“It’s not bullshit. You haven’t been here, so you haven’t seen her deterioration, but something is definitely affecting her. Look at her. She’s thinner now than when I met her.”
Nick’s head shifted Isadora’s way before he could stop himself, and he took a good long look at the queen, standing across the room as she spoke quietly with Callia and Theron. Yes, she was thin, but the last time he’d seen her, she’d been eight months pregnant. It was hard for him to gauge what was normal for her and what wasn’t since he’d stayed as far from her as possible in the past. But as he studied her closer, even he couldn’t miss the sallowness to her skin, the way her eyes were sunken in, her cheekbones more prominent than before, and the tired droop to her shoulders.
Guilt whirled around him. And the soul mate draw, the one that he’d never been able to stop, pulled at something deep in his chest.
Her chocolate gaze lifted and locked on his from across the room, almost as if she’d felt it too. And the shock of it was so sudden, so intense, it sent a shiver of surprise through Nick that made him blink and look quickly away.
“She’s fighting it,” Casey said at his side. “She won’t admit to anyone that she’s weak—especially Demetrius, because she doesn’t want to hurt him—but she is. At least now you’re here, and we can hopefully figure out what’s going on.”
“I’m not staying.”
The words were raspy, forced, and didn’t sound like his own. He cleared his throat.
“Of course you’re staying. You just got here.”
Nick looked back toward the door. Desperate now for Cynna so he could get his mind off Isadora and back on something that kept him centered. Where the hell was she?
A quick glance over his shoulder told him Demetrius was still watching him way too carefully. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He started to get up, but Casey’s hand on his forearm stopped him. “Wait, Nick.” When he turned her way, he caught the worry in her friendly eyes. “I know things between you and Isadora and Demetrius are…strained.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
A half smile curled her lip but faded quickly. “I also know being here is the last place you want to be. But if you can’t stay for her, or them, then stay for me.”
“You’ve got superhero over there. You don’t need me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Our people need you. And I’ll always be one of them.”
“Our people?” Confusion drew his brows together.
“Yeah.” She stared at him. “Don’t you know? After you left the colony with Hades and Zagreus—”
Casey’s words cut off as Skyla stepped into the room. Alone.
Nick pushed to his feet, his eyes growing wide, searching the empty hallway beyond for Cynna. “Where is she?”
“She went out the bathroom window. Good climber, that one.”
Holy fuck. “You let her leave?”
“Relax,” Skyla said. “She can’t get far. I already alerted the castle guards.”
Not far? She’d clearly underestimated the female. Just like Nick.
“She’s Argolean. If she gets outside, she can flash.” And he’d never find her again. He headed for the door.
“She can’t flash through the castle walls, even if she is in the courtyard.” Skyla sighed. “Besides, something tells me she’ll be back.”
Nick didn’t wait for more. Didn’t listen to the protests behind him. He turned out the door and hustled for the stairs.
“What did you find out?” Orpheus’s voice drifted into the hall behind him.
“Something quite interesting,” Skyla answered.
Nick could only speculate what Cynna had told the Siren, but right now he didn’t give a rip. He had to get to her before she was gone for good.
He skipped steps to make it to the first level as quickly as possible. Across the marble floor and towering entry of the castle, Cynna was just pushing her way past the door guards, heading for the outer courtyard and the castle wall beyond.
Nick didn’t yell for her, didn’t want to give her any reason to run. He pushed his legs forward, moving with stealth across the great Alpha seal stamped into the floor. Both guards regarded him with speculation as he drew close, but he’d visited the castle often enough in the past that they didn’t pay him any extra attention. He raced down the front steps and caught up with Cynna yards from the closed front gate, grasped her by the arm, and tugged her around to face him.
“Hold up,” he said. “Just where do you think you’re going?”
Her eyes widened in surprise but quickly hardened. “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not.”
Fury flashed in her chocolate gaze. “You don’t get to decide that. You don’t get to choose. I was willing to help you in any way I could, because I know you deserved it after all the shitty things I did to you. But not this. I can’t.” She tugged back against his grip. “I won’t.”
He’d seen her pissed when those satyrs had come at her. But this was different. This wasn’t just anger, it was panic and fear and hurt all clashing together.