Apathy's Hero: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Truth's Harem Book 3) Page 6

  Icarus closed his eyes and focused on calming his racing pulse. He needed to slip into a meditative state. He could see the ethereal outline of the device and the cord running through it, from Lexi to someplace unknown.

  He mentally grasped the line. “Please, let me in.” He probed the edges of Lexi’s mind.

  A new sliver of light appeared. He nudged harder, to toe his way in.

  An unseen force slammed into his chest and shoved him back hard enough to steal his breath.

  His eyes tore open, and he gasped. He was back in his room.

  The device on the nightstand hissed and sizzled, then a shower of sparks erupted from it.

  He snapped his fingers, and the glow vanished.

  “That’s not good.” Conner’s statement forced Icarus’ attention to Lexi.

  Her aura danced across her body, like flames licking at her skin. She arched her back and opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

  Icarus grabbed her wrist, trying to force some control into her.

  She landed flat on her back, and her breathing went shallow.

  “Fuck.” He couldn’t risk doing that to her again. “What went wrong?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not playing mad scientist with a goddess anymore. Doctor, maybe.” Conner’s laugh was tight. “This isn’t the right time for that joke, is it?”

  Icarus raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think there’s ever a good time for that joke. Call me possessive.”

  “That’s your right.” Conner raised his hands, palms out. “But unless you have any other ideas...”

  “I was so close. She keeps kicking me out. Or something does.”

  “Did you try asking her permission? Consent, dude.”

  Icarus stared at him in disbelief. “She’s unconscious.”

  “But you’re poking around in her head anyway.”

  “Why did I call you?” Icarus let out a long groan and raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s rhetorical, by the way.”

  “Figured. I need a drink.”

  “Fridge is stocked. Grab me one, too?”

  “Sure.” Conner walked away.

  Icarus studied Lexi. It was a stupid idea, but he didn’t have any others, and at least this was less likely to hurt her than what they’d just tried. He sat on the bed next to her and caressed her cheek. “You have to be around somewhere. I’m having a hard time figuring this without you, my muse.” He spoke softly, searching for the right words. “Wherever you are, I’d like to be there with you. I’m not trying to trespass. If you don’t want me there, that’s okay, but I want to help. I hope you trust me enough to let me. Can I come in?”

  The pink and purple smoothed out, curling around her like water instead of fire, and her lips moved.

  “If you’re talking to me, I can’t hear you.” This was beyond far-fetched. She wasn’t a coma patient.

  But in a way she was.

  He closed his eyes and edged himself toward that line between consciousness and sleep. “If you’re talking to someone else, I’d like to join you,” he said aloud and in his head at the same time.

  The darkness fell away, and he found himself surrounded by tombstones. A light patter of rain drizzled around him, but none of the drops struck him.

  “They’re so sad,” Lexi said.

  She stood a few feet away, wearing the same clothes she had to George’s funeral. The black pantsuit fit her perfectly, as nymph clothing tended to. She was dry, despite the weather.

  He wanted to wrap her in a hug. He settled for moving next to her and grasping her hand. “Who is?”

  She nodded at the group of people gathered around a fresh grave. “Them. They want their son back. So many of them are thinking it. They want to know why Hades forsook them, when he gave others life. Why does Steve Jobs deserve a second chance, and their boy doesn’t?”

  “Hades is dead,” Icarus said.

  Her chuckle was dry. “Is that irony or just really unusual? I’ve never used that word right. I want to help them.”

  “Can you? Is it your place to bring their son back?”

  “No. The dead need to stay dead. They inhabit a different world than the living.”

  It was a wise observation. He was unsure what else to say, so he watched with her. It was too intimate, peering into people’s lives this way. Was this taking place in her head? Was it from her past?

  The graveyard was replaced by a university commons building. Icarus recognized it immediately—this was where Conner taught, and where Esper was enrolled in post-grad studies.

  In fact, she sat at a nearby table, talking to a young man who was about her age.

  They were too far away for Icarus to hear. Esper’s companion looked in Lexi and Icarus’ direction—he might as well have looked through them—then turned back to Esper.

  “She’s so sad.” Sadness flowed from Lexi’s words, so heavy it was tangible.

  This must be now. Esper lost one father a few years ago, but the other passed away recently.

  Somehow Lexi was sliding through the lives of people close to death.

  “I want to help.” Lexi hugged herself. “It’s screaming from them. They need comfort. Relief. What am I supposed to do?”

  The prayers Aphrodite mentioned.

  Icarus clenched his jaw, as her grief encompassed him. Was Lexi projecting, or was this empathy that came with the connection he had to her?

  “You can’t save the world,” Icarus said.

  She frowned and looked at him. “What?”

  “You can only do so much, even as a goddess. You can reach out to, but you have to pick and choose.”

  “That’s not fair. Why do some people deserve my presence more than others?”

  “I’m not saying that’s the case. You’re not here for the living, though. They may call your name as their loved ones pass, but they’re not yours.” Why did he say that? “You can’t stay trapped in their grief forever.”

  “I know. But they should be allowed a little time to mourn.” Lexi frowned. “Déjà vu.”

  Esper turned toward them, and her eyes grew wide. Did she see them?

  Her friend said something, and she shook her head.

  Icarus read the words on her lips. “I thought—”

  “We should go.” He grabbed Lexi’s hand again. Esper had never displayed any gifts from her Titan heritage, but now wasn’t the time to push their luck.

  Lexi shook her head. “I don’t have a lot of control...”

  Their environment changed.

  “Or maybe I do?” Lexi turned in a slow circle.

  They stood in an open field that stretched forever with its tufts of dried grass. It looked like Icarus’ setup outside the labyrinth he’d created, but there were no walls or maze.

  There were also no grieving people.

  A growl filled the air. Icarus and Lexi spun. A chimera stood behind them. Flaming nostrils flared, and a string of threatening grunts echoed from her throat. “You killed my sister.” Her words were in Icarus’ head.

  “Technically, we didn’t,” he corrected her. Actaeon and Cerberus had killed the chimera who attacked at the apartments near Icarus’ place.

  “Your clan did. And you displaced us. I’m sorry to be cliché, but I’d like vengeance,” the chimera said.

  “Take a number.” Lexi still sounded mournful.

  The chimera snarled and charged.

  Icarus’ heart leaped into his throat. A wall appeared between them and the beast.

  “I’ve got this.” Lexi wore a tiny smirk.

  The chimera crashed through the illusion, still running full-tilt, and barreled between them, knocking Icarus away from Lexi.

  “Why didn’t it work?” Lexi looked at him, panic written across her face.

  He’d tell her, if he had any idea.

  The chimera lunged for Lexi.

  Icarus wasn’t a skilled fighter, but he had the strength of a powerful immortal. He sprang forward, arms outstretched, and tackled the
beast. The heat seared his flesh and ate away at his clothes.

  Was it real, or a mental projection?

  It didn’t matter. It hurt like fuck. He gritted his teeth and screamed through the pain, focused on pinning the chimera to the ground.

  “Duck,” Lexi said.

  He did. She sliced the air above his head with a blade, driving for the monster’s throat. The illusion passed through without slowing, and Lexi stumbled with her own momentum.

  “I don’t understand,” she muttered. “It worked. I learned how to do it. I could make them real.” Her panic was growing.

  He didn’t blame her. The chimera shook him aside. When he hit the ground, the impact jarred through him.

  The chimera charged Lexi again. Lexi leaped to the side at the last minute, but the beast caught her ankle in its jaws and snapped.

  Lexi’s scream shattered Icarus’ heart. He had to do something. He had to—

  His eyes flew open, and he was in his room. Lexi’s body lay on the bed, where it had been when he closed his eyes. His heart hammered in his ears.

  Her aura was controlled, though. She wasn’t thrashing or making any noise.

  “That seemed like a good sign,” Conner said. He set a beer on the nightstand. “Consent worked?”

  Icarus didn’t have time for this. His hands and body burned. His real clothes were intact, but when he examine his arms, he saw bright red flesh with emerging blisters. “I have to get back to her. She’s trapped... somewhere, with a chimera.”

  “Fuck.”

  Good call. He could try to return to Lexi the same way, but what would he do when he got there? He still wouldn’t have the skills to fight. “I need a way to bring an ethereal shotgun with me.”

  Which summoned another question—why weren’t Lexi’s illusions tangible in there? Wherever there was.

  And how much longer would she survive if he didn’t figure it out?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Lexi bolted straight up in bed, startling Actaeon.

  He lay next to her, but sleep hadn’t come. There was too much on his mind.

  Her chest heaved, and her eyes were wide.

  “Lexi.” He covered her hand.

  She looked at where he touched her, but it seemed to take a moment before she registered what she saw. She broke the contact and rubbed her bare ankle.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I had a really fucked up dream.” She was breathless. “That the chimera you and Cerberus killed had a sister who wanted revenge.”

  As far as dreams went, that sounded pretty tame. “You said you wanted a quest.” He tried to joke.

  She gave him a withering look. “Why does my ankle hurt?”

  He pulled her hand away. Bite- and burn-marks scarred the flesh. That was bad. “Tell me everything about your dream.”

  “There's not much to tell. I was in this vast nothingness. Well, not quite. It wasn’t a blank slate; it was more like an eternal stretch of barren land. A lot like what you saw outside the labyrinth, but there was no maze.”

  “But you saw it? Your environment, that is.” When they’d been in the labyrinth, Lexi hadn’t seen anything until she connected with Cerberus. It had been so much of an illusion, she’d looked straight past it.

  He flopped back on the bed. There were so many pieces here, and he didn’t know how to assemble them.

  She nodded. “I was there with Icarus, and I was saying something about control. It was so real. He was as tangible as you are. Except my illusions weren’t. I couldn’t make them take shape. She attacked us—the chimera—and I didn’t have any way to fight. I could make knives, but they went right through her. And then she bit me, and I woke up.”

  A teensy-tiny, itty-bitty part of Actaeon’s ego demanded to know why he wasn’t in her dream. He would have protected her. But then it wouldn’t be the same nightmare.

  It was more, though, if she came out of it with bite marks.

  “What are you thinking?” Lexi asked.

  “That in our world, dreams that come with real wounds aren’t dreams.”

  “Morpheus?”

  Actaeon considered this. “Perhaps. Snarling beasts aren’t his MO, but I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

  “No. We’re in New Orleans.” Lexi knit her brows together and shook her head. “Sorry. Weird memory.” She met his gaze. “Do you like corned beef?”

  “Depends on my mood.” He was more concerned about why hers was so mercurial. What was up with these tangents?

  She rubbed her ankle one more time—the marks were fading, but they’d probably leave scars—and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “You ever visit a place called Stateman’s Deli?”

  “Possibly. I don’t keep a list, and a lot of those places blur together. Why?”

  “I don’t know. Curious, I suppose.” She stood. Last night she shed the bustier, trousers, and boots, but kept the loose white top on. Now it hung off one shoulder and fell past her waist. It stopped just below her ass, leaving her long legs on display. She glanced back at him.

  He didn’t try to hide that he’d been staring.

  One corner of her mouth tugged up. “Join me in the shower?”

  “You have indoor plumbing?”

  “Would you want to stay in a place that didn’t?”

  Good point. As far as he was concerned, it was one of the greatest inventions in history. “Are you going to magic me up some questing clothes after?”

  “Are you going to make fun of me for not being period-specific?” Challenge and teasing lined her words.

  “Nope. Not even close.” He was curious to see what she came up with. As long as it was more comfortable than the tattered, blood-soaked clothing he’d discarded before bed, it was fine with him.

  She knelt on the bed and crawled toward him. “You didn’t answer the shower question.”

  They had to get clean anyway. Her top dipped low, giving him a full and stunning view of her unbound breasts. He pushed up to press his mouth to hers and locked a hand at the base of her neck, holding her captive.

  Lexi moaned and leaned into the kiss.

  This was good. Better than good. It was an assurance things weren’t completely fucked up, only mostly. Need raced through him, and he nudged her back as he sat up the rest of the way.

  “Is that a yes?” she murmured against his lips.

  “Yes.” It was easy to tumble into the energy that wrapped around them. He swore it was stronger today than in the past, flowing through and over him, binding them to each other. Every inch of him sprang to life.

  He hopped to his feet and hooked his arms under her legs and behind her back in a single swoop.

  Lexi squealed in delight. Her happiness joined the incredible swirl inside him.

  Actaeon carried her into the bathroom, which was huge. Marble lay beneath their feet. A freestanding tub sat in one corner, and a large shower with glass doors was in another. “I like what you’ve done with the place,” he said.

  “No reason to skimp on the luxury.”

  He set her on her feet, then stripped her top off. She stood in front of him in nothing but her panties. Realization tickled his thoughts. It was the first time he’d seen her mostly naked.

  He dragged his gaze along her smooth skin... The curve where her hips met her waist... Her full breasts. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

  The pink that spread over her skin added to the stunning sight. “You’re biased.”

  “Maybe.” Actaeon brushed his lips over hers and rested a palm on her stomach. “But I’m still right.”

  She dragged her nails up his back, drawing closer and molding her body to his. She jutted out her lower lip. “You know, I had to take care of myself the entire time I was down here alone.”

  “You poor thing.” He nipped her exaggerated pout. “Unless you prefer it that way.”

  “Not so much.”

  He kissed along her jaw to her ear. “No? What if you had an audience?”


  “Then I’m not technically alone, am I?” Lexi stepped out of his grasp and put a meter or so between them. “Is that what you prefer? Watching?” She hooked her thumbs in the elastic of her panties and slid them to the ground.

  The playful teasing danced over his nerve endings, and her scent filled his thoughts. He reached her in a few quick strides. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” She pushed off his boxers, draped an arm around his neck, and fumbled behind her for the shower door handle.

  Actaeon was so hard it hurt. Pressing into Lexi didn’t sate his need. Hands on her hips, he guided her backward into the shower.

  The desire to pin her to the wall and fuck her hard and fast was potent. Nearly overwhelming. He wanted Lexi to enjoy herself first.

  He turned on the water, leaving it at almost-but-not-quite too hot, and let the scorching heat encompass them. He grabbed the bodywash and squeezed out a dollop. “Lilac. How appropriate.”

  “Cerberus says that’s what I smell like.”

  Actaeon dragged his nose up the side of her neck. “You do. And you wear it well.” The perfumed scent was a poor imitation, but combined with her natural scent, it was a perfect complement.

  He glided soapy palms up her torso, to cup her breasts.

  She gasped and pressed into his hands.

  “We have a little time, don’t we?” Actaeon asked as he pinched her nipples and let them slip and twist between his fingers.

  Her reply was a sigh and a moan.

  The sounds enticed and enthralled him. He explored her body, memorizing every inch, and the delicious noises that accompanied each touch.

  “A girl can only take so much teasing.” Lexi covered his hand and pushed it lower.

  He didn’t need to be told twice. He spun her away from him, drawing another squeal. That was rapidly becoming one of his favorite sounds.

  Actaeon pressed his erection into her back and slipped his fingers down her stomach. When he brushed her clit, she gasped and bucked against his touch. He teased and stroked.

  As she neared climax, he pressed her back, prompting her to bend at the waist, but didn’t let up his attentions between her legs.