Maelea swiped both hands over her still damp hair as her pulse picked up speed. How could she explain what had happened? She couldn’t. All she could do was try to convince Skyla he wasn’t the monster the rest of the Argonauts were undoubtedly sure he’d become.
She fought back the rush of emotions. But wasn’t strong enough to stop the tears that stung her eyes. “You want to know what happened?” When Skyla nodded, she said, “I realized how special he is. And I fell in love with him. That’s what happened.”
***
The voice was back.
Which meant Maelea wasn’t close.
Gryphon ground his teeth as he sat on the bed in nothing but wet jeans while the med tech wrapped his shoulder, fighting to hold back his temper.
“What the hell were you thinking, Gryphon?” Theron roared at him. “Do you have any idea what kind of fucking mess you’ve made for the rest of us to clean up? Hellhounds. Skata. Not to mention the line of dead daemons you left in your wake. You’re damn lucky Titus and Orpheus came through after you. Not that it fucking matters, since the Council’s already caught wind of this disaster.”
Gryphon cut a look at Orpheus near the door. His brother’s arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes as hard and cold as Gryphon had ever seen them.
Oh yeah, his brother was pissed at him. And with good reason.
He looked toward Titus, leaning against the wall behind Theron, a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Luckily, the Argonaut had healed from his wounds. Which was about the only good news right now. Even so, a burst of remorse trickled through Gryphon’s veins.
“Nick’s ready to have you skewered,” Theron went on, pinning him with a look. “He’s banned you from the colony.” His black eyes narrowed. “Are you listening to any fucking thing I’m saying?”
No, actually, Gryphon wasn’t. All he could think about was Maelea. “Where is she?”
“Safe from you, finally,” Theron said with dead calm.
Gryphon’s heart cinched down tight. And panic slid through his veins. “You have to let her stay. She can’t go back to the colony. She won’t stay there, and Hades is hunting her.”
“Why the hell would you care?” Theron asked. “You fucking kidnapped her.”
His pulse pounded hard in his chest. Yeah, he had, but he’d also found something in her he’d never expected to find anywhere else. Something he now knew he couldn’t live without.
“Well?” Theron asked.
Before Gryphon could answer, the door opened and Cerek stuck his head in the room. “Um, Theron. Sorry, man. I need you for a minute. We have a…situation downstairs.”
“What kind of situation?” Theron asked.
“A Council situation.”
“This is all I need,” Theron muttered. He looked to Gryphon. “You. Stay put. We’re not done.”
As he left, Gryphon couldn’t help but worry that the Council had found out Maelea was in their realm. They’d never allow that. Not the daughter of Persephone and Zeus. His stomach tightened.
Titus pushed away from the wall. “O? Can I see you outside in the hall for a minute?”
Gryphon’s wariness kicked in as he watched the two leave. Now what the hell was going on? As the med tech continued to bandage his shoulder, he tried to listen to what was happening beyond the door. Couldn’t hear anything but that voice echoing in his head. It was there, but not strong, which meant Maelea had to be somewhere in the castle. If she were outside the castle walls, the voice would be a blaring roar in his ears.
The door pushed open again, but instead of his kin, Callia stepped into the room. “I’ll finish that for you,” she said to the tech.
The female nodded, then slipped out of the room without a word.
Callia glanced at the bandage job, then pressed her fingers all around the outside of the wounds on his shoulder, using her healing gift to feel for problems. “It’s not as deep as it could have been. You were lucky.”
“How is she?” he asked, knowing Callia had to have seen Maelea. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She’s fine,” Callia answered as she continued to wrap his shoulder. “She has a slight concussion from hitting her head. Nothing more. Skyla’s with her now.”
Skyla. Gryphon’s eyes slid closed, and he drew in a breath, let it out slowly. Just hearing from someone that Maelea was okay eased the pressure on his chest.
“She seems quite worried about you,” Callia said.
The space around his heart warmed. “I—I need to see her.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good id—”
The door pushed open, but instead of Theron and the others, Orpheus came back into the room alone. The anger was gone from his eyes. In its place was shock and…confusion.
“Orpheus?” Callia asked as she applied the last bit of tape. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He ran a hand down his face. Then nodded Gryphon’s way. “Are you done with him?”
“Yeah. He’s done.” She set down her supplies, handed Gryphon a new shirt from the counter at her side and said, “Put this on.”
“Good,” Orpheus said. “I, uh, need to talk to my brother.” When Callia glanced at each of them curiously he added, “Alone.”