by Amy Sumida
Faces turning blue. Bodies writhing through a shift. The satyr's automatically transformed into their strongest shape to fight back death. But even with their thick legs and lean muscles, they didn't have a chance. Cloven hooves struck the floor with desperate thuds as horns slashed at the air, but they were held down by my music and every one of them succumbed to the searing suffocation. Finally, their limbs went limp as their blue lips parted, revealing the blackened interiors of their mouths. I let the song and my magic go and then turned to face the nymphs.
“We're here to free you, but we need you to be quiet and quick. Can you do that?”
“We'll do whatever we have to do to get out of here,” one of the men answered for all of them.
“Good.” I nodded. “Anyone know who has the keys?”
“Not necessary,” Lucifer appeared, startling the nymphs.
“He's with us.” I held up my hands to wave them down.
Lucifer went to the cage and simply pulled on the door until it cracked open. The nymphs gaped at him but didn't hesitate; they hurried out of their cell.
“I'm going to hide you under an illusion,” Declan said as he stepped forward. “Try to be calm and act natural. You're about to be harpies but it's only temporary.”
The nymphs agreed, and Declan cast his illusion over all of us. Suddenly, the room was full of harpies. Even Lucifer had gone with the theme.
“Stay as close together as you can,” I advised the nymphs as we led them downstairs, past a room full of dead satyrs, and out of the building.
Cerberus whistled and called out to the waiting cats, “It's us; let's go.”
The cats roamed ahead to scout our path as we herded the nymphs between us and led them through the loud streets, sudden harpy shrieks making all of us wince. Despite our silent parade and unknown faces, we blended in with the crowd and no one gave us a second look. Vendors called out for us to view their wares but, other than that, we went unheeded. We could have transported them directly from satyr house, but we didn't want to risk being discovered halfway through. Instead, we got them out of the Harpy Stretch and huddled into a quiet alley before we started transporting them to Kyanite.
Darc, Declan, Torin, Slate, and I took the nymphs one by one while Cerberus, Lucifer, Gage, Banning, and the cats stayed behind to guard the ones we'd yet to take. It went quickly, and we had all fifty-six of them safely in Kyanite within fifteen minutes. Yes, fifty-six. The Demos Family was upping its game, trying to make up for recent losses.
“Kasteo and Helene are looking after the nymphs and getting them settled with the others,” I said after making my final trip. “What now?”
“Now, we get out of this fucking bazaar,” Cerberus announced. “We don't want to be here when the satyr shit hits the fan.”
Kosmos meowed and sat down.
“You too, Kos!” Cer growled and pointed down at him. “You and your entire crew is coming with us. One of those cameras might have caught a glimpse of you before you dismantled it.”
Kos gave Cerberus that derisive look that all cats have mastered by the time they leave kittenhood. Then, he and his friends split up and ran off, disappearing into the Bazaar like little furry ninjas. Cer hunched his shoulders and started to go after them.
“Cer.” I grabbed his arm. “They're cats; they'll be fine. They know how to hide and how to get around this place faster than anyone else. If they have to, they can get to safety.”
Cerberus grimaced but gave in. “All right. Well, the rest of us better book it. Kyanite?”
I nodded, and we didn't waste a second arguing about it. We all left the Beneather Bazaar as fast as our charms could take us.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Now that's over, I need to talk to all of you,” Banning declared once we were settled at my dining table with cups of coffee again. “I've had some reports on the Demos Family outside the Bazaar.”
“What's going on?” Cer asked immediately.
“The funeral won't be in Istanbul, it will be at the Demos manor in Italy,” Banning announced.
“Do you know when it will be?” Lucifer asked.
“Three weeks from now; Saturday at one o'clock in the afternoon.”
“Damn, your people are good!” Cerberus exclaimed. “I had nothing on the funeral.”
“The Host hasn't found anything either,” Lucifer added with an irritated frown.
“We're known for our connections,” Banning reminded them. “But that's not all we've heard. The Demos Family sent Peter to clean up the mess, but he's not taking over. The family has voted and Alexander will be the next Kerata.”
“Alexander?” Cerberus asked. “He's worse than Philip. He runs Italy with an iron fist. Or iron hoof, rather.”
“At least it's not Petra,” I muttered.
“Petra?” Darc lifted a brow at me.
“She's Peter's twin sister and Philip's younger sister,” I explained.
“Peter and Petra?” Slate chuckled.
“They'd never put a woman in charge.” Cerberus flicked his hand to emphasize the unlikelihood. “Petra didn't stand a chance of being Kerata.”
I gave him the look that statement deserved.
“Hey, I'm not being sexist,” Cerberus snarled. “You know as well as I do that Satyrs are the sexist ones. They're so damn chauvinistic that the myths about them portray only males. As far as humans know, there's no such thing as a female satyr.”
“True, but Petra isn't your average female.” I grimaced and when Cerberus gave me a blank look, I went on, “Don't you remember that scandal involving her? The Demos Family ended up sending Petra back to Italy to be watched over by her brothers.”
“Was that the thing with the Jinn guy? When they stole that painting and then set up a janitor to take the fall?”
“No, not the Mona Lisa debacle.” I shook my head; Petra got into more trouble than Cerberus and I combined. “The one where Petra murdered that family of Nagas because their little boy pet her leg when she was in her satyr form and called her a nice puppy. She slaughtered all of them and then skinned the kid and had him made into a handbag.”
“Fuck, that's right. That bitch is psychotic,” Cer whispered in horror. “I must have blocked that shit out of my memory.”
“She's psychotic enough to take control of the Demos Family,” I agreed. “I hope she's at the funeral. Killing her will make the world a safer place.”
“You're not the only one who will be doing the killing this time, El,” Cer said firmly. “This is going to take all of us. The Demos Family is huge.”
“I know. I'm just saying that it will be good to know she's dead.”
“You do realize that even after we kill all of the bosses, there will thousands of their underlings left all over the world,” Banning pointed out. “This will not be a one-shot deal.”
“We take out the main family and then hunt down the hired help,” Gage said. “Either way, getting the bosses first will be a huge accomplishment. Who knows, maybe the minions won't be smart enough to form a new syndicate. Then we won't have to bother with them.”
“It doesn't take a huge amount of brains to be a criminal,” Declan pointed out.
“No, but it takes a fair amount to rule them,” Slate argued. “You need to be cunning, merciless, and have a head for business. Most of the satyr thugs won't have what it takes and even if they do, they won't want to start their new business by coming after us. Gage is right, we may not have to hunt down the entire organization.”
“Will all of you be satisfied with that?” Darc asked, looking around the table. “Would getting the main family be enough?”
“I'd be good with it.” Cer shrugged. “I didn't start this to end all crime, I'm not a naive moron. I just wanted the Nymphs safe.”
I nodded. “I'd be more than happy to end this with the main family but, speaking of the Nymphs, we'll still need to track down the ones who were sold before we became a part of this.”
The rest of the men
nodded in agreement. This wasn't personal enough for us to hunt down every last satyr who worked for the Demos Family. We'd rather focus on finding all of the nymphs who'd been broken and sold into slavery.
“Good; we're decided. We take down the blood relatives and see if that does the trick before we waste time on the small fish,” Cerberus said. “We've got a couple of weeks to plan. I'll see if I can get blueprints for the Demos manor.”
“I already have them along with the event planner's notes on the reception,” Banning said and grinned wide enough to flash fang.
“Damn, Blooder, if you weren't a gheara, I'd offer you a job,” Cer exclaimed.
“Did you bring any of it here?” I asked Banning.
“No, it's all in Kansas.”
“Then maybe we should move this conversation to the Crouching Lion,” Torin suggested.
“You guys go ahead,” I said as I stood. “I'm going to check on the nymphs before I join you.”
“I'll stay with you,” Darc offered.
“All right, the rest of us will meet at Banning's,” Cer announced. “See you in a few, El.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Darc and I walked in on an argument. The lower floor of the tower was full of angry nymphs. I didn't see any of the ones from the first rescued group except for Helene, but she was pressed against the wall as if she wanted no part of the proceedings. In the center of the crowd stood William and Sara, back-to-back, verbally battling the nymphs by themselves.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Darcraxis roared.
Everyone went silent for about five seconds.
“Thank the Jewels!” Sara exclaimed. “You deal with them; I've had enough of this insanity.”
With that, Sara stormed out of the tower, heading to her own as she muttered to herself about crazy nymphs.
I looked at William for an explanation.
“Your guests wish to leave, Your Majesties.” William sniffed disdainfully. “Sara and I were attempting to reason with them.”
“They're not prisoners,” I said immediately. Then I looked around me at the nymphs to add, “You may leave if you wish, but I'd rather you stay here until we're able to deal with the threat to your safety.”
“That's just it, Queen Elaria,” a male nymph said, “our people are in danger. They need to be warned. I understand that the first group you saved is still recovering, but the rest of us are of sound mind and body. We want to go home.”
“You're right; we need to warn your people,” Darc agreed. “But we can send someone to do that without endangering you.”
“That's what I told them,” William muttered. “But will they listen? No.”
“You still don't understand,” another man said with weary irritation. “Other beneathers see us as sex-crazed weaklings, but we do know how to defend ourselves. We are warriors as well as lovers, and our people need us right now. We don't just want to go home to warn them, we want to return to help defend our people and our queen. We want to fight! Some of us have families; wives, husbands, and children. We can't just sit here while they're in danger.”
I looked at Darc, and we exchanged soft smiles. I felt even better about helping the nymphs now that I saw their willingness to defend themselves. The nymph was right, his people are known for their sexuality. Even the other races of Olympus view Nymphs as carefree hedonists. But just because they enjoy sex, it doesn't make them weak. I felt a little guilty for thinking less of them.
“How can we help you?” I asked. “Do you need anything that we can provide? Weapons? Supplies? Armor?”
The nymphs, as a whole, relaxed while William bowed respectfully to us and moved to stand near the wall. I'd made a decision so now my steward would support it. I liked that about William; he went with the flow.
“No, thank you, Your Majesty,” one of the women said. “We have all of that on Olympus. We just need to get home.”
“William, have our soldiers transport those who wish to leave,” Darc ordered. Then he looked back at the nymphs. “Good luck to you all. If you require any further assistance, let us know.”
We left the tower to murmurs of gratitude and soft smiles.
Helene caught up with us on the bridge. “Your Majesties, do you know if Kosmos is okay?”
I stopped and turned slowly to look at her. Helene blushed. Oh, fuck. I had assumed that Kasteo and her were an item, but it had never been said. Had she been with him only because he saved her or had Kas made assumptions as I had? Either way, he was invested in her, and she had to know that.
“Kosmos is fine,” I said evenly. “How's Kas?”
“Oh. Good,” she stammered. “Kas was worried about him. He's in the tower with the other nymphs. I came over here to check on this group and found them fighting. Anyway, thanks. I'll let Kasteo know that his brother is all right.”
“Helene, your relationship with the Terrencal brothers isn't my business unless you hurt one of them. Are you going to hurt one of them?”
She wrung her hands and looked away. Before her gaze left mine, I caught a calculating gleam in her eyes. My chest constricted. Helene was playing with my friends. She needed Kas at first but now that she was healed, she was moving on. That would have been fine—you can't force love nor could I blame her for taking Kasteo's help when she needed it—but it looked as if she was dropping Kas for his brother. That was no okay.
“Don't you dare come between those brothers,” I warned her in a low, careful voice.
“I'm not with Kas,” Helene blurted. “I never was. He saved me, and I'm grateful for that. But he's been acting as if we're a couple ever since he brought me here, and we're not. Do I have to stay away from the brother I am attracted to simply because it would hurt the other's feelings?”
“Yes!” I snarled as I grabbed her wrist. “If you don't want to be with Kasteo, fine, tell him that. But don't go panting after Kosmos next. I will fucking hurt you, do you understand me?”
“If Kosmos wants—”
“I will fucking hurt you!” I screamed in her face.
Nymphs gathered at the tower windows to peer out at us in concern as Helene cringed away from me, my grip on her wrist the only thing keeping her from running.
“Elaria”—Darc laid a hand on my shoulder—“she understands.”
“I don't think she does.” I narrowed my eyes at the nymph. “Those men have been through too much to be split apart by a woman.”
“Then Kosmos will reject me,” Helene whispered timidly but she also lifted her chin. “If he thinks being with me will hurt his brother, he won't be with me. Right?”
“I'd like to hope not, but men can be morons when it comes to women. Do not follow in the steps of your namesake and tear a family apart, Helene. Because if you do, I'll destroy your world next. Those men are like brothers to me. I did all of this because Kasteo asked me to and now you're going to fuck him over? Hell, no, bitch. Not on my watch. You even look at Kosmos the wrong way, and I will obliterate you. Are we clear?”
I released her wrist and shoved it away from me.
“We're clear,” Helene said stiffly. “The first group is stable now; they don't need me anymore. So, I'll be leaving today with the others.”
“You had better explain things to Kasteo first,” I snapped.
“Explain what to me?” Kasteo asked as he stepped out onto the bridge with us.
I narrowed my eyes at Helene before I looked at Kas. “Helene has something she wants to tell you.”
Then I turned and strode away. It was bad enough to know what was coming, I wouldn't stand there and witness it. Kasteo at least deserved to have his heart broken in private. Besides, I needed to get to Kansas.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Darc and I strode down the hallway to Banning's meeting room on the first underground floor beneath the Crouching Lion. I stomped in the room, furious with Helene and also with Darc for giving me shit over Helene. Darc said that I was the last person who should be getting in the middle of some
one else's love life. Yeah, fair point, but reason goes out the window when it comes to family.
How dare that woman accept Kasteo's help and comfort and then turn around and fall for his brother? She should have made it clear from the start that she wasn't interested in Kas. Instead, she led him on—sharing a guest tower with him—while she checked out Kosmos. Damn nymphs.
“Elaria?” Gage asked hesitantly.
I had paused just inside the doorway, staring blankly ahead as I fumed. I blinked and shifted my stare to the center of the room where the men were leaning over a conference table with blueprints between them. They all stared at me in concern.
