Dark Alchemy: House of Cards (The Children Of The Gods #105)

Chapter 1 Mattie

MATTIE

Tarik's hands were cold and unyielding, pinning Mattie against the bar while his friends laughed. She tried to struggle, but it was useless. He was just too strong, and she couldn't move a muscle.

His breath was hot against her neck, his fangs grazing her skin.

Mattie opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

"Don't fight it," he whispered. "You're mine now."

She looked up at his face, but it wasn't Tarik who was looking at her with those cold eyes and cruel smile.

It was Dimitri.

No. This wasn't right. This wasn't real.

Dimitri had saved her. Dimitri was kind and gentle and nothing like the monsters who were the masters of this island.

Wake up, she commanded herself. Wake up, wake up, wake up.

The dream shattered, and as Mattie's eyes flew open, her heart was racing and her skin was slick with sweat despite the cold air blowing from the vent.

For a moment, she wasn't sure where she was.

She thought she was in her room in the hotel staff quarters, the one she was sharing with three other women, but the big warm body pressed against her didn't belong in there.

Dimitri. It was his room, his bed, and she was safe.

"What's wrong?" His voice was thick with sleep. The mattress shifted as he propped himself up on one elbow. "Can't sleep?"

She pressed her hand to her chest, willing her heartbeat to slow. "I had a bad dream."

He was instantly alert. "About what?"

Mattie couldn't tell Dimitri that she'd dreamt about him being her attacker. It was so wrong on so many levels. It would hurt his feelings.

"The attack in the bar. My mind must have been replaying what happened."

Dimitri's arm came around her, pulling her close against his chest. He was so warm, and his heartbeat was so strong and steady beneath her ear.

So human.

Would his heart rate change when he became immortal?

"It's over, and you're safe," he murmured against her hair. "I've got you."

She let herself sink into his embrace and allowed his warmth to chase away the lingering chill of the nightmare.

Her body relaxed, but her mind didn't.

Why had her subconscious done that? Why had it taken Dimitri's face and put it on the monster who had attacked her?

It was such a betrayal, such a wrong thing for her brain to conjure.

Dimitri had risked his life for her. To protect her, he had stabbed an immortal with a syringe full of toxin, knowing it might get him killed.

He was becoming one of them, though, and that must be what had triggered the nightmare.

The venom from Tarik's bite had activated dormant genes Dimitri hadn't known he had, and now his body was transforming, and he would turn into one of them, with enhanced senses and increased strength. In six months or so, he would also have fully functioning fangs and venom glands.

He would be able to kill with them, but he could also use them to provide incomparable pleasure.

Mattie remembered the stories she'd heard from her roommates about the venom trip and the multiple orgasms it triggered, but she was not looking forward to it. She would much rather forgo those so-called pleasures and have Dimitri stay human.

Who needed drug-induced hallucinogenic trips?

They weren't real, and she wasn't a fan of drugs. She was not a fan of immortals either.

Self-entitled pricks one and all.

They had no humility, no compassion, no kindness in their hearts, and she doubted it was the exclusive fault of their military upbringing. They were born that way, or rather, born with the dormant traits that turned them into monsters at puberty, when they transitioned into immortality.

Was that what her nightmare was about?

Was her subconscious afraid that the transformation would change more than Dimitri's body? That the man she was falling for would become cold and cruel like the other immortals on this hellish island?

No. She refused to believe that.

Dimitri was kind. Dimitri was smart. Dimitri was gentle in a way that none of the immortals on this island had ever been with her or even any of her past partners had been. Whatever changes were happening to his body, they wouldn't touch the core of who he was.

He was still the man who had looked at her scars without flinching, who had made her feel beautiful, desired, appreciated, and safe for the first time since the traffickers had taken her.

That man wasn't going to disappear just because his DNA was rewriting itself.

She had to believe that and hold on to that belief like a lifeline, because the alternative was devastation and desolation.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yes." She tilted her head up to kiss his jaw. "Thank you."

He chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. "I did nothing for you to be thankful for."

"I disagree. Having your arms around me is the best antidote to bad dreams." She snuggled closer, letting her eyes drift shut. "Go back to sleep. I'm fine."

She wasn't, not yet, but she was getting there. The nightmare was fading, replaced by the reality of Dimitri's embrace, his heartbeat beneath her ear, and the gentle rise and fall of his breathing.

This was real. This was safe. This was—

An explosion ripped through the quiet morning like a thunderclap, and the building shook.

Mattie jerked upright, heart slamming against her ribs. The sound had been too close for comfort, a deep boom that still vibrated through the walls of the building.

"What was that?" Dimitri threw off the covers, reaching for his clothes. "Is the island under attack?"

Another explosion cut him off. Then a third, each one overlapping the last, creating a rolling wave of aftershocks.

Mattie scrambled out of bed, grabbing for her uniform. Her hands were shaking as she pulled on the blouse and fumbled with the buttons of her trousers. "Is the island being bombed from the air?"

She hadn't heard any planes flying overhead, but then she hadn't been listening for them.

"I don't know." Dimitri pushed his feet into his shoes without bothering with socks. "I'm going to see what's going on."

"I'm coming with you." She fished her shoes from under the bed.

He shook his head. "Stay here. It might be unsafe out there."

"If it's unsafe out there, it's unsafe in here as well." She joined him by the door. "We need to stay together."

He hesitated only for a second, then nodded and took her hand. "Stay by my side."

She rewarded him with a smile. "That's the idea."

They rushed toward the stairs, nearly colliding with Petrov in the corridor. He looked as disheveled as they were, his shirt unbuttoned and showing his hairy belly, the graying hair on his head standing up in wild tufts.

"Did you hear that?" he demanded. "What was it? Where did it come from?"

"We don't know." Dimitri moved past him toward the stairs. "We are going to investigate."

Petrov didn't argue and followed them out.

Outside, the compound was in chaos. In the distance, a plume of dust rose against the lightening sky, marking the location of whatever had been destroyed.

"The mansion," Petrov said, squinting at the dust cloud. "The dust is coming from Navuh's house."

Dimitri frowned. "Another rebellion?"

Petrov shrugged. "Could be. Or it could be an attack from the outside."

Rebellions were violent and unpredictable, and humans could get caught in the crossfire. But if it was an attack, it could be good news for them.

"Maybe we're being rescued," Mattie said, hardly daring to voice the hope. "Maybe someone figured out what's going on here and is attacking the island to free it."

"Who would do that?" Dimitri asked. "No one even knows this place exists."

"That's impossible. No one can hide in today's world. The immortals can hide what they do here and who they are, but not the very existence of the island. Someone must have gotten curious."

"If it were an attack, there would be more than just explosions," Petrov said.

"There would be fighting. Gunfire. We'd see ships or aircraft.

" He shook his head. "This was something else.

Either sabotage or an accident. And to think that I was glad our lab was moved to the center of the island.

We should have stayed on the other side, where it was safe. "

If they had, she and Dimitri might not have met, and that would have been just tragic.

A squad of guards rushed past them, heading toward the mansion.

"What happened?" Petrov called after them. "What was that explosion?"

One of the guards looked over his shoulder. "Gas leak in the basement. Go back to your quarters and stay there until further notice."

"A gas leak?" Petrov's eyebrows climbed toward his receding hairline. "That's what caused multiple explosions?"

"I said, go back to your quarters." The guard's tone made it clear that the conversation was over. He caught up to his men, leaving the three of them standing in the street.

"Gas leak," Dimitri repeated skeptically. "Since when does a gas leak sound like a series of bombs going off?"

"Since whoever is in charge decides that's the story they want people to believe," Petrov said. "Why would there be gas in that basement? It's not like they need to heat the place. They only need gas for the kitchens."

"Then what really happened?" Mattie asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think we're going to find out standing out here." Petrov looked toward the mansion, where more guards and workers were converging, then back at the laboratory building. "Whatever it was, it's not our concern. The brothel is fine, the lab is fine, and I need a drink."

"You already have a drink." Mattie pointed at the flask sticking out from his pocket.

"It's empty." He started back toward the lab. "Come on. There's nothing we can do out here except get in the way and attract unwanted attention." He started ambling back the way they'd come.

In the lab, Petrov made a beeline for his desk, pulled open a drawer, and produced a fresh bottle of vodka.

"Where do you even get all of this?" Mattie asked. "I know it's not from the hotel."

"I get it delivered." Petrov cracked the seal and poured three generous measures into beakers that were definitely not meant for drinking. "Here. You both look like you could use it."

Mattie accepted the beaker but didn't drink. How could he even think about alcohol this early in the morning, before any of them had their coffee?

Dimitri laughed, the sound jarring given the tense moments they had just experienced. "It's not even six in the morning."

"Time is a construct," Petrov said, raising his beaker in a mock toast. "And we just survived what could have been the end of the world. I believe that calls for a celebration."

Mattie chuckled. "Whatever took place in the mansion hardly amounts to a world-ending event. We don't even know what truly happened."

"Exactly. We survived the unknown, which is even more reason to drink." Petrov downed his vodka in one long swallow and immediately poured himself another. "Or don't drink. More for me."

Dimitri set his beaker on the nearest workstation and reached for Mattie's hand. "I'm going back to sleep. It's too early for this, and there's nothing we can do."

"Suit yourself." Petrov was already refilling his improvised drinking glass for the third time. "I'll be here if you need me. Drinking away my existential dread."

"Try not to drink yourself unconscious before noon."

"No promises."

When they got to Dimitri's room, he closed the door behind them and leaned against it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Mattie sat on the edge of his bed. "My adrenaline was already high after the nightmare, and the explosions just added fuel to that." She smiled. "Perhaps I should have taken Konstantin up on his offer and drunk some vodka."

Dimitri sat beside her, their shoulders touching.

"For what it's worth, I don't think we're in any immediate danger.

Whatever happened, it was at the mansion, not here, and the guards seemed more concerned with containment than with hunting down enemies or rebels.

" He put his arm around her, pulling her close. "Try not to worry."

Easier said than done. "I'm scared, and not just about the explosions. It's everything. You becoming immortal, what does that mean for us, whether we'll ever get off this island…"

"I know." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm scared too. But being scared doesn't change anything. We just have to keep going, one day at a time, and hope that eventually things will get better."

"That might never happen." She turned to look at him. "I'm trying not to be a pessimist, but it's hard given our circumstances."

"True, but nothing fundamental has changed since before the explosions." He kicked his shoes off and pulled her down onto the bed, settling her against his chest. "Let's go to sleep."

Mattie closed her eyes and let herself relax into his embrace, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep. The nightmare still lurked at the edges of her consciousness, waiting to hijack her mind, but she pushed it aside.

Dimitri would never be like Tarik. Whatever changes were happening to his body, what really mattered would remain the same. Immortal or human, he would always be the wonderful man she was falling in love with.