CHAPTER 6

SAOIRSE.

There was no sight of him. The whole two days had been a fragile illusion of peace, a thin veil over the chaos that clawed at my edges.

For once, his gaze hadn't pinned me down, turning the world into a cage that mirrored his destructive soul, the kind that seeped into your veins and drove you mad.

Midnight struck as I stumbled out of the motel, the rain-slicked pavement gleaming under the sputtering lights. My shoes clicked against the road, I can still feel the exhaustion and adrenaline rattling my bones. 

This hiding game had stretched on too long, a relentless tug-of-war that left me hollow. But none of that mattered. Not the ache in my muscles, not the fog of my breath in the chill air. 

All that consumed me was Aofie, my little brother, trapped in that rundown hospital on the city's fringe, his tiny body tethered to machines that beeped like false promises.

He'd been there for years, fighting a disease the doctors called ‘under control.’ Lies. In this unjust world, the word under control was nothing but a myth. All they do is take and take, milking the desperate to live. 

The warm porridge I'd clutched in my hands was meant to be his comfort, a small act of normalcy in our messed up lives. I walked faster, adrenaline surging through me like fire, drowning out the fatigue. Aofie needed me. He was all I had left, the only light in this brutal city where monsters like Zeus Trojan prowled, devouring the weak without a second thought.

Rounding the corner, my heart lurched into my throat. Three black sprinter vans idled violently in front of the hospital, their tinted windows devouring the moonlight like voids. The kind that appeared in nightmares, spilling shadows that left carnage in their wake.

I recognized those vans. They are his. 

The porridge slipped from my fingers, splattering onto the cracked pavement like blood. Hot liquid seeped into the cracks, mixing with grime, and I bolted inside, my heels clicking frantically against the linoleum floors. 

The air reeked of antiseptic and decay, a nauseating cocktail that clawed at my nostrils. Nurses glanced up from their stations, their eyes widening in alarm, but I ignored them, my pulse thundering in my ears. 

Room 312. Aofie's room. At the end of the hall. I burst through the door, gasping, chest heaving — only to freeze, the world tilting on its axis.

There he was. 

Zeus Trojan. 

He is sitting bluntly on a chair beside the window. However, something was off. No cigarette dangling from his lips, no lazy puffs of smoke curling into the air. Just him, staring at me with those dark eyes, bored yet burning.

“You have exhausted my patience, little fox.”

“W–What are you doing here? Get out.” The words escaped in a whisper, my body rooted, lungs refusing to draw breath. “Leave my brother out of this, Mr. Trojan. Please…”

I couldn't bring myself to say his first name. It tasted like poison on my tongue.

“Trojan?” He arched a brow, lips twisting into a smirk that never touched those cold depths of his eyes. “You know my name. Does saying it stir something in you you're not supposed to feel?”

Does it? I don’t know. I didn't understand and I don't want to know. It didn't make sense to me how just uttering it could make my skin prickle and my pulse race.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “W–What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

The words hit like a punch, stealing my breath. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back. “You're a monster. All of you. All of you are nothing but evil.”

He rose slowly, unfolding like a predator from its den, each movement deliberate. His scent enveloped me first, intoxicating and suffocating. Heat radiated from him, thickening the space between us until I could barely breathe.

“Monsters are protectors, Saoirse. In a world like Castello, you need someone like me. Someone who can shield you from the real evil, from the shadows that devour the weak. Submit, and I'll save you both.”

“Submit?” I scoffed. “To you? To a murderer, a monster? No. I'd rather burn.”

“Then burn with me.”

I didn’t have the time to process when his mouth claimed mine, fierce and demanding. Zeus’s tongue swept in but I fought it, biting his lip again, but he groaned, deepening the kiss, his hands roaming, around my waist.

Fuck.

Pleasure shot through me, sharp and unwanted, making me release a moan in his mouth.

I pushed his chest hard to pull him away. The two of us are catching our breath. Those eyes. Those damn hungry eyes glinting into the night, staring right through me made my whole body shiver. 

“Did you like my gift?”

“What? What gift—”

The memory slammed into me, a tidal wave of horror. The box on my motel doorstep the other morning, left like a sick offering. I'd opened it with shaking hands, expecting…what? Flowers? Something normal? But inside. 

Inside, was a pair of eyes. Real eyes, carved from flesh, veins glistening, blood pooling at the bottom. The stench of blood and flesh had made me gag, bile rising in my throat as I slammed the lid shut and throwing it in the bin. But the image was burned into my mind, the way it throbbed faintly, as if it still held life.

“Did you not like it?” he asked, his tone innocent, almost playful, like we were discussing a bouquet. “Your boyfriend didn't seem to mind when I carved it out of his skull.”

What the fuck. What the fuck is wrong with this man. My brows narrowed, fury and horror twisting in my chest. He’s disgustingly disturbing. How could he say something like that? So casually like it was nothing, as if Lorenzo was just a meat on a slab, as if he was a joke.

"W—What the fuck are you saying?"

“Feisty.” A low rumble escaped him, a scoff that echoed through the room. "A little smile would suit you."

“What did you do? What did you do to Lorenzo? You didn't do anything, right?” I asked, almost a whisper. “Right?!”

I knew. We both knew. He wasn't just a man. Zeus Trojan is a walking death. He could pluck souls like petals, twist lives with a flick of his finger. What he was saying wasn't impossible. It was his reality, his game.

He stepped even closer, his breath hot against my ear.

“This is why you don't get to fuck around, Saoirse. Not with me.” He stepped closer, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.

My gaze darted to Aofie, lying still in the bed, machines humming softly. My heart shattered.

“Test me again, and I'll have each part of his body delivered to your doorstep. Piece by piece.”

What have I done? 

Playing hide and seek with Zeus had been a mistake, a deadly game I never should have started. And now, the consequences were staring at me in the face, brutal and unyielding.

“You know where to find me.”

He walked past me. And as the door clicked shut, leaving me alone with Aofie, I sank to the floor, the room spinning, sobs wracking me as I tried to muffle them. 

I’m running out of choices and Zeus? He was ensuring I had nowhere left to run.