He limped toward her, extending his hand. “Enyo, take my hand, take my hearts, and take my future to bond with yours. The grief of losing your sisters will always be with you, but I promise to bear it alongside you, to comfort you when despair seems your only path. Don’t allow this minotaur to steal another breath from you. Instead, breathe with me.”
A dense veil of lashes fell across those lovely pools, her stare lowered onto his hand. He nodded in encouragement, his hearts leaping as she slid her hand toward his.
“No!” Asterion yelped. From his hands, crackling sparks erupted between Demoleon and Enyo, thrusting them apart and smacking him into the ground.
Demoleon groaned and rolled to his side, lifting his head to confront the monster. “Enyo, the sword.” Desperate, he waved for her to hand him the weapon. He would kill this beast and free everyone.
She passed her gaze between him and the minotaur. “I don’t…” Whipping her head, she cried out and sank to her knees. “No, please, don’t hurt them. They can’t be dead.” A whimper escaped her, her body crumpling.
“You did this to her. Remember that, centaur,” Asterion snarled, his hands waving before Enyo as it appeared he removed the vision of her sisters from her mind. “You’ll watch your beloved sink into madness while she lives through the murder of her kind.” He cast a triumphant sneer at Demoleon. “I’ve broken her mind.”
Demoleon struggled for air and raced to her side. Beholding his mate fall into devastation tore a gaping hole inside his chest. The staggering pain, the immense suffering. He’d chosen this for her. She collapsed into his arms, sobs choking her, rendering her unable to breathe.
The fury that had burned deep within him since that dreadful day when the minotaurs had stolen everything from him flamed once more. He refused to allow this fiend to win.
Demoleon rocked Enyo in his arms, cradling her face to his. “Nay, do not succumb, my love, my sweet harpy. Don’t let him win. Your sisters wouldn’t wish this for you. Come back to me, Enyo. Come back and together, we’ll make him pay.”
She thrashed her head against his chest, writhing wildly in his arms. He clutched her, holding on with all that he was. Her mind might be shattered, struggling to piece itself together once more, but one thing was certain.
His love would help her find a way back.
All he had to do was never let go.
Even as he clutched her to his chest, her form faded from his view. “Bloody minotaur!” he roared, charging about the room, knocking into every wall. “Show yourself, cowardly cur.”
A sinister cackling resounded behind him. Demoleon spun, but Asterion blasted a jolting shock at him, sending him flying across the room to smack into the wall. Bones snapped and cracked through the silence.
Groaning, he lifted his head and grimaced at the pangs in his body, in his lame leg. How many of his bones were broken? Too many to count, or to care. He had to kill this beast, even if it meant his death. Now he saw what he presumed was the truth. Enyo lay in a wretched heap upon the floor across the chamber from him, misery evident in her twisted features. He couldn’t break this fantasy, but if he injured the minotaur badly enough, he’d snap her out of the vision.
Asterion might be quite capable of controlling his human mind, yet what about the dragon’s? As a beast, Demoleon’s thoughts were far more fluid. More primal.
More savage. Hence, what he focused on now was…the hunt.
Gritting his teeth, Demoleon shifted into his dragon form and supported his weight on his haunches, not his broken foot. Opening his mouth, he blasted his fire toward Asterion, sending the beast snarling backward. The flames held the minotaur at bay, but weren’t strong enough to vanquish him.
He needed that damn sword and Enyo wouldn’t relinquish it to him. Without it, all he’d do was provoke the beast further.
Bloody hell. Here I go again. He crouched, preparing to launch toward the monster, but Enyo suddenly rose, staggering to stand, and sauntered toward the minotaur, sword in hand. By the gods, she was going to hand it to him.
“Nay, Enyo, don’t do this. There’s another way,” he pleaded, but she glanced at him, resignation in her furrowed brow.
“Forgive me, Demoleon, but I am certain there isn’t.”
Chapter 9
Enyo hated games. Loathed pretending to be less than what she was. As a harpy, she took enormous pride in her fierce nature.
Yet, just for this moment, she sought that look of devastation cutting across Demoleon’s countenance. She required his utter betrayal and loss of hope.
So there could be no doubt in Asterion’s mind that he’d won.
That she’d surrendered.
The grief of losing her sisters welled within her, making it easy to procure the tears streaking down her cheeks. But they also lent her great strength. Asterion might have considered himself clever, but then, he never should have taken away the one thing preventing her from executing him.
Now, she’d have her vengeance.
For my sisters.
“You win. I’m not strong enough to combat you, nor is my mate. The minotaurs are going to rule this island, and I won’t stand in your path. I only beg of you, let us live. Let us live, and the sword is yours.” She lifted the weapon, tilting the handle toward him.
Asterion sniggered in delight, a squeal ringing through the chamber. “Finally, you fathom the greatness of my kin and bow before us, as is right.” His arrogance spanned this entire cavern. He was so caught up in his speech, he didn’t even focus on the sword in her hand.
Now’s my chance.
“Tell me again, mighty minotaur, how you will rule this land.” She fell to her knees before him. A soft howl droned from Demoleon’s direction, but she ignored it.
Asterion stretched out his hands, rumbles thrumming from his chest as he began his great oration. “Once my kin are set free, we’ll vanquish those weaker than us who dared to defy our honor. We’ll slay the abhorrent King Minos who betrayed us in cowardice. We’ll—”
Enyo shrieked, her body glowing with the force of her cry. While Asterion cringed, she shot into the air, flapping her wings, and leapt over Asterion’s head, stabbing him through the back, straight through his chest—and his heart. She landed behind him, the hilt in her hands, the blade piercing through the other side of him. “Sounds like a wonderful plan. Too bad you’ll never see it fulfilled.”
The sword sizzled in her hands, jolts sparking off it. She screeched and leapt back.
Asterion choked and clutched at the blade protruding from his chest, gasps of air spurting from his lips while blood dribbled down the corners of his mouth.
Clawing at the sword, he collapsed to his knees. Flares of bright light erupted from the blade, glowing cracks illuminating outward from the wound, across the minotaur’s deep red flesh.
Those cracks splintered through him, drawing thousands of haphazard lines across his body, until a thunderous burst shattered the air and ruptured his body into millions of tiny shards. The blade clanked onto the stone ground and the minotaur’s ashes puffed into a cloud of dust around it.
He was gone.
She swallowed hard at the sight, her heart ramming wildly within her chest.
“Enyo?” Demoleon rasped, crawling toward her as he transformed into a man. “Do you know what you’ve just done?” Squinting, he perused her, as if afraid she remained beneath Asterion’s spell.
“Oh, yes. I know.” She wrenched off first one, then the other leather strip. They came off with ease, no resistance or pain.
She was finally free.
Enyo glowered at the pile of ash on the floor and plucked the blade, its weight calming in her hand. “I just started a war.”
* * *
Demoleon gawked at the fiery warrior before him and he could not have been more in love. Enyo was ferocious, relentless, and strong beyond most people’s abilities. She’d vanquished the minotaur. Despite her pain and grief, she’d overcome her enemy. Stinging spread across his upp
er left arm. The bonding mark, finally free to reveal itself. He grinned, eager to perform the ceremony and show it off in full display.
Her words, though, sank heavily inside him. She was right. They’d murdered one of the minotaurs and his kin would soon seek revenge.
“We must leave.” He struggled to his feet, wincing at the lameness in his leg, and hobbled to her side. “Strinklia, we can’t stay here.”
She slanted her scrutiny to him and sheathed the sword across her back. “You’re right, but I can’t go back to my cave, either.” A shudder quivered through her.
He wrapped his arms about her and enclosed her tightly against his chest. “You never have to. Come home with me.”
She might not have feared the minotaur, but she shivered at his offer. “Your family…”
“Are your family, too. We’ll tell them the truth and they won’t hold the past against you. You’re my mate, Enyo. Nothing could sever my devotion to you.”
“Your devotion?” She arched her brows at him.
“Aye. Come home with me and I will pledge myself to you. Just promise me you’ll put something on first.” He cast her a teasing wink.
She dipped her head without answering, and he grimaced as though he’d spoken the wrong words.
“Very well.” She shrugged. “I’ll come with you.”
The hairs on the back of his neck pricked. They remained in Asterion’s lair. “Good, let’s get the bloody hell out of this place.”
Limping, he shuffled through the tunnels, Enyo following behind him. He might not be the one wielding the sword of Aegeus, but it was in damned capable hands. His family would see that.
He’d make them.
Once outside, he shifted into his dragon form. Beside him, Enyo stretched her wings. “Follow me, harpy.” He winked at her and launched into the sky beside her. Comfort spread through him as they rounded the mountain range and neared his family’s home. Well, temporary home. For the last century, they’d lived inside these caves, making Mount Ida their residence. After they uprooted Minos, they’d return to their family homes. The false King had established nobles in centaur homes, rebuilding what had been destroyed by the fires, but the centaurs would reclaim their lands from the humans. They’d rule once again.
Demoleon would take Enyo as his mate and, after they’d re-established themselves, they’d start a family. Life would be sweet, indeed.
“Wait here a moment.” He left Enyo, perched on a cliff, and swooped to land within the meadow inside Mount Ida. The field teemed with warriors for their cause. Giants. Amazons. Gargareans. Karkinos. Nymphs. So many races had banded together to fight against this great evil. Hastening, he stole inside his sister Cyane’s chambers and borrowed an ivory chiton, then returned to Enyo and transformed into a man. “Don this, if you will.”
She eyed the garment, scrunching her nose, but shrugged into it. The garment draped from one shoulder, leaving plenty of room for her wings and the sword. “Better?”
“Beautiful,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Come, I must speak with Rhoetus. We have to tell him about Asterion.” Demoleon offered his arm to Enyo, and she slid her hand inside the crook of his elbow. Together, they entered the meadow. Silence greeted them and dozens of stares fell on them as they marched through the cavern. “Where is Rhoetus?”
His brother emerged from one of the tunnels. “Here, Demoleon. You’ve returned.” He swept his mismatched gaze across Enyo. “With her, I see.”
“If you mean, with my mate, then aye.” Demoleon stood firm. There would be no argument over this, no hesitation in accepting Enyo as one of theirs. “May I introduce you to Enyo of the harpies.” She trained her stare on his brother. He quirked his lips in pride. She wouldn’t allow them to intimidate her.
Rhoetus cocked his head, whistling low, but approached, extending his hand. “A pleasure, Enyo. I’ve been very curious to meet you.”
“I must say the same about you.” She slipped her hand against his, giving his a firm shake. Then the pair stepped apart, assessing each other.
Demoleon crossed his arms and grunted in determination. In time, even sworn enemies might become the best of friends.
* * *
Enyo refused to let Rhoetus view weakness within her, so she held a steady gaze. Inside, she’d never felt like more of an outsider, the last person who belonged here.
These people blamed her kind for their pain and grief, and they weren’t wrong. If she weren’t Demoleon’s mate, would he feel exactly the same as them? Would he be so willing to accept her? Even now, he promised devotion and loyalty, not love. Perhaps there were some wounds the heart couldn’t heal.
The male’s blue and green eyes narrowed a fraction, and then he blinked, nodding in approval. “I look forward to speaking with you on a great many topics.”
Namely, the sins of her sisters.
“As do I.” She tensed, her wings tingling. Others approached. Many, many others. They surrounded her, blocking all paths of escape. She spun around, assessing them. Did they mean to attack her? To make her their prisoner? She’d spent enough time as a captive to last for her entire existence. Enyo clenched her fists, but Demoleon closed his hand over hers. “Easy, Enyo. They won’t harm you.”
He didn’t block their view with his massive body, or shelter her within his strong embrace. No, he simply stood strong at her side, an equal, a partner.
She beamed at him in gratitude. He knew what she was capable of and he respected her abilities.
“Everyone, this is my mate, Enyo. You may have heard tales that she is a harpy, our sworn enemy.” A hush fell over the murmuring crowd. “You heard right. She is a harpy. What you don’t know is the truth. The truth about how the minotaurs manipulated her people. How they abused the minds of the harpies, coercing them to commit those horrific acts which decimated our loved ones. If you seek retribution, an enemy to blame, an opponent to slay, it is not Enyo. If any of you attempt any harm against her, you will face her wrath. And mine. Yet if you set aside your prejudices, your hatred, and are willing to view the verity of events, you’ll learn one crucial fact. Enyo is our greatest ally. She alone bears the sword of Aegeus, the one weapon capable of destroying a minotaur. Already, she has wielded it against them, vanquishing the monster who held her prisoner for a century. I witnessed this with mine own eyes.” He whispered to her, “Show them the sword, Strinklia.”
She reached behind her and brandished the weapon before the crowd, its shining blade gleaming in the cavern. “I pledge myself and my sword to your cause. Accept me into your army, and I will vow to destroy every minotaur I come across.”
Silence greeted her. Many gaped at the sword. Some frowned at her. Others scowled at Demoleon.
She well understood their reluctance. Because despite everything Demoleon claimed, she was still but one thing in their eyes.
Enemy.
* * *
“You don’t bear any bonding mark,” one centaur finally sneered, breaking the silence.
Demoleon scraped a hand across the back of his neck, flushing at the obvious point. “Ah, well, we haven’t had the chance to complete the ceremony.”
“How do we know that any of this is truth?” Another centaur stomped his hoof. “And not a trick of the mind the minotaurs are engaging us in while they creep through our lands and set about to our destruction once more?”
They were right to throw such accusations at him. He hardly blamed them for concerns he would have had himself, had he switched places with them.
“I suggest we lock her up and torture her to ensure the minotaurs aren’t scheming anything,” one of the giants offered.
Oh, bloody hell, nay. He growled low and rushed in front of her. “You’ll do no such thing. Enyo is my mate and you will show her the respect owed one. Or you’ll find yourself locked away.”
A Karkinos male stepped forward. “We’re supposed to accept your word that she won’t slaughter us in our sleep?”
Enyo hissed be
hind Demoleon, but he stood firm. “Aye, you will.” He folded his arms and glared at the crowd. “You’ll accept her as you’ve accepted every centaur mate. Because it is the will of the Fates.”
This wasn’t going well. He’d been generous when he’d expected better of them. In truth, hadn’t he reacted the same? Only with time and learning of the facts had he come to extinguish his hatred. They needed time, too.
“Come, Enyo.” He seized her hand. “This discussion is finished. Go back to your homes.” Steeling his shoulders, he led her through the throng, which parted for them, but none of the people gathered offered them friendly greetings.
He wound through the corridors to his chamber and guided Enyo inside. Argh. He hated this. The pressure to perform the ceremony with her—to prove she was his mate—was ridiculous. Aye, he longed to make love to her, but not like this. Not with a thousand people watching and waiting.
She perched on a stool, scanning his room. “You’ve lived here your entire life?”
“Since I was a young lad, aye.”
He plopped on the floor opposite her. “My family home wasn’t as grand as some of my brothers’, but more lavish than a carved rock cave. I long to bring you there, to make it our home.”
“Why? Because I’m your mate, Demoleon?” She hunched forward, bowing her head. “You saw those people out there. They don’t care. They would as soon see me dead than bonded to you.”
“They’re upset.” He scratched his jaw. “It’s difficult for people to be told the truth they’ve clung to their entire lives isn’t the truth, after all. Their thirst for vengeance has kept them alive, given them hope. They’ll come round.”
“After you mate with me, you mean.” She planted her elbows on her knees, cupped her chin in her hands, and batted her lashes at him. “You centaurs are a romantic lot, aren’t you? Perhaps, they’d like to watch, just to be sure?”
Fire's Mark (Lords of Krete Book 4) Page 7
