But Stryker was a warrior first and foremost. One raised beneath the iron fist of a cold, uncaring progenitor who’d given him nothing save cruelty and the back of his hand. Unlike them, Stryker had never known the loving embrace of a mother’s arms. Never had her sing to him whenever he’d been ill or had her rock him to sleep at night. She’d never laughed with him or tickled him to bed.
While the others here might curse them for their human mother, Urian knew the truth. They were blessed to have been wrapped in her loving ways. There was nothing about his childhood he would have changed except for the curse their grandfather had placed on them.
Or the hatred that Apollo had put in his father’s heart long before any of them had been born. He would give anything to spare his father that misery that tainted his smile.
“S’agapo para poli, Baba.” Urian whispered the words he knew his father seldom heard from any of his boys … I love you very much, Daddy.
His father kissed his cheek. “Love you, too. Now off with you.” Roughly, he shoved him away in a gesture that would seem rude to any onlooker who hadn’t overheard their exchange or been privy to the way his father’s hands had trembled with fear while he held him.
Yet for all his father’s gruffness, Urian knew the truth. He was cherished and loved.
It wasn’t just their blood that bound them as family. It was their loyalty and devotion.
Urian …
He glanced over his shoulder as he felt his summons.
Careful as always, he teleported to the doors of Apollymi’s garden. No one was allowed to flash themselves inside her garden. For that act of blasphemy, the goddess would react violently and blast him into pieces.
So he gently opened the double doors and walked into her garden with a humble gait. Neither of her Charonte moved or acknowledged his presence in any way as they flanked her where she sat on the edge of her marbled pool. The magical black waters were especially bright tonight.
Urian bowed low before her.
Only then did she move. “You fed.”
Not a question. A statement that said she knew somehow what he’d done with Xanthia. Though why he was surprised, he didn’t know. She was a goddess, after all.
“I did, akra.”
Apollymi swirled her hand through the black water. “Have you any idea how much it pains me that I cannot see the future, Urian? It was such a bone of contention with me, that my love made sure that my harbinger … my son, would have that gift and be my sight for me.”
“Apostolos?” he asked.
She didn’t speak often of her second-born son, who’d been cursed by the Atlantean gods and murdered by Apollo.
Much like her firstborn, Monakribos, who’d been betrayed by her siblings and murdered years after they’d killed her lover, the pain of Apostolos’s death was too raw. So she seldom picked at that wound lest it begin to bleed anew.
“Aye. And it pains me that I don’t know how this woman you’ve been with will impact your life. Does it scare you?”
“Nothing frightens me, akra.”
A smile toyed at the edges of her lips. “You know, Urian, in my pantheon bravery—Akeon—and stupidity—Koalemos—were twin gods who walked hand-in-hand everywhere they went. For it was oft said that in order to be brave one must first hold a degree of reckless stupidity.” Her gaze and tone darkened. “Be careful where it leads you.”
“I will be vigilant, akra.”
“Good boy, Urian Kleopas.”
He frowned. “Pardon, akra?”
“Haven’t you heard? It’s what many have begun calling you. At least behind your back. Does it bother you?”
“To be called my father’s glory?” Urian paused to consider it. On the one hand, it was a bit irritating. Bad enough his brothers mocked him for being his father’s pet.
He didn’t exactly relish the thought of others joining in. Yet on the other hand …
“Nay, akra. I strive to honor my father, in all things. My only hope is to one day be half the warrior he is, and to live my life as nobly as he has. In service of his people and his family. His goddess.”
In the whisper of a breath and without any warning, she materialized directly in front of him so that she could cup his cheek in her icy cold palm. It spread chills over his body. “That is the trick of all life, Urian. Perspective. In all things. For you cannot change what people say about you. Only how you feel and react to their endless gossip. Whether to be offended and hurt or to embrace it and rise. Sage is the one who chooses the latter.”
The coldness of her touch began to burn his flesh as those swirling silver eyes darkened to a vibrant red. “Never lose sight of who you really are, m’gios. Be true to your own heart. For there is a power inside you far greater than that of your father. One day, you will learn to embrace that side of yourself. That is when childhood really ends. The day we cease to walk in the shadow of our parents’ protection and we stand alone to face the full light of our lives, on our own two feet. Most fall and stumble. Some to never rise again. Others will eventually find their standing and relearn to walk. And a small handful…”
Narrowing her gaze, she smiled at him. “That tiny few will rise up with a blinding fury in their gut to the very heavens. They do not just stand on their own two feet, Urian. They soar on mighty wings. I see your father in you, pido, and it scares me.”
“Scares you, akra? Why?”
She blinked and released his face. “He was a stubborn bastard.”
Her word choice confused him. “Was?”
“Is,” she said quickly, clearing her throat. “It’s been a long night, ormourpido. You need your sleep. For with every dawn that comes, the day will find new ways to try and break you.”
Not sure if he should trust that answer, Urian bowed and left, but he didn’t return to his father. There was only one place he wanted to be right then. Apollymi was right. It’d been a long, long night.
And he wanted comfort.
There was only one place he ever found that peace.
Making sure no one was paying attention, he carefully made his way to Xyn’s bower.
“Sarraxyn?”
She tsked in the darkness. What am I to … Her voice drifted off. You’re hurt?
That worried tone never failed to bring a smile to his lips. He didn’t know why. Only that it warmed him.
“I was in battle.”
Xyn materialized behind him so fast that it was shocking. He’d never understand how a creature so large could maneuver so quickly and silently.
Something brushed against him that felt like hands. My armor didn’t protect you?
“In ways you can’t imagine.” He reached up to cup her face and nuzzle her spiny jaw. “Thank you. Sadly, it doesn’t cover all of me. And most of this isn’t from battle, but rather afterward … when my solren found out we were in the human realm without his knowledge.”
She pulled back and cocked her dragon’s head to frown at him. Pardon? Your father beat you for fighting?
He felt the same bitterness her tone betrayed. “Aye. The man makes no sense. He’s ridiculous.”
Wrapping him in the warmth of her scales, she gave him a deep, rippling caress. Bathe yourself in the falls so that you can heal.
“You sure?” If they were caught, she could be executed. No one was allowed near Apollymi’s healing waters. Normally, Xyn wouldn’t let him so much as look at them unless she knew for a fact where the goddess was.
Xyn nuzzled against his back and nodded. Aye. Go quickly before I change my mind.
Urian didn’t need more than that. He flashed himself out of his clothes and quickly dove into the water, which was unbelievably soothing. It was so warm and inviting. Like a mother’s caress.
Normally their only exposure to the waters came in small sips that a Charonte might dispense to him or another whenever they were injured and Apollymi approved the water being brought to them.
To actually bathe in it …
This was Katateros. The Atlantean version of paradise.
Xyn crept toward the edge of the falls so that she could watch Urian as he frolicked naked in the rainbow pool. If only he had any idea how much she wanted to join him there …
Damn, he was gorgeous. Perfect in every way and completely delectable.…