“The scars on his face and neck.”
“Yeah.” Nick looked back at the flames in front of him. “In a fire. One I set.”
“You?”
Nick shrugged. “He asked for my help. I gave it. I held no love for the Argonauts back then.”
“And now?”
His mind drifted to his soul mate and his brother, Demetrius. And though that pull toward Isadora was still there, it wasn’t nearly as strong as it had once been. Something he found both odd and relieving. He shrugged again. “Now I still hold no love for them.”
Cynna was silent for several moments. Softly, she said, “I didn’t know about the tracker. If Zagreus put it in my arm, it means he doesn’t trust me.”
Nick knew she was right, but he was fighting conflicting feelings where she was concerned. And those feelings, combined with his strange increased powers and the changes in the soul mate draw made him mistrust his gut reaction. More than ever, he wasn’t about to get caught being stupid. Not by Cynna. Not by anyone. “I haven’t decided if I trust you yet either.”
“You have every right not to trust me,” she said in a tired voice. “But I promise you, I’m not working with Zagreus.”
Promises were easy to make. It was keeping those promises that was the hard part. As much as Nick wanted to believe her, knowing she’d voluntarily been with Zagreus meant there was a whole other side of her he’d yet to uncover. A side he wasn’t quite sure he was ready for.
He looked out at the dark jungle. “You should sleep. Ari could be gone a while. I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.”
She stared up at him, and he sensed she wanted to say something more, but didn’t. After several long seconds, she sighed, tipped her head on the blanket beneath her cheek, and closed her eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”
A lump formed in his throat, one he didn’t like. He looked back at her, eyes closed, that odd blonde hair falling across her cheek. “Don’t thank me. I’m only keeping you alive as leverage.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said softly. “You still saved me. No one else even tried. I won’t forget that.”
Neither would Nick. And he had a strange feeling that fact was going to change things for him in ways he wasn’t sure he was ready for.
A popping sound erupted in the trees behind him. Far off but growing closer. Nick jerked around and looked that direction.
Cynna’s eyes flew open, and she pushed up on her hand. “What was that?”
“Gunfire.” Nick rose to his feet and squinted to see toward the trees, his senses growing sharp, tuning in to the surroundings. Seven, no…ten men. In two vehicles. Heading their direction.
An engine revved. More gunshots exploded. Cynna pushed to stand at his side, wobbled, then gripped his arm to hold herself upright. “Gunfire?”
“Shit.” Nick’s pulse shot up. And not from the warmth of her palm resting against his bare skin. No, this was from the fact something bad was about to go down.
The brush rustled to his left. He reached for the blade he’d swiped from Zagreus’s lair and left by the fire. Swords and axes and other handheld weapons were effective against the Prince of Darkness’s minions, but gunfire meant humans. And humans shooting shit meant trouble of a whole different variety.
The rustling grew louder. Nick pushed Cynna behind him. “Run for the plane.”
“But—”
Ari lurched through the brush before Cynna could finish her protest, his arms waving wildly, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Go! Run! Get the fucking engine started!”
Nick’s muscles bunched, and he ushered Cynna toward the plane. She stumbled and almost fell. Swooping her into his arms, Nick picked up his speed and sprinted. Ari raced up at his side.
Nick reached the plane, set Cynna down, and jerked the door open. “What the hell did you do?”
Ari skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and rocks. “I was wrong. Not Sirens. Not even close. Couple of whores servicing a group of drug runners.”
“Skata.” Nick helped Cynna into the back of the plane. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I only sampled one.”
“Son of a fucking bitch.” Nick knew exactly what Ari’s “sampling” entailed. The fucker liked to play with his prey. “You didn’t stop when you realized she wasn’t a Siren?”
“She was hot, even if she was a whore. I have needs, asshole.”
Nick climbed into the plane after Cynna and yanked the door closed. Ari slid into the pilot’s seat and reached for his headset.
“I must have stumbled across their grow. No way they cared about those chicks.” Rapidly, Ari pushed buttons on the instrument panel. Lights flicked on, then the engine roared, and the propeller coughed to life, spinning slowly at first and picking up speed.