Zagreus couldn’t shake the doldrums.
His gaze followed Cynna as she rose from the seat beside him where they’d been watching Altair, his newest second in command now that Lykos was dead, torment a nymph chained to the wall in the main chamber of his lair. His agapi was as slutty and hot as she’d ever been, her trim waist and plump breasts encased in the tight leather corset, her long stems stretching beneath the skimpy miniskirt and ending in the knee-high black stiletto boots that always made him hard.
Except…he wasn’t hard right now. He watched her disappear out the door where he’d sent her to fetch his wine. In fact, since they’d been back in his lair the last few hours, he couldn’t seem to muster up enough enjoyment to get it up for her at all. Which was fucking wrong, because he was totally hot for her in every way. In all the ways he used to be.
“She seems unhappy, my prince.” Altair settled onto the seat to Zagreus’s right, giving the nymph a break from his flogger.
Not that Zagreus cared what the satyr was doing with the nymph. Even that didn’t bring him pleasure anymore.
He shifted in his seat and gripped the armrest of his throne chair. “She’s just tired, that’s all. By tomorrow, she’ll be back to her old self.”
“Right,” Altair muttered. “Tired. That’s it.”
Cynna walked back into the room, her head held high, her breasts pushed out, and her spine straight, but there was something missing from her eyes. Stopping in front of his chair, she handed the goblet to Zagreus and said, “Your wine, my prince.”
“Thank you, agapi.”
His fingertips brushed hers as he accepted the wine, but there was no reaction from her. Not even disgust. She didn’t answer. Didn’t even look at him. Just sat in the seat next to him and stared off into space, as if she were seeing something or someone else.
Zagreus’s mood slid darker. His enjoyment of her had always come from her defiance, her headstrong attitude, her strength. But this female was only a shadow of the one he’d known before. It was as if she no longer cared.
“Nick,” she whispered.
Zagreus’s head came up, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of his former prisoner standing in the middle of his chamber. He shoved his goblet at Altair, gripped the armrests of his chair, and lunged to his feet. “You.”
“Me,” Nick said.
From the corner of his vision, Zagreus watched excitement and joy burst across Cynna’s face. She pushed to her feet.
Zagreus threw his arm out to the side, sending a burst of energy all around her, forcing her to stand still. “She’s not yours anymore.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, nephew,” Nick said in a calm voice. “I’m hers.”
Zagreus felt his hold on Cynna slipping. As if prying one finger back at a time, the energy around her slowly crumbled. When it shattered at her feet, she lurched forward, right into Nick’s arms.
The two whispered disgusting things that turned Zagreus’s stomach. He scowled as he watched them embracing, seeing Cynna in a whole new light. The female had never hugged him like that. She’d never lovingly run her fingertips over his jaw as she was now doing to Nick. And that light hadn’t once shone in her eyes when she’d looked up at him.
The dark knot of vileness tightened inside him. Love was the disgusting emotion he felt emanating from both of them, pushing him even deeper into despondence, because it was something he was never going to experience for himself.
Nick fixed his amber eyes on Zagreus. His amber god eyes. Oh yeah, Zagreus could feel the power pumping off the god now. There was no more weak mortal left anywhere inside him.
“Your lair is surrounded. The Argonauts and the Sirens are outside. Either free every last prisoner in this hellhole, or we’ll do it for you.”
Rage rushed through Zagreus. He lurched down the three stone steps to tell Nick just what he and his posse could do, then drew to a stop when a rolling dark energy swept through the tunnels and raced over his skin. “Hades.”
“Hades is here?” Cynna turned to face him.
“It’s okay,” Nick said beside her.
“But it’s Hades. He’s a god. A powerful one.”
“So am I.”
Cynna looked up at Nick. And Zagreus focused on her face. On the awe and compassion reflected in her eyes. He didn’t doubt that Nick was as strong as his fucking father, and he wasn’t opposed to letting the two duke it out, even if it meant losing his lair. But as he stared at the female he’d coveted longer than any other, he realized if he tried to hold on to her, she’d get caught in the middle of an immortal battle, and, ultimately, she’d die. As much as he wanted to keep her as his own special pet, her death was not something he was willing to gamble with. Not when he knew Hades would likely kill her just to punish his son for pulling his satyrs from that battle.
“Go,” Zagreus growled.