by Lisa Kessler
He drove down the delivery access road, staying away from the red flashing lights. When they were a few miles away, he finally glanced over at his silent passenger. “I told you to run away and not to look back.”
“So.” She stared out her window. “I saw the mark, and I’m the last muse without a Guardian so I can connect the dots, but we should get something straight right now. You may be my Guardian, but I don’t trust you, and I don’t answer to you.”
He focused on the street. “You make it tough to protect you when you put yourself in the line of fire.”
She turned his way, and he could almost feel the heat of her glare on his skin. “I was trying to save all those people. He wants a muse; I’m the best choice.”
“Seriously?” He stopped at the light and let go of the wheel in exasperation. “How do you figure that?”
She looked away again. “My sisters are all in relationships, and two of them have kids. People depend on them.”
He raised a brow. “Are you saying you’re expendable because you’re single?” The light changed, and he eased through the intersection.
She shrugged. “We were lucky to stop Kronos the first time. If we can’t defeat him this time, the best hope we have to minimize the casualties is to give him what he wants.”
He tightened his grip on the wheel. “Did it ever occur to you that if you discussed it with the other muses and Guardians, there might be another option?”
“I’m not an idiot.” Her words were tight and clipped. “It occurred to me, but there wasn’t time. I had to do something. And it still wasn’t enough. Two people are already dead.”
“It could have been much worse.” Gods, she was stubborn. He decided to drop it for now. “Where am I taking you? You shouldn’t be alone until we figure out what Kevin and his brother are planning.”
“I live with Clio and Mason, but I don’t want to go there. Not yet.” She chuffed, glancing out the passenger window. “It’s like I’m the eternal third wheel, but they’re both too sweet to complain.”
“In that case, I think I know just the place.”
Trinity sent a text to Erica to let her know she was safe while he navigated the dark streets. When he turned into the parking lot of the soon-to-be-opened Les Neuf Soeurs theater, he caught a rare curve to her lips.
She glanced his way. “I’m surprised.”
“How so?” He parked and turned off the engine and headlights.
“Just wouldn’t expect you to return to the scene of the crime.”
And there it was again. Her distaste for him was palpable.
He ran a hand down his face. “I’m well aware that you don’t believe me, but I didn’t know about the fire until I saw the coverage on the news.”
“Bullshit.” She got out of the car and slammed the door, walking toward the theater.
He slapped his hand against the steering wheel, but there wasn’t time to cool off. He couldn’t let her wander into the darkness alone. Kronos and Iapetus could be anywhere.
Mikolas followed behind her, taking a good long look at the theater the muses had sacrificed so much to see open. The building itself was a work of art with nine sides, each one with a rendering of a Greek muse. Visitors would admire the Theater of the Muses, and never guess the muses were still alive inside each of the women on the board of directors.
He stopped behind Trinity while she unlocked the glass doors. She glanced back at him. “Mason and the guys did an incredible job on this place. Thanks to Ted, we couldn’t get a single general contractor to work with us.”
“I didn’t—”
“I know.” She put a hand up as she interrupted. “Ted started blackballing this theater long before you landed in Crystal City.” She pointed to the vaulted ceiling of the lobby. “This was Clio’s idea. It’s a memorial to Nia and Polly.”
She flipped a switch, and scrolls suspended in midair were illuminated by myriad tiny lights twinkling in the darkness. Some of the scrolls were unrolled, exposing the pages of music and familiar lyrics. He squinted, bringing them into focus. Hymns. Hundreds of them. The small bulbs only illumined a few words here and there, but the effect sent a ripple of energy through him—inspiration.
Mikolas couldn’t take his eyes off it. “For Polyhymnia and Urania… It’s perfect.” He met her eyes. “My grandmother was her generation’s Urania.” He hadn’t expected the words to fall from his lips, but he couldn’t pull them back now. “My grandfather waited until I was thirteen to explain what my birthmark meant. I assumed I would be the Guardian for my generation’s Urania…”
Understanding clicked in her expression. “That’s why you donated the giant telescope in Nia’s memory.”
He nodded and glanced back up at the ceiling. “When I discovered the Order had killed her…” He shook his head, casting his gaze to the floor. “I’d been marked by the gods to be her protector. It was my purpose from birth, and I failed.” He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “But when I found you that day when Kronos attacked after the dance recital, the mark burned, and I knew.”
Trinity stared up at him, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m your muse.”
“Yes.” It took all his self-control not to touch her. He’d been marked for her as the ancient prophecy foretold. The mystical connection between them tugged at him, but the reality was, he barely knew her, and she seemed content to loathe his existence.
She was his muse, and he’d defended her from Kronos twice already. But she was hardly “his,” not even close. He swallowed the lump that was creeping up his throat. “I’ll fight until my last breath to protect you.”
“No.” She broke eye contact and went to the ornately carved interior double doors leading to the main theater. “There’s enough blood on my hands already. I don’t want yours, too.”
CHAPTER 3
Ted woke up in a hospital bed. Though woke wasn’t really the right word. He’d been awake for what seemed like lifetimes. But he could finally move. He was no longer trapped in a Titan-induced time warp. Ted had witnessed Kronos’s time manipulations on others before, but this was the first time he’d been caught in it.
When time ceased to exist, when it stopped, he couldn’t find words to describe the wasteland. He could witness the world, but not react. He shuddered pushing the memories away.
Kronos hadn’t been alone this time. He’d had a partner with him.
Brother.
A monitor started to buzz, and a nurse came rushing in. She checked the screens with an empathetic smile. “Welcome back, Mr. Belkin.”
“Mr. Belkin was my dad. You can call me Ted.” He glanced around the room and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “How long have I been—” Stuck? “—immobile?”
“About two hours.” She punched some numbers into her tablet and then met his eyes.
Ted frowned. “What happened to everyone else?”
“From the Observatory?” She glanced at her tablet again. “We received eight patients from the gala; the rest were transported to Mercy and Crystal City General.” She lifted her gaze. “Did you have a family member with you?”
“No. Just friends.”
She nodded and glanced at the door. “There’s a detective here. Maybe he can check on your friends.”
Speak of the devil…
Detective Nate Malone filled the doorway. He smiled at the nurse. “Mind if I ask Mr. Belkin some questions?”
“Sure. But don’t be too long. His vitals are stable, but the doctor is coming by soon to look him over.”
Malone nodded his thanks and entered the room so she could pass through the door. He approached the bed, his old-school notepad and pen in hand. Nate Malone was the first Guardian to emerge in Crystal City. Since then, he’d married his muse, Mel, the Muse of Tragic Poetry. And because Ted had given the order to have Mel abducted two years ago, his relationship with Detective Malone was dicey at best. Luckily, the detective was a true law-and-order man. He wouldn’t kill Ted, but if he had the chance
to lock him in a jail cell and throw away the key, Ted had no doubt Malone would take it.
The detective cleared his throat, keeping his voice hushed. “Did Kronos see you at the Observatory tonight?”
“I don’t think so.” Ted frowned. “Why?”
Nate set the notepad on the bed. “Because Trinity told us Kronos isn’t alone this time, and we need a man on the inside if we’re going to get ahead of this. Two people died tonight, and more will follow if we don’t anticipate his movements.”
The machines monitoring Ted’s pulse beeped faster. Fear twisted in his gut, the memory of being trapped in his own body while Kronos’s brother beheaded two people flashed through his mind. And as much as he wanted to help Trinity, to be a hero for her…he didn’t have it in him.
He shook his head, relieved and ashamed at the same time with his decision. “This isn’t my problem. I helped trap Kronos once already. My debt is paid.” Ted shifted in the hospital bed, scooting up farther, hoping his expression looked more determined than it felt.
Nate leaned in closer, gripping the railing of the bed until the color drained from his knuckles. “Unless you can bring Nia and Polly back from the dead, you still owe us plenty.” He straightened up, shaking his head. “If that’s not enough to convince you, don’t forget that Trinity won’t be safe until we figure out a way to stop these Titans.”
Ted’s gut twisted. “Even if I wanted to be your mole with Kronos, it’s not like I can just text him. How do you expect me to get close?”
“Make yourself available.” Malone rolled his shoulders back. “Our only advantage is that Kronos and his brother are strangers in this world. They don’t understand the technology. They’re going to need you. Kevin knows where you work. He’ll find you.”
“They.” Ted corrected. “He wasn’t alone this time. He brought his brother out of Tartarus.”
“Yeah.” Malone picked up his notepad. “Trinity said it was Iapetus, the Piercer.”
Ted squirmed, running a hand down his face. “Shit.”
“Exactly.” He slipped the notepad into his pocket and met Ted’s eyes. “Hunter’s going to help me stake out Belkin Oil. We’ll have eyes on you the whole time.”
Hunter Armstrong was a retired Navy SEAL, but even with his weapons training and physical stamina, Iapetus was a force of nature—the God of Mortality. They were fucked. The legends claimed he moved with impossible speed, killing before a mortal eye ever caught sight of him.
But there weren’t many options. It wasn’t like there was anywhere to hide. These were immortal beings, born of Mother Earth herself, children of Gaia.
“Okay.” Ted nodded, wishing he had a better choice. “When they let me out of here, I’ll go to my office.”
“Good.” Malone patted the railing on the hospital bed. “Keep me informed once you know what they’re planning.”
Malone left the room, and Ted kicked his feet off the bed. This was nuts. He should get the hell out of Dodge. But where could he run that the titans couldn’t find him? He stood up and scanned the room for his clothes. A bag labeled PERSONAL BELONGINGS sat on a chair across the room. He wandered over and dug through his things for his cell phone.
When he found it, a text from Mikolas was waiting for him:
Protect Trinity.
Ted frowned, sorting through the memories. Mikolas had been there with Trinity. He had warned Kevin about the police outside. Iapetus had swung his spear. Two bodies had fallen, but Ted hadn’t been able to move to see who they were.
Was Mikolas dead?
There was only one way to find out. He fired off a quick text:
Did you make it out?
He tossed his phone on the bed and took out his clothes. Screw the doctor releasing him. He was leaving.
Now.
Trinity walked down the aisle of the theater, trying to control the crescendo of emotions Mikolas was churning up inside her. This entire place was built on blood, sweat, and far too many tears. They’d fought through soul-crushing losses, but she and her muse sisters struggled to keep pushing forward, inspired by the ones they’d lost.
And now the grand opening was only two weeks away.
Or at least it had been before the Father of the Gods showed up with his spear-wielding brother. Tonight, the Titans had claimed the lives of two innocent people. A couple of years ago, the gore of blood and bodies would’ve left her in shock, but a sick numbness filled the cracks in her heart now.
She climbed the stairs on the side of the stage. Mikolas stood in the house, his hands in the pockets of his disheveled tuxedo. His bow tie was gone, and the top two buttons were open on his shirt. And he was still so damned beautiful.
Her vision wavered as she blinked back unwelcome tears. She sat down on the edge of the stage, resting her hands on either side of her body. She stared up at the balcony seats. “We fought so hard to build this place because we truly believed that inspiration could change the world.” She shook her head, dropping her gaze to her feet. “I’m not going to let all that sacrifice be for nothing. As long as I’m breathing, we’re opening this theater.”
Mikolas came closer to the stage, his deep voice resonating with the natural acoustics of the theater. “My grandmother never found her muse sisters, but she had dreams about this theater. When I was a boy, she’d tell me about the daughters of Zeus who had the most important burden to carry for the future.”
Trinity lifted her head. “How could you know all that and still get mixed up with the Order of the Titans?”
“Long story.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair. There was no taming the wavy curls. His eyes locked on hers. “My grandfather encouraged my father to join the original Order back home in Greece. He thought the best way to keep the muses safe was to know what the enemy had planned. My father rose through the ranks of the Order, and eventually he learned about the progress of the Order in Crystal City. Ted Belkin, Sr. owned an oil company with an off-shore rig with a mission that had nothing to do with oil. We had to stop them. But we were too late.”
“The Oceanus rig.” Trinity crossed her arms. “Ted’s father cracked into the Earth’s core before he died. He blamed the explosion on an equipment failure.”
“Right. But he had told the international chapters of the Order of the Titans that the rise of Kronos was imminent.” Mikolas took a couple of steps closer to the stage. “My father and grandfather had invested heavily in Belkin Oil so they could position me to infiltrate the America Order.”
She raised a brow. “You were a spy.”
“Not exactly. We didn’t expect Ted Belkin, Sr. to die, but we owned enough of the stock to push the board toward proclaiming me CEO. At the time, I was eager to get here. I thought my life’s calling to be the Guardian of the Muse of Astronomy was in sight…” His gaze fell to the floor. “But by the time I arrived in Crystal City, Nia was already dead, and the Order had trained an enforcer to go after more muses.” He lifted his head. “I know you probably don’t believe a word I’m saying, but I need you to know that I didn’t order anyone to burn down this theater. And I wasn’t behind the wheel of my car when Cooper was hit, either. I forbade all of it.”
Part of her actually believed him. Gods, would she never learn? Her taste in men was deadly. How many friends would she have to lose before she accepted that reality?
“Why are you telling me all this?” she asked.
He came all the way forward, but with her being seated up on the stage, he still had to look up her. There was no trace of hesitation in his voice. “Because I want you to know you can trust me.”
Cynical laughter escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes. His gaze didn’t falter, and the intensity in his dark eyes shook her. She focused on her shoes instead. “Has Ted ever told you about us?”
“I know you two dated.”
She got to her feet and wandered to the center of the stage before risking a glance in his direction. “Maybe that’s all it was to him.” Her self-loathing roa
red like a hungry lion in her soul. “I loved that asshole. Gods, I was so blind. I trusted him and shared the dreams about Euterpe that started haunting me. Eventually, I started to think I needed to go to Crystal City, and Ted made me believe I wasn’t a freak.”
She cursed under her breath. Talking about it out loud left her feeling vulnerable and weak. She’d promised herself a million times she’d never do it again, yet here she was confiding in another man.
“I trusted the wrong guy, and it cost two of my friends their lives.” Her voice faded as she spoke, but she meant every word. “I refuse to lose anyone else.”
The pain in Trinity’s eyes tore into Mikolas. Ted had shared his side of the story, but hearing Trinity blame herself and witnessing the aftermath of Ted’s betrayal made Mikolas ache to beat the shit out of Ted. Trinity got up and walked farther upstage.
Mikolas jogged up the steps and followed her into the shadows. “Trinity, wait.”
She sighed and stopped. Slowly, she turned to face him. “What?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Bullshit.” She stared up at him, scanning his face and pressing her lips together. “If I’d never confided in Ted, Nia and Polly would be alive. His father would have never known they were muses. They followed me to Crystal City, and I led them right to my sisters.”
“What if you and your sisters aren’t the end game here? When I went to meet with Rhea at Blessed Mary’s Village and she showed me the shard containing a piece of one of Zeus’s lightning bolts, it occurred to me that there is more happening here in Crystal City than just the opening of the Les Neuf Soeurs theater.”
A crease formed on her forehead. “How do you figure that?”
“You and your muse sisters had dreams that led you to this city, to a rundown theater with potential, right?”
She nodded slowly.
“So why was Rhea already hiding in Crystal City?” He paused, letting his words sink in. “And she’s not alone. Her elderly poker group friends Mrs. Mardas and Mrs. Spanos are really Titias and Kyllenos, the Guiders of Destiny. I can’t believe that is coincidence.”
