didn't do it."
Kat swallowed at his empty tone. No, she hadn't done it all, but damned if her entire family hadn't
had a hand in it.
It'd been her grandfather Archon she'd seen in bed with Sin's wife. Kat wondered if Apollymi had
known her husband wasn't faithful. If Apollymi did, it explained another reason she hated the Sumerians
so.
The politics of the gods was always complicated. And usually painful, but never as much as it was
in this case.
Bowing her head, she took his hand into hers and stared at the burn and battle scars. His skin was
so dark compared to hers. There was so much strength there. But it was the loneliness he suffered that
hurt her most.
"Strength through adversity." That was what the Chthonian Savitar had once told her when she'd
asked him why some people had to suffer such unbelievable strife. "The strongest steel is forged by the
fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire
gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and
able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight."
It'd seemed so cruel to her as a child. Sometimes it still seemed cruel.
But Sin had withstood it with grace.
Lifting his hand, she kissed the worst of the burn scars on the back of his left wrist.
Sin trembled at the tenderness of Kat's actions. Honestly, he didn't know how to deal with it.
Insults and attacks he could handle.
Gentleness...
That terrified him. "I thought you hated me."
She let out a short laugh that sent a rush of air over his skin. "I do." She looked up with an
openness that seared him. "You know you shouldn't condone Daimons working for you."
"My handful of Daimons haven't wrecked nearly as many lives as your mother and uncle, but I
notice you still love them."
He did have a point. "Only on most days." Kat cleared her throat and moved away from him. "You
were going to train me to fight the gallu."
Even as she said the words, she saw the image of his daughter in her mind. Ishtar had been ripped
open by the demons. Literally torn apart. And by the look on his face, Kat could tell he was having the
same thought.
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I can handle them. I'm born of two gods."
He scoffed at her bravado. "So was Ishtar."
Yeah, but Ishtar wasn't her and didn't have the same genetic makeup. "My father is the harbinger
of death and destruction. My grandmother the Great Destroyer. My mother is the goddess of the hunt. I
think I'll be okay."
"Yeah," he breathed, stepping away from her. "You do have the history of absolute terror and
cruelty in your veins."
She winked at him. "Remember that if you ever come between me and my chocolate bar."
"I'll try." His tone was less than convincing. He didn't think her much of a fighter, but he would
learn. She'd show him exactly what she was made of.
"So how many Daimons do you have in your casino?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Don't study them close enough to worry about it. Damien keeps them
in line. If they eat the wrong tourist, he kills them."
"And you're totally okay with this?"
"I trust Damien more than I trust anyone else."
That made no sense to her whatsoever. Then again, her grandmother controlled an entire army of
Daimons and said nothing of the lives and souls they took in order to stay alive. Of course their leader,
Stryker, was now plotting her death, but that was another issue.
It took Kat a minute to realize why Sin's tolerance bothered her so. It was because they were here
on the same plane as the humans. Stryker and his army had to come to this plane to feed and she'd never
witnessed it. Somehow it seemed more wrong to harbor Daimons right in the heart of humanity.
"I thought you didn't trust anyone," she said.
"I never said I trusted Damien at my back or with my life. Only my money."
"And yet you're trusting me at your back?"
"Not completely. You are to stay by my side
Kat swallowed at his empty tone. No, she hadn't done it all, but damned if her entire family hadn't
had a hand in it.
It'd been her grandfather Archon she'd seen in bed with Sin's wife. Kat wondered if Apollymi had
known her husband wasn't faithful. If Apollymi did, it explained another reason she hated the Sumerians
so.
The politics of the gods was always complicated. And usually painful, but never as much as it was
in this case.
Bowing her head, she took his hand into hers and stared at the burn and battle scars. His skin was
so dark compared to hers. There was so much strength there. But it was the loneliness he suffered that
hurt her most.
"Strength through adversity." That was what the Chthonian Savitar had once told her when she'd
asked him why some people had to suffer such unbelievable strife. "The strongest steel is forged by the
fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire
gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and
able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight."
It'd seemed so cruel to her as a child. Sometimes it still seemed cruel.
But Sin had withstood it with grace.
Lifting his hand, she kissed the worst of the burn scars on the back of his left wrist.
Sin trembled at the tenderness of Kat's actions. Honestly, he didn't know how to deal with it.
Insults and attacks he could handle.
Gentleness...
That terrified him. "I thought you hated me."
She let out a short laugh that sent a rush of air over his skin. "I do." She looked up with an
openness that seared him. "You know you shouldn't condone Daimons working for you."
"My handful of Daimons haven't wrecked nearly as many lives as your mother and uncle, but I
notice you still love them."
He did have a point. "Only on most days." Kat cleared her throat and moved away from him. "You
were going to train me to fight the gallu."
Even as she said the words, she saw the image of his daughter in her mind. Ishtar had been ripped
open by the demons. Literally torn apart. And by the look on his face, Kat could tell he was having the
same thought.
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I can handle them. I'm born of two gods."
He scoffed at her bravado. "So was Ishtar."
Yeah, but Ishtar wasn't her and didn't have the same genetic makeup. "My father is the harbinger
of death and destruction. My grandmother the Great Destroyer. My mother is the goddess of the hunt. I
think I'll be okay."
"Yeah," he breathed, stepping away from her. "You do have the history of absolute terror and
cruelty in your veins."
She winked at him. "Remember that if you ever come between me and my chocolate bar."
"I'll try." His tone was less than convincing. He didn't think her much of a fighter, but he would
learn. She'd show him exactly what she was made of.
"So how many Daimons do you have in your casino?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Don't study them close enough to worry about it. Damien keeps them
in line. If they eat the wrong tourist, he kills them."
"And you're totally okay with this?"
"I trust Damien more than I trust anyone else."
That made no sense to her whatsoever. Then again, her grandmother controlled an entire army of
Daimons and said nothing of the lives and souls they took in order to stay alive. Of course their leader,
Stryker, was now plotting her death, but that was another issue.
It took Kat a minute to realize why Sin's tolerance bothered her so. It was because they were here
on the same plane as the humans. Stryker and his army had to come to this plane to feed and she'd never
witnessed it. Somehow it seemed more wrong to harbor Daimons right in the heart of humanity.
"I thought you didn't trust anyone," she said.
"I never said I trusted Damien at my back or with my life. Only my money."
"And yet you're trusting me at your back?"
"Not completely. You are to stay by my side
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