, are you?" she muttered. "Fine. So can I."

First, though, she would prepare. Surely Gideon had a few weapons in that bag. She closed the rest of the distance and pulled the zipper. Inside she found T-shirts, jeans, sweatpants and yep, weapons. A semiautomatic, a few blades and an axe. Most surprising? An unopened packet of Skittles.

Scarlet quickly changed into a T-shirt and sweats. The sweats she had to roll at the waist and ankles, but at least they stayed on. Then she stashed the weapons all over her body. The necklaces she stuffed into one of the blade sheaths.

Now. Time to try again.

"Mother! Answer me or I swear I'll find a way back into the heavens. I'll move in with you. I'll be your constant companion. You won't be able to see anyone without my presence. You won't be able to do anything without me by your side. Do you hear me? This is your last chance, Mother, before—"

"Enough! You are not to call me by that hideous name. How many times have I told you that?"

Thousands. And Scarlet cared as much now as she had every other time. Which meant she cared not at all.

The voice had come from behind her, so she turned. Slowly. As if Rhea wasn't strong enough to fear having at her back. To be honest, she simply didn't relish seeing the woman who had given birth to her. Even though she needed her.

When their gazes finally met, Scarlet barely contained her gasp of surprise.

Last time she'd seen Rhea, the woman had been greatly aged. Her silky dark hair had become a frizzy gray, and her unlined skin had turned into something akin to dry, wrinkled parchment. Now, her hair was a perfect mix of salt and pepper and her skin had smoothed out, only a few lines remaining.

From crone to cougar, Scarlet thought. Bitch.

Rhea wore a revealing golden robe, the top veeing to showcase her ample cleavage, the bottom so sheer Scarlet could tell she wore matching panties.

"Do you plan to stare at me all night, Scarlet darling?" Each word was sneered. "I know I'm beautiful, but I still deserve respect. Tell me why you summoned me and let's be done with this."

Collect yourself. "Surprise! I wanted to present you with a Mother of the Year award," she said dryly.

Black eyes so like her own narrowed. "I have better things to do with my time than argue with an ungrateful upstart."

Ungrateful. Right. Scarlet simply refused to cater to the demanding woman's every whim. For good reason. No good would ever come of it.

Once, Rhea had loved her. Had treated her like a jewel. But as Scarlet matured, Rhea had begun to see her as a threat. As competition. For men, for the throne if they ever managed to escape, which they had always planned to do. Love had turned to jealousy, and jealousy to hatred.

That hatred...gods, Scarlet had wanted to die when she'd realized her own mother would be happier if she were dead.

Had it not been for Alastor the Avenger, a Greek god who had been attracted to the young, blossoming Scarlet, Rhea and Cronus would have had Scarlet killed long ago. But Alastor had cursed both of the former sovereigns as only an avenger could. Every time they attempted to kill her, they would physically age.

Needless to say, they'd still tried many times. And they had indeed aged, just as Alastor had promised. Finally, their attempts had ceased and Scarlet had lived as normal a life as a girl in prison could. Meaning, no privacy, fighting for ever scrap of food and being prepared for anything.

Would have been nice to have Alastor by her side now. Rhea would do anything Scarlet desired. Without complaint. But sadly, Alastor had been killed when the Titans escaped, freeing the godly sovereigns from his curse.

Now is not the time to reminisce. Her chin jutted as she squared her shoulders, an attempt to disguise her loathing. "Your husband was here. What did he do with Gideon?"

Rhea frowned, though she couldn't hide the edge of satisfaction clinging to her expression. "I'm afraid I have no idea who this Gideon is."

Like hell. Scarlet's mother might not have known that Scarlet and Gideon had married—no one did—but everyone had known of Scarlet's interest in the warrior. More than that, everyone had known of Zeus's army. Well, known of the warriors who had visited the prison, and Gideon had been a part of that. "Come now, Mother. I know you're helping the Hunters. I also know your team is losing."

Red bloomed in Rhea's cheeks, erasing the satisfaction. "You know nothing, you foolish girl."

But Nightmares homed in on the queen's sudden spike of fear, stretching, purring, wanting to invade her mind and exploit every drop of it. "One last chance to tell me what I want to know, and then I start looking for Gideon on my own. And each night that I fail to find him, my demon will find you. You won't be able to close your eyes without seeing your defeat. Without seeing every way you can die."

Rhea's chin lifted, her fear falling away, speculation taking its place. "Well, well. I could almost be proud of you at this moment. We should join forces and—"

"Where. Is. He?" Never would Scarlet aid her mother. Not in any way. The things this woman had done to her...stabbing her, sending men to try and rape her, demeaning her at every turn. No. Never.

A moment passed in silence. Then Rhea's eyes narrowed, creating tiny slits of undiluted loathing. "I could kill you for such impudence, you know. There's nothing to stop me from doing so now. No curse to age me."

"Try." Scarlet almost wished she would. Not that she would succeed. Scarlet was well able to take care of herself now. In fact, she'd killed many of the Titans who had hurt her in prison. Rhea had to know that. Rhea had to know what she was capable of.

When the god queen remained in place, Scarlet almost smiled. Oh, yes. Rhea knew. There would be no challenge issued today.

"Gideon has promised Cronus a boon," her mother said stiffly. "I will take you to him if you promise me you'll ensure that boon is never granted."

Trying to force her hand. She should have known. "Done." But in this, Rhea wouldn't get her way. Scarlet abhorred Cronus as much as she abhorred her mother, so preventing him from getting something he wanted wouldn't be a hardship. And besides that, Gideon was a liar. If Gideon had promised the god king something, he'd never really meant to see it through.

Therefore, there would be no boon to divert.

Win-win.

"Come then. Let's get this over with." Rhea waved a delicate hand through the air and the next thing Scarlet knew, she was standing inside an unfamiliar bedroom. Red velvet draped the walls, and crystal hung from the ceiling like twinkling stars. Every piece of furniture was polished mahogany, and made for seduction. A four-poster bed with rumpled covers, a lounge for two, bookshelves filled with naked photos rather than books. A dresser littered with bowls of fruit.

"Where are we?" Scarlet asked, unable to mask her awe.

"The royal court." Rhea looked around with disgust. "Cronus used to keep this secret room for his mistresses." She uttered a tinkling laugh. "Well, he did until I torched the entire chamber. But then Zeus had it restored for his mistresses. I came here after gaining my freedom from Tartarus, just to see what had been done. You remember, don't you? You tried to enter, but we denied you." She laughed again, but this time it was a cruel sound. "Perhaps Cronus and your Gideon are having an affair."

As if. Gideon didn't swing that way. If she hadn't already known, his kiss would have assured her of that. He liked women. Liked them more than he should, but whatever.

"Where is he?"

"Cronus? I'll have you know I don't watch his every—"

"You try my patience, Mother. Where is Gideon?"

The queen ran her tongue over her teeth, waves of resentment pouring from her, before pointing to the lump in the center of the bed. "You'll find him there."

"If you're lying..." Scarlet allowed the threat to hang unfinished.

She approached the bed, trembling, and sure enough, Gideon was there, half-hidden by the covers. But her relief was short-lived. His pallid body shook, and sickly sweat poured from him. His teeth were digging into his bottom lip, and he was moaning.

That mop of blue hair was plastered to his forehead and temples, his skin was welted and his eyes squeezed closed. What was wrong with him? She wanted to tend to him, but didn't permit herself to move another inch. Not yet. Not with an audience.

Rhea appeared at her side. "He's not very attractive like that, is he?" she asked conversationally, and Gideon's lids popped open. His eyes were bright red, glowing, and he couldn't quite focus on either woman. "That blue hair, those piercings. All that pain. A real warrior wouldn't acknowledge it, much less succumb to it."

"Spoken like a woman who's never known true pain." Her nails bit into her palms. No one speaks poorly of him but me.

"With you as a daughter, I've known my fair share. Believe me."

Ouch. Scarlet might not like this woman, but those kinds of comments still cut.

Maybe because, for a long time, even after her mother had begun to belittle her, purposely distressing her, she'd tried to be a good daughter. She had been Rhea's own personal little slave girl, catering to her every whim.

Her mother wanted extra food, so she'd stolen it. Her mother thought a goddess was too pretty, so Scarlet had broken the female's nose. Her mother wanted time outside her cell, so Scarlet had bought it for her. Doing whatever a guard wanted her to do.

That had been the worst, giving herself to men she hadn't liked and who hadn't liked her. But she'd cared so little about herself. She'd felt worthless without her mother's love and had been determined to earn it back. Until the first murder attempt. Rhea had distracted her before going for her throat.

"They all watch you. They all crave you. You, a little nothing," Rhea had screamed as the blood dripped.

Cronus, who had also been in their cell, had come at her next. "You might be my wife's child, but you are not my heir and you will never have my crown."

Alastor had been walking by, had seen Scarlet fall. He'd entered the cell, shoving Rhea aside and scooping Scarlet up. "You have no crown," he'd told the former king. "Nor will you ever again."

After doctoring her, he'd escorted Scarlet back to her prison. Where Cronus and Rhea waited. By then, Alastor had already cursed the pair. But that hadn't stopped them from trying. Again and again. Actually, months had passed before they'd noticed how much they were aging. Only then had they stopped.

Sometimes, though, their words still haunted her.

She laughed bitterly. Those echoes of the past were her own personal little nightmare.

"I'll let you know when my end of our bargain is met," she said, keeping all emotion from her tone. Which would be, oh, never. "You can go now."

Of course, her mother remained where she was. "I never knew what you saw in him, why you watched him so covetously. Paris, Lucien and Galen were the pretty ones, though one could hardly call Lucien pretty anymore." Rhea's face scrunched with disgust. "Sabin was the strong, determined one. Strider the fun one. Any of them would have been better than him, the wild one who enjoyed fighting."

Like that was a crime. Still, Scarlet clenched her jaw to keep her rebuke inside. One, she didn't want her mother to know how much Gideon still meant to her. Not that he meant a whole hell of a lot, she assured herself. Defending him would be like shouting her feelings (small as they were) from a rooftop. Two, she hated that anyone, especially Rhea, was seeing him like this, weakened and hurting, and prolonging the discussion would only encourage the goddess to stay.

"Now they're all evil and in need of extermination," her mother continued.

"Funny that you say that, since you're just like them. Strife." Oh, yes. Rhea was possessed by the demon of Strife. She might deny it, but Scarlet knew the truth.

Rhea stiffened, a predator who'd spotted prey after a too-long fast. "Utter that word again, and I'll entice your lover into my bed. I could do it, you know, and there would be nothing you could do to stop me. I grow prettier every day."

Do not react. Not to the jealousy suddenly beating through her, or the consuming fury. Again, that would only encourage the goddess. "Do whatever you want. Later. For now, just leave us," she said, knowing the order would grate on Rhea's nerves. "I have a few things to discuss with him and then you can have him." There. That should throw her mother for a loop.

At first, Rhea didn't obey. She sauntered to the other side of the bed and ran the sharp tip of a nail up Gideon's leg, stomach and then throat. Gideon latched onto her wrist and growled. She laughed that tinkling, dead laugh.

"Bitch," he croaked, and then hunched over on another moan.

"You know, I think I'll have him anyway." With a smile that returned every bit of her satisfaction, the queen disappeared, leaving Scarlet alone with her husband.

Finally Scarlet was able to climb up the bed as she'd wanted. Very carefully, she settled beside him, her pulse hammering at the base of her neck. "Are you a prisoner?" she asked, smoothing the hair from his damp brow.

He leaned into her touch. "Yes."

A lie, she knew, because his answer wasn't followed by another moan. "Why are you here?"

"Not to...find...Zeus."

Some of the ice around her heart melted; she couldn't stop it. So. He had meant to seek revenge. "Killing him won't make you feel any better," she said softly.

Their gazes met, a heated tangle. "Not willing to...find out."

"Cronus won't allow you to do that. So why did he bring you here?"

Gideon's smile was brief yet still pained. "He doesn't need my help with the Hunters. I didn't ask him to bring me here so I can recover from the truth I spoke. I don't plan to make my way to Tartarus."

"You spoke the truth? In the forest?" Scarlet flattened her palm over his cheek, thumb tracing the bruise under his eye. "Stupid man. Believe me, if I thought it would ease my pain, I would have found a way to kill Zeus long ago."

"Scar." He reached up with a shaky hand and cupped her nape. His grip was weak, but she knew what he was doing. Offering comfort. Comfort she had been denied for so long.

Tears suddenly burned her eyes.

Dangerous. Too dangerous. She couldn't allow this. Couldn't rely on him like this. Not for anything, even something as simple and wonderful as comfort. What would happen the next time she needed consoling and he wasn't nearby or didn't want to offer it? She would need it, wouldn't know how to cope without it.

She straightened, and he was too weak to follow her movement. His arm thudded back on the mattress.

You are hard. Uncaring. "It's treacherous here in Titania," she said coldly. "You jailed many of these Titans, and they'll be all too happy to kick you while you're down."

"Care. I do."

He might not, but she foolishly did. "We should return to Earth."

"Sure, sure."

Sweet, resisting man. "Gideon—"

"What if Zeus wasn't the one to take my memories of you and Steel? What if he didn't remove them to keep me from kissing him?"

That...that made sense, she realized. Zeus had been so powerful, he very well could have removed Gideon's memories to prevent the warrior from killing him for Steel's death. Although the gods and goddesses of memory were usually the only ones capable of such a thing. Zeus could have paid one of them to do it, however.

With each new thought, rage sparked inside her. The same rage she'd born in her cell, the same rage she'd carried with her since her escape, but stronger. So much stronger. Zeus might have stolen more than her son. Zeus might have stolen her future.

Why she'd ever been content to let him languish, she didn't know. It was so unlike her. Perhaps someone had screwed with her mind, as well.

"I'll help you reach him," she said with such deadly calm even she was scared. Rivers of blood would flow. Screams would echo into a thousand midnights.

She wanted to go now, this second, to finally act, but morning was fast approaching and she would fall into that undisturbed sleep, unable to care for herself.

In this, she realized she did need Gideon and she would allow herself to use him. Tomorrow... Oh, yes, tomorrow. Vengeance.

"He will suffer," Gideon said on a ragged breath, mirroring her thoughts. Once again, he moaned in pain, but his next words rang out clearly. "I swear it."