Shit. Orpheus should have expected Nick would have all ears to the ground. He kept close tabs on what happened around his colony. He had to, to ensure the safety of his people.
“Or,” Nick went on, “it could have been the earthquake from hell—which, by the way, we don’t get many of up here in Montana. But my money’s on the two dead hellhounds my scouts killed not far from that train wreck. All of which combined has dumbshit tattooed all over it. And when I think of dumbshits, your name pops right to the top of the list.”
“Two hellhounds?” Orpheus asked, ignoring Nick’s rant.
“Two,” Nick repeated.
Orpheus’s brow lowered. “We killed five. Which means they aren’t running in normal packs.”
“Your powers of deduction are mind-numbing.”
“Your guys find signs of any others?”
“No.”
Something definitely wasn’t right. “Well, thanks to your crew for rounding them up.”
“Don’t thank me,” Nick said. “If it were up to me, you and your little entourage never would have been allowed entry into the colony. And what the hell are you thinking, dragging Maelea here? Pissing off one god wasn’t enough for you? You had to go for two just to add a little spice to the mix?”
Yep, this was what Orpheus had expected when he’d seen the sentry’s reaction in the caves. “I don’t think she’d appreciate being referred to as part of my entourage.”
“I don’t fucking care what she appreciates,” Nick snapped. “Doesn’t change shit about who she is. Hellhounds, Orpheus. I’m gonna have Hades on my ass now. And thanks to you, Zeus too, if that Siren is any indication of things to come.”
“If we had anywhere else to go, I’d have taken Maelea there and kept you out of this, but we didn’t. I’ll be gone by morning, so you have nothing to worry about. The Siren too. Zeus isn’t after Maelea, trust me.”
“Trusting you is like trusting a fucking Fury. What about Hades?”
“Hades doesn’t want Maelea either. He wants me.” Or rather he wants what Maelea is going to get for me. If she ever cooperates.
“You’ll understand if that doesn’t leave me all tingly inside,” Nick said. “And I didn’t hear you say anything about taking Zeus’s bastard with you when you leave tomorrow.”
That’s because he wasn’t. Orpheus rubbed a hand over his mouth. If Hades had figured out Orpheus needed Maelea to find the Orb, he’d hunt Maelea himself. And that meant this was the safest place for her, where Nick’s sentries could keep her hidden and safe. “I’m pretty sure she likes being called Zeus’s bastard less than being part of my entourage.”
“You’re a fucking moron,” Nick muttered.
Yeah, well, he might be, but if there was one thing Orpheus knew about Nick, it was that the half-breed would just as soon turn out someone in need as he would side with the gods. “What did you mean, if it were up to you we wouldn’t have been allowed entry into the colony?”
Nick held his hand out to the door behind him. “See for yourself.”
A strange feeling tingled low across Orpheus’s back. He pushed the door open. Inside the long room with its conference-style table and windows that looked out at the now-black lake, he spotted Queen Isadora, her sister Casey, Theron—the leader of the Argonauts—and Isadora’s new husband Demetrius.
Oh, this was just fucking terrific.
“Why don’t you sell tickets,” he mumbled to Nick. “There’s bound to be fireworks now.”
“Deal with it,” Nick muttered. “I’ve had to for the last few hours.”
The door closed behind them. Isadora’s concerned brown eyes bored into his. For whatever reason, she seemed to think he had some hero streak inside him. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that whatever heroic qualities were in his lineage had skipped right over him and shot straight to his younger brother Gryphon.
Or at least they had. Before Gryphon’s soul had been lost to Tartarus.
He pushed that painful thought aside and focused on the here and now. She looked better than she had the last time Orpheus had seen her. She’d gained a few pounds and her face was no longer pale and sunken in. And the slacks and sweater were a major improvement over the gowns she used to wear. Behind her, Demetrius’s jaw was set in a tight line as always. The Argonaut may have softened around the edges thanks to Isadora, but that didn’t mean he’d softened toward anyone else, even if that anyone else had helped save his life. Then there was Theron, leaning against the table with his hand on his wife Casey’s shoulder, watching Orpheus with an I always knew you were gonna fuck things up look on his face.