Her heart raced against her ribs, and her cheeks grew hot. She watched carefully as his knees bent and he pushed to his feet, then stepped around her and held out his hand. “You can either go with me willingly, or you can fight me. But either way, I’m getting you out of this jungle. What’s it going to be, Cynna?”
She looked from his face to his hand and swallowed hard. He didn’t see himself as a hero, but that was exactly what he was, saving his enemy when he had every reason not to. And in that moment, as she stared at his wide palm and long fingers and thought back over the terrible events in her life that had brought her to this moment, she felt something inside shift. Something that had been hard and dark for so long, she was sure it would never bend. Something that was softening…because of him.
Anger and hatred were easy. But forgiveness—especially forgiving herself for the awful things she’d done and could never change—that was the true challenge.
And the unknown aftermath of what she chose right now scared her more than Zagreus ever had.
“I’m not happy with these results.”
Isadora looked away from the window and the view of the harbor she’d been staring at from Callia’s office and eyed her sister. “And I don’t like you worrying about something that’s clearly not a big deal.”
Leaning against the edge of her desk in the medical clinic she ran, Callia frowned, tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear, and shot Isadora an irritating-as-hell I’m-always-right look. “You’ve lost almost ten pounds in a month, your skin is sallow, and you yourself told me you’re exhausted.”
Isadora dropped her crossed arms. “Is this sisterly love? Pointing out all my flaws? Because if it is, I can definitely do without.”
“No, this is the queen’s official healer telling her something isn’t right.”
“I have a six-month-old and a kingdom to run. Cut me some slack. I’m just a tad bit run down.”
“This is more than exhaustion, and you know it.”
Isadora drew in a deep breath to hold her temper in check. She didn’t know what this was, but she didn’t like her sister worrying. Demetrius did that enough for everyone. And lately he’d been way worse than usual.
“Look.” She turned fully from the window. “You did a scan, and you didn’t find anything, did you?”
As a healer, Callia had the ability to sense disease and injury within the body, and, in most cases, her gift gave her the power to heal it. “No. Nothing that would explain your symptoms.”
“And you’re not feeling any strange effects yourself, are you?”
Callia frowned. “No. I’m not.”
Since the three sisters—Isadora, Callia, and Casey—were all linked by their bloodline through the king to the Horae, the ancient goddesses of the order of nature, whatever ailment one sister suffered, the others did as well. “Then it’s nothing.”
The door to the office pushed open before Callia could respond, and Casey stuck her dark head into the room. “I’m not too late, am I?”
Isadora glanced back toward Callia. “You called her?”
“Yes, I did.” Callia pushed away from her desk. “This is heavy, and I think the three of us need to discuss it.”
“Oh, for gods’ sake.” Isadora rolled her eyes and moved back toward the window.
“Okay, fill me in.” Casey stepped into the room and closed the door at her back. Placing a hand on her belly, she rubbed her palm over the baby that would be here in only a few short months while Callia explained Isadora’s test results.
“I haven’t felt anything,” Casey said when her sister finished.
“That’s what I needed to know,” Callia answered. “I haven’t either. But something is definitely going on with Isadora.”
Exasperation toyed with what little patience Isadora had left. “I’m a new mom, I’ve got a mate who can’t stop blaming himself for his brother’s disappearance, an Argonaut who loves to antagonize the Council, the Misos to get set up in their new settlement, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance as we search for Nick, who may or may not be the key to releasing Krónos from Tartarus and starting the apocalypse. If anything’s going on, it’s that I’m just a tiny bit stretched in all directions. So you can both stop speculating about what’s wrong with me and just let me get back to my job.”
She stepped toward the door, but Casey moved into her path.
“Whoa.” Wide-eyed, Casey looked toward Callia. “I think I know why you and I aren’t feeling anything.”
“Why?” Callia asked.
Casey glanced down at her belly, then back at Callia.
“Because you’re pregnant?” Callia asked.
Good gods. Isadora clenched her jaw. They weren’t even listening to her now. She didn’t have time for this. She needed to get back to the Kyrenia settlement, where the Argonauts were working to get basic services set up for the Misos before the Council came in and declared martial law.
“Remember when Isadora hemorrhaged after delivering Elysia, and you immediately felt the effects?”
Callia nodded. “Yes.”