Skyla grasped Nick’s arm, stopping him in the massive hallway of Zeus’s temple on Olympus. “Wait. What about Isadora?”
Nick’s mind skipped back to his soul mate in Argolea being ushered into the caves with his people. That pull to her he always felt tugged on something in his chest, but he knew in the center of his soul that Isadora would tell him to do this if she were here. She loved her family, but she was a leader, like him. And though she might not have been able to sleep with him to save herself, she’d be the first to put her life on the line for her country.
“I don’t know. I have to hope that Callia and everyone else were wrong and that she won’t die when this happens. But I do know if I don’t try, everyone dies.”
Skyla’s gaze held his, then she nodded and released his arm. “Good luck.”
“Good luck to you.”
They parted ways. She heading to plead with Athena for the Sirens’ help in the battle, he to find Zeus and demand he become a god.
Holy…fuck. There was something he never thought he’d want. Ever.
He stopped in front of a set of massive gold double doors with Zeus’s legendary lightning bolt carved into the sleek surface. Drawing one deep breath, he braced his hands against the cool metal, pushed both doors open, and stepped inside a circular room with a marble dome, columns that rose to an elaborately painted ceiling, and gold-plated everything.
A god he instantly recognized as Poseidon lounged on a plush purple sofa with gold trim in the middle of the room, his surfer-blond hair falling in his eyes, his massive body stretched out across the piece of furniture, making it look tiny. Across the room, where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he stared out at the view far below, Zeus turned his head.
“Nikomedes,” Zeus said in a low, commanding voice. But then, being the King of the Gods, of course he was commanding. He was the big shit here and everywhere. “I see you brought the traitor with you.”
Nick’s spine stiffened at the use of his full given name. “Skyla’s no traitor. She just didn’t want to be part of all this anymore. Free will. Isn’t that why you’re so fascinated with humanity?”
Zeus turned to fully face him. “She left the Sirens and betrayed me.”
“She left for love. You, of all people, should be able to understand that choice. You fall in love every other damn day.”
“Ah, he’s got you there,” Poseidon quipped from the couch.
Zeus didn’t respond. Just clenched his jaw, moved to a desk across the room, and leaned back against the white marble surface. “So you want me to unleash your god powers so you can save your people.”
Of course he already knew. He was Zeus, the king of fucking everything.
“Yes,” Nick said.
“Pretty ballsy,” Poseidon muttered. “What’s stopping us from smiting you and just taking those pretty powers?”
Nick glanced to his right toward the god—his brother.
And wow, wasn’t that just totally fucking wicked?
“Because you can’t.” Strength and understanding surged in Nick’s veins. Of course they couldn’t take them. If they could, they’d have tried long ago. Hades and his son had just been too stupid and greedy to accept reality. “I’m as strong as both of you. Maybe more, because what I have came directly from our father. And because I’ve already learned how to control it.”
Poseidon glanced toward Zeus. The two exchanged silent words, then Zeus focused on Nick once more. “It wasn’t the act of becoming a god that killed the soul mates of the three Argonauts I offered immortality. It was their selfish choice for power. That desire tipped the scales away from the balance between the heart and the soul. Everything in our world is about balance, but something tells me you already know that. Your coming here to Olympus for selfless reasons proves your worthiness. We’ll help you unleash your immortality to defeat Hades and Zagreus, but if we do so, you owe us a favor.”
Relief pulsed through Nick, followed by a whisper of apprehension. Any kind of obligation to the King of the Gods couldn’t be good, and his mind instantly shot to Cynna. Mortals weren’t allowed to live on Olympus unless they served in one of Zeus’s armies, like the Sirens. If they forced him to stay here, to somehow join forces with them where he couldn’t be with her…
“What kind of favor?” he asked warily.
Zeus glanced toward Poseidon once more. The God of the Sea waggled his brows, then grinned with a sinister turn of his lips.
Zeus looked back at Nick. “There’s someone we’re looking for. A female. One of great interest. You’re going to find her for us.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE