She stepped past her mate toward the front door. And moving into step beside her, Orpheus smacked his hand against the Siren’s backside, then whispered, “Keep this ass in one piece, Siren. I’m more than a little attached to it. And to you.”
“Don’t worry, Daemon.” She leaned into him. “I’m not planning on going anywhere without you.”
The two disappeared out the door, and Cynna took a step to follow, but Nick pulled her back. “Wait.”
Irritation flashed in her dark eyes. “Don’t tell me to hide again.”
“I won’t. I just… Dammit.” He closed his arms around her in a fierce hug, drawing her against his chest, wishing he could pull her inside him where he knew she’d always be safe. But he couldn’t. All he could do was hope and pray and trust.
“Stay close to me,” he said into her hair. “If Zagreus is here, he’ll be looking for you.”
Her arms wound around his back, her fingertips digging into his muscles to hold him just as tightly as he was holding her. “I will.”
“I’m not kidding, Cynna.” Tears burned his eyes as he tightened his grip. “This won’t be the same as when he let us go.”
“I know. And I’m not ready to die today, trust me. Not when I finally have something to live for. But I can’t sit back and do nothing. We brought them to this world, Nick. We have to do something to stop them.”
He closed his eyes and clung to her, needing every bit of her strength, her courage, and her love to get him through this. Because she was wrong. He alone had brought this hell to her people and to his. And something in his gut told him he was the only one who was going to be able to end it.
He just didn’t know how yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Nick pulled his blade from the chest of the daemon he’d just taken down, whipped around, and decapitated the beast, then turned to look for Cynna as the body fell to the hard ground.
Dammit, he’d told her to stay close. He swiped the sweat out of his eyes and scanned the battlefield, searching for her. Panic reformed beneath his ribs when he couldn’t find her. Argonauts, soldiers, and any able-bodied volunteers the castle had been able to round up clashed with satyrs and daemons in the moonlight outside the city walls, but they were losing the battle. It was only a matter of time before the monsters broke through the gates. And this was only the first wave. Hades and Zagreus—wherever the fuckers might be—hadn’t even unleashed the brunt of their armies yet.
His gaze found Zander, sinking his blade deep into a satyr’s belly; Demetrius battling two daemons, both as big as him; Theron rolling across the ground, then lurching to his feet behind a satyr, grabbing him by the throat, and using his blade to slice the beast’s throat open wide. But he still couldn’t find Cynna. She’d been beside him only minutes ago. When that satyr had charged him from the back and knocked him to the ground.
Something whirred through the air near his head. His instincts kicked in. He ducked, missing being decapitated himself, then swiveled and sank his sword into the back of another daemon. The daemon went down on all fours. Nick jerked his blade back and was just about to chop the fucker’s head off when his sensitive hearing picked up a high-pitched yelp, followed by a growl somewhere off to his right.
“Cynna…”
He sprinted over the small rise and spotted her, forty yards away, swinging her blade with both hands while a satyr ducked and rolled, then kicked her leg out from under her.
She hit the ground with a grunt.
The satyr circled around her and growled. “Now who knows more about the people of this world, Mistress?” He nodded down at her, his lips turning in a nasty sneer. “Look at you. You’re nothing but Zagreus’s hired slut.”
Fury erupted across Cynna’s face. She grasped her blade and scrambled to her feet. Tendrils of hair fell over her eyes. Her forehead was covered by a sheen of sweat. Her pants and boots caked with mud. But she didn’t seem to notice or care. Holding the blade in front of her, she stepped to the side, moving with the satyr. “Better to be a hired slut than a bitch who can’t follow a simple order. Tell me, Lykos. How’s that wound in your belly? Did it heal yet? I bet Zagreus was thrilled when you showed up looking like a stuck pig thanks to the female you were clearly told to let go.”
“Why, you little cunt.” The satyr’s eyes blazed, and he lifted his weapon. “It’s way past time someone taught you a lesson.”
The satyr charged, and Nick’s heart lurched into his throat as Cynna stepped back and her blade clanged against the satyr’s.
He’d never reach her in time. Not unless he flashed.
He didn’t think; he reacted. Power surged through his limbs. He felt his body flying. When his feet hit solid ground behind the satyr, he opened his eyes to find the beast on his knees, and Cynna standing over him, her blade sunk deep into his chest.