Free Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon

late.”
    â€œLiar!”
    â€œIt’s not a lie,” he said calmly as another demon inched closer to him. He swallowed as he remembered his own bitter childhood. He’d been one of triplets. Within an hour of his birth, it’d been foretold that he and his brothers would cause the end of their pantheon. Just like with Acheron.
    The sad thing was, the prophecy had been correct. But it hadn’t been what his father had feared. It’d been the jealousy and hatred of his own family that had ultimately killed them. Their own actions had caused Sin to be the weak link that had allowed Artemis in so that the Greek gods could turn the Sumerians against one another and defeat them.
    His pantheon had fallen only after he’d ceased to be a god, and his surviving brother had gone into hiding.
    And when Sin spoke, his voice was thick with that grief. “My father killed my own brother over a prophecy and he damn near killed me. I would never have allowed another child to suffer for such stupidity. That is not in me.”
    Kat frowned at his words as she saw the pain on her grandmother’s face and heard the sincere emotion in Sin’s voice. He really meant what he said.
    â€œAnd how do I know you’re not lying to me now?” Apollymi demanded.
    â€œBecause I’ve lost my children, too, and I know the ache that lives inside the heart that no amount of solace or alcohol will squelch. I know what it’s like to have the powers of a god and to not be able to hold the one thing that means the most to me. And if you think for one minute that I would ever serve that to another being, even Artemis, who I’d like to torture for eternity, then go ahead and call down your army on me. I would deserve whatever death they give.”
    Kat swallowed as she saw the utter agony in his eyes as he spoke of his children and their loss. This was a man who felt that tragedy to the depth of his soul. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, and it made her heart soften toward him. No one should hurt like that.
    Apollymi stood as still as a statue. Her gaze was haunted and her skin was pale.
    Sin backed the approaching demon up with nothing more than an angry glare before he spoke again. “I consider Acheron one of my very few friends, Apollymi. I would never have seen such a decent man hurt for any reason.”
    Still Apollymi didn’t speak, but she did finally move. She came down from the dais with a regal grace. She moved to stand just before Sin. Without a word, she reached out and touched his bleeding arm and shoulder, which were instantly healed.
    When she finally spoke again, her voice was only a whisper, but it held enough power to be heard plainly by all. “My son has few friends and even fewer who know him for what he is. So long as you protect him, you live. Sumerian or not. But if you prove false in anything you’ve said here today, I will bring a wrath down on you so severe that you will spend eternity trying to dig out your own brains to alleviate the pain of it.”
    He glanced past her to Kat. “Now I know where you get your gift for imagery.”
    Kat stifled a smile. Only Sin and her father would be able to find humor at a moment like this.
    Apollymi ignored Sin’s comment. “Katra.” She spoke without looking at her. “He is your guest in my world. Take him from here and make sure he doesn’t wander into those who would kill him.”
    â€œBut I thought we could eat him,” the little boy Charonte whined.
    Apollymi turned a gentle look to the child. “No, Parriton.”
    Parriton pouted as Kat came forward to take Sin. “Can I just have a little bite of him, akra? ”
    Kat laughed at his eagerness. “Another day, Parriton, I promise.”
    The boy gave an exaggerated sigh before he went back to his steak.
    Kat paused before Sin and held her hand out to him. She half-expected him to refuse, but instead he wrapped his