She might be trained by the gods themselves, but she didn’t hide the sting his words inflicted as quickly as she should have. For a tiny second he regretted saying them. Then the feeling fled.
“If you’re determined to drag her into this, go ahead,” she whispered in a hard tone. “But I’ll not let you hurt her.”
As if he cared. He reached the second floor and looked right and left. The door at the end of the hall was open. He headed that way. Paused outside. Peered past the door into what looked like a bedroom suite that ran from one end of the house to the other.
The bed along the wall was empty. To his left, lights from windows that looked out at the street streamed into the room. From the right, dots of illumination peppered the darkened windows at the back of house. Ahead, a door that had to lead to a bathroom was cracked just an inch. And though he couldn’t see her, he sensed Maelea close. Hiding like the ghoul she’d become.
He took a step into the room, conscious that Skyla wasn’t far behind.
“She’s not here,” Skyla whispered.
Yeah, she was. He turned toward the female he still couldn’t stop thinking about but who was quickly becoming a thorn in his side. “Why don’t you see if she’s downstairs.”
“And leave you here alone? I don’t think—”
The double doors to his right flew open. A high-pitched shriek echoed through the room just as a slight figure draped all in black charged, hands held high over her head, holding a blade as big as a machete poised to slice him in two.
He dropped back three steps. The female hurled herself at him, the whites of her fury-filled eyes blinding in the darkness. She slammed into his body. Another shriek filled the room as she sliced out with the weapon. “I will kill you!”
She couldn’t have been more than five-five, a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. Didn’t even knock him off his feet when she barreled into him. He easily overpowered her, grasped her forearms, and wrestled for the blade now only centimeters from his face. When he pulled it from her fingers, she screamed in denial. He tossed it to his left and flipped her around, her back pressed to his front, her arms pinned beneath both of his. “Stop. Now.”
“I’ll never stop,” she screamed. “Never. Do you hear me?”
Bloody hell, she was stronger than she looked. With her arms still locked tight under his, he eased back a few steps until he felt the bed, dropped down, and pinned her on his lap, hooking one leg over both of hers to hold her still. “Stop fighting, do you hear me? We’re not going to hurt you.”
She continued to struggle, and when she realized she was trapped, finally stilled. But her chest rose and fell with her labored breaths, and Orpheus knew she was plotting a way out.
“Orpheus.” Skyla stepped forward from the shadows, concern across her perfect features as the lights from outside reflected off her face. He hadn’t lied when he said she was built like an X-rated Barbie. Not only was she the hottest thing he’d ever seen, that warrior-princess getup with the arm guards and breastplate and those ridiculous platform boots made him hard with just a look.
The female in his arms stopped breathing. And too late he realized she thought he was turned on because of her.
Not even close.
“Are you calm enough for me to let go?” he asked, careful to keep his tone even and his body still. “Or do I need to restrain you?”
Silence.
“Orpheus,” Skyla warned again.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. “I just want to talk.”
The female nodded once.
He didn’t trust her, but she was no threat. And he didn’t want to restrain her if he didn’t have to. A willing hostage was way better than an enraged one. “Okay then. Nice and easy, you got it?”
Maelea nodded again.
He eased his leg off her lap, let go of her arms one by one. As soon as she was free, she bolted away and flipped around, pressing her back into the wall and searching the ground for her blade.
He rose, kicked it toward the bathroom door, spread his feet to use his size as intimidation.
“Now that we’ve got the awkwardness out of the way, let me introduce myself. I’m Orpheus. The chick in the Halloween getup over there is a Siren.” Skyla flicked him an irritated look that only amused him. “You’re familiar with Delia in the Argolean realm? She sent me to find you.”
Confusion crossed Maelea’s face. She shot a look toward the weapon behind him again. “The witch? Why?”