by Kaye Draper
Arianna narrowed her eyes at him. They were a deep, pure emerald green, not the muted color of Grey’s own eyes. “I don’t deal with human filth.”
Pontus cleared his throat and she seemed to reconsider. “However.” She tossed her platinum blond hair over her shoulder in an artful maneuver that should have been impossible with her arms and legs bound. “If you manage to find the hidden half of the kleidí, I suppose I will agree to let you challenge me for the other half. Once you have that, you can do what you want with this frigid little island. I can always find better prey elsewhere.”
Grey raised an eyebrow at her haughty tones. She wasn't wearing her necklace today, or he would have just taken it right then and there. “You’ll let me challenge you, huh? How very generous of you.”
He raised his gaze to Pontus. The god shook his head. “I don’t know. You likely can’t beat her in a straight-out fight. Besides, there is nothing to say she’ll keep her word. She’ll probably just attack you the moment you let her go.”
Grey’s gaze returned to his mother. Pontus was probably right, but he just couldn’t help but hope she had more honor than that. Besides, if he couldn’t win against her, then he wasn’t worthy of the men gathered in this room. Someone had to do something to free them all from this prison.
He reached over and untied her wrists. Pontus sighed. Arianna gave him a slow, wicked grin.
“You won’t interfere with my search for the kleidí,” Grey demanded. Arianna nodded, but she continued to grin like a cat with a saucer of milk. Grey grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. “I mean it. You’ve betrayed me twice already. Once when you walked out the door and left me behind. And again when you ripped my life away from me. Do it again and I’ll make sure you regret it.” He nodded his head toward Pontus for emphasis.
Pontus reached around Grey and pulled Arianna to her feet. “Siren,” he said curtly. “You and I have some catching up to do.” He turned to Grey. “And you have a quest to complete and a curse to break.”
Arianna tilted her head as she studied him, her eyes narrowing. “A quest.”
Yeah, that term probably meant something different than what Grey assumed. But at the moment he was all out of fucks to give. Grey stared into Pontus’s churning sea-colored eyes. “I do. Thanks for keeping her occupied.” If Pontus kept her out of the way, they wouldn't have to worry about any more interference.
Mat stared back and forth between them. “If you’re badass enough to keep her here and not be affected, then why can’t you just undo whatever it is she’s done?”
Pontus snorted. “I would, lad. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. And only a siren can un-work their magic.”
He strode over to the siren. Stooping, he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and headed for his truck. “I’ll see you kids when you’re done.”
Arianna’s smug smile never faltered.
Chapter 70
Grey sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter, his chin propped in his hands as he watched Pontus, a Greek god, bake cookies and annoy his sons with the ease born of eternities of experience. Grey didn't want to know where he'd stuffed Arianna. Pontus and Cameron argued loudly about last night’s game while Luca used the opportunity to change the radio station from classic rock to something a bit more palatable.
Cameron finally gave up and exited the room. Pontus turned an accusatory glare on Luca. “What happened to Ozzy?”
Feigning innocence, Luca shrugged. “He sobered up?”
Grey snorted and Pontus's stormy blue gaze swiveled to him. “Don’t you have anything better to do than loaf around here taking advantage of my son?”
Grey sobered at his less than gentle reminder. The little respite had been nice while it lasted. “Now that Cameron’s gone, can you please tell me what I’m supposed to actually do? I don’t know the first thing about sirens.” He gestured wildly, from Luca to Pontus in turn. “Or sprites, or sea gods, or quests, or whatever other freakish thing you haven’t told me about. Even if I do find this stupid kleidí, what then? How in the world will I defeat a full-blooded siren in some kind of challenge?”
Pontus raised an eyebrow, but Luca just shrugged and said, “He has a point.”
Luca’s father sighed and turned back to his cookies. “It is not my fault your parent didn’t see fit to educate you about your heritage, and it’s not my responsibility to hold your hand. The whole point of a quest is to prove yourself. If I held your hand the whole way, it would defeat the purpose and rob both of you of your triumph.”
Luca opened his mouth to defend Grey, but Grey beat him to it. He didn’t need defending. “Because Cameron is so up to date on his heritage. And who the fuck cares if we complete some mythical quest. I just want the island safe.”
The ancient blue glare was once more direct at Grey. “Cameron’s ignorance is by his own choice. And you’d better buckle down and quest, lad. Believe me, you want the reward.”
Grey raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with his logic. “What reward?”
Luca rolled his eyes. “The favor of the gods.”
Grey snorted. “Yeah, don’t fucking care.” Then he arched an eyebrow at Pontus. “So, you a fan of barren arctic islands?”
Grey thought he saw the hint of a smile. “Fine. I’ll give you a hint. You could start by talking to the siren’s pod. They’re the royalty of your kind. They might be willing to help you just to spite your mother. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up. They’re not exactly a warm and giving lot.”
Luca sighed. “I don’t envy you that trip.”
Grey met his eyes. “Me? You’re coming too, aren’t you?”
Pontus finally tore his attention away from his baking to point a spatula at his son. “No. Luca, you are absolutely forbidden to step foot in that den of vipers. Understood?”
Luca’s jaw flexed, but he gave a curt nod. Grey glanced between the two of them. “But I’ll be just fine, right? Thanks for the concern, pops.” The sarcasm oozed from Grey's words.
Pontus turned back to his cookies. “Luca can’t step foot in their domain. But you’ll be fine. Probably.”
Luca shook his head. “He doesn’t want me going because the sirens hate Pontus. They swore that they had nothing to do with Arianna's taking Cameron. But they wouldn't hesitate to hurt me just to irritate dad, since his unnatural attachment to his children is so clearly a weakness.”
Grey inhaled and let it out slowly. “Okay, so I go alone.” No way was he going to get Luca hurt. And they weren't having any luck searching on their own. They had to take whatever help they could get, even if that help had questionable motives.
*****
Grey took one last long look out over the rolling sea. It was likely to be the last time he ever saw it from this angle. Drowning seemed like a very scary way to die. He hoped like hell there wasn’t a limit to his ability to hold his breath underwater.
Luca had sent word via water sprite to inform the sirens’ pod that Grey wished to meet with them. It had taken nearly two days before the sirens’ own messenger arrived to bestow their permission upon Grey. He had nearly suffered a heart attack upon finding the horned sea nymph in the bathtub at the townhouse, where they’d been visiting to grab a quick practice, smooth George’s ruffled feathers about their erratic schedule lately, and make sure Ethan and Matheus stayed out of trouble.
A man emerged from the surf. He was garbed head to toe in a light aquamarine outfit made from some sort of flowing material. He stood knee-deep in the water, waiting.
Grey joined him, letting the frigid waves wrap around his legs. He concentrated, and the sensation of cold was gone, replaced by the feeling of surf as warm and gentle as bathwater. Grey wondered idly whether the water still had the same physiological effect on his body when he was imagining it to be warm. The man cleared his throat and looked at him with weary eyes, snapping him out of his random musings.
“Are you supposed to be my guide?” Grey asked, tension makin
g his words clipped.
The man was good-looking, but soft. Non-threatening. He nodded, a meek inclination of the head that immediately made Grey want to slap him. He was a servant of the sirens, a pretty toy who did their bidding and seemed utterly content to have no will of his own. He held out a hand. “If you are ready, sir?”
Grey glanced back at the shore, trying not to let his longing to just turn around and forget this whole mess show on his face. He sighed and took the man’s hand. “Sure, why not?”
The guy raised his eyebrows at Grey and the water rose up in pillar around them. At first, it muffled his ears and blurred his vision, but after a moment Grey could see and hear as clearly as if he was still standing on land. Magic wrapped itself around them and he felt himself pulled out away from shore in a bubble of power. They glided faster than thought, just under the surface of the water. The low gray clouds and slate blue winter sky were a blur above them. Then they dove.
The water formed a swirling cyclone around them and Grey lost track of up or down. The only thing that was clear to him was that it was getting darker and harder to breathe. That’s when he realized he was breathing water. He tried not to panic. They must be headed down, judging by feeling of the water around him. He prayed his half-human lungs could hold up to the pressure of the depths.
Then the swirling stopped, and he found himself on his knees in some sort of entryway. His guide pulled him to his feet with a small smile that hinted at suppressed laughter. “It’s a little disconcerting the first time you travel by sea spout, but you’ll get used to it.”
Grey followed the guide through a door made of some sort of shimmery, semi-resistant fluid and into the dry inner chamber that awaited them.
Grey stood in the center of the room, exposed. He found it hard to believe that they had traveled across the world, the way Pontus and Luca had told him they would. But the evidence was there in front of his eyes. A high, vaulted ceiling stretched upward above him, glittering like glass in the ambient light that shouldn’t have been able to filter down to these depths. The ocean beyond was a dark turquoise and filled with tropical fish and creatures that could never live in the cold waters near his island home. It was hard to believe that he was underwater at all. It seemed like some sort of projection as he watched the sea life above him, his bare feet planted firmly on smooth decorative tile that was cool and hard to the touch.
Pontus had insisted that Grey don traditional garb, and he felt naked wearing nothing but a white, toga-like garment wrapped across his chest and hips. Judging from the glances he felt from the women around him, he was being put on display, like a pricey treat at a gourmet restaurant.
The women were gorgeous, but terrifying. Their long, flowing hair was pale blond or silver, their perfect, flawless skin white or pale gray, like marble. Grey wondered if they ever saw the sun—maybe the skin of the gray ones had once been rich and brown, but now they all looked like they had spent too long in the depths, like those blind fish that got trapped in underground rivers and caves.
Finally, the queen bee took her place on a raised dais at the head of the hall. The others stopped murmuring and looked to her. Her voice was a caress of power. “State your business with us, child.”
Grey took a deep breath. “Etna island has been cursed by one of your kind. I request your assistance in lifting the curse.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “We are not interested in the affairs of mortals.”
How could you have a conversation with someone who was a football field away? Grey strode closer. Apparently, this was some kind of breach of etiquette. The women around him began murmuring again and a prickly sensation crawled over his skin in warning. He didn’t care.
“Humans are not the only ones affected. This curse has upset the balance of nature. The local sprites and sea life are being threatened. They are dying or abandoning their homes. The whole area has been cast into an eternal winter because the balance was upset.”
The queen laughed, her eyes emotionless. “We care not for a few unimportant sprites. They are to us like insects to you humans. Beneath notice.”
Anger simmered beneath the surface and Grey struggled not to shout. “What is it with you monsters?” He stepped a pace closer and the male guards shifted their weapons to point at him. “How can you be so cold? Don’t you care about the suffering of your fellow women? Do you really have no souls?”
There was an audible intake of breath at this. The queen narrowed her eyes at him. “You dare insult us? And in that lowly form?” She could have meant human. But Grey knew better. She meant male.
Grey squared his shoulders and glared back. “I’m not one of your mindless slaves. I’ll say whatever the hell I want!”
She laughed. “You are correct. Though you look like a human male, you are one of us. I will be gracious. We will not interfere with your efforts to stop your parent.”
Grey gaped at her. “That’s it? You won’t help me, but you won’t stop me?”
She nodded regally, as if she was granting him some huge favor. Grey shook his head. Unbelievable. How could an entire race of creatures be so arrogant?
She sighed dramatically and tapped her long, glossy red nails on the arm of her…throne thingy. “I will give you some advice, since you seem so completely lost.” It was said in a patronizing tone, as if she thought Grey was a bumbling toddler. “Somewhere on the island there will be a kleidí—something to anchor the curse.”
Grey waved her words away. “Nothing new. I knew that already”
Her eyes narrowed. “Knowing Arianna’s tastes, it will be something hopelessly mundane. Look for something that has connections to the island and is pretty, but is thought too valuable for the humans to sell.” She took a dramatic breath, as if bestowing a great favor upon him. "To work the curse to break nature's bonds, she had to sunder the kleidí. Put it back together and it should break the curse."
Grey lifted an eyebrow but didn’t comment. There was something else going on here, he could just feel it. But finding out that his mother didn’t get along with the Queen Bee did score Arianna some points in Grey’s book.
“Thank you.” Her information hadn't been very helpful, but at least now he knew what to do with the two pieces once he had them.
“Ah….”
Grey turned back at the fake hesitancy in the woman’s voice. “Of course, in exchange for my generous assistance, you will bring me the kleidí. You'll have no use for it once the curse is lifted.”
Grey snorted. So that was it. No way was this bitch going to give out information out of the goodness of her frosty heart. Not that she had even given him anything new to begin with.
“We’ll see,” Grey said, spinning on a heel. He probably could have figured out that he had to put the two halves of the stone together eventually. No way was he going to promise more than he could deliver. Besides, he didn't think he wanted her in charge of the waters around the island, which was why he suspected she wanted the damned stone. Trading one psychotic bitch for a whole herd of them wouldn’t be an improvement, even if he did manage to bring back vaginas to the island. Grey snorted to himself.
As he left the room, the attendant hurried to catch up. “You have such courage to stand up to them,” he whispered.
Grey glared at him. “They’ve given me nothing but a headache.”
The attendant smiled as if he knew a secret. “Oh but they have. If you manage to get your mother to give you the kleidí, make sure you bring it back here.”
Grey shook his head and reached for the door, but the guy stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I’m serious. This is very important. Bring it here and you’ll be rewarded. Think of it as a bonus, a way into their inner circle. They would accept you with open arms after such a feat. They’d probably bestow a place of honor upon you.”
Grey shook the leach off his arm and opened the door. “Sure. Whatever.” As if he cared about being in the good graces of a bunch of washed-out assholes. The attendant had
prepared another sea spout for Grey. He stepped into the rush of the waves and felt the pull of ancient magic as he was swept back across the world and to familiar shores. This had been a complete waste of time.
His landing this time didn’t end in one of those nice, dry chambers. Grey floundered in the shallows, trying to get his feet under him in the tug of the current. A long hand grasped his arm and hauled him up. He stood there, dripping and spluttering. At Luca’s laugh, he pushed the streaming hair out of his face and pulled a strand of seaweed off his face.
“Oh, gods, I wish I had a camera,” Luca said, still laughing.
Grey slogged out of the water and stood glaring at him, hands on his hips. “What?”
“Oh, wait!” Luca patted his pockets. “I have my phone here somewhere.”
Grey rolled his eyes and turned his back on Luca, heading for the house.
“Grey! Wait,” Luca's deep voice called after him.
Grey turned around and heard the click of the phone’s camera. “I hate you,” he said calmly.
Luca grinned. “You look like a Greek god.”
Grey glanced down at himself. Shit. He’d forgotten all about the damned toga. The thin white fabric was nearly see-through now, and plastered to his torso and hips, not leaving anything to the imagination. “I really hate you.” He turned and tried to hold his head up as he made his way back toward the beach house.
A big, fluffy blue towel descended onto Grey's shoulders and Luca pulled him in close to his side. “How did it go?” His deep voice had lost its teasing tone.
Grey shook his head. “No help there. They are a bunch of arrogant bitches.” Luca snorted and Grey gave him a sideways glare. “If you say, ‘I see where you get it,’ I will kill you.”
Luca made a zipping motion over his wide mouth. Ass.
“They were all in a tizzy over the kleidí,” Grey said tiredly. “They want me to give it to them once we find it. One of the slaves down there thought it was super important.” He rolled his eyes.
Luca frowned. “Well, I have no idea what they would want with it. It’s not as if this island is prime real estate.” He quirked a dark brow at Grey. “But if they want the thing, I’d say that’s reason enough not to give it to them.”
