They had dragged her back up to the castle, with her making it as difficult as possible, until Hades simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, using the chain to bind her hands behind her back so she couldn't retaliate. She snarled, glaring down at Daemon, who had followed behind. He had looked up only once and seen her expression, then kept his eyes locked on Hades' feet.
When they reached Etani's room, he dropped her onto the couch and she sat up. Kai hurried to help her as the God stalked away and vanished into a burst of blue fire.
Kai was shaking slightly as he bent his head to hers and kissed her forehead, neither of them having any idea what they were planning to do to her.
The soft pads of the Goddess sounded in the hall and Etani froze as she came into the room, feeling the tension before anything else.
"What are you doing?" Bast asked, and there was anger in her soft voice.
"You know we have to," Sobek said.
Bast's white eyes turned on Etani, widening at the sight of her bound and helpless. "No, we agreed not to!" she gasped, turning on Sobek as he moved to bar her from the room.
"Bast, my love, you need to go," he said, but she wasn't having any of it. Hissing at him, she swiped, but he caught her wrist and pressed her back from the room.
Desperate, Etani pushed herself off the couch to help, but Daemon forced her back down.
"Bast!" Etani cried.
The feline Goddess looked at her. "I'm sorry Etani, I don't know what to do," she said, her voice breaking.
"Go find Letari; keep her safe. Just keep her from hurting herself!"
They both knew Bast couldn't move against the others; there were simply too many of them. Even as she nodded, the room began to fill as first one man slid into their reality, then another. A woman came in last, and then the blue flames of Hades announced his return.
The first man she knew by sight alone, a towering hulk with green-blue eyes, long white hair and a beard, a trident in one hand. He wore dark blue pants but nothing else. He was Poseidon, God of the seas.
The other man she didn't know, but she could venture a guess. He was bronzed, with blond hair and cold blue eyes, a large hammer strapped to his belt. He too was larger than life and more muscular than most of the Gods.
"Anyone else?" Sobek asked.
Hades shook his head. "Just those three. They all want to talk about it, but when it comes to actually doing the task, no one wants to help."
The two men looked down at Etani with curious glances, and her attention flicked between them before turning on the woman. She was almost ordinary-looking compared to most of the Gods, with straight black hair and dark grey eyes. She was pale, though it looked more sun-starved than anything else.
"Poseidon, Thor, Hel, this is Etani," Sobek said.
Etani's eyes narrowed, the three newcomers exchanging a look before they nodded. At least they were polite.
"No Loki?" the blond giant asked.
Sobek shook his head. "He was very much against us binding her in any way," he said, and she was glad for that, at least.
Shrugging out from under Daemon, Etani stood and inched closer to Kai and Versalis. Both men stuck close to her, though Jaia was standing on Kai's other side, looking furious. It didn't seem the man had any other expression except fury.
"You three had best not make this difficult. We don't want to have to hurt you," Sobek said with genuine concern for them. With all the enormous men in the room and the willowy lethality of Hel, Etani didn't think the three vampires would stand that much of a chance.
"You can't do this to her!" Kai growled.
Etani kept her face straight as she felt fingers at her wrists, surreptitiously picking away at the knot that kept her bound.
"Why do we care about them?" Hel asked in a low, tense voice.
"They are hers," Sobek said, and his eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth at him, wanting a chance to rip the traitor apart.
"She's what everyone is afraid of? She's so little," Hel said.
Etani turned her glare on her. "Just you wait; I'll show you what I can do," she threatened, and Hel's brows lifted.
"Try not to antagonise her any more than you already have. You haven't seen destruction quite like what she is capable of," Daemon growled.
The end of the chain came loose and Etani flexed her fingers. Her hands were free, but the loop around her neck made it hard.
Feeling a gentle pressure on her finger, he crooked her finger up and then bent it forward, and she thought she knew what he wanted. Silently, she bowed her head and stared at the ground, taking in a slow breath as though she were trying to calm herself. She felt the chain sliding against her skin, a dark glee filling her mind as the chain clinked and her magic rushed back into her.
Instantly, the three vampires were diving for cover and she moved, ducking behind the couch and coming up with two swords that had been stored there, her knees skidding on the carpet.
Daemon swore, and Sobek lunged for her. Turning on him, he scrambled back as blood splattered and he staggered. A long gash ran from his right shoulder to left hip.
"She's armed!" Daemon yelled, but Etani's eyes had gone to Versalis as his head popped up.
She threw the sword in her left hand at Hades as he reached for her. The God ducked, and she ran for Versalis as his hand rose and the gem glowed a deep red.
Her fingers closed on it and power flooded into her.
Wings unfurled at her back, knocking someone to the ground as they expanded. Switching her remaining sword to her left hand, her right stretched out to call her scythe to her.
"Go!" Jaia yelled, and the three vampires were gone out the window as she turned on the room of Gods, all frozen at the sight of death given flesh.
"Etani, please, just listen," Sobek reasoned.
Her black eyes turned on him, her dark lips pulling back into a sly smile. "Listen?" she asked in an echoing voice that made him shiver.
They were moving to try to surround her, hoping someone would be able to get her down, but she was already preparing her attack.
Sucking in a breath, Daemon's hands clamped over his ears as her voice rang out and they were screaming with her.
The glass of the balcony doors exploded outwards and Anubis dropped like a stone, blood gushing from his nose as she sang him into a temporary death.
Hades had stepped backwards out of reality and Sobek was clutching his head and howling in agony.
Her voice faded and she spun her scythe, smashing the handle into the skull of a stunned Poseidon, knocking him out cold.
She hadn't expected to kill even a single one of them, merely to stun them while she got out.
Hel was the next to go down, her pale face covered in blood as the handle of the sword struck her temple, but Thor was already getting to his feet, blood covering his face and neck with his eyes flaming in fury.
"Why does everyone try to control me?" she asked him, sounding almost upset by their actions.
"You are a danger to us all," he growled in response.
She frowned, her face sad. "All I wanted was to be left in peace, to be happy with my friends." When had her voice become that of a little girl? She didn't know, but Thor's face softened slightly. Daemon was moving somewhere, but she kept her attention on Thor.
"We cannot risk it," he said.
Her eyes lowered slowly, not able to understand their mistrust. When had she ever shown that she couldn't be trusted? "Did my saving you all not prove you could trust me?"
Lifting her eyes to him, his face was drawn. "I'm sorry, we have to."
His eyes left her and she turned, meeting Daemon's as he stood right at her side. His face showed his pain as he slid something into her waist. A coldness filled her. Looking down, she saw the syringe and then her eyes lifted back to his face.
"You were the one I was supposed to be able to trust," she whispered. His jaw was set, but it was failing to hide his anguish. "You said you loved me."
"I do. You will understand when you wake up."
"You're just like Jaia…" she breathed.
Daemon's face broke, pain spreading over his features as her world turned black and strong arms caught her, her wings exploding into dust as the gem was lifted from her chest and she knew nothing more.