Just what was Theron hiding from them? From her?
“Theron,” the one named Cerek said in a placating tone. “It’s not wise to—”
“Enough,” Theron barked. Casey jumped at the sound of his hard voice. “It’s not open for discussion.” He glanced at the blond guardian. “Zander will go with me. Cerek, you’ll stay here.”
Casey’s gaze shot to the dark guardian, who looked as enthused by that order as she was.
Casey touched Theron’s arm. “Theron. I—”
He turned her way, and she saw then the man he’d been when he came into her store that day. Hard. Unfeeling. Full of purpose that had nothing to do with her. She hadn’t realized just how much he’d softened toward her until this moment.
As if he knew what she was seeing, he gently took her hand and turned her toward the hall. “Come, meli. You need to rest.”
She let herself be pushed along, partly because she didn’t have the energy to argue and partly because she was still trying to make sense of the strange encounter. But behind her she heard Cerek say, “Skata. Did you hear what he just called her?”
That tingling ignited across her back again as Theron led her to the bedroom and tucked her into the massive bed.
“I won’t be long,” he said. His eyes were once again soft and gentle, but there was an edge to them that hadn’t been there before.
“I could go with you if you want—”
“No,” he snapped.
She recoiled, and he quickly sat on the side of the bed and took her hand. Turning it palm up, he rubbed his thumb over her skin. “No,” he said softer. “It’s Argonaut business. You’ll be better off here. And besides, I want you to get some rest.”
“You said the daemons couldn’t cross into Argolea.”
“They can’t. The portal’s safely guarded.”
“Then why did you tell Cerek to stay?”
His thumb rubbed a soft trail over the inside of her wrist. “Because I feel better knowing he’s here, that’s all. You have nothing to worry about, meli.”
Yeah. Like she was buying that one. She was just about to ask him what was really going on when she looked down at where he touched her. “You’re not doing that mind-control thing on me again, are you?”
He chuckled. “I was trying. Is it working?”
“No.”
He smiled then as he looked up. That same sexy grin that had nearly melted her before. At her house. In that cave. Here, right now. “I never was very good at it.”
His smile faded as he let go of her hand and stood. “I’ll be back soon. If you need anything, ask Cerek. He won’t harm you.”
She found his last comment oddly unnerving, but before she could ask what that meant, he was leaning down. She lifted her face for his kiss, only to be disappointed when he pressed his lips to her forehead. Then he was gone.
With a frown, Casey eased down into the pillows. She could smell Theron here, as strong as if he were lying beside her. The scent of thyme wasn’t as prominent in the bedroom, but it was still definitely somewhere in the house.
She closed her eyes and tried to figure out what was going on. Why wasn’t he being honest with her?
Her mind spun with possibilities, but before she could spend anymore time wondering, sleep claimed her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Imbeciles!”
Atalanta roared out her frustration as she slammed her hands down on the altar of her temple. The solid stone split in two with an earth-shattering crack and fell together at her feet.
Two steps down, in front of the now-demolished altar, Deimus dropped his head in supplication. Behind him, and several feet away, three other daemons did likewise.
They were morons. All of them. And they were fucking up her plans.
She rounded the mess, her bloodred skirt flying behind her. “She lives and the half-breeds survive. You are useless, Deimus!”
He didn’t lift his head or try to defend himself, even as she reached for the sword at his hip, unsheathed the blade and plunged it deep into his chest in one mighty thrust.
Slowly, his head came up, and his green eyes widened until the whites were all she saw. The shock that ran over his face only fueled the venom in her veins as she twisted the sword, exacting as much pain as possible.
He gasped. Fell to his knees at her feet. Blood pumping, she braced one foot against his chest and yanked the blade out, then thrust her arm out to the side so the blade sliced through the air and severed his head. It rolled down the stone steps with a sickening thunk. Gritting her teeth, she pushed with the sole of her foot until his body followed suit and came to rest near the head at the base of the temple steps.
The other three daemons looked down in horror.
“Thanatos,” she barked. “Come forward.”
The daemon in the middle cautiously looked up, and though he hesitated a brief moment, he obeyed, coming to rest where Deimus had once stood.