Gods & Monsters

THREE

Aden

    I drive the car with my fingers gripped so tightly on the wheel that my knuckles turn bone white. I try to ignore Ciara's prodding questions that she keeps shouting to Lia in the back seat, despite us being in the same vicinity. My irritation continues to grow by the second, and if I don't get a handle on this, something bad is going to happen--but not to me. I feel the fire boil my insides, the heat growing throughout my limbs, begging for release.

    "How long do you plan to stay here?" Ciara asks, with her voice cheery and bright—everything I am not.

    Please, Gods, give me strength.

    "Oh, just a few more days. Chloe and I are staying at my parent's cabin for the week."

    "Any big plans tomorrow night? We'd love to have you guys over—"

    "Ciara," I growl, shooting her a warning glance. She ignores me entirely, and I have half the mind to set her ablaze in her very spot. One thought and it's all over, but I think of Kieran who wouldn't take too kindly to me setting his sister on fire.

    "Oh, I don't want to intrude."

    Good.

Nothing good will come from inviting Lia into Ciara's home—nothing good is going to come from this interaction at all. I knew I should have stayed far, far away from this woman. But like a Merrow, she pulled me in with her beauty, sang a bewitching song, and drowned me beneath the waves. I could see the way that poor excuse of a man stared at her like she was a meal he wanted to devour. Her irritation was apparent as he sat next to her, and her gaze constantly trickled elsewhere, as if she was somewhere else entirely.

I couldn't help but study her, knowing she was the whole reason we were all in this mess, to begin with. How could a little doe-faced blonde with ice in her eyes cause our world to crumble?

    "No, don't be silly! I need some girlfriends. Aden and my brother are becoming too much, you know? I'm sure you do, being a woman and all. Men can be a bit much at times, especially when they have large egos that inflate their heads. Aden over here, he's got the biggest of them all, I can never get him back to earth, it seems."

"Last warning." I hiss to her. She gives me a look and smiles, the deviance flashing in her eyes. She is most definitely Lugh's daughter.

"Cool it, Aden," Ciara says with a smirk.

"No really, I don't want to be somewhere I'm not...welcome." I clutch the wheel harder, willing The Dradga to give me strength. I peer up into the mirror, capturing her wide eyes in mine. I flick my gaze back to the road, my knuckles tightening, threatening to rip the steering wheel from the dash.

"Well, you are welcome. A friend of mine is more than welcome in my home."

"Where are you staying, Lia?" I growl, completely ignoring Ciara.

"Keep going down this road, take the second right, and follow the gravel path all the way. The cabin is through the woods." She relays the directions in a small, frail voice. Almost as frail as my self-control for the first time in centuries.

I nod, training my eyes on the road. I lift my foot off the gas a little, realizing I'm going well above the speed limit. We drive the rest of the way in the sweet sound of silence, and I'm finally able to control the heat within me enough to not want to burn every soul in a ten-foot radius alive.

"Can we turn down the heat? It's pretty warm in here," Lia says from the back seat. I look up in the mirror to see her face is flushed. Ciara glares at me but I just tighten my jaw, not giving her a glance in return. She reaches forward and turns the cool air on full blast, but it doesn't affect me.