Tempted

Chapter 26

It could be worse.

As Demetrius pulled in deep, painful breaths and wished for death, he figured it could be a helluva lot worse. At least Isadora wasn’t here to witness this.

“Here, D.” Zander held a glass to his lips. “Drink this.”

The cool water was the best thing he’d ever tasted. He sipped slowly, felt the liquid dribble from his lips, land on his bare chest, and slide down to mix with the blood and sweat staining his pants.

“This is wrong,” Cerek muttered on his other side. “This is so fucking wrong.”

“No shit,” Phineus said. “I’d like to string up the damn Council and give them each a taste of what they’re doing to him.”

Demetrius’s vision came and went. He turned away from the glass when he was done, focused on simply breathing while his kinsmen’s voices drifted around him. If he’d had any strength left, he’d have dug deep for his magick to get the hell out of this one, but he was too weak. His arms ached from the weight of his body pulling down on the metal hooks high above his head. Beneath his bare feet, a pool of blood had gathered, dripping from the wounds in his back where the tria mastigio had sliced deep into his skin during the cleansing portion of the execution rite.

He was strung up in the main Council chamber, on the raised platform behind the great alpha seal stamped into the marble floor where Isadora usually sat when she observed Council proceedings. Twelve massive pillars rose around the room in a vast circle. Guards were stationed at the main doors, another two on each side of the platform. The twelve Council members weren’t seated around the alpha seal as usual, but had taken up space on the far side of the room where they could watch the ritual in relative comfort. All except Lucian, their leader, who stood in the center of the vast room arguing with Theron and the cleanser, the hooded guard the Council had chosen to mete out the early portion of the ritual.

Footsteps echoed, and the Argonauts’ voices died down as Theron stepped back onto the platform and moved close. “The cleansing’s over. I got Lucian to agree he’s had enough.”

“Fuck,” Titus breathed. “Theron, man, this is wrong. He’s one of us. Doesn’t matter where the hell he came from.”

“I know,” Theron answered.

“He saved Isadora,” Zander said. “I was there.”

“I know,” Theron said again, running a hand over his brow as if he had the mother of all migraines. “I know all of that, but he wouldn’t talk, and the Council’s ruled. I can’t stop this any more than you can.”

“It’s not right,” Cerek added. “This ritual isn’t ever supposed to happen. I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

Footsteps echoed again, and Demetrius cleared his vision just enough to see the two guards stepping up on the platform. The guardians’ voices died down as they all watched the first guard set out the seven jars, followed by the second, who placed a marble box in the center of the table.

“Hold it together,” Theron said quietly to each of the Argonauts as the guard opened the box and lifted the roll of red satin. He set the roll on the table, moved the box to the floor, and slowly unrolled until all seven ancient daggers inside were lined up, the bloodred satin beneath an eerie promise of what the weapons were meant to do.

“Fuck,” Titus muttered again, turning away from the table. “No way. I’m not doing this.”

Demetrius’s gaze landed on the symbols carved into each black handle of the twelve-inch daggers. The same symbols he’d seen on the trunks in the Hall of Heroes. Each blade had once belonged to one of the original seven heroes, and they were never used. Not unless an Argonaut was sentenced to death. Though he’d never witnessed such a ceremony—couldn’t remember when or if there’d ever been one—Demetrius knew how this was going to play out. Each Argonaut would use the weapon of his forefather to inflict a punishing wound. Death would be prolonged until the last killing blow. Then his organs would be cut from his body and buried in the jars in the far corners of Argolea as a testament to the other Argonauts of the swift retribution for betraying the order.

“If we don’t,” Theron said as tension grew around them, “Lucian will let his guards do it, and they’ll draw this out as long as they can.” He turned to Demetrius, and though his vision was murky Demetrius saw regret, not contempt, in the guardian’s eyes. “I’ll go first. I’ll make it quick, D. The rest of you”—he glanced over the other faces—“you’ll have to go through with it, but I’ll make sure he’s already dead.”

More swearing rose up. Demetrius didn’t care who went first; he just wanted this shit over. He licked his lips, struggled to find his voice. “Theron.”

“Yeah, D,” Theron said. “I’m right here.”

Demetrius lifted his head, pushed his weight on his feet so he wasn’t hanging by his arms. His legs shook. “I told you…before I took you to Atalanta’s stronghold to find Isadora…I wanted one thing.”

“I remember,” Theron said gently. “You name it and it’s yours. Whatever I can do, I will.”

Demetrius drew in a deep breath. “Isadora’s pregnant. She won’t get rid of the…baby. I already tried to talk her into it.”

A host of whispered holy shits and skatas rose up around him.

“She won’t…” He rolled his shoulder to ease the pain. Didn’t work. “She won’t bind herself to one of the other guys either. I tried that as well. She won’t listen to me.”

“She’s never listened to me either,” Theron said with a sad smile.

No, she hadn’t, had she? The gynaíka did things her way, for right or wrong, and he loved her more because of it. “The Council can’t know about the pregnancy. They can’t…”

Emotion closed off his words. He swallowed hard, tried not to sound like he was begging, but really, what did it matter anymore?

Theron laid his hand over the markings on Demetrius’s arm, high above his head. “I’ll make sure they don’t. And when the baby’s born, Acacia and I will raise it as our own. You have my word on that, D. Isadora will be protected. And your son will serve with the Argonauts when he’s old enough. Just like his father.”

Demetrius closed his eyes. Drew in a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Yeah. Yeah, okay. They could get on with this now. “Thank you,” he said to Theron. To all of them.

Voices echoed around him. Words of regret and friendship from each of his kinsmen. They knew the truth about him now, and contrary to what he’d always thought, they didn’t hate him. Funny that it had taken all of this to get to a place where he finally felt…like he was really and truly one of them.

“Theron,” Lucian announced in a loud voice from the other end of the room. “It is time.”

Demetrius opened his eyes, looked at each of his kinsmen, and nodded in reassurance. “Look on the bright side. No one has to…deal with my shitty attitude anymore.” He swallowed hard. “No regrets here, guys.”

No one laughed at his lame joke, but as they each moved away, he felt better. Lighter. Like at least his life hadn’t totally been for shit.

Theron moved to the table and held his hand out over Heracles’s dagger. He hesitated, then glanced up at Demetrius. “No regrets,” he said softly.

Demetrius swallowed one more time. Steeling himself for what was about to happen, he nodded.

Some kind of commotion outside the council chamber brought Demetrius’s head around. The guard’s rushed to see what was happening.

Theron turned toward the others. “T, Zander, go see what the hell that is.”

Lucian rose from his seat. “What’s the meaning of this disturbance?”

“I don’t know,” Theron muttered as Titus and Zander jumped off the platform.

Voices echoed outside the doors, but only one cut through the chaos. Demetrius’s chest squeezed tight. “Theron.” No. Gods, no. “That’s Isadora. Don’t let her in. Please don’t let her see me die.”

“I won’t,” Theron said as he stepped off the platform and doled out instructions to Phineus and Cerek.

Hands bound above, powerless to move or even see what was happening, Demetrius held his breath as he stared toward the commotion and prayed with everything left in him that Isadora wouldn’t walk through those doors.

Theron and the others disappeared into the hallway. Voices rose up in confusion in the chamber. Outside, the sound of a struggle echoed. His heart lurched into his throat as he waited; then the fight died down and the click of shoes against marble resounded.

His heart beat so hard it was all he could hear. Then a swish of powder blue rushed through the doors and his heart sped up until he was sure it would fly right out of his chest. Isadora, wearing a gold wreath in her hair, emerged, flanked by both her sisters and followed by Orpheus and—no fucking way—Nick?

Isadora’s gaze immediately found him, and Demetrius’s stomach dropped at the horror he saw in her eyes. She nodded at Orpheus. “Get him down from there.”

Lucian lurched forward. “You have no right to interfere with these proceedings!”

Nick put himself between Isadora and the Council leader and held the sword blade out in his hand. “I suggest you rethink that move, old man. I’ve gotten rather good with a blade since we last met, and I have no qualms about slicing and dicing you.”

Shock ran across Lucian’s face, but he stopped mid-step.

As Orpheus, Callia, and Casey rushed over to unhook his arms from the bindings, Demetrius saw Theron and the other Argonauts haul Lucian’s guards in and toss them to the ground along the wall.

Isadora stepped up next to Nick. “I’ll take it from here.” Nick moved back. She squared her shoulders, leveling her eyes on Lucian. “By the power of the monarchy, as is my right by birth, I pardon this guardian and clear him of all charges.”

Fury erupted in Lucian’s face. “You have no right!”

“I have every right!”

Voices and motion ceased in the room. Next to Demetrius, where he was unhooking his arm, Orpheus whispered, “Go, Isa.”

“My father has abdicated the throne to me,” Isadora went on in a strong and confident voice. “And know this now, Lord Lucian. Not you, not any member of this Council, can overrule my authority. If you thought I was simply going to roll over and let the Council use me as its pawn, you’d better think again. The charges brought against this guardian were the result of biased propaganda and I’ll not let you use him in your political war against the monarchy or the Argonauts.”

She moved closer to the leader of the Council, who was now visibly vibrating with rage. “And when you address me from now on, you son of a bitch, you’ll do so as Your Highness. Theron?” she called over her shoulder.

“Yes, my queen,” the leader of the Argonauts said with a clear smile in his voice.

“Have the Argonauts escort the Council members out of the Argolion, please.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness. Phin? Cerek? Care to help me?” he asked as he moved past her, stopping in front of the twelve lords, all dressed in their traditional robes, shock and awe across their faces. He held out his hand toward the door on the opposite side of the room. “This way, Your Lordships.”

Demetrius could barely believe what was happening. His vision wavered as Orpheus and Callia supported his weight and helped him down the marble steps, but he knew the swirl of heavenly blue silk rushing his way was Isadora—his soul mate, his heart, his life—and somehow just her closeness gave him the strength he’d nearly lost.

“Oh, gods.” Her arms slid around his waist and a trail of heat exploded wherever she touched. “Is he okay?”

“I think so,” Callia said in a clearly shaken voice. “Some of these will need stitching, though.”

He couldn’t tear his gaze from her face. From her dewy skin, her dreamy eyes, that blond cap of gold that was like a halo around her head. “You…” His weight shifted from Orpheus to her. Her arms tightened, but she wasn’t strong enough to support him when his legs went out beneath him.

She gasped as he went down. Voices echoed again, but all he could focus on was her.

“Demetrius,” she said in a frantic voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…” He stared up at her face. “You fought for me.”

She knelt in front of him and ran her fingers down his cheek. So warm, so soft…“Of course I did. I told you on Pandora you were worth saving. I meant it.”

“No one’s ever fought for me before.”

A warm smile slid across her face. “Get used to it, Guardian. As long as blood flows in my veins, I’ll be here fighting for you. Any and every time you need me.”

The blackness that was so much a part of him settled in that moment. Just laid right down in the bottom of his soul as if she were the key to controlling it. And warmth filled the space left behind. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so damn much.”

Her smile grew even wider. “Oh, it’s a good thing. Because I just made some serious enemies here today, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need you now more than ever.”

Her arms slid around his neck and she leaned down to kiss him. As he’d dreamed of for nearly two hundred years. As he’d been afraid of for too damn long. As he’d prayed for, this last lonely day. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, reveling in the warmth of her body tight against his, just where she should be.

Home. She was his home. She always had been. No matter where he went or what happened from here, she always would be.

When she eased back, her eyes sparkled, but his brain was slowly coming back online and there was so much he still didn’t understand. “How did you get your father to—?”

“Nick. He testified on your behalf.”

His gaze shot past her face to where his brother was standing near the far door. Their eyes met, held, then Nick nodded once and disappeared out the door. Demetrius’s brow wrinkled. “How—?”

“It turns out he doesn’t hate you quite as much as you think,” Isadora said, drawing his attention back to her. “And I promised him things were going to be different, now that I’m in charge. This isn’t just our war. It’s his too. He needs the Argonauts’ help.”

Pride swelled inside of him at what she’d done. At how she’d stood up to not only the Council but her father as well. At the lengths she’d gone to, to save him. “He’s got mine.”

She smiled, brushed her hand down his cheek, but before he could kiss her again the smile faded and she loosed her hold. “Just hold that thought. One minute.” She must have seen the confusion on his face, because she eased back in to kiss him quickly. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

She stood and looked around the room. Callia stepped up next to Demetrius to check his back. To the left, the Argonauts grinned like colossal fools.

Isadora grasped her skirts and disappeared out the door.

“Orpheus!” she called when she reached the hallway. The ándras stopped halfway down the long marble corridor and turned to look back. “Wait.”

“I’ve got things to do, Isa. Places to be, people to torment. Make it quick. What do you want now?”

“Just to thank you. I—” She stopped in front of him, placed a hand over her still-quaking stomach. The image of Demetrius strung up in the Council chambers would live with her forever. If she’d been moments later…“I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

“That’s right. You do.” A frown creased his forehead. “And how the hell am I supposed to collect on our little deal now? The whole freakin’ kingdom knows you’ve got the hots for Hellboy in there. And what’s the fun in seducing you when you’re already damaged goods?”

Her lips curved up and relief—no, gratitude—rushed through her chest. He thought he was such a badass, but he wasn’t. Underneath that devil-may-care attitude lay the heart of a hero. “I would have lived up to our agreement, you know.”

“I know you would have,” he said quietly. Their eyes held a moment, then he frowned again. “Which totally takes the freakin’ fun out of the whole thing.”

Her smile widened as she took a step forward. Oh, she did like him—always had. She’d just never trusted herself to see what lurked underneath his prickly exterior. Now she did. Her week with Demetrius had taught her that what you see isn’t always what’s real.

“Stay,” she said, sobering. “Stay and help me. I need you. Our people need you. The Argonauts need you. You have the markings from the gods now. And though I don’t quite know where Atalanta is at this moment or what she has planned next, I do know she’s not gone for good. We won the battle, but the war isn’t over.”

“We both know I’m not hero material, Isa.” His eyes flashed green before resettling to their normal gray, a reminder that what was hidden in him was a liability. But she didn’t see it that way anymore. She saw it as an enormous asset. “You are, though. More than you realize.”

“Not in this lifetime.” His jaw clenched and he glanced away. “Look, I gotta go. Are we done here?”

“We’re done. But before you go.” She lifted the gold chain from around her neck and held the earth element out in front of him. In the lights from above, the diamond sparkled and shone. “Take this with you. It might come in handy.”

He eyed the diamond as if he were afraid it would electrocute him. He knew what it was. And he knew its importance. “You’re giving this to me? Why?”

“I’m loaning it to you. There’s a big difference. I fully expect you to bring it back. And if you don’t, I know six burly guys who’ll be more than happy to hunt you down and haul you both back.” He didn’t smile at her joke, but that was okay. She knew she’d just shocked the hell out of him. She stepped close, gently laid the diamond in his hand, and closed his fingers over the stone. “It’ll help you save Gryphon.”

His eyes shot from the diamond in his fist to her face. “I’m not going after Gryphon. All I care about is the Orb.”

“Sure, I know. Take it anyway.”

He looked back down at his fist. Hesitated as if he was going to say something, then didn’t. When he looked up again, his gaze strayed past her toward the end of the hall, where she sensed Demetrius standing.

Confusion cleared from his features, was replaced with his normal I-don’t-give-a-rip attitude as he glanced back at her once more and pocketed the diamond. “Don’t fuck up the kingdom while I’m gone, Isa.”

She watched as he walked away. And in the silence that followed knew, even if he didn’t, that he wasn’t going after the Orb of Krónos as he claimed.

She heard Demetrius move close, felt the heat from his body wrap around and draw her in. Her heart picked up speed, and when she turned she found he was no more than a foot away, holding a blanket closed at his chest, his brow wrinkled in confusion at what he’d just overheard. His dark hair was a mess around his face, his cheeks hollowed out from the stress of the last week, his skin stained with blood and sweat. But to her he’d never been more handsome.

“Where’s he going?” He nodded toward the end of the hall.

“To find Gryphon.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I’m going on faith. And intuition. The same faith and intuition that told me to find Casey, to stand up to Hades, to trust in you. It hasn’t let me down so far. I have to believe it won’t this time either.”

“Kardia.”

He opened the blanket. She moved into him without hesitation, sliding her hands around his waist, careful not to touch any of the wounds on his back. Lifting her face to his, she drew in a breath as his lips lowered to hers and she took a little of his weight, giving him back her strength tenfold.

His eyes were as soft as she’d ever seen them when he eased back to gaze down at her. And though she knew the horrors of this day were never going to leave her, neither would this moment.

“I’ve been floating in a black mist of death and misery so long,” he said, “I couldn’t see that the one thing I was most afraid of had the power to save me. Lachesis was right. You didn’t just rescue my body in there, kardia, you saved my soul. Just like you did on that island every time you trusted me, every time you touched me, every time you loved me. You’re doing it now simply by looking at me like I’m everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“You are,” she whispered. “In more ways than you will ever know.”

He brushed his fingers down her cheek. “I promise you, with everything that I am, that I will find a way to break Hades’s contract on your soul. I’m not spending eternity without you. Not now, when I’ve finally realized you are my home.”

Had she once been afraid of him? It seemed like a lifetime ago. “Some things can’t be saved, Demetrius, but I’m okay with that. I’m not living my life for the future anymore. I have everything I want right here. I have you and”—she took his hand and placed it on her stomach—“the life you’ve given me. That’s all I need.”

He looked down where he touched her, and his eyes went so soft and dreamy her heart clenched. “Ah, kardia. Anything can be saved. I’m living proof of that. Believe in me like I believe in you. I won’t let you down. I won’t let either of you down ever again, I promise.”

Emotion closed her throat. “I already do, Demetrius. I love you. I love you so much.”

“You shouldn’t,” he whispered. “If I were stronger, you wouldn’t. But I’ll be damned if I’ll keep fighting this.” He lifted her around the waist and turned a slow circle with her in his arms. “I love you too, Hora, queen, soul mate, mine. Always.”

His mouth captured hers again and he kissed her, just as she wanted. There were a thousand unknowns hanging in the balance—the fate of her kingdom, her rule, this pregnancy, the Argonauts, and a war she knew wasn’t over—but this, how she felt about him, this was a truth that would never let her down. As long as she believed in that, nothing could ever tear them apart.

Not even Hades himself.