“I guess,” the male said. “But I haven’t picked up on any of that yet, and I’ve been spending as much time with the Council as I can.”
“They’re not going to plan when you could overhear,” the first female said. “Why would they? They know where your allegiance lies, even if they did vote you in.”
“We’re going to need to up security around the settlement,” a third female said, this one’s voice softer than the others. “Even if it means pulling the Argonauts from the human realm, I want—”
Theron knocked on the doorjamb, and the voices inside died down. But that fire in Cynna was growing all over again as the first few Argonauts stepped into the room. Just the mention of the witches and the Council made the temperature of her blood feel as if it shot up ten degrees.
“My queen.” Theron bowed slightly as he stepped into the room. “There’s someone I think you’d like to see.”
Queen? Queen?
Cynna’s eyes flew wide, and her heart lurched into her throat, beating so hard she felt as if she were about to choke. She instinctively pulled back, but Nick gripped her hand tightly in his and tugged her with him into the room.
The floor was made of marble. The ceiling was decked out in dark wood beams, and tall, arching windows looked out at a view of the bay, but that was all Cynna could catch. Because suddenly she couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t stop the panic stabbing into every inch of her skin like hot, sharp knives.
“Relax,” he said softly at her side. “Fifteen minutes. That’s it.”
No. She couldn’t stay fifteen minutes. She couldn’t even stay five. And forget about relaxing. She had to get the hell out of here, right fucking now.
Hand shaking, Cynna tried to pull away again, only to freeze when she heard the female voice from across the room exclaim, “Nick.”
Her gaze lifted. A slight, petite female with white-blonde hair rose from behind a desk that looked like it could swallow her whole, and stared wide-eyed at Nick. A female Cynna knew on first look.
Cynna’s heart rate shot up. Footsteps died down at her back as more people filed into the room. Standing on the far side of the desk was another male, as big as the Argonauts, and two females, one with long, golden blonde hair, and the other with shoulder-length auburn locks, looking from Nick to her and back again with veiled curiosity.
No one spoke. Silence settled over the tall room as everyone waited for… Hell, Cynna didn’t know what they were waiting for.
Long seconds passed. And then Isadora’s face brightened, and she moved quickly around the desk before coming to a stop directly in front of Nick.
She was smaller than Cynna realized, a full head shorter than her, pale where Cynna was dark and weak where Cynna was strong. But standing so close to the queen, every inferiority Cynna had ever felt came rushing back. And the moment the female threw her arms around Nick and hugged him tight, breaking his hold on Cynna’s hand, Cynna snapped right out of her trance. Her blood didn’t just hover at bubbling, it went into full-on boil.
“Nick,” the queen exclaimed. “Oh my gods. I can’t… I’m so…” She drew back but didn’t let go of him, and a wide smile broke across her face. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Still no one spoke. The tension remained as high as ever in the room. And though Cynna’s hands were just itching to grab the queen and tear her away from Nick, she held back. Her gaze shifted to Nick. And focused on the totally perplexed expression on his scarred face.
Isadora’s smile wobbled. And her gaze darted past Nick to the tall, dark Argonaut behind him. The one Cynna had quickly realized back at the colony was Nick’s brother.
“Demetrius.” She let go of Nick with one hand, reached around behind him, grabbed the dark-haired Argonaut’s forearm, and dragged him to her side. But, Cynna noticed, she still didn’t let go of Nick with her other hand. “I can’t believe it. How did you…? When—”
The auburn-haired female, the one who was standing near the queen’s desk, moved close and placed two fingers on Isadora’s wrist—the one connected to the hand still resting on Nick’s chest. She turned and looked past Cynna toward the door. “It’s stronger. Her pulse is definitely stronger.”
Nick’s gaze shifted that direction.
“I was afraid of that,” Maelea said. “The darkness in him is much greater than the last time I was at the colony.”
“What the hell is going on?” Nick asked, looking back at the auburn-haired woman, then glancing toward the queen, and finally the tall Argonaut. “You brought me all the way back here. Tell me what this is all about.”
“It’s about the soul mate curse,” the leader of the Argonauts said somewhere behind Cynna. “And how it’s affecting Isadora.”
Cynna nearly choked on her tongue. “Soul mate?” She looked from Nick to the queen and back again, her eyes growing wider. “She’s your soul mate?”