Inescapable (Eternelles: The Beginning, Book 1) by Zee Monodee, Natalie G. Owens Page B

self-sufficient, and she’d never hear the end of it if she was forced to call onto his help.
    Sera mattered, though, more than the disappointment she would herald in him. Adri took a deep breath.
    “Ares?” she called out.
    As simple as calling out his name, she could summon him. Indeed, he heeded her call, and materialized in the wrecked living room. Standing tall and imposing, black designer jeans sheathing his long legs and a tight T-shirt outlining the rippling definition of his sculpted pecs and rock-hard abs, he could pass for a playboy European football player. People were always amazed at his wholesome yet dark beauty, the pulsing magnetism from him a lure to all women, and gay men, within a range of a mile. On Olympus, everyone cowered under his particular brand of strength and power.
    Everyone but her. As a child, she hadn’t feared approaching him, and this gutsy move had sealed their bond for eternity.
    Still, he didn’t tolerate stupidity, which she’d displayed with her daughter so far, it seemed. She’d hear her lecture before the night was over.
    “What’s the matter, Adrasteia? You really had to pull me from the most rocking party at Château Marmont for this?” He glanced around the room, and whistled softly. “Though you might have a point. What happened?”
    Adri opened her mouth to answer him, but her lower lip trembled, and a sob tore through instead.
    “What is it? Speak!”
    She glanced up at him when he crouched next to her, one hand on Sera’s head. “It happened.”
    “What happened?”
    “The blood lust came today. I couldn’t stop it in time.”
    He ran a hand through his hair. “Tell me you didn’t say that.”
    She bit her lip and shook her head.
    “How?”
    She recounted what she knew, obliterating no detail.
    “Who the hell is this Des fellow? What does he want with you?”
    Outrage filled his words, and she heard the powerful love behind them. Ares might be the god of war feared by millions, but to her, he’d always be the big brother who took her under his wing.
    “He’s one of the good guys,” she stated.
    He snorted. “You’ve got a crush on him.”
    She smacked him on a bulging bicep. “Get out of here!”
    He jumped to his feet. “Sure. You just have to ask—”
    “I didn’t mean get out of this room, you idiot.” She tugged on his trouser leg to keep him in place. “Listen to me. We need to get back to Shadow Bridge, and for that, I require your help.”
    He sighed. “Oh, sure. Now I’m Muscle Man, here to do your bidding.”
    He could be so insufferable when he wanted to. Adri stood and kneed him in the gonads.
    “What you go and do that for?” he howled.
    “It’s not about me, but about her. Don’t you remember what you said—”
    They’d never spoken of that promise....
    Ares drew to his full height of seven feet and frowned. “Of course I remember. I don’t say anything I don’t mean. I gave you my word I’d keep your secret, and help out with her.”
    Adri blinked to ward off the tears. He was the only one who knew of Sera’s origins, because he’d been with her on that fateful night when a flaming bundle had suddenly appeared in her arms inside the stables of her château in the south of France.
    “Then help me now, brother. Take us back to Shadow Bridge.”
    He nodded. “I’ll find a car.”
    He’d taken one step toward the door when a knock resounded. With a lightning-quick move, he reached Sera’s side and scooped her into his arms. After moving into the bedroom, he motioned to Adri from the doorway to attend the door.
    Heart hammering in her chest, she trudged to the suite’s entrance and pulled the panel open. Vampyres or soul stealers would not advertise their presence and knock; they’d barge through or appear out of thin air. So whoever had come calling had to be mortal. Which didn’t mean they couldn’t be dangerous.
    Through the slat of the opened doorway, she eyed the bell boy who stood on the threshold. He held