Chapter 6

"You really have a habit of not watching where you are going," Ares said, looking down at her with a frown. Zia inhaled his aftershave that smelled of rosewood and bergamot and something that screamed sex in flashing lights.

"Sorry! I got a bit lost looking for an empty bathroom," she stammered. "I"m glad to see that you came."

"Are you?" Ares didn"t sound like he believed her for a second.

"I am actually. Everyone here already knows each other, so it"s so nice to see a friendly face," she replied.

Ares"s face was decidedly not friendly. Still, he offered a small smile. "I wanted to check to see that you were all right after your dizzy spell at the auction." They both knew it was a panic attack, but Zia was thankful that he was playing along with her excuse.

"I am fine. I mean, this isn"t really my kind of crowd, but I"m trying to get to know my cousin better."

A group of rowdy guys came up the stairs and Ares frowned. "Would you like to get some air? I can"t hear myself think in here."

"That would be really nice." Zia didn"t even have to lie.

Zia tried not to laugh at the way Ares"s dark figure amongst the colorful crowd made him look like death had come to the feast. Everyone seemed to look at him and get out of his way. It was incredible to watch even the most wasted person recognize him and bolt in the other direction.

They went out of one of the many French doors and into the cool evening. The pool was on the other side of the villa, and this side was blissfully quiet.

"My ears are actually ringing," she said and wriggled a finger in one.

"I"d be more worried about what"s in the drinks," Ares replied.

"I haven"t partaken since I got here. As I said, this isn"t my crowd, and I don"t drink around people I"m uncomfortable with," Zia admitted. They walked between well-tended gardens filled with tropical plants and flowers. "I think this is the nicest part of this whole place. Ah, that"s not to say… It"s a lovely villa. It"s just..." She struggled to find the right words.

"Like a bad Roman toga party in Vegas?" Ares suggested, making her laugh out loud. He managed a small grin that made her insides heat.

Oh, dear gods, she hated that she found him so damn attractive. He was the dark horse in the family, and she couldn"t help but like that about him. She was the dark horse too. She rubbed her arms at the thought.

Mistaking her for being cold, Ares slipped off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

"I... Thank you," she said, genuinely touched.

"You know this world isn"t for you, Lucrezia," he replied and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "You don"t belong in this darkness."

Truth. Her magic tried to warn her that something was wrong, but she was so warm and comfortable. Ares took a step closer to her, and her heart hammered hard against her ribs.

He brushed his fingertips over her face, and the illusion wrapped around her. "You miss Crete and want to go home straight away. You want to leave and never look back at this city that eats girls like you and spits out their beautiful bones. Go on, you have money in your account. Get on a plane tonight and go home." Ares"s voice was commanding, dark velvet brushing over her. "It was nice to have met you."

Truth. Zia felt it, and then her feet were carrying her out of the gardens on their own accord. She slipped past the security guards at the gates and walked out into the streets. She needed to get to the airport, walk all the way if she had to... No. Zia tried to force her feet to stop.

Her magic flared up, fighting against the glamor that was driving her. It was like she was wrapped in spider webs. She clawed through the magic and caught a flash of Ares"s dark head, bent over old books of magic. Zia"s feet stopped walking, and she clutched at her head and ground her teeth together.

NO. Get off me! Zia mentally tore away another layer of magic and got another memory. A little boy with black hair and big green eyes. There was blood over his hands and up his too thin arms. He crouched down by a toy box and began to arrange the small cars by colors.

Get out of my head, Zia"s magic burned through her, and the remaining threads of the illusion snapped.

Zia took some deep breaths and waited for her head to clear.

Ares Volso had used magic on her. That motherfucker wasn"t meant to have magic! It sure as shit hadn"t been in his file, which meant Corven had no idea. The fuck.

Zia wanted to toss his expensive suit jacket into traffic. She went through the pockets and found a packet of mints and a black card, identical to her own.

That bastard had tried to force her to leave Inferno and would have succeeded if his illusion work had been any stronger. A small part of her was hurt too. She had been starting to feel like Ares might have been a bit better than his siblings, but she had been wrong. He was just as fucking bad. Worse even because he pretended he was better than them.

At least Emilia had been open by attacking her head-on, and even Camille and Erik had tried to use poison. There was something predictable about the others. Ares had pretended to give a shit right before he had covered her in his magic. Zia looked at the key card for his apartment, and her smile turned wicked.

"You thought you could get rid of me so easily? I got bad news for you, dick. I"m about to become your worst fucking nightmare."