Demetrius’s feet stilled. His back was to Nick, and he didn’t turn to face him. But every muscle in his body was clenched and rigid, and the way he reached up, the way he grabbed a fistful of his dark hair and pulled hard, as if he were trying to will away reality with pain, reignited those vibrations all along Nick’s scars.
“It’s not a joke,” Theron said in a hard voice to Nick’s left. “Every Argonaut knows the power of sex.”
Nick cringed. Holy fuck, someone had actually said it. Just the use of the word made his stomach roll and all of this seem that much more real. And fucking deranged.
“Sex solidifies the soul mate bond,” Theron went on. “It’s how we each knew who our soul mate was, without doubt. Callia’s right. The soul mate bond is the strongest force out there. And your newfound god powers are fucking with that bond in a negative way. No one’s saying this has to be a repeat event. Once was all it took to save Atalanta’s life, and since she was your mother, once should be all that’s needed here.”
The leader of the Argonauts made it sound like they were talking about swapping recipes, not Nick fucking his brother’s wife.
That dark energy inside rumbled to life with a burst of excitement, but Nick fought it back. Raking a hand through his hair, he grabbed his own damn locks, wanting a little pain to dull the throbbing in his skull.
“If this is a”—gods almighty, he couldn’t believe he was saying this—“a sperm issue—”
“It’s not a sperm issue,” Callia said. “It has nothing to do with fertility or even biology. That’s why the blood transfusion didn’t work. It’s about solidifying a bond. A connection. One that balances energy.”
Holy shit. They really did expect him to have sex with Isadora. Everyone in the room was waiting for him to say yes as if it were no big deal. He glanced toward Isadora. She still hadn’t met his eyes, just kept flicking worried glances toward Demetrius. But just the fact she wasn’t freaking out told him she’d either already accepted this insanity or wasn’t about to make a scene in front of her family and friends.
Disbelief rushed through him. How the hell could she accept it? He shot a look at Demetrius, who was still fucking pacing. How the hell could he? They were in love. Madly in love. He’d seen it up close and personal. This wasn’t something two people in love would ever agree to.
He wasn’t doing it. He couldn’t. Now that he knew what love felt like, he couldn’t—wouldn’t—do anything to jeopardize theirs.
Nick’s gaze shifted to the windows in search of Cynna. Only she wasn’t there. He looked around the room but couldn’t find her. She’d left. At some point when he’d been wrapped up in all this nonsense, she’d slipped out, and he hadn’t even noticed.
Panic pushed at his chest. Had she left before or after they’d decided he needed to sleep with Isadora, the one person Cynna hated more than anyone else in the world?
“I…I’m not doing this.” Nick turned for the door. “This is nuts. You are all fucking nuts.”
Footsteps shuffled behind him. Theron called, “Wait.” But Nick ignored him. He needed to get out of this crazy house before he went completely insane himself.
Zander lurched forward and put his big body between Nick and the door, blocking Nick’s exit.
“Move,” Nick said, ready to be done with this.
“No, you are doing this.” Zander’s eyes shifted to a dark, stormy gray, one that indicated his legendary rage was just waiting to be set free.
As if Nick freakin’ cared. He had his own darkness to deal with. “No, I’m not. And none of you can make me.”
He moved to step around Zander, but the guardian slapped a hand on Nick’s chest and pushed him back. “This isn’t just about you. People are going to die if you don’t do the right thing.”
“Zander,” Callia said softly from the opposite side of the room.
“No, thea. He needs to know the fucking truth.”
“And what truth is that?” Nick tossed back, that shadow energy now a roaring thunder in his veins. “That you’re all fucked in the head because you want me to screw my brother’s wife? I’m sorry, but I’m not into your sick and twisted games.”
“No.” Zander blocked Nick’s path, still not letting him by. “This is the truth. If Isadora dies, so do Callia and Casey, because they’re linked through the Horae. And I’ll be gone too, since my mate is my weakness. But forget about me. Forget about what this will do to my children or Isadora’s child, or even Casey’s baby, if it survives. Have you ever seen what happens to an Argonaut when he loses his mate?”