“Just…just listen, okay? I didn’t know at first. And by the time I did, I couldn’t tell you. They said you wouldn’t remember and I didn’t want to…Everything…everything from then and now is so muddled. I was trying to figure out the truth about what happened back then and whether you deserved—”
His vision blurred and the red rage of retribution forced his feet forward. She closed her mouth with a snap, took a step back, her eyes wide, white halos all around her amethyst irises. Eyes he now knew he had looked into hundreds of times before. A lifetime ago, just as he’d thought.
He slammed his palm against the wall right by her head, a deafening crack that echoed through the entire room.
“Two thousand years, Siren,” he said from between clenched teeth. “In hell. All because of you. Do not speak to me about what is deserved. Because right now I’m a hair’s breadth from deciding you deserve to be ripped apart limb by limb and thrown to the fishes in the lake below us.”
He took a step away from her, hating that even now, when he knew it had all been an act on her part, he still wanted her. Still craved her. Was still entranced by her just as he’d always been.
“And take a message to your fucking king while you’re at it,” he added, drawing on the Orb’s strength so he wouldn’t reach for her, wouldn’t touch her, wouldn’t ever give in again. “Tell him his grandson’s back from the dead. And this time, his fucking days are numbered.”
***
Maelea couldn’t sleep.
A dark energy had infiltrated the colony sometime during the night and she’d been awake since, checking abandoned corridors and balconies, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Drawn to it in a way that made her skin itch and her heart thump with excitement.
Footsteps echoed from the stairs. She slid into the shadows behind a large stone column in the great hall. Orpheus’s boots grew silent as he hesitated at the bottom of the steps, glanced right and left. His hair was mussed, his shirt wrinkled, the jeans he wore stained with…blood? But it was his face that kept drawing her attention. The locked jaw like a slice of steel beneath his skin, the burning eyes, the unnatural energy that radiated from every inch of his rigid body.
She drew a sharp breath. This was not the same man who’d slinked into her room a few nights ago and spoken of loneliness and being forgotten. This was the man who’d kidnapped her from her home, killed those hellhounds as if they were nothing, and put her life in jeopardy.
His eyes narrowed on her hiding place. She held her breath, sure he could see her. Seconds later he turned and headed for the door at the far end of the hall.
Alone, she pressed a hand against her stomach and breathed deeply.
The clock over the fireplace told her it was close to five a.m. She needed to get back to her room before the colony awoke. She took a step for the stairs, then stopped when she heard voices. Female voices. She darted back into the shadows and waited for them to pass.
“Have you checked on Max?” Isadora asked.
The tall auburn-haired female strolling down the corridor with the queen of Argolea rubbed her forehead. “He was studying. Didn’t want to talk to me. He’s always studying.”
“That’s not a bad thing, Callia. He missed out on school during his time with Atalanta.”
“I know, I know, it’s just…”
“What?”
Callia stopped. “I knew the transition wouldn’t be easy. I knew the honeymoon phase would wear off, but lately…I’m having a hard time getting through to him. It’s like he doesn’t want to talk to us anymore. Like he’s turning into himself and his schoolwork.”
“He has a lot of emotions to work though. He spent ten years with her.”
“I know,” Callia said, walking again. “I know he’s angry and confused and trying to adjust to life in Argolea. It’s just—” Her voice caught. “I love him so much. I don’t want to lose him now that he’s finally home.”
Isadora squeezed her hand. “You won’t. You and Zander will help him through this. He’s lucky to have you.”
Callia nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. She stopped in front of the massive fire in the living area, where embers from last night’s fireplace still glowed red.
“How about coffee?” Isadora asked. “That always helps.”
“I think five minutes off my feet might do me better. I need to get back to Gryphon soon.” Callia eased onto the couch. “And only one cup for you. Too much caffeine’s not good for you and that baby.”
The queen sat on the arm of a chair, said something Maelea couldn’t hear, but Maelea barely cared. If the two females didn’t leave soon, there’d be no way for her to reach the stairs without one or both of them seeing her. And while she wasn’t afraid of them, she had no desire to “chat” or get to know anyone better in this place.