Goddess (Starcrossed 3)

“Why does he still live? He should have been killed as a baby!” said the third Fate peevishly.

For a moment, Cassandra wrested control of her body away from her tormentors. “No!” she said forcefully. “Go away!”

/> “You are OURS!” all three of the Fates shrieked. “You will not disobey us!”

Cassandra started tearing at herself with her nails, leaving long, bloody welts in her skin. Her face was a mask of fear, but her fingers kept digging. The Fates controlled her hands, but the rest of her was aware of the punishment her possessed hands were inflicting on her. Helen took an involuntary step back in revulsion and realized that everyone else in the room had done the same. Except for Orion.

“Enough!” he commanded, striding forward until he was under Cassandra. “Leave her alone.”

The Fates screamed, and in a rush of strange wind and a flare of purple, green, and blue, they abandoned Cassandra, leaving her to fall out of the air. Orion caught her before she could hit the ground and cradled her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest and started sobbing.

“It’s all right now. Shhh,” he said soothingly. He carried her to the couch and sat down, holding her in his lap. He looked around at everyone in the room accusingly. “You all just stand there and let those hags do that to her?” he asked, his eyes zeroing in on Castor.

“It’s not like that,” Jason said, shaking his head. “We’ve tried everything.”

“Every time we’ve tried to stop it, they just hurt her more,” Lucas said.

Orion looked over at Lucas, and his angry gaze softened. He nodded apologetically, accepting that he may have been too quick to judge.

“So why do they leave when Orion tells them to?” Pallas asked. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Orion. “Why are the Fates so afraid of you?”

“Maybe because I’m not afraid of them,” Orion countered defensively.

Helen tensed herself for a fight and felt Lucas and Hector go on the alert with her—all three of them ready to argue for Orion.

“The Fates fear Orion because they can’t see through him. Something about their sister, a beautiful woman with a veil over her eyes. She covers their eyes when he approaches,” Cassandra said tiredly, ending the fight before it could begin. She drew a hiccupping breath and sat up in Orion’s arms and looked at him. “You’re like a blank wall to them. Or a dead end.” She wiped her hand across her face. “I don’t know exactly what they think. All I get are glimpses here and there. But I do know that whenever you’re part of the equation, they can’t see the answer.”

“Is that why you couldn’t see my future?” Helen asked Cassandra. “When I started meeting Orion in the Underworld and spending a lot of time with him, you said you couldn’t see my future anymore.”

Cassandra tilted her head to the side, considering this. “I suppose that could be it. The Fates won’t tell me anything about Orion. They hate it when I even think of him.”

“Good,” Orion said. “I’ve never liked the Fates.” He smiled down into Cassandra’s face, like he’d just put his finger on something. “So, is this why you’re always following me around the house?”

She smiled back and nodded shyly. “I can relax when you’re around because I know they won’t come.”

Helen glanced at Castor, Lucas, and Hector, who were all sharing troubled looks. Their hearts were filled with confused fogs, like they had no idea how they should feel about what they’d just heard. Helen wished she’d been in the room earlier. She wanted to hear this new, revised Tyrant prophecy, preferably before Orion did.

“And you’re not afraid of me?” Cassandra asked Orion cautiously. He smirked.

“Ever been to Thailand?” he asked. She shook her head slowly, bemused by his out-of-the-blue statement. “Let’s just say I’ve eaten meals that are scarier than you. Bigger than you, too.” Cassandra chuckled, but halfway through, exhaustion caught up with her and she started to yawn. “Yeah, I have that effect on a lot of people,” he said, making her laugh again through her yawn. Orion stood up with Cassandra in his arms. “Okay. I think it’s bedtime for you, Kitty.”

“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” she asked, clutching at his arm.

“Of course.”

On his way out the door, Orion gave Helen a meaningful look. She nodded in response to let him know that she’d fill him in on anything that he missed while he tended to Cassandra. As soon as he was out of the room, several people started talking at once.

“I can’t believe the Fates left like that,” Ariadne breathed to her twin.

“It looked like they were going to kill her this time,” Jason said back.

“It’s worse than we thought,” Pallas said urgently to Castor, silencing all other side conversations. “If Orion stays, we are blind. At least with the Oracle we had an edge over the gods. A small one, but better than nothing.”

“I know,” Castor replied, his face tight with tension.

“He’s a good man. Anyone can see that,” Pallas persisted. “But good or not, he’s too dangerous. He can’t stay with us.”

“No. You can’t send Orion away,” Lucas said in a low voice, his eyes skewering his father. All eyes flew to Lucas, surprised that he of all people would defend Orion. Lucas’s face was impassive. “He saved my life and Helen’s. We’re blood brothers now.”