Page 53 of Feline Good

Her heart stuttered, the instant pain flaring up, and the hole in her heart that Malak left when he died burning bright red like the end of a cigarette. Fuck, that hurt. But Maya just gritted her teeth, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing how his words affected her. She knew the truth behind them, despite never hearing them aloud.

“Oh, she doesn’t like that. Not at all.” Amir taunted her. Maya refused to meet his twisted gaze as he spoke. “Bet she also wouldn’t like what I’d left out about poor Malak. How he’d spent his last months drinking himself to sleep, wondering where he had gone wrong and failed her parents…”

He continued on, the truth in his words slashing at her like knives. Pushing it away, shoving it from her mind, she blocked it out to the best of her ability. The familiarity of bottling up her emotions, locking them away to protect herself, dredged up memories better left forgotten. Even with cruelness etched into their features, even in sweet August’s, she knew it wasn’t really them. They weren’t themselves and wouldn’t be until she could get that damned amulet back. She could suffer through these fake ass doppelgangers until then; she had to.

Although as Asher opened his big mouth, she wondered if she might have to kill them first.

“Perfect. I mean, what does she have left here anyway?” He stalked over, trailing a fingertip down the side of her face and over her lips, pulling her bottom lip away before releasing it with a soft pop. “This little bar? The one that’s gone to shit since Malak died?”

Gritting her teeth, Maya ignored everything they said from that point forward. She crawled inside the little place in her head she used to visit often when Alex would get violent. Refusing to respond or give them the satisfaction of a reaction, would only make them grow bored, or so she hoped. And then, they would take her to god knew where— to Sekhmet, she supposed, to do their bidding.

Maya would find a way to get her hands on that amulet, and she would make Sekhmet pay for taking her fucking men away.

* * *

Sekhmet woke with a start as she heard male voices… multiple ones. Jolting up into a seated position, she traced the room with her gaze, eyes locking onto four figures in the entertainment room through the open doorway.

She recognized the tall, broad frame of Kyril, but the others were strangers. Quickly, she stood and conjured a long golden evening gown, a blood red sheath peeking out through swathes of glimmering gold.

Running a finger along the golden curlicues of her accessory, she mused that the amulet must have known what she wanted all along, conjuring the Keepers out of her own subconscious desire. However, it was disappointment that welled in her just then, not excitement at the promise of ruling the world anew. She knew somehow that the three men waiting for her in the other room were the Keepers. Else Kyril would not appear so relaxed with them. He would always protect her, if not because of the love between them, then strictly because he knew she could end him if she so chose.

Sekhmet did not foresee that, though. Her heart stuttered every time she gazed at him.

Lovesick fool.

She agreed with her harsh inner self, but alas, there was little to be done about it now. It was far too late to turn back. And to be honest, she did not want to.

Sekhmet remained barefoot, the dress the perfect length for her to glide around in. Even as a goddess, she cared not for the toe pinching, evil contraptions that humans had invented. It was for this reason she kept silent as she padded across the marble floor to the group gathered in the entertainment room.

They all turned to her, and Sekhmet discovered that not only four males waited for her, but also a tiny female.

“You brought the Guardian?” she questioned.

Kyril turned to her and grabbed her hand, tapping the amulet she wore around her neck with fingers that had worked sin into her flesh countless times before. “Their arrival woke me. Did you call for them in your sleep?” His expression turned hopeful, and an urge to please him ran through Sekhmet.

Yes. She, the goddess known for slaughtering those who refused to pay their respects. She could have laughed at the prospect of wanting to please a man, but nonetheless, the urge pressed on her. So, she adopted a personality that had served her well before. Sekhmet was a goddess, and it was about time she started acting like one again. She had become far too comfortable as a lover. It seemed this plan would be moving forward, after all, and she tilted her chin up at Kyril.

“It appears so.” A secret happiness coursed through her when she saw his excitement. As she studied the trio and their little Guardian, she noticed the fiery heat of fury burning in the blonde’s eyes. It brought a smile to Sekhmet’s lips, and she glanced down to where they held her, one with an arm around her waist and one with a tight grip on her wrist.

“Who is whom?” She arched a brow in expectation.

The one with blue eyes answered her from where he stood behind the woman. “I’m Asher, Keeper of the Future.”

With a tight grip on his Guardian’s wrist, the next one claimed himself to be the Keeper of the Present. The one holding her to his side was the Keeper of the Past.

A long, manicured finger rose, pointing to the last. “You are the one I will be requiring services from. Don’t stray too far.” She laughed at the irony, dreaming of ways and places she could travel, once she got herself out of this pocket of time.

“This evening we will go back in time. But first, I want to enjoy my temporary retirement just a little longer.” She pulled Kyril closer, claiming her stake on him in the same way the three Keepers were doing with their woman. Not that she was of much use, but with they way they clung to her, Sekhmet feared they might riot if she killed her now.

“You’re Maya, correct?”

When the woman gave a curt nod, Sekhmet grinned. “Yes. The first female Guardian. I must say you did a terrible job of guarding them. Way to give us gals a bad name, hmm?” Pausing for a moment, she chuckled as an idea came to her. “However, I do have one job you should do quite well.”

Sekhmet didn’t even give her a chance to respond when she snapped her fingers. The blonde woman disappeared and reappeared a split second later behind the bar against the far wall. Her cry of frustration was just the beginning to what Sekhmet hoped would be a very entertaining evening.

The Keepers glared at the spot she had stood, before narrowing their eyes in Sekhmet’s direction. Bringing both hands up, she pushed them towards the floor in a calm down motion. “Now, now, don’t pout. She’s just right over there, and that is where she will remain the whole night. There’s no rush on this plan.”

No, Sekhmet decided she would enjoy this last night with no responsibilities.