She huffed. “No argument there, but—”
“I know how to get to your father.”
She froze. “You do?”
He nodded. Gods, he loved when she looked at him like that, like he was the only thing she needed. “Call it ancient intervention. I’ll explain it all later. We need to make tracks before Hades and Zagreus catch wind you were here.”
Fear washed over her features. A fear that heated her skin another degree and amped his urgency. He let go of her waist, grasped her hand, and looked toward Zander. “What will you tell the others?”
Zander shrugged. “I’ll think of something.”
He tightened his fingers around Natasa’s. “Theron will be pissed.”
Zander’s eyes sharpened. “Theron’s wrong on this one. A guardian’s soul mate”—he looked toward Callia—“isn’t something you mess with.”
Kinship reverberated in Titus.
“Soul mate?” Natasa asked, her brow drawn low.
“Theron’s distracted right now,” Callia said. “If you’re leaving, you need to go soon.”
“Hold on.” Natasa pulled her hand from Titus’s and pressed her fingers against her temple. “Everything’s happening so fast. I need to th—”
From her pocket, Callia pulled out the Orb. The circular disk sat in the palm of her hand, the chain hanging between her fingers. Natasa jerked that direction. Froze.
The same buzz Titus had felt before in the presence of the Orb lit off in his head, but now he knew why. “You’re giving this to us?”
“No.” Callia grinned. “Isadora would kill me if I lost the Orb. But there’s no reason you can’t use it while you’re here, right?”
It took only a split second for her thought—and meaning—to reach Titus. And he was suddenly thankful not only for Zander, but for Callia too. He owed them both, big-time. Expectantly, he looked toward Natasa.
“Between your power and the Orb’s,” Callia said to her, “you should be able to open a portal. It’ll save travel time.”
Natasa glanced warily from Callia to Titus, then back to the Orb. Cautiously, she stepped forward, then carefully ran her finger down the edge of the circular metal. “I…I wouldn’t know how.”
“The same way you fried that guard’s armor and threw that fireball at Zagreus’s army,” Titus told her. “Center yourself.”
“You charbroiled Zagreus’s satyrs?” A wide smile cut across Zander’s face. “Sweet.”
Callia nudged the guardian in the ribs. Zander twisted out of her reach and muttered, “What? That’s more than any of us can do, thea. Even Phin.”
“You…” Slowly, Natasa turned to face Titus. “…trust me.”
Surprise echoed in her voice, but there was something in her eyes… A feeling, an emotion he couldn’t quite read. Something that made him wonder what the hell Theron had said to her. “You already know the answer to that question.”
“I know you did, I just…”
Tears filled her eyes. She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him down for a hard, swift kiss.
A happiness Titus had never known washed through him. And his knees nearly buckled from the strength of the emotion.
Across the room, Zander laughed. “Payback is a total bitch. And this is gonna be fucking fun to watch.”
His head felt light as a feather by the time Natasa let him go. She blinked several times and hugged him tight. Dazed, Titus couldn’t stop the smile creeping over his face.
Natasa let go. “Okay.” She faced the Orb in Callia’s hands again. “Let’s do this. Where are we going?”
“Ogygia.”
She glanced over her shoulder with wide eyes. “Calypso’s island?”
He nodded.
“Wow. Okay. You know where that is? Because that’s not exactly on my map of frequently traveled destinations.”
He tapped his temple with his index finger. “Thanks to the Orb, baby, I know a lot of shit I didn’t before. You open the portal, and I’ll take us there.”
Natasa drew in a breath and placed her hand over the metal disk in Callia’s hand. “Here goes nothing.”
* * *
“Stay together. Single file. Don’t push. Everyone will make it through.”
Isadora pressed a hand against her lower back and drew in a breath as colonists filed past her toward the portal Zander had opened. They’d rounded up most of the people they could find and corralled them in the ballroom, the biggest room in the castle. Chandeliers sparkled above. Light pouring from the open portal bounced off intricately carved dark wood beams high overhead, the arched windows looking out at the lake below and the fancy long tables and chairs. But all Isadora could focus on was what was happening outside the castle, beyond the safety of the lake, where Hades and his son Zagreus were either lying in wait or already battling the colony’s soldiers and her Argonauts.
She looked around the busy room, searching for Demetrius. He and Callia had gone to check the other floors for lingering colonists. And dammit, where was Nick? That low ache she’d been dealing with the last few hours flared again, and she pressed harder against the spot, wishing she’d held her tongue and hadn’t said those things to Nick in the tunnels below.
Of all the times for her to get pissy with him. But it wasn’t like she’d known Hades and Zagreus were about to attack, right? She drew in another breath that didn’t completely fill her lungs because the kid was taking up so much space, blew it out, twisted to the right and left, hoping to ease the pain. Demetrius she would deal with later. But Nick had a responsibility to his people. He should be here right now. Where the hell was he?
“My lady.”
The small voice drew Isadora’s attention. She looked down at the cherub face. A girl, about five, with curly dark hair cut short, smiled up at her. The right side of her face—from cheekbone to forehead—was puckered and scarred from what looked like some kind of recent burn.
These colonists had already been through so much. Isadora’s frustration with Nick and Demetrius slid to the wayside. She knelt in front of the girl as best she could with her large belly, bringing them to eye level. “Hi there.”
The girl lifted a doll. Her right arm and hand were also puckered and scarred. “Minnie said to tell you it’s coming soon.”
A woman placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Marissa, now isn’t the time.” Then to Isadora with pink-tinged cheeks, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I tried to tell her no. She doesn’t understand royal etiquette yet.”
“It’s okay.” Isadora glanced toward the girl’s mother. “This isn’t exactly a time for etiquette, either.” She looked back at the girl. And the name and description—and especially the doll—finally clicked. “Marissa… I think you might know my sister, Casey.”
Marissa’s eyes lit up. “Is she here? I haven’t seen her in so long.”
Casey had saved the child from a daemon attack months ago, when the colony had been housed in Oregon. “No, she’s across the portal, in Argolea, where you’re going with your mother. You’ll see her soon.”
The girl clutched her doll and jumped up and down in excitement. “Minnie will be so happy.”
Isadora smiled, then remembered what else Casey had said about the child. She was a soothsayer, like Isadora, and she used her doll as her medium. But whereas Isadora couldn’t see into her own future, this child might be able to.
Suddenly, the girl’s words took on new meaning.
“Marissa,” Isadora said calmly, trying to get the child’s attention once more as people passed. “You said Minnie wanted to tell me it’s coming. What’s coming, honey?”
“It” could be anything. War, death, Hades himself. Isadora’s nerves hummed as a hundred different options raced through her mind.
“It,” Marissa said as if it were common knowledge. “That which will change your life forever.” She pointed to Isadora’s belly. “The future.”
The baby? Oh, good Lord. Of course it was coming soon. Anyone with eyes co
uld see Isadora was as big as a house and would deliver sooner rather than later.
Feeling foolish for getting so worked up, Isadora pushed to her feet with a grunt. So as not to make the child feel unappreciated, she placed a hand on her belly and smiled down at the girl. “You’re right. Soon. But thankfully, not today.”
Marissa smiled. “Soon. Do not be afraid. Everything happens for a reason. Even pain and death.”
Isadora’s heart stuttered. Horrified, the mother hushed the girl and whisked her away.
Pain and death? What did that mean? Those nerves that had settled just moments before came raging back.
Loud footfalls echoed from the hall, but Isadora was too wrapped up in her neurosis to turn and look.
A hand on her shoulder dragged her around. “Isa? Are you okay?”
Isadora forced down the foreboding threatening to overwhelm her. “Fine. I’m fine. Did you find anyone else?”
Callia shifted to the side so the crowd could move past. “No one. It looks like we’ve got everyone.” Her brows drew together. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re pale.”
No, she wasn’t okay. She was freaking the hell out. Pain and death were not things she wanted to contemplate right now, especially with regard to her baby. She looked past her sister and spotted Demetrius heading her way.
Her heart took a hard, slow tumble. His hair was messed, his features set and tense, but his eyes warmed just a touch when they met hers from across the room. And though she wanted nothing more than to remain mad at him, she couldn’t. She needed him. Now more than ever. And, dammit, she understood what he’d been trying to do even if she didn’t agree with it.
That didn’t mean she was going to let him totally off the hook, though.
He stopped in front of her, searching her features, she knew, for a clue as to her mood. And this close, she could feel his heat and smell that musky scent she always associated with him. The babe in her belly kicked out, and she winced.
Concern tightened his features. “Kardia?”
Isadora rubbed at the tender spot where she’d been round-housed then moved her hand to the pressure intensifying against her lower back. “Dumbass?”
Callia chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.
Demetrius scowled. “I see you’re still pissed.”
“Your powers of deduction are stunning.”
He perched his hands on his hips and glared down at her. He was twice her size, but she knew he’d never hurt her. At least not intentionally. “You should go back to Argolea.”
“Telling me what to do again? It didn’t work last time.”
“It never works with you, kardia.”
“And yet you keep pushing.”
“I keep hoping you’ll wise up and listen.”
She narrowed her eyes and stared hard into his. At her side, Callia muttered, “Um, I’m gonna go see if Zander needs any help.”
Callia’s footsteps faded in the distance. The crowd was thinning, only a few dozen colonists waiting to cross into Argolea, but all she could focus on was her mate, the ándras she loved above all else and whom she wanted most in the world to be happy.
“Are you ready to admit I won’t be safer here?” she asked.
“On a good day, you would be. This just doesn’t happen to be a good day.”
Gods, he was stubborn. And though she hated that about him, she also loved it. “I’m not afraid of the Council.”
“You should be. They don’t want you to rule.”
“You didn’t either for quite some time.”
He sighed. “Isadora—”
“Look. The Council is just going to have to get used to the fact I’m not backing down, and I’m sure as hell not going anywhere. Just like you’re going to have to get used to the fact I don’t want Nick. I don’t want anyone but you. And if you keep trying to push me away like you’ve been doing, all it’s going to do is make me dig my heels in deeper. You are mine, and that’s the end of the story. I love you, and I’m not giving you up, no matter how much you piss me off. Got it?”
Ever so slowly, his eyes softened, enough to push aside what was left of her anger. “I don’t know what the hell you see in me.”
“Sometimes I wonder the same thing, and then all I have to do is look at you, and I know. You’re my hero, Demetrius. All mine. I have no reason to live without you.”
“Kardia…” He wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her against him, then leaned down and tipped her face up to kiss her. The tug was gentle because of the baby, but his kiss was filled with need and desperation.
Home.
It was the only thought she had. The only one that mattered. His lips were soft, his body warm and so very muscular. And held tight in his embrace, she didn’t even care that people were looking or that danger lurked outside. When they were together like this, anything…everything was possible.
He eased back, gazed down into her eyes, and brushed a hand against her lower spine, as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him. Which, she knew, she was. “Will you please go back to Argolea now?”
“Not until the battle’s over and I know you’re safe.”
He breathed out a sigh of frustration. “Isadora—”
“Speaking of which.” She grinned because she knew she’d won, then eased out of his arms. “Theron and the others could probably use your help.”
The intense light from the portal dimmed, and Isadora turned toward Zander and Callia, both of whom were heading her way.
“Everyone’s across?” she asked.
“Safe and sound,” Zander answered, rubbing his hands together.
“Kardia, don’t fight with me on this one.”
She didn’t plan to. No way she was leaving him here with Hades right outside. “Callia and I will stay unless it becomes necessary for us to go. In which case, we’ll contact Casey and have her open the portal for us. That decision is nonnegotiable.”
At her back, Demetrius blew out a hard breath.
Callia’s features morphed from amused to concerned. “Isa?”
“What?”
Her gaze shot to the floor where Callia was looking, and the puddle of blood forming between her feet.
Chapter Sixteen
Ogygia was not what Natasa had expected.
Sweat slicked her skin as she stopped in the shade of a palm and lifted the shirt away from her breasts, fanning her overheated flesh. Sunlight beat down from above. Warm earth radiated heat from below.
Of all her luck, to land somewhere sweltering when she was already battling this bloody fever.
“You okay?”
Natasa dropped her shirt, working for indifference when she faced Titus. She didn’t want him worrying about her, not when he’d just risked everything for her. And she was still stressing over that fact. Was he not thinking clearly around her? How would he be reacting to her if she didn’t have this damn element inside? “Fine. You?”
Sweat slicked his skin too, but unlike her, the heat made him look sexy and desirable. Not weak and pathetic. He’d taken off his shirt and tucked it in the back pocket of his pants. A thin sheen coated his rock-solid chest. His wavy hair was tied back, two day’s worth of dark stubble shadowing his strong jaw. Warmth reignited in her belly when she remembered tracing the line of that jaw with her lips…with her tongue…
He stepped in front of her and placed his palm against her forehead. Deep lines formed around his eyes and mouth. Before she could push his hand away and reassure him she was okay, he reached for the hem of her shirt and dragged it up. “You’re too warm. You need to take this off.”
She swatted at his hand. “Titus. No. Someone could see me.”
He chuckled and easily pulled the garment over her head. “Who’s gonna see you other than me? Besides, I like looking at your breasts, ligos Vesuvius.”
She frowned, feeling totally vulnerable in nothing but her bra and jeans, but he was right. The air rushing over her bare skin felt a thousan
d times better than under that shirt.
He knelt in front of her and pulled a dagger from a sheath at his hip. “Don’t move. I don’t want to cut you.”
“Whoa. Wait. What—?”
He grasped a handful of denim at her thigh and pulled the fabric away from her leg. Using the tip of the dagger, he pierced the fabric to create a hole, then set the weapon on the ground, grabbed her pant leg, and ripped it free of her leg.
Okay, that was like the sexiest thing he’d ever done. Wait, no…what he’d done to her in that room at the colony with his mouth…with his body…that was the sexiest, but this was damn close. She didn’t want to admit danger turned her on, but him kneeling in front of her, shredding her pants with a dagger…? Total turn-on.
The fever was seriously baking her brain.
She rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to stay still while he repeated the process with her other pant leg. When he was done, she was left in nothing but boots, cut-off shorts, and her bra, and all but panting.
“This looks better.” He pressed a gentle kiss against the scab on her leg, then rose to his feet. “Cooler?”
Hell, yes. But she frowned for effect. “They’re a little short, don’t you think?”
He glanced down her body and smiled with what she could only define as appreciation. Then he leaned around her side, slid his hand up the back of her bare thigh until he gripped one cheek, and squeezed. “Not too short for me.”
Cool tingles spread along her ass, up her spine. Desire pooled in her belly, tightening her sex. She couldn’t stop herself. She rose up on her toes and pressed her hands against his hard, slick chest to keep from falling over. One touch and she was putty in his hands.
Just fuck me. Right here. That’d cool her down for sure. She still didn’t understand how, but simply touching him was more relief than stripping naked could ever be.
He grinned that devilish, sexy-as-sin smile and grasped her hand, pulling her along behind him. “Come on. Lots more land to check before sundown.”
Disappointment rippled through her body, but she tamped it down and told herself no matter how much she wanted him right now, she wasn’t going to use him like that. The Argonauts used him to read minds, to tell them what others were thinking or feeling. She didn’t want him to ever think she wanted him only for what he could do for her. Because it wasn’t true.
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