Tempted

Chapter 18

Isadora swallowed hard as she stared at the blue glow coming from Gryphon’s eyes. Her situation had just tanked. Big time.

No, not Gryphon’s eyes. Whatever was inside Gryphon was definitely not Argonaut. Or Argolean. Or even human for that matter. It was…evil.

“I told you that you hadn’t seen the last of me.”

Apophis.

Panic jumped to heart-thumping fear. Isadora had no idea how the warlock had taken Gryphon’s body, but she wasn’t about to ask. She darted a look back down the darkened tunnel.

“Oh, your guardian won’t be joining us,” Apophis said in that same flat voice that sounded like Gryphon but wasn’t. He took one menacing step closer, drawing her attention back his way. “Your escape from Thrace Castle was disappointing, but even I must admit…it brought other, more interesting opportunities to light.”

He reached inside his crisp white shirt and drew out the medallion hanging on a chain around his neck.

The Orb of Krónos.

Oh, shit. The round medallion was as big as a man’s palm, with four empty chambers and the sign of the Titans stamped into the center of the metal. She looked into Gryphon’s—Apophis’s—eyes. In that moment, everything made sense. And in that moment, mythological monsters, daemons, and even Atalanta were the least of Isadora’s worries.

The Titans were the ruling gods before the Olympians. When Zeus and his brothers had risen up against them in their quest for power, Krónos had crafted the Orb and left it in Prometheus’s care and told him to use it only if things became dire. Zeus and his brothers won the war and the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus, where they still reside today. But Prometheus, a champion for humankind, had known the horror the Titans would unleash in their need for revenge if they were ever set free, so he scattered the four elements across the earth and hid the Orb from the temptation of both man and god alike. Peace had settled over the earth and for thousands of years the Orb had ceased to exist. Until, that is, it was rediscovered.

“The fact you are no longer a virgin is disappointing, Hora, but something I’m able to work around.”

Isadora stepped back, slowly reached for the dagger at her hip. She knew Orpheus was the one who’d found the Orb, but she had no idea how Apophis had gotten it. The wearer of the Orb not only benefited from enhanced powers, but if he found the four elements and placed them in the empty chambers he would then possess the ability to release the Titans from their prison in Tartarus. And a power like that…Not only would it make him stronger than Zeus; if used, it would initiate the war to end all wars.

Apophis continued his advance. “There’s nowhere to run, Princess. And this time, no one to save you.”

No one but herself.

Her pulse beat like wildfire beneath her skin as she waited for him to draw close. She’d seen him bleed. She knew he was mortal, even if he was blessed with an unnaturally long life. She had to hope that in Gryphon’s body he was still as vulnerable as he’d been back at Thrace Castle. Hopefully more so.

The blinding blue glare coming from his eyes intensified as he stepped near. No, he wasn’t Gryphon, not anymore. And he had absolutely no regret over what he planned to do to her.

She braced her feet against the floor. Clenched her teeth. When he was only a foot away, feeling confident and smug that she was the weak female he could easily overpower, she grasped the dagger at her hip and swung out with all her strength.

The blade caught him across the chest. He hollered and jumped back. Bright red blood seeped through the white cloth to stain his shirt. She didn’t give him time to regroup. From her pocket she drew out the rocks she’d taken from Jason’s trunk and threw them into his face, intent on distracting him while she attacked with the dagger again.

But the rocks never hit their target. Their momentum stopped midair to hover and swirl inches from his face. His eyes grew wide; the glow in the room increased. His gaze narrowed in on the stones circling in the air at eye level.

Magick rocks. Some kind of ancient Medean spell was keeping them from falling. Realizing this was her best chance for attack, Isadora charged.

Her dagger caught Apophis in the side. He roared, whirled her way, and swung out with his arm. The back of his hand caught the side of her face. She sailed through the air and the dagger flew from her grip. Her body smacked into a column near the temple’s entrance.

Pain shot through her torso, exploded behind her eyes. She slid to the ground, gasped in a breath, rolled to her side, and tried to push up. When she looked up, though, Apophis wasn’t coming after her as she expected. His roar shook the walls as he thrashed out with both hands at the rocks that shot out of the air to pummel him from all sides.

Her gaze swept over the floor, searching for her dagger, but she couldn’t see it. She ground her teeth against the pain and pushed herself up, only to realize she was trapped. There was no way for her to get by Apophis and make it back through the same tunnel she’d come in.

That left hiding.

She wrapped an arm around her aching ribs, grabbed on to the column with her other hand, and righted herself. A quick look at the rock walls of the cavern told her that inside the temple was her best bet.

She stumbled through the enormous entrance, looked right and left. Ahead a raised stone altar was surrounded on all sides by marble benches and two large fire-burning torches that illuminated the space in an orange-red glow. A gigantic statue of Demeter graced the far wall. Along the periphery were small archways, no taller than a child, which looked like they led off into secret rooms or chambers.

Please, gods…for once be on my side.

She hobbled to her right, dropped to her knees near the first archway, and slithered through the space. The tunnel inside was dark, but one glance forward and she realized it went nowhere. Just ran the length of the wall and opened ten feet down to the next archway.

“Hora!”

Apophis’s enraged voice brought her around. She scooted as deep into the tunnel as she could, past the last archway into a corner where no light shone. Drawing her legs in, she tried like hell to become invisible. Her heart pounded hard against her ribs and her labored breath was all she could hear in the dark. How long until he found her? How long until he made good on his promise to “work around” the fact she was no longer a virgin? And what—oh, gods—had happened to Demetrius outside these walls?

Wait. The portal. Excitement leaped in her chest. She was on holy ground. If she could pull herself together enough to focus, she should be able to open a doorway home. She closed her eyes, pictured Argolea, tried to concentrate. Nothing happened. Frustrated, she tried again. But her racing heart and what was happening outside this small tunnel were all she could focus on. That and the sharp stab directly in the middle of her back.

A scraping sound echoed in the tunnel as she shifted along the wall, and then she felt something drop to the ground behind her. Reaching back, she wrapped her hand around a small round shape.

She drew the rock in front of her, opened her hand, and looked down. There was just enough light coming through the closest archway to see what she held wasn’t a simple rock. It was a diamond. As big as a coin and as clear as glass. And etched into the back wall of the stone, staring up through the shine as if it had been forged by magick, the mark of the Titans.

Her eyes grew as she stared at what she held, hardly believing it could be real. A loud crash echoed. Her gaze darted up just as the entire wall between her and discovery came tumbling down. Isadora yelped and covered her head with her hands. Debris crashed all around her. Before the dust settled, a hand latched on to her ankle and pulled hard.

A scream tore from her chest. She tried to grab rocks and stone, anything solid. But the hand was too strong, the force too great. She flipped over onto her stomach and grappled for something to stop her.

“I’m losing my patience with you, Hora!”

Apophis flipped her to her back. His irises glowed brighter than before, smothering the whites of his eyes until there was nothing but a blinding glare that illuminated the entire room.

“Trying to steal something that belongs to me, warlock?”

At the sickeningly familiar deep voice, Isadora’s heart lurched in her throat. For the span of several seconds she didn’t breathe, didn’t move, couldn’t think. When her muscles finally clicked back in gear, she turned her head toward the front of the temple where a man—being—dressed in worn denim jeans and a short-sleeved black T-shirt sat perched on the altar, his legs so long they reached all the way to the marble floor.

“Hades,” Apophis growled.

“We’ve been through this before,” Hades said in that jovial tone Isadora knew was anything but friendly. “Nice body, by the way. Step up from your last one.” He winked, straightened. “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine. And you know I don’t take kindly to you trying to take my stuff.”

Hades’s piercing black gaze swung Isadora’s way. Bile churned in her stomach as he stared at her as if he could see through every last stitch of clothing she wore. And in the silence each of his sick acts and wretched promises came back tenfold.

“You look shocked to see me, little queen. But we both know why I’m here, don’t we?”

She swallowed hard. Didn’t dare move. Had she thought Apophis was the worst of her worries? Oh, skata. She’d been so naïve.

“This does not concern you, Hades,” Apophis growled again. “Go back to the Underworld and leave us be.”

Hades’s gaze snapped to Apophis. Their eyes locked, and some kind of other-being communication passed between them. Isadora flipped over, tried to scoot back, but met solid rock. The two held each others’ stare so long, Apophis’s mouth snapped closed and he visibly trembled. But it wasn’t until sweat broke out on the warlock’s brow that Hades finally broke the stare-down, hopped off the altar, and said, “No, I don’t think I will.”

He turned toward Isadora and held out his hand. Dressed as he was, with his jet-black hair tousled and his features relaxed, he almost looked handsome. If you ignored the fact he could grind you to dust with barely a flick of his pinky finger and enjoy it along the way. “Come, little queen. We have much to discuss.”

Isadora didn’t move. But behind Hades, Apophis couldn’t contain his fury. His eyes grew so wide they nearly consumed his face, and that brilliant glow turned into a blinding spotlight that forced her to blink and duck her head. From the corner of her vision she watched as he lifted his hands, just as he had in the castle when he’d slammed Gryphon with some sort of energy force. But Hades whipped around before the blast left the warlock’s fingers, and with one outstretched hand his powers hurled the warlock clear across the temple, out the main door, and blasted him into the far wall of the cavern.

Rocks crashed down, a loud roar erupted. Hades crossed the wide floor in three easy steps and was out the door before Isadora clued in to what had happened. A blood-curdling scream tore through the cavern, followed by a pop and sizzle, and then there was nothing but silence.

Fear rooted Isadora in place. She knew this was her chance to get up, to run, but she couldn’t move. And when Hades stepped back into the temple, his expression set and jaw locked, she knew she was too late.

“Isadora!”

Demetrius’s frantic voice from somewhere close brought her head up and around.

Hades glanced to the ceiling and frowned. “Damn heroes. Always trying to save the day.” He crossed back to her, held out his hand. “He can’t interrupt us, so don’t worry. Now. The earth element, please.”

His request shocked the voice out of her. “The…? I don’t know what you’re—”

“Talking about? Oh, I think you do. The diamond. In your hand. What was once coal and came from the earth and is now so much more.”

Oh, shit. “How do you—?”

“Know about it?” he asked, finishing her sentence again. “You made a deal with my treacherous wife, little queen. Remember? She brought you to me so you could save your sister’s soul. In exchange you gave her your power of foresight for one month. That one month has just begun.”

The deal. Of course that’s how he’d known. But still…

“She…she saw that I’d find it?”

“Mm-hmm. She sees everything now. Thanks to you.”

The diamond dug into her palm as she tightened her fist around the jewel. So that’s what Persephone was after. For one month she’d be able to see where each element was located. Now all she’d need was the Orb of Krónos and she’d have the power to release the Titans from Tartarus, bring about the war to end all wars, and have the strength to control what was left.

“Where…?” Her voice was nothing but a whisper. “Where is she?”

“Tied up at the moment. Literally.” He knelt, rested his forearm against his knee. “You see, I know the bitch well. And wife or not, I’ll not allow her to control something that should have been mine thousands of years ago.”

His. He was talking about the human realm. His brother Zeus controlled the skies, his other brother, Poseidon, the seas. While he had free reign over the Underworld and all its levels of horror, he couldn’t control the human realm. And that’s what he obviously wanted.

“Why…why didn’t you just come and take it before I got here?”

Disgust crossed his features. “Because I can’t. Thanks to Prometheus, the ass.”

When Prometheus scattered the elements, he must have put restrictions on how they could be found, Isadora realized. Or stolen.

“The only plus to the whole damn situation,” Hades continued, “is that the wife will be spitting nails by the time I return to Tartarus. And I like her much better when she’s hell on wheels, don’t you?” His licentious grin churned her stomach. “Oh, don’t look so horrified. I know you’ll like her soon enough. Once you get used to her…tastes.” His gaze traveled the length of Isadora’s body. “And now that you’re no longer a virgin, I can’t wait to tell her she won’t have to be so…careful with you.” His soulless black eyes slid back to her face and held. “Just imagine what lies in wait for you when she returns to her mother for the summer and you’re finally mine.”

Bile rose in her stomach. She remembered clearly what she’d witnessed in the Underworld. The depraved acts he’d made her watch. Though he technically hadn’t laid a hand on her, he’d wanted her to see and hear and remember what he had planned for her when she was his. And that memory still haunted her dreams and cast a shadow over what was left of her life.

“Of course,” Hades said, leaning toward her, “I may be willing to make a trade. If you’d rather keep your soul instead, that is.”

“A t-trade?”

His hollow eyes sparked. “Your soul for the diamond in your fist.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You…you’d give me my soul back? Just that easy?”

“Of course that easy. A deal is, after all, a deal.”

Hope flared and a future, a real future, beckoned. But even before warmth spread up her torso, the flames of life grew cold and dark.

She couldn’t give him the element. Apophis had the Orb, but it was only a matter of time before Hades figured that out and took it back. Judging from the little power play he’d put on here minutes ago, taking the Orb back would be a snap. And if Persephone found the other three elements before the month was up…then the world as they knew it would be destroyed.

“It’s a simple choice, little queen. Your soul. Yours once more to do with as you please. And I will be nothing but a memory.”

“Isadora!” Demetrius’s voice echoed from somewhere close again. A banging sound followed. Her eyes strayed to the dark ceiling of the temple, covered in gold-plated tiles.

Hades’s gaze followed. “I’m getting really tired of his interference. If it weren’t for that damn soul mate curse, I’d have lured you out days ago.”

Soul mate curse? Her brows snapped together. “Lured me out? I don’t—”

“Understand? Yeah,” Hades said with growing impatience. “I remember that phrase well.” He pushed to stand. “Now, little queen, I’ve had enough chitchat for one day. The element. And I’ll be on my way.”

Isadora’s head felt like it might just explode. But one thing was clear. She was all that stood between Hades and the end of the world.

She pushed up to her feet, wobbled but caught herself. Her legs ached, her side was sore, and she was covered in dust. But she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders just the same. “No.”

“What did you say to me?”

Her heart raced, her limbs trembled. He was at least seven feet tall and next to him she looked and felt like a child, but she held her ground. “I said no. I’ll not give it to you. Not freely, at least.”

His eyes went from coal black to bloodred, and before she could even gasp, his entire head exploded in a ball of flames. The face of a fire demon shot out from the blazing inferno. “Who are you to challenge me?”

The roar of his voice lifted the hair away from her face as if a great wind had swept through the temple. She gripped the diamond tighter and knew even if it meant losing her life and her soul for all eternity, this was worth taking a stand for.

From somewhere deep inside she pulled up every ounce of courage she had left. “I said go back to hell. You can’t have it! Not now. Not ever!”

His roar was deafening. She slammed her hands over her ears to block the sound. Flames shot out from every part of his body, the heat so intense it singed the hair on her arms and legs. What was left of him swirled so fast, a giant vortex opened up in the middle of the room. Electricity crackled and popped, and then in an explosion that shook the temple, he vanished, leaving behind nothing but swirling dust and debris followed by bone-chilling silence.

No way that just happened…

Isadora’s heart thundered against her ribs. He was gone. Just that fast. Her eyes darted right and left, searching, waiting for him to poof into reality again and backhand her into eternity.

“Very good, Princess.”

She whipped toward the altar, but this time the voice was female, not male. And even before the face registered, somewhere inside she knew the being staring back at her was a Fate.

A Fate. Oh, gods. She tried to remember what each one was responsible for. Clotho spun the thread of life. Lachesis measured the thread with her rod. And…what was the name of the last one? Atropos, that was it. Atropos cut the thread when one’s time was up.

Isadora’s heart lurched into her throat. Please, please don’t let this be Atropos. There was still so much she needed to do with this life. So much she’d been afraid to try before, but now…

The Fate, dressed in a thin white robe, floated across the ground and stopped a foot from Isadora. She was petite, smaller than Isadora, yet Isadora sensed she was stronger and wiser than any god.

The Fate smiled, the wrinkled skin around her eyes crinkling. “That was quite a show you put on.”

Isadora stood rooted in place with the diamond clenched tightly in her hand, staring at the Fate, wondering how the hell this day could get any weirder.

From somewhere below, Hades roared, “Mine!”

The Fate glared down toward the floor. “Oh, go play with your three-headed dog, you bully.”

He let out another ear-piercing roar, then silence descended once more.

The Fate winked at Isadora. “We don’t have much time. I sense a temper tantrum coming on. He never learned to play well with others, you know.” The humor faded from her voice when she said, “Fear not, dear one, I have not come to snip the thread of your life. If anything, I’ve come to—”

“You’re not Atropos.” A breath of relief swept through Isadora.

The Fate frowned. “I don’t know why those from your world keep mistaking me for that old hag. I’m clearly more attractive than the messenger of death.”

Isadora stared wide-eyed as the Fate chuckled to herself over her own private joke. She wasn’t sure what to say…what to do, for that matter. This meeting was beyond anything she could imagine.

“Oh, bah. Take my word for it. Atropos needs a face-lift or two.” The Fate squared her shoulders. “Now, before our time is up, I’ll get on with the purpose of my visit. You grow weaker by the day, as do your sisters. But fear not, for the strength you all seek is at hand.”

“But the Orb of Krónos,” Isadora cut in, remembering the medallion around Gryphon’s—Apophis’s—neck. “We lost it.”

The Fate waved off her protest. “Where does your strength come from, dear one? Not from some magickal orb. It comes from that which is hidden deep inside each of you. Use that for the good of mankind and you won’t be lost.”

Isadora had no idea what that meant. “I don’t understand. Why are you helping me? How—?”

“There are powers at work here no one expects you to understand. And I help you because you, unlike some others I know, are wise enough to listen. But ask yourself this: why wouldn’t I help you, Hora? The Fates want balance in this world and the next as much as you do. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. I’m simply encouraging you to remain steadfast. There are rules in this world, rules not even I can break. But know this, you were right in that you are all linked to the Titan Themis through your father’s bloodline. Hold steady to that, and you and your sisters will find the answers you seek. The bonds the three of you share cannot be broken. Not by any god. Not by any spell. Not even by Hera’s curse.”

Hera’s curse.

The ground trembled and Isadora’s gaze shot to the floor again.

“I suggest you hurry.” The Fate pointed toward the entrance. “Hades has a nasty temper. And you, clever girl, have succeeded in aggravating him greatly. Normally I would take much amusement in that, but not at the expense of your safety.”

Isadora’s head spun as she tried to make sense of everything the Fate had said. She took three steps toward the door then whipped back. “Wait. The witches in Thrace Castle…they cast some kind of spell over me. Is that…is that why I’ve been drawn to Demetrius?”

“I cannot answer your questions.” The Fate tipped her head. “But ponder this: what does your heart tell you?”

Isadora searched her feelings. No. No, what she felt for Demetrius had come from the very center of her. No spell could make her feel the depth of emotion she’d felt the last few days.

“I knew you were wiser than most believed,” the Fate said with a smile, drawing Isadora’s attention again. “The attraction spell those witches cast was wrenched from your body when Apophis decided to punish you.”

So her reaction to Demetrius really was her own. Isadora breathed a bit easier, though why she wasn’t quite sure. But then another thought occurred. “Hades said something about the soul mate curse. He didn’t mean…?”

The Fate lifted her salt-and-pepper eyebrows.

Isadora’s throat grew thick. She couldn’t believe she was thinking this, let alone was about to say it. “He couldn’t possibly have meant Demetrius is my soul mate, could he?”

“Argoleans, even those of the royal family, do not have soul mates. You know this.”

No, they didn’t. Only the Argonauts had soul mates. And thanks to Hera, they were intended to be a curse, not a blessing.

The disappointment was swift and consuming. As swift as a blade to the chest. And completely unexpected. Did she even want to be his soul mate? That was just—

“You choose whom you want to choose,” the Fate went on. “But for Demetrius…there is only one he cannot deny.”

Isadora’s eyes slowly lifted. And she thought back to her night with Demetrius. To the struggle he waged between what he seemed to want but wasn’t sure he deserved. To every time he’d rescued her and made sure she was safe. Even when she hadn’t wanted him to.

Her. She was the one he couldn’t deny.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Then that means—”

“It means exactly what it is. And that causes Hades much grief because he can’t infiltrate the subconscious of a hero’s soul mate. Not when her hero guards over her.”

Her hero. Her heart burst in her chest at the thought. That’s exactly what he’d been doing this last week, wasn’t it? Guarding her? She’d had dreams this week of Hades—horrible dreams, like always—but they hadn’t lingered as they normally did. And in the mornings there’d been no residual effect. That was because of Demetrius, she now realized. Because he’d kept her safe, slept next to her, made sure the Lord of the Underworld stayed away, even if he hadn’t known he’d been doing it. Though she didn’t understand why he kept trying to push her away with his cruel words, she knew now he would never be able to. Not completely.

Love blossomed in her soul. The kind she’d always hoped for but never expected. And as her mind swirled with the possibilities, she thought of her mother. And the cost of love.

She looked back to the Fate and knew this was her one chance to know the truth. Even though the Fate probably wouldn’t answer, she had to ask. “Did she know? My mother? About my father’s indiscretions? Is that why she left?”

Sympathy crossed the Fate’s face and she glanced to the ground, pursing her lips as if choosing her words carefully. “Your mother loved your father deeply. And she was a good queen. A good wife to him. But your father…what does he love above all else, dear one?”

“His kingdom.” The words left Isadora’s mouth on a whisper, without a question in her mind.

The Fate’s sad eyes lifted to Isadora’s. “He still does.”

He did. Isadora knew that better than anyone.

Sacrifice. Her father was always preaching about the responsibility of the monarchy and the level of sacrifice it took to rule. She’d never believed him before, but now…? Did it matter if she was Demetrius’s soul mate? If he didn’t want to bind himself to her because she was of the royal line, then she couldn’t force him.

She looked down at her hand, opened her fist so the diamond sparkled up at her. She wasn’t good at dealing with emotions. Her parents hadn’t exactly taught her about never-ending love or what a good binding should be. She knew now that she did care about Demetrius, deeply, even with his dark moods and endless secrets and the way he kept himself closed off for reasons that didn’t seem to make sense, but she couldn’t walk away from her destiny either. She and her sisters…they were important. They were needed now more than ever. The face-off moments ago with Hades had reinforced just how important her position in this war really was.

The ground’s trembling increased in intensity and the Fate began to fade. “Look within yourself for the balance you seek, dear one. I promise all your questions will be answered there.”

Isadora didn’t know what that meant, but the shaking walls jolted her out of her reverie. Rock and marble cracked, broke free to tumble down in a horrendous crash. Shielding her head with her hands, she ran out the entrance and down the three marble steps, sprinting across the dark cavern for the tunnel. From somewhere above she heard Demetrius’s frantic voice calling to her, but the explosion of rock and granite at her back drowned out all other sound.

She reached the tunnel, darted through the long domed corridor, and spotted the stairs that led up to the surface. Rocks and debris tore into the flesh of her feet. She pumped her arms, gripped the diamond tight in her fist, and ignored the burn in her lungs, in her legs, as she ran harder. She wasn’t going to die here. She had a purpose now, even if it wasn’t the one she’d always wanted. Light shone down from the surface, a golden glow that urged her on.

Yes. I’m going to make it.

A thunderous clap echoed from above. She reached the first step and looked up just as the ceiling collapsed.