Ari’s insanity flashed in Nick’s mind. The crazed look in his eyes. His thirst for vengeance. His unpredictability and irrational recklessness.
“Theron and Demetrius won’t be of any use anymore if they lose Casey and Isadora. That leaves, what? Orpheus, Gryphon, and a handful of other guys to protect the human realm? Orpheus is unpredictable at best. Gryphon’s still pretty well fucked in the head from being your parents’ plaything in Tartarus. And the other guys are tough as shit, but how effective can they be without the rest of us to back them up? And what happens if Argolea loses its queen? Did you stop for one minute to think about that? The Council will rush in and abolish the monarchy. Isadora’s daughter will never be allowed to rule. And your people… Just what the hell do you think the Council is going to do to the Misos when Isadora isn’t here to protect them? When we’re not around to help her?”
A cold chill settled hard in the center of Nick’s chest. He knew exactly what the Council would do. The same damn thing they’d tried to do to him. Only his people weren’t half as strong as he’d been, even as a child. They’d never survive.
A buzzing sounded all through his ears. One that sent his stomach swirling.
“This isn’t just about you.” Zander dropped his hand from Nick’s chest. “This isn’t even about sex. This is bigger than all of us. If you were half the leader your people think you are, you’d man up and do the right thing this time and save them like you should have done before.”
Nick’s gaze shot up, and all that rolling darkness surged forward. “Why, you son of a—”
“All right, enough,” Isadora pushing to her feet. “Zander, you’ve said your piece, now back off. This isn’t Nick’s problem, it’s ours. And this isn’t his fault, so stop heaping blame where it doesn’t belong. If you want to blame someone, blame the gods. Nick.” Her voice gentled, just a touch. But it was still strained, telling him she was just as anxious about this whole nightmare as he was. “No one’s telling you what you need to do, least of all me. As far as I’m concerned, this is one gigantic mess with no right or wrong solution.”
She stepped back from the table, looking even thinner than she’d appeared yesterday when Nick had arrived in Argolea. “I’m going upstairs to check on my daughter.” She glanced toward Demetrius, and Nick couldn’t help but see the hurt and lingering fear in her eyes. “If anyone needs me, you know where to find me.”
She stalked past Nick, then disappeared into the hall. As silence settled over the room, Zander moved back, but he didn’t cut his glare from Nick. And Nick knew everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to say something, to do something, to make it all right. But he didn’t know what the fuck to do. And all he could think about was getting to Cynna, where things made sense.
He moved out into the hall, and headed for the stairs. This time, thankfully, no one tried to stop him.
“Niko, wait.”
Fuck.
Nick stilled at the sound of Demetrius’s voice. With one hand on the banister, he slowly turned to face his brother.
Shadows covered Demetrius’s face, but as he drew closer, Nick saw what he’d missed in Isadora’s office because the guardian had been looking away the whole time. Agony. Pure, unrestrained agony. The kind that could rip a person apart. The kind Nick had seen on so many prisoners’ faces in Zagreus’s lair.
“You have to do this.”
Nick let go of the banister. “No. Just…no.”
“She’s going to die. I can’t save her. Only you can. You have to.”
Nick pinched his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. “Holy shit. Do you realize what you’re asking me to do?”
“I know exactly what I’m asking,” Demetrius said in a low voice. “Do I hate it? You fucking bet I do. But she’s running out of time, and I can’t stop it. We’ve tried everything. I need her to live, Niko. Elysia needs her to live. This country needs her to live. And if that means I have to share her with you”—he swallowed hard as if just the thought sickened him, which Nick knew it had to—“then I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to save her.”
Nick dropped his hand, still unable to believe—unwilling to accept—that Demetrius was asking him…no begging him…to…
Shit.
He leveled a look on his brother. “No one in that damn office mentioned the elephant in the room. If the soul mate bond is affecting her in the opposite way, you know what could happen. You know what might result.”
Demetrius’s dark gaze never wavered from Nick’s. “The soul mate bond amplifies emotional entanglements. Yeah. I know.”
“Which means she could fall in love with me.”
Demetrius’s jaw ticked.
“And you’re okay with that?” Nick asked, wide-eyed.