Tempted

Chapter 25

Isadora stared at the empty stairwell through a sea of tears.

“Oh, Isadora,” Callia said.

“Isa,” Casey said softly on her other side. “I had no idea.”

She wasn’t going to let this happen, and she wasn’t about to act like all was lost either. Isadora stepped away from both of her sisters and wiped her cheeks. Her mind raced as conversations and links swirled behind her eyes. He had a brother. In the human realm. Someone he might not get along with but who would undoubtedly hate Atalanta as much as he did. Someone who was closer than she realized. If only she knew where he was, so she could figure out a way to bring him back here and have him explain to her father—

“Oh, skata.” Her eyes grew wide. “Nick.”

“Nick?” Casey asked, eyebrows drawn together. “What does the leader of the Misos have to do with any of this?”

“Nick is Demetrius’s brother.” Isadora brought her hand up to her mouth. “Oh, gods. Why didn’t I figure that out sooner?”

“Demetrius has a brother?” Callia asked.

“Holy crap,” Casey muttered. “That’s why Theron’s always been confused by Nick. Because he’s both Argonaut and human.”

Isadora turned a slow circle. She had to get to him. But he’d moved the half-breed colony to a new location somewhere in Montana, and she had no idea where that was.

“The Argonauts will never let you through the portal,” Casey said, following her train of thought.

Isadora stopped. “Orpheus can get me there.”

Callia looked at each of them. “You’re seriously going back to the human realm after what just happened to you?”

“He’ll want something in return,” Casey said, ignoring Callia’s question.

Yeah, Isadora didn’t doubt that for a minute. Orpheus never did anything without something in return. “He can have whatever the hell he wants, so long as he helps me.”

She headed for the stairs, frantic to get to Orpheus before it was too late.

Casey’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Hold up.” When Isadora turned, Casey and Callia exchanged glances. Callia nodded, then Casey said, “We’re going with you. You’ll need help convincing Nick.”

“He likes us,” Callia added with a half smile. “More than he likes you, at least.”

Isadora breathed easier. But not by much. Because on this one, her sister was right. “We have to hurry.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Orpheus grabbed his spell book from the shelf in the back room of his shop and shoved it into his bag. “All I did was bring the traitor back, like you asked.”

Isadora stepped around the table so she was in his face again. “You’re lying.”

So what if he was? That was his prerogative and she could take a flying leap for all he cared. Being daemon was bad enough. Admitting you were part witch to the Council would surely get him blacklisted. While he didn’t much care what people thought of him, he didn’t have time to dick around. Helping the Argonauts with their little raid had already slowed him down. He had one goal now, and everyone else could go to hell. Especially Demetrius. So what if they’d united their powers to lock good ol’ Atalanta away? Eventually the bitch would find her way out of that purgatory. But Gryphon would still be dead.

The daemon in him pushed forward, the need for retribution strong. Controlling the beast, he glanced around, mentally ticked off what else he’d need. Delia’s witches had given him shit as to where he might find that rat bastard sonofabitch Apophis. In Gryphon’s body, the warlock could be anywhere. His next step was to head back to Thrace Castle and see what leads he could pick up there. Maybe torture a witch or ten if he had to. From there…from there he didn’t know where the fuck he’d go.

“I don’t care about your heritage, Orpheus.” Isadora stepped in his path, blocking him again. “And if you won’t cop to the fact you had a hand in defeating Atalanta, fine. I don’t care. My father thinks you’re a questionable source anyway. What I need right now is for you to take me to Nick.”

His jaw locked. “I’m not a fucking bus driver, Isa. And I’m on my way out, in case you haven’t noticed. Besides, you already owe me way more than I’ll ever be able to collect.”

“You can have whatever you want. Whenever you want. As soon as we get back. I won’t even argue with you.” She moved closer. “Just please, please help me. You’re my last hope.”

Yeah, like he hadn’t heard that one before. “Why should I?”

“You have no reason to. Except…” She bit her lip as if trying to decide which tactic to use next. “Except helping me will piss off the Council.”

“I can do that any damn day of the week.”

“This is different,” Callia added behind her. “We’re talking seriously piss them off.”

“With a passion,” Casey said in agreement.

He flicked looks at both sisters, then at Isadora again. The princess was clearly desperate, but he couldn’t figure out why. Demetrius was Atalanta’s fucking son. Why the hell was she so frantic to save his life after what the guardian had done?

He knew there was one surefire way to get her to back the hell off. He leaned in close. “I only want one thing, Isa, the same damn thing I’ve always wanted. You. But this time I don’t just want you for a quick little affair. I want you whenever and however and for as long as I’m interested. Are you willing to relinquish your future in order to save his life?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

He drew back, shocked by her answer.

“I said yes, Orpheus.” She blinked once, like it was no big deal. “Can we go now?”

“You…you don’t even want to think about it?”

“I don’t have to.”

Holy shit. “You’re in love with him.”

“Yes.” Honesty raced across her face. He looked to her sisters, who both nodded in support.

His gaze shifted back to Isadora. “How can you feel anything for him, knowing what he is?”

“The truth?” When he nodded, she said, “I love him more because of what he is. He could have given himself over to the darkness at any time, but he never did. The Council is wrong. He never tried to hurt me. He tried to save Gryphon in that field and he rescued me more times than I can count. And I will do whatever I have to in order to do the same for him. Including give myself to you. You can have my body. I don’t even care anymore. Because my heart will always belong to him.”

Orpheus looked to the sisters again and caught their disgusted expressions, but he barely cared. Was it possible someone could love pure evil?

“Please,” Isadora said gently, stepping close and laying her hand on his lower arm. “Please help me.”

He looked down at her fingers, resting on the Argonaut markings on his skin—the ones that should be on Gryphon’s arms—and felt something stir in his chest. It wasn’t his soul, because he didn’t have one. It was some heroic fucking honor that had passed from Gryphon into him when his brother’s soul had gone to Hades.

“Sonofabitch,” he muttered. “I don’t want this responsibility. I never wanted it. Do you get that?”

“No one will force you to serve with the Argonauts if you don’t want to. On that you have my word.” She squeezed his arm. “Please, Orpheus.”

He ground his teeth and looked toward the door. He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t ever going to be a hero. Helping her now didn’t change that fact, and the Argonauts could kiss his ass for all he cared. “Fine. Whatever. But if you get kidnapped by witches again, just know I’m not saving your ass.”

Relief rushed over Isadora’s face. A relief that stirred whatever was in his chest again and made him wish like hell he just didn’t give a damn.

But he did. Motherfucker, he did.

“Well, if it isn’t the Witches of Eastwick and the Grand Poobah himself.” Standing in the middle of the empty hall in the colony’s new digs, Nick Blades frowned at the newcomers he considered a major-ass interruption.

“You’re just jealous ’cause I got the hotties and you’ve got a fucking migraine,” Orpheus said.

Wasn’t that the damn truth?

“How about this one?” Helene asked, holding up a box.

Nick pointed the pen in his hand toward the stairs to his right. “Third-floor kitchen, Helene.”

As Helene disappeared around the corner, Nick caught the half grin on Casey’s face from the corner of his eye. “It’s nice to see you again too, Nick.”

He leaned down so she could kiss his cheek, then straightened, refocusing on the task at hand. Activity flowed around him, the bustle of people moving to and fro as they worked to get the ancient castle, nestled in a fjord high in the mountains of Montana, fortified and stocked. It wasn’t his first choice for a location, but since the Misos colony in Oregon had been destroyed, it was the only place he’d found big enough for his people. And built on an island in the middle of an ancient lake, it was as isolated and secure as they were going to get. For now, at least.

“Where’s Hercules?” he asked Casey without looking up. “Does yesterday’s hero know you’re walking on the wild side today?”

Casey frowned at the mention of her husband. “He’s fine. And no, he doesn’t know I’m here.” She glanced toward the cathedral windows that looked down over the crystal blue lake. “Nick, where on earth did you find this place? It’s like Hogwarts, straight out of a Harry Potter movie.”

Frustrated, Nick rubbed a hand over the long jagged scar on the left side of his face. The one that was a stark reminder of just how much those in Argolea cared about his people. The only reason he answered was that Casey was a Misos just like him. “You know there’s a colony in northern Russia, right? Some Russian prince’s servant’s brother’s cousin’s aunt or some shit like that is a Misos. He had this castle built sometime back in the 1800s but never got here because he was killed. When I contacted the other colonies to see about moving our people around temporarily until we could find more permanent digs, the Russian leader told me about this place and offered it to us.”

“Wow,” Casey said. “Just like that?”

No, not just like that. There were conditions. And it didn’t matter how much Nick liked Casey, he wasn’t going to get into those conditions with her or the future queen of Argolea. Ever.

“What the hell are the four of you doing here, anyway?” he asked, nearing the end of his patience for the day.

The princess moved forward from the back of the group. “We came to talk to you about your brother.”

Nick clenched his jaw and went back to his checklist. “Not interested.”

“They’re going to kill him,” Isadora protested.

“Oh yeah?” He didn’t look up or care who “they” were. “I’m sure he deserves it. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to—”

Isadora wrenched the clipboard from his hands before he could turn away. “The king knows Atalanta is his mother. And we know she’s yours too.”

The scars on Nick’s back—more blasted reminders—tingled with awareness, reawakening the blackness deep inside. His fiery gaze shot to Orpheus, standing behind the women with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his pants. “Hear her out, Nico.”

Fuck.

He pointed toward the closest door. “You,” he said to the princess, “in there. The rest of you, stay put.”

“But—”

Nick cut Casey’s protest off with a look.

In silence he followed Isadora into the long rectangular room with its soaring ceiling and iron chandelier and windows that spanned an entire wall that faced the lake. He guessed this was some kind of dining room, but as he kicked the door closed with his boot, he really didn’t give a rip.

Isadora glared from across the room. “The Council thinks Demetrius turned traitor. They’re going to execute him unless you help me stop it.”

“Why should I care?”

“Because he’s no more evil than you are.”

The blackness surged. “Be careful, Princess. You don’t know what the hell I am.”

She took a step forward and lifted her head, looking proud and regal and confident. “I know you didn’t choose your fate any more than Demetrius did. You’re both pawns in Atalanta’s quest for vengeance. And I know you hate her as much as he does.”

“Do you want to know what I hate? Not just her, but you and your world and everything it stands for. Do you know the story of me and my so-called brother?”

“Not all of it. Just that she conceived you in an attempt to complete the prophecy on her own.”

“She didn’t conceive us. She mixed together her own cesspool of vileness. Have you heard of superfecundation?” When the princess shook her head he said, “It’s when a female does the nasty with two different guys on the same night and is impregnated by both. Twins with different fathers. Only Atalanta didn’t just pick anyone. She chose Akrisios, an SOB guardian in his own right, and then to seal the deal with evilness, she found the most horrific human serial killer and did the hokeypokey with him too.

“Since it was clear right from the start that her little plan didn’t work, she knew she had to get rid of us. Best option? Send us to Argolea so we could infiltrate the Argonauts. She had her daemons leave us in the human realm in a place she knew the Argonauts would find us. And they did. Took us both back to Argolea. From Demetrius’s markings, they knew he was Akrisios’s son. But me? Well, let’s just say the Council didn’t think I was Argolean material. They had me cast out to the human realm, where they left me to die.

“Of course, I didn’t,” he sneered. “I survived. No thanks to any of your Argonauts. Not even my so-called brother. So you tell me, Princess, why should I help you save him when you and your kind have never done shit for me?”

Isadora’s gaze dropped to his hands. “You have the markings. That’s why you wear long sleeves and those fingerless gloves all the time. You…” Her gaze lifted, her eyes wide with awe. “You’re an original Argonaut, spawned from the union of a god and a human. That’s why the Council banished you. They’re afraid of you.”

Nick clenched his jaw and looked out the windows to the calm blue water, wishing the serene image would dampen the firestorm brewing deep inside.

He didn’t hear Isadora step closer, but he sensed her, just as he’d always been able to sense whenever she was near.

“Nick,” she said softly. “I can’t do anything about the past. I can only assure you of the future. My father’s health is steadily failing. He’ll be dead in a matter of weeks and the rule of Argolea and the Argonauts will fall to me. I guarantee I’ll not let what happened before happen again to you or your people. But I need your help to set things in motion. And it starts with saving Demetrius’s life and proving to the Council their reign ends here. Then we can focus on this war and finally defeat Atalanta for good.”

He looked down into her chocolate eyes. “You know about the soul mate curse?”

“I don’t think it’s so much of a curse anymore.”

“Think again, Princess. Demetrius and I, thanks to the whole super-fucking-twin thing, only get one. I’ve known you’re ours since you first showed up at my colony with Casey, looking for Theron. I’m sure Demetrius has known for years.”

Her eyes ran over his face and surprise flushed her cheeks a delicate shade of pink. “And that’s why you were never nice to me either.”

“Why should I be? No one should be subjected to either one of us. You don’t have a clue what lurks inside us.”

“Yes, I do,” she said softly. “But your humanity is stronger. It’s why you make a great leader for your people and why Demetrius is so valuable to our race as an Argonaut.”

No, Demetrius wasn’t just a valuable Argonaut. He read it in her eyes. His brother had come to mean something more to her. Reality chilled a space in his chest. “You’re in love with him.”

“I am,” she whispered. “Deeply.”

Her chocolate eyes softened with emotions, and looking deep, he knew she was telling the truth. Something pinched in his chest. “You could have been mine.”

“Maybe,” she said, not denying it. “In another lifetime, perhaps. But not now. I love him, Nick. I always will. Please help me save him.”

He shouldn’t. There were a thousand reasons he shouldn’t get involved. But that damn humanity she mentioned wouldn’t let him turn his back the way he wanted.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Go get your Grand Poobah. I don’t have all day for this, you know.”

A bright smile spread across Isadora’s face, making her look…like a goddess. A gorgeous, powerful, confident goddess. “Thank you. I won’t forget this.”

She rushed from the room, and as the blackness inside him settled he told himself he wasn’t doing this for Demetrius. He was doing this for her. For the soul mate he was never going to have, thanks to the all-fucking-mighty gods.

Nick was just stripping the fingerless gloves from his hands when Orpheus came back in with all three women.

“I’ve got this,” Orpheus said, bringing his hands together so his pinky fingers touched and the portal burst to life between them.

Brow drawn low, Nick glanced from Orpheus’s newly marked hands up to the ándras’s face. “What the hell?”

“Long story. But I think we should avoid the Gatehouse and the Executive Guard. Since you can only open the portal there, I’m saving us some time. Isa? Daddy’s chamber?”

“Yes, please,” Isadora said.

With one last beaming smile, Isadora stepped through the portal, followed by each of her sisters. Scowling, Nick followed.

They appeared in some kind of sitting room in the castle in Tiyrns. A maidservant jumped to her feet with a horrified expression. “Dear gods…”

“It’s all right, Althea,” Isadora said quickly. She stepped past the others to calm the flustered servant. “We need to see my father.”

“But the king is sleeping. He’s—”

“This can’t wait.”

Isadora pushed open the massive double doors to the king’s bedchamber. The curtains were drawn, casting the room in darkness. From the enormous bed on the far side of the room, a frail voice said, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me,” Isadora answered, stepping into the room. The sisters followed, each moving to stand on one side of the king. Nick hung back near the door with Orpheus, not entirely sure what he was doing here and hating every minute of it.

“Pateras,” Isadora said. “I’ve come to ask you to spare Demetrius’s life.”

The old king pushed himself up in the pillows and narrowed his beady eyes. “He betrayed the Argonauts.”

“No, he didn’t.” Isadora moved to the foot of his bed. “He saved my life. He tried to save Gryphon’s. I was there. He never would have sided with Atalanta.”

“He lied to us. He’s Atalanta’s son. The proof shows—”

“The proof is wrong.” She moved around the side of the bed. “You told me once that a true leader knows when to listen to history and when to focus on reality. The history is irrelevant here. We’ve all made mistakes we wish we could change. You included. He can’t change where he came from any more than you can change what happened to Mother. His mistake was simply that he kept his lineage secret from you and everyone else for fear of persecution. For fear of what’s happening to him right now. He’s not evil, Father. He’s more heroic than you or I will ever be.”

She softened her voice. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you now. He saved me from the warlock in Thrace Castle. He kept me safe over the last week and a half. He found me in Atalanta’s stronghold and made sure I came home. He’s not the enemy here. Please don’t let the Council condemn him for something he hasn’t done.”

The king’s eyes darted around the room, but they didn’t seem to focus. “You have no proof of what’s in his heart. The Council convicted him based on the evidence at hand.”

Nick saw the same thing happening to Demetrius that had happened to him. Isadora was right. He couldn’t stand back and let it keep happening. If he did, he was no better than his brother.

“I’m your evidence,” he said from the back of the room.

“Who’s there?” the king asked, looking his way.

Nick caught Isadora’s thankful expression and moved fully into the room. “Nico. But you, Your Highness, will probably only remember me as that child the Council wanted to get rid of.”

The king winced. Nick told the same story he’d told Isadora, and when he was done silence settled over the room.

“I…knew not of your lineage,” the king said. “Only that you were—”

“Yeah.” Disgust rolled through Nick, but he tamped it down. “A threat. I got that loud and clear.”

“Pateras,” Isadora said, reaching for the king’s hand. “Nick isn’t any more evil than Demetrius. He’s proof the humanity of the heroes overpowers anything Atalanta may have given them.”

“My brother would never turn to Atalanta,” Nick said. “No more than I would. And I can tell you flat out, my only goal in this lifetime is to defeat the bitch.” He glanced at Isadora. “Considering what she put Demetrius’s soul mate through during this last week, I can pretty much guarantee that’s his goal too.”

Isadora’s eyes softened so much, Nick felt that cold space in his chest warm just a touch.

“Please,” Isadora said, refocusing on her father. “Please spare him.”

The king sighed. “I can’t. The Council’s already made its decision.”

“You can stop it, though. All you have to do is pardon him.”

“If I do that, I’ll look weak in the eyes of the Council. And they’re already looking for a reason to declare me unfit to rule.”

“Fine, then abdicate the throne to me. I’ll pardon him.”

The king’s brow wrinkled. “You?”

“Rule is going to fall to me soon, whether you like it or not. Pass it to me now.”

“You’re not ready.”

“I’ve never been more ready.”

“It’s not that easy—”

“It is,” she said, her voice rising. “I’ve faced down Hades twice. I saved the earth element from both him and the warlock. I’m not about to let the Council push me around. Our world is changing, but I won’t be part of the problem. And as queen, I won’t allow them to be part of the problem anymore either.”

She moved closer to the bed, gripped the king’s hand tighter. “Pateras. Dad. I’ve never asked you for anything before. I’m asking you now. I’m begging. I’ve already lost my soul. Please, please, if you ever loved me, if you ever trusted me to become the leader you taught me to be, don’t take away my life as well.”

The king’s milky gaze held hers, and in the silence Nick saw indecision and pride in the old ándras’s face. And he couldn’t help but feel the same pride in his own chest. She really was royal material, contrary to what everyone thought. And for reasons he’d never understand, she loved his brother. Eternally.

“Althea,” the king barked, breaking the moment.

The maidservant rushed in. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Get me my wreath. Callia? Acacia? Help me from this blasted bed.”

“Holy shit,” Orpheus muttered at Nick’s side. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Nick frowned. He didn’t share Orpheus’s awe. Even though he knew he’d done the right thing here, he’d also sacrificed something as well.

Althea scurried out of the room. The sisters helped the king stand. Isadora glanced toward the clock high on the wall. “We don’t have much time. Hurry.”

“Isadora,” the king said. “Kneel. Here.”

She did as he commanded, looking up with expectation and impatience.

Althea hustled back into the room with a golden box in her hands. Several other servants followed, curious as to what was happening.

The king handed the box to Casey. She held it steady while he opened the lid and extracted the gold laurel wreath each king and queen before had worn at their coronation. He held it high over Isadora’s head. “The future lies not in the hands of the gods and goddesses nor in the kings and queens of old. It lies before us.”

At his feet, Isadora circled her hand in a hurry-up-already move the old king couldn’t see. And Nick chuckled. Oh yeah, she was going to be okay as a leader. In fact, knowing how persuasive she could be, he sorta dreaded dealing with her.

The king lowered the wreath to her head, but the pomp and circumstance was lost on Isadora. She jumped to her feet and grasped her skirts before he could launch into another speech. “Orpheus, Nick, gather soldiers from the castle gate. We’ll need some muscle when we storm the Argolion.”

“Hot damn,” Orpheus said, flicking Nick a look. “I do so love stirring the shit with the Council.” He poofed into nothingness before Nick could answer.

The sisters helped the now-exhausted ex-king back into bed. Servants whispered in shock as Isadora stepped toward Nick, but her father’s voice caused her to turn back. “Wait.” To Casey, he said, “Bring me that box over there on the table.”

Casey handed him the small rectangular purple box he’d asked for. He opened the lid and motioned Isadora back to his side.

“I suppose this is yours now,” he said. “The guard’s found it on Demetrius when he came through the portal. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Isadora looked into the box and smiled. Reaching in, her hand returned with a fat diamond the size of a quarter, attached to a long golden chain. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I won’t let you down.”

Her father only harrumphed as she slid the necklace over her head, offered his wrinkled cheek so she could kiss him, then eased back into the pillows. “I’m tired.”

A servant moved in to help him. Isadora stopped in front of Nick. “I’ll never forget what you did here.”

Nick’s chest pinched again, a feeling he didn’t like and didn’t want to get used to. “We’ll see. You still have to save him, Prin—” He caught himself. “Queen. Just don’t expect me to ever call him King if you do.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand, and in the soft light coming through the windows he saw the Titan symbol sparkle in the diamond nestled in her cleavage. “I won’t, Nick. I promise.”