Chapter 16 Summoned
Summoned
Cora
After Damon left, it was quiet. Too quiet. I stared at the door, considering my options.
For a researcher, knowledge meant everything. It had already cost me my freedom, maybe more. Logic told me to stay put, like he’d asked me. Everything else screamed otherwise.
I braced myself and stepped forward. “Come on, Cora. You can do this.”
A part of me expected the door to be sealed shut, but it wasn’t. It opened easily and closed behind me with an ominous, almost silent hiss. My heart hammered against my ribs as I crept down the corridor. The air grew cooler with each step I took, making goosebumps rise across my bare arms.
This deep beneath Blackwood Manor, sound traveled strangely. My careful footsteps echoed off black marble floors despite my attempts at stealth. I paused at each intersection, listening for signs of security personnel or Damon’s return.
“Where the hell am I even going?” I whispered to myself. The maze of underground corridors had no answers for me. The only thing it could give me was a way forward.
My skin still tingled from the moment I’d shared with Damon in the conservatory. The brush of his fingers had triggered something neither of us had been prepared for. And then, there had been his strange words, his acknowledgment of the weight I’d been carrying.
Something fundamental had changed in that moment, before the intruder had interrupted us.
Was it stupid of me, that even after everything, I still craved Damon Blackwood? Maybe. But I was realistic enough to accept my own irrationality.
Besides, this wasn’t just about me. Damon had acted oddly earlier, and no matter how much I reveled in his compliments, a primal voice inside me screamed at the wrongness. “He needs you,” it said, and I couldn’t deny it.
The corridor opened into a wider passage, and beyond into a larger foyer. I’d been here before, the day we’d left for the lab, but now, there was something extra ominous about the place.
Voices drifted from ahead, sharp and heavy with tension. The echoes of their hostility rattled inside me like thunder. But I didn’t let it stop me. I inched closer to the wall, hiding in the shadows that had almost killed me.
Up above, the ceiling soared into darkness, three stories of open space impossibly built underground. Heavy velvet curtains flanked false windows displaying exterior views of the estate. It was a reminder of my time in the Omega Suite, but also an unexpected refuge.
I slipped behind the closest curtain, the fabric cool against my skin. Holding my breath, I waited.
Damon should have found me in moments. The estate itself seemed to speak to him, and he always seemed to know where I was. But for whatever reason, he didn’t notice me at all.
He remained in the center of the hall, shadows coiling around his feet like angry pets. His posture had changed completely from the man who’d brought me food in the conservatory. Gone was any trace of tenderness or curiosity. This Damon radiated pure territorial dominance, primal and dangerous.
Elara flanked him, her posture rigid with a tension that mirrored my own. “This is insane, Damon. Do you really think they’d attack us outright?”
House Hades security personnel lined the walls, their stillness a threat in itself.
Clearly, they all knew about the intruder.
Damon didn’t acknowledge any of them. He didn’t even look at his cousin.
“At this point, nothing would surprise me. But let them come. I can’t wait to introduce them to the Shadow Realm. ”
Elara frowned, almost as serious as she’d been when I’d been dying in front of her. “Damon, we can’t let it get to that. Focus.”
“That’s my line, cousin.” His words cut through the air, sharp enough to make even Elara flinch. “Stop worrying about me and worry about House Zeus.”
My heart fell at the tightness in his voice. Back in the conservatory, I’d felt it coming and sensed the quiet danger lurking underneath the surface. It hadn’t scared me, even if Damon had hurt me before.
But now… I didn’t know what to think.
The massive entrance doors swung open without physical contact. A chill that had nothing to do with Damon’s power rushed through the hall. The unfamiliar scent of rough leather and aged parchment tickled my nostrils.
A lean man with quicksilver hair strode in, his movements too fluid to be human. Each step blurred slightly at the edges, as if he existed partially in another reality. His perfectly tailored gray suit changed color when he moved. The House Hermes insignia gleamed silver at his collar.
Waves of darkness surged forward like a tide, flowing across the marble in aggressive patterns. The temperature in the hall plummeted. Security personnel shifted subtly, hands moving closer to weapons without drawing them.
The messenger seemed completely unimpressed by the display. “Loren Swift of House Hermes greets House Hades,” he said. “I come bringing summons from the Olympian Council.”
I’d never met anyone from House Hermes in my life. They were a Beta House and somehow involved in every single communications element I could think of. But regular humans rarely received the honor of a House Hermes visit.
Gods, I missed being a regular human.
A sealed document appeared in Swift’s hand, its edges glowing with golden symbols. Elara narrowed her eyes at the messenger, visibly suspicious. “Summons. And for that, you needed to break in?”
Swift shrugged, an infuriatingly casual gesture that made a mockery of everyone else’s tension. “House Hermes goes wherever we are needed. It is not breaking in if we do it.”
“Is that a fact?” Damon took a single, deliberate step forward. “Well, you should be a little more careful. Next time you… don’t break in somewhere, you might just get hurt.”
Tendrils of living void trickled over the ground, slithering toward Swift like lazy snakes. He went rigid, but didn’t back down. “Harm me, and you will regret it, Blackwood. I’m not the one who’s in the wrong here, and you know it.”
Damon didn’t answer. As Swift unfurled the document, it expanded to twice its original size as it opened. Light poured from the parchment and the symbols transformed to legible text. Power pulsed from the paper in visible waves, sending prickles across my skin.
“This is a lawful summons that must be acknowledged. The Olympian Council convenes to address the claiming dispute between House Hades and House Zeus regarding Omega Cora Ellis. Refusal to appear constitutes admission of wrongdoing.”
I’d known this was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. “There’s no wrongdoing and no claiming dispute possible,” Damon growled. “Cora is mine.”
“Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Two women stalked into the hall, their words almost louder than Swift's voice.
Their silver-white hair cascaded down their backs in identical warrior braids.
House Artemis insignias adorned their forest-green uniforms, silver bows strapped across their backs.
Their faces might have been beautiful if not for the cold calculation in their eyes.
The last time I’d seen a House Artemis guard had been at the conference where I’d met Damon. Back then, she’d tried to save me, and for a few moments, I’d almost thought she’d manage. Now, I looked at the same crest and felt only dread.
“For Hades’s sake...” Elara hissed. “And now, we have Artemis playing guard dog to the Council’s messenger?”
“House Artemis is always where we need to be.” The taller Artemis guard stepped forward, her silver eyes assessing every potential threat. “We’ve been granted leave from the Council to assist in this operation.”
Wonderful. Not one, but two more Olympian Houses who were visibly against Damon. This just kept getting better and better.
“There’s no operation here for you.” Elara kept her hands steady at her sides, but a black mist gathered at her fingertips. “House Hermes delivered its message. We received it. It’s done.”
“Not quite.” The second Artemis guard sneered. “One of our sisters witnessed the incident at the Geneva pharmaceutical conference. House Hades returns to its old practices, I see.”
“You witnessed nothing,” Damon snapped. “She is my legitimate claim.” The chandeliers flickered, unable to fight the onslaught of Damon’s out-of-control abilities.
“We have records of you taking her away from the conference. Her research team reported her missing within hours.”
The marble beneath Damon’s feet cracked slightly, hairline fractures spreading outward from where he stood. “Your records mean nothing in my territory.”
I suppressed the urge to flinch. Damon’s breathing had grown labored, his pupils dilated despite the bright glow of the summons.
The intensity I’d glimpsed in the conservatory had magnified tenfold, his body language screaming of barely contained violence.
A thin sheen of sweat gleamed on his forehead, and his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He was getting angrier and angrier.
“We need proof of the Omega’s wellbeing.” The first Artemis Alpha straightened her back, ignoring the obvious threat. “Bring her out or we’ll report forced confinement to the Council.”
Elara grabbed Damon’s arm, color draining from her face. “Damon, calm yourself. They’re trying to provoke you.”
But Damon wasn’t listening anymore. His shadows wrapped around the messenger’s ankles, solidifying into physical restraints. The Artemis guards dropped into defensive stances, drawing their silver bows in perfect synchronization. Arrows materialized between their fingers, not yet nocked but ready.
Elara stepped back, her gaze cutting directly to the curtain concealing me. She knew. Her subtle head shake warned me to stay hidden, but the escalating confrontation made that impossible.
The puzzle pieces connected in my mind. Damon’s unusual intensity in the conservatory, the way his body had reacted when our skin met, this disproportionate aggression now. There was only one explanation, and I cursed my own stupidity for not seeing it sooner.
Damon was going into rut. I’d been so busy with my research I’d missed warning signs any Omega knew how to identify.
My heart pounded against my ribs, each beat driving my decision.
I had mere seconds to decide. Remain hidden and watch this explode into violence, or reveal myself and become part of whatever political game they were playing.
The curtain felt suddenly constraining, the velvet too heavy, too warm against my skin.
It wasn’t really a choice, at all.
Steadier than I’d expected, I left my hiding place. “I am Cora Ellis. I understand the Council wants to see me.”
The room froze, all eyes turning toward me. The silence pressed against my ears, absolute and waiting. Shadows retreated from the messengers as if burned, zeroing in on me instead.
Damon whirled toward me, and a growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating through my bones. He positioned himself between me and the intruders, shielding me with his own body.
But nothing Damon did could really hide me from the eyes of House Artemis. The guards assessed us with predatory precision, cataloguing every detail. They searched for signs of abuse, confinement, or distress, their gaze lingering on the unhealed mark at my throat.
“Are you here against your will?” the taller guard asked, stepping forward. Her hand had moved from her bow, the immediate threat of violence receding with my appearance.
“I’m here by choice.” The lie came easily. Not the truth, but not entirely false either. The complexity of my captivity couldn’t be explained to these strangers. My relationship with Damon existed in shades of gray that Olympian law had no framework to address.
“Are you certain about that answer?” the guard insisted, studying my face.
“I’m certain.”
Damon’s body radiated a heat unlike anything I’d felt from him before. His scent had changed, growing heavier, more demanding, filling my lungs with each breath. If I didn’t sway, it was purely because I knew what a display of weakness would mean.
“Both of you need to appear before the Council at dawn tomorrow.” Swift extended the glowing document toward me, careful to maintain distance from Damon. The parchment pulsed brighter as it neared me, responding to my presence.
“She stays with me.” Damon snarled, the message meant not just for the Olympian Council, but for anyone who might try to separate us.
“Damon,” I said quietly, touching his arm. “It’s okay.”
It really wasn’t, but I had to pretend. Brushing past Damon, I reached for the summons. The document hummed with power, ancient and binding.
The moment I touched the glowing seal, a tingling sensation shot up my arm. The parchment flashed, changing from neutral gold to blue. Its overwhelming weight settled in my hands, heavier than mere paper had any right to be.
“Your acceptance has been recorded,” Swift announced. “Dawn tomorrow. Missing the summons means automatic judgment against you.”
He backed toward the door, never turning his back to us. His quicksilver hair caught the light, creating strange patterns across the walls. “The Council chamber will be prepared for your arrival.”
“We’ll be there.” It was a promise that meant nothing. The binding nature of the document left no room for refusal, no loophole to exploit.
“We’ve noted everything we’ve seen here today.” The Artemis guard stepped backward toward the door. Her warning clear, their testimony already prepared.
The moment they disappeared, Damon’s control slipped further. His breathing grew ragged, his body rigid with tension. The darkness around us pulsed with each labored breath he took, expanding and contracting like the beating of some great heart.
“This is trouble,” Elara said, her voice echoing too loudly in the vast entrance hall. “Alexander knew exactly when to schedule this.”
The summons document burned against my palm. Damon’s gaze locked on mine, his eyes darker than I’d ever seen them. He leaned heavily against a marble column, shaking. And in that moment I understood exactly what Alexander had planned.
By tomorrow, Damon would be in full rut, stripped of control before the entire Council. My strongest ally wouldn’t be able to protect me. It had never been my vulnerability Alexander had sought, but Damon’s. And he’d achieved his goal.