“Spans of time where he completely blacks out. He’s not aware of what he’s doing while in these episodes, but he has flashes of them afterward, and of the things he’s done while in them. From what we’ve been able to discern, the episodes are usually triggered when he senses Sirens close by.”
Daphne’s head was suddenly spinning. Zeus and Athena had implied he killed Sirens in his crazed need for revenge, but if that were the case, he would have started killing them as soon as his soul mate died. What Silas was describing made it sound like Ari’s “episodes” began after he’d left the Argonauts. Months after his soul mate was already gone.
That didn’t sound like revenge at all. It sounded like...a curse.
Daphne opened her mouth to ask more, but before should get the words out Silas went on.
“For a while, he kept himself locked in this hold. Thought if he isolated himself, he could stop the episodes. But his duty was too strong. The need to protect is engrained in his Argonaut DNA. He now runs his own missions, hunting daemons and safeguarding the people he swore to defend ages ago. But any time he has a blackout, it weighs heavily on him. Thankfully, they’re few and far between these days.”
Daphne’s brow wrinkled again. Zeus had made it sound like Ari’s attacks were stepping up, not lessening.
Silas shook his head. “Things changed a few months ago, though, when one of Ari’s friends called asking for his help. Nick is one of the few people from Ari’s old life who knows Ari’s still alive. I was hesitant about Ari traveling to Mexico. Offered to go with him but he wouldn’t let me. You see, he hasn’t had an episode in quite a while, and I was worried about how he would react. Turns out Ari didn’t encounter any Sirens on his trip, but something did happen there. When he came back, he was different. Sullen. Moody. No longer laughing and lighthearted as he’d been when we were renovating this place.” He looked up and around again. “He’s never said exactly what occurred, but I think seeing his old friend made him realize what’s missing in his life—friendship, family...love.”
Daphne’s head grew light. Did she have those things? Definitely not love. She’d never known a male deep enough to fall in love. And with her parents gone, she had no family left. She had friends, though, didn’t she? Her Siren sisters were her friends. But even as she tried to convince herself of that fact, she knew it was a lie. The way Sappheire had left her in the woods without a single word of comfort or encouragement proved she wasn’t a true friend in any sense of the word.
“He reacts to you in a way I haven’t seen him react to anyone else,” Silas said. “He’s nervous around you. Not in a dangerous way, but in an interested one. I’m not trying to set you up, just to be clear. That’s not my goal. I simply think your being here is good for him. It forces him to see that he can be around others and not flip out. And he needs that. He needs to see he isn’t the monster everyone believes him to be.”
Daphne stared down at the table, taking in all this new information, trying to process it, trying to fit it into what she’d been sent here to do. He still killed Sirens. That fact was irrefutable, and she couldn’t ignore it. But if he didn’t know he was doing it, if he really was cursed in some way, then that made a huge difference to her.
She needed to spend more time with him. Needed to figure out if Zeus or Silas was correct. Then she’d know how to proceed.
“I don’t want you to think he’s dangerous,” Silas said. “He can be a grouchy pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s never had an episode while he’s been in the hold, and as I said, the only ones at risk when he does are Sirens, which you are clearly not.” A half smile curled his lips then faded. “But yes, I’d like you to stay. If you’re amenable to the idea. At least until I return.”
She was. But not for the reasons he wanted.
Knowing she couldn’t agree too quickly, Daphne bit her lip. She still needed to play the damsel-in-distress role. No matter what she decided to do about the Argonaut in the end, she couldn’t let her cover slip. “He won’t want me here. Especially if you’re gone. He pretty much told me last night to get lost.”
“I know.” Mischief filled Silas’s light-blue eyes. “That’s why I have an idea. The question is simply whether or not you’re brave enough to go through with it.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Daphne wasn’t sure about Silas’s so-called plan. He wanted her to take the damsel-in-distress fa?ade one step further and insist Ari teach her self-defense. She had to admit it wasn’t the worst idea out there, but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure she could pull it off. Sure, she sucked at marksmanship, but she knew full well how to take care of herself.
Like you did with those daemons?