Enslaved

Chapter Twelve

Maelea jerked on the handcuff for the umpteenth time. All her efforts did were rattle the headboard against the wall and send pain lancing through her wrist.

Anger rolled through her, followed by a hum that echoed all the way to her toes. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought the bed was vibrating, but that was ludicrous. As ludicrous as what she’d just let happen in this dive of a motel room.

She glared toward the door. Gryphon had been gone at least ten minutes. She wanted to scream, but didn’t dare. His mood changed so drastically from one minute to the next, she didn’t trust him not to follow through on his threat to kill anyone who tried to help her. And whether he was bluffing or not, she didn’t want to be responsible for an innocent’s death. Even if it might be her only chance at freedom.

She yanked on the cuff one more time. Clenched her jaw. She’d kissed him? She’d felt something for him? She’d obviously been out of her fucking mind. What the hell had she been thinking?

Bitterness brewed in her chest and hummed through her legs as she remembered the way she’d offered herself to him like a meal. But before she could get all the way worked up, a sliver of guilt crept in. One that took hold and grew little by little until it lodged in the center of her chest and wouldn’t let go.

Okay, so maybe he had a valid reason to be pissed. Maybe she had set out to seduce him. And maybe distracting him had been her original plan. But that wasn’t what had pushed her to kiss him, dammit. Something had changed during their conversation. Something even she didn’t totally understand.

Whatever. It didn’t matter. The bottom line was simple: no more kissing. None. Obviously, whatever humanity she thought she’d seen in him was long gone, if he could so easily turn on her. The first chance she had, she was out of here.

Olympus. That was what she needed to stay focused on. That was all that mattered anymore.

Plans she’d made back at the colony reformed in her mind. The only way for her to be granted access to Olympus, a home that would forever be safe from Hades’s wrath, was to prove her allegiance to the gods. To turn her back on the Underworld for good.

And she would. But first she had to break free. Everything hinged on that. She jerked on the chain again, grasped the metal with her free hand, and tried to pry the cuff off. Pain shot up her arm, and a burn ignited all around her wrist.

“Padded handcuffs are nicer. There’s nothing better than being strapped down and used by a male when you can’t fight back.”

Maelea jerked around at the sound of the voice so close, then froze. Her mother sat in the chair beside her bed, wearing a black gown cinched at the waist with a red belt. Her long legs were crossed at the knees. A red sandal dangled from her toes.

“I—”

“Speechless? You wouldn’t be the first, my child.” Persephone shrugged her straight black hair over her shoulder. Hair that was just like Maelea’s. “Now, I don’t have a lot of time, daughter, so I need you to focus. My husband doesn’t know I’m here, and if he did, we’d both be in deep shit. Plus my mother’s going to be looking for me soon. She’s always worried I’m ditching her to find Hades when I’m spending my allotted time of the year with her.”

Maelea’s eyes grew wide. Her mother was sitting next to her, for the first time in hundreds—no, thousands—of years. Her mother, Queen of the Underworld. Wife to Hades, the one god who couldn’t wait to see Maelea ground to dust.

“You look pale, child.” Persephone’s dark eyebrows drew low. “Are you all right?”

“No. I…” She swallowed hard. “What…? You…?”

“I wish I had more time, but I don’t, so I’ll make this quick. I know you’re searching for a way to Olympus. For a way to prove your allegiance to Zeus. I can make that happen.”

“You can?”

“I can,” Persephone said with a grin. “And trust me, it’s much better than what you’ve been planning. The guardian who has kidnapped you has given us the perfect opportunity. Convince him to take you to Argolea. The Argolean queen has something that I want. A small orb with four chambers. When you have it, bring it to me, and I will make sure the gates of Olympus are finally opened to you.”

Maelea’s skin chilled. Her mother wanted her to steal the Orb of Krónos for her. The relic that held the power to release the Titans from Tartarus and bring about the war to end all wars. The talisman every god was searching for, including her father, Zeus, and her mother’s sadistic husband.

No…way.

“Why…why me? Why can’t you get it yourself? You’re not technically an Olympian. You can cross into Argolea.”

“True, but I cannot get into the castle, which is undoubtedly where the queen has hidden my gem. But she will let your guardian in. In fact, her Argonauts are searching for him now, trying to bring him back. He has ulterior motives, child. Motives that will lead to your demise, if you are not careful. Convince him to go back to Argolea and get help. Then when you’re there, find the Orb and bring it to me. Once you do, Olympus will be yours.”

Wariness crept through Maelea. “Why are you offering me this deal now? Why did you never offer it before?”

“Because I couldn’t when I was in the Underworld. Hades would have known what I was up to. And before that…the Orb had not been located.”

“You’re not planning to give it to Hades?”

A wicked smile spread across Persephone’s ruby red lips. “Of course not. Do I look stupid? I may love the son of a bitch, but I will not let him control something that should be mine.”

Persephone wanted power. All the gods did. The fact Maelea thought her mother would be different just because she was her mother proved just what a fantasy she’d been living all these years.

“I don’t need your help,” she said. “I found Hades’s therillium mines. Once I tell Zeus where they are, he’ll grant me access to Olympus.”

“You found the mines?” Interest sparked in Persephone’s eyes. And too late, Maelea realized she should have held her tongue. Even if her mother plotted against Hades, she was ultimately loyal to him, and there was no guarantee the secret Maelea had just revealed wouldn’t make its way back to his ears. A secret that would only inflame his hatred for her. “Oh, now that is an interesting turn of events. One that might yet become useful to me.”

A smile slinked across Persephone’s face while Maelea cursed her quick tongue and held her breath, waiting…for what, she didn’t know.

“It is of no matter to you, though,” Persephone finally said. “The therillium mines will not be enough to prove your allegiance to the gods. A good start, but not enough. The gods require sacrifice. One made in blood. Proving the risk you take is worthy of the reward.” Her smile grew wider. “Which is why you need me. With me, there is no risk. No blood. Get me the Orb and I will grant you the freedom from this world you have long sought.”

Persephone pushed to her feet, crossed the space between them, and slid a small vial filled with clear liquid into Maelea’s pocket. “This will help you lure the Argonaut to your way of thinking.”

Maelea knew her mother was right. The location of the mines wouldn’t be enough. Disappointment flowed even as she looked down at the vial disappearing into her pocket. “What is it?”

“A concoction of ancient herbs guaranteed to grant you control. Seduction is a powerful aphrodisiac, and no male can resist a woman’s wants when he’s under her spell. If you play him right, he’ll take you to Argolea. Then it’s up to you.”

She stepped back. Began to fade.

“Wait!” Maelea jerked on the cuffs. The headboard rattled again. “Release me first!”

Persephone’s lips turned up at the corners. “You have to continue to let him think he holds power over you, even if he doesn’t. Only then will he be unguarded long enough for you to get what I need. Don’t forget our deal, child.”

She left as quickly as she’d arrived. Maelea stared at the empty chair as the room swirled around her. Her mother wanted her to steal the Orb of Krónos? Dread filled Maelea’s chest as she thought of the consequences. If she did that—even if Persephone did grant her access to Olympus—Zeus would be pissed. All the gods would be pissed. Life there would be no better than it was here. Worse, in fact. And if Hades ever found out…

She shuddered at the thought. No, that was most definitely not an option. No matter how much she wanted to get to Olympus, even that wasn’t a risk she was willing to—

A growl echoed near the door. Maelea jerked around, listened. A clicking sound echoed, followed by the door handle rattling.

Her heart rate skyrocketed.

“I smell her,” a voice echoed from the other side of the door. A nonhuman voice. A monster voice. “And she’s alone.”

Titus’s brain was running a mile a minute trying to figure out who the redhead with the emerald eyes could possibly be, and how the hell she was messing with his gift—and curse.

As she stood rooted in place in Nick’s office, staring wide-eyed at Theron and Nick engaged in a heated argument about Gryphon, he tried again to tap into her thoughts. But just the same as in Maelea’s room and again in the elevator, he wasn’t getting enough to read her.

Who the hell is this?

I don’t remember seeing her around here before.

Wow, she is hot.

Thoughts from his Argonaut kin swirled in the room, several of whom had finally noticed he’d dragged some unknown female into the office. The last came from Cerek, which not only shocked the hell out of Titus, because Cerek never paid females any kind of attention, but set off some protective instinct inside him he didn’t know was there. He stepped in front of her and shot Cerek a warning look.

Then realized, belatedly, that he could hear his kin clear as day, but still not her.

Okay, freakin’ weird. She was definitely screwing with his powers. And yeah, it was juvenile and totally not like him, but he didn’t want anyone else touching her until he figured out just what was going on.

Nick finally looked past Theron and caught sight of her, then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Silence settled over the room. Theron turned, noticed her standing behind and to the right of Titus, and narrowed his own eyes. “Who is this?”

“I found her snooping in Maelea’s room,” Titus said. “I don’t know who she is, but she says she’s a friend of Maelea’s.”

“What do you want with Maelea?” Theron asked her.

She moved back a step until she bumped into the windows that looked down over the lake. “N-nothing.”

“She had this.” Titus held out the book she’d been holding. The one that he’d taken from her in the elevator. The one she’d found in Maelea’s room. The one that was a diary of sorts, giving a detailed listing of the gods and their offspring.

Theron took the book and flipped it open. The redhead drew in a sharp breath and held it as he scanned pages. And even though Titus couldn’t read her mind, he knew panic when he saw it. Something important was in that book. Something she didn’t want them to see.

Theron lifted his head, focused on her eyes. But only one thought reached Titus’s mind: This is all we fucking need.

Before he could read more, footsteps echoed near the door, drawing Theron’s attention. Noticing the queen and her sisters, Titus reached for the sleeve of the redhead’s sweater to tug her out of the way. She stumbled, reached out to steady herself. Her fingers landed against his bare forearm, and just as before when he’d touched her bare skin, the room spun, and warm tingles rushed all over his skin.

She drew in a quick breath, tensed against him. The sweet scent of her perfume—or maybe it was just her—bombarded him. A scent as sweet as roses he’d never smelled before, one that hit him on the most basic of levels and sent his already overly aware hormones into overdrive.

Holy hell. Who was this chick?

She let go of him quickly. Pushed back. But in her eyes, he saw the same awareness he was suddenly feeling.

Theron’s eyes lit when he caught sight of Casey, but ever the leader of the Argonauts, he bowed in Isadora’s direction before moving toward his wife. “Your Highness.”

Isadora frowned, rubbed a hand over her pregnant belly. “Am I ever going to get you to stop that, Theron? It’s bad enough I get it in Argolea. Here, at least, I’d like you to treat me as you do everyone else.”

Casey moved up on Theron’s left, smiled, then rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. “He treats everyone but me like a bear, Isadora. I’m not sure you want him barking orders at you the way he does at them.”

At his side, the redhead watched the conversation with careful eyes, but Titus recognized the moment she realized who the females were. Every muscle in her body tightened all over again and worry crept into her emerald eyes.

Oh yeah, definitely otherworldly. And she was definitely somehow linked to the gods, if this reaction was any sort of indication.

“Careful, meli,” Theron said to Casey, “or I’ll start barking at you.”

“Promises, promises,” Casey answered with a grin.

Titus watched in more than a little awe as Theron’s face softened while he looked down at his mate with longing and love. He tried to block out the sappy thoughts rushing through both their minds but couldn’t, not entirely. He’d served with Theron for over a hundred years, and it still amazed him that a hard-ass, honor-bound Argonaut like Theron could change so much all because of a female. But then, that’s what a soul mate did to an Argonaut. They changed everything.

Not that he was looking for a soul mate. Considering his gift—and his curse—he didn’t want one. And he definitely didn’t need the responsibility or worry. Demetrius’s harried thoughts about Isadora simply being in the human realm pinged around the room as he stood next to the queen, as did Zander’s, regarding not only Callia but their son Max—neither of which were things Titus wanted to know, let alone stress over. He didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else, not if this was the result. But that didn’t lessen his interest in the redhead standing at his side.

The redhead radiating warmth, even inches away from him, who was suddenly breathing like a racehorse in heat.

He looked down at her. And noticed her face was turning quickly from pink to red. “What’s wrong with you?”

Air. Tight. Can’t… She waved her hand as if she were having trouble breathing.

Confusion morphed to concern, and Titus pushed away from the window, grasped her by the sleeve again. “Uh, Callia?”

Callia’s footsteps echoed across the floor. “Let go of her, Titus.”

“Who is she?” Zander asked as Callia took her from Titus and led her toward a chair.

“Have a seat here.” Callia eased her into a chair Phin had pulled out for her. Titus watched as she bent forward and put her head between her knees, weird, raspy breathing sounds coming from her lips.

Callia knelt at her feet. “Look at me. That’s it. Slow breaths. I want you to draw in a breath then let it out while I count, not stopping until I get to four. Ready? Breathe in. Good, now let it out…one, two, three, four… Good. Again.”

The redhead focused on Callia’s eyes. Tried to follow directions. Her hands shook against her knees, and concern for her well-being—a concern that came out of nowhere—shot through Titus as he watched.

“Should I get a paper bag?” Isadora asked, coming to stand on Callia’s right.

“No. This is better. Sure and steady,” Callia said to the redhead. “One, two, three, four. Again.” Then to the rest of the group, “She’s having a panic attack. We just have to rebalance her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. Good, you’re doing great. Now slow. In through the nose, out through the mouth.”

Slowly, the female’s breathing regulated and the pink tinge to her cheeks began to fade. Relief swept through Titus.

Callia smiled. “Better. Much better. Keep breathing, just like that.”

“Is she okay?” Casey asked.

The Argonauts were as quiet as Titus, watching and wondering who the hell she could be. And all seemed to be in awe of Callia’s calm handling of a situation none of them knew how to manage. Put them in a field full of daemons, and they knew exactly what needed to be done. Give them a hysterical female, and each one froze in fear.

“Yes, she’s going to be fine,” Callia said. “She just needs some space. It’s no wonder she had a panic attack in a room full of you guys. I’ve felt like freaking out while surrounded by the Argonauts myself on more than one occasion. Good, keep breathing. You’re doing perfect.”

Argonauts? The redhead lifted her eyes, looked around the room with wariness. But no other thoughts got through to Titus.

“Who is she?” Phin asked.

“That’s the question of the day,” Titus answered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and staring at her.

Her gaze shot in his direction, and though he couldn’t be sure, he thought he saw a spark there. A flare of…was that interest?

His blood warmed even as his brain screamed, Not a good idea. You don’t even know who or what she really is.

Theron looked his way, and Titus read the What are you picking up from her? thought in the Argonaut leader’s mind.

He tore his gaze from hers and looked to his guardian kin. “She wouldn’t answer any of my questions, just said she was a friend of Maelea’s. And I’m not getting anything to confirm one way or another.”

“I thought Maelea didn’t have any friends,” Demetrius said near the door.

“Yeah, bingo,” Titus answered, looking back at her.

Her breaths picked up speed. She didn’t break his gaze.

Callia pushed out of the crouch she’d been in and rested a reassuring hand on the female’s back. “You boys aren’t helping the situation. Theron, I need to take her down to the clinic. I want someone to check her out.”

“Titus will take her,” Theron answered. “Nick’s healers are good. You can check on her in a little while, Callia, but we need you here for a few minutes.”

That didn’t seem to appease Callia, but she nodded.

“T?” Theron asked.

“Yo.”

“You up to staying with her until we’re done here? I want to ask her a few questions, but first we need to figure out where the hell Gryphon is.”

“Sure. I’m up for it.” He was more than up for it. He had his own questions he wanted answered.

Callia helped the redhead out of the chair. When Titus reached for her other arm and his fingers pressed against her bare flesh, his head spun all over again. A hazy feeling settled in, leaving him loose and relaxed. Callia looked down at where he touched her, and concern dawned in her eyes before they shot to his.

Titus shook his head as the two helped the redhead toward the door, and conversation picked back up behind them. “Don’t ask,” he said. “I don’t have a clue what it means either.”

Casey turned toward Nick and Theron. “So we think we narrowed down where they might be—or at least where they were as of an hour ago. But Callia and I are both in agreement. It’s too much stress on Isadora to look again. It’s not good for her health or the health of the baby.”

“You guys,” Isadora protested, “I’m fine. Demetrius, tell them I’m fine.”

“Don’t look at me, kardia,” Demetrius said with a frown. “I’m with them. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t even be in the human realm right now.”

Callia glanced over the redhead’s curls toward Titus. “I’ll be down as soon as I can,”

He slipped an arm around the redhead’s waist to hold her up, liking the feel of her body against his way more than he expected. Really liking that high he was experiencing just from touching her. “Go. I’ve got her. I think this is an argument you need to be in on.”

“Thank you,” Callia whispered.

Callia let go, and the redhead leaned into Titus for support. Whether it was because she wanted to or needed him, he didn’t know. But man, that felt good. The heat of her body, the slide of her skin. And that sweet, floral scent mixing with his already foggy mind…Heaven.

As he led her through the massive gathering room with its soaring ceiling and gigantic fireplace toward the elevator, and the voices behind him dimmed with distance, he told himself this was a slippery slope to traverse. A female he could touch and who left him feeling high? Combined with the fact she was hotter than hell? If ever there was a temptation, she was it.

She balked when they neared the elevator.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I…no elevator. I can’t…”

Claustrophobic? That worked out good for him. It meant he got to enjoy the feel of her body pressed up to his even longer.

“Okay,” he said, his arm tightening around her, the heat of her body seeping deeper into his skin, igniting a burn in his flesh he’d missed more than he ever thought possible. “No elevator. We’ll take the stairs.”

He steered her toward a doorway at the end of the hall. “I’m Titus, by the way. I can either call you Thief or Panic Attack, unless you’ve got a name you’d rather I use.”

“Na-Natasa.”

He pushed the door to the stairwell open with his shoulder. “Natasa. That means ‘resurrection’ in Old Greek, doesn’t it?”

She didn’t answer. But one thought got through: Fuck.

Not that he wouldn’t like to. But there was a story there. One he needed to discover first. One some deep-buried instinct told him was going to mean something important. Soon.

Gryphon stood on the small dock and listened to the water slapping gently against the pilings beneath his feet. The lake looked like a black, oily slick, reflecting the motel lights across the road behind him. No moon shone, and there were no other lights around the perimeter of the small lake, which meant if there was any civilization out there, it was hidden in the densely forested mountains beyond. He hadn’t even known there was water out here until he left the motel and went for a walk to try to clear his head.

Dooooulas. Come to me…

He scrubbed at his scalp, pressed his fingers against his ears, knew he needed to go back to Maelea so the voice wouldn’t torment him, but he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until he knew he was in control. His body still hummed with a mixture of arousal and anger that left him on edge. He wanted her, dammit, but he wasn’t about to let some female—some daughter of Zeus, for shit’s sake—get in the way of what he needed to do next.

Dooooulas…

He raked his hands through his hair and dug his fingernails into his scalp until pain shot through his skin. The voice was so much louder out here. So much more insistent.

Come to me, doulas. You know you can’t resist for long…

He pulled hard on his hair. “Leave me the fuck alone!”

“Not usually the reaction I get when I come calling.”

His head snapped up. The petite, elderly female dressed in diaphanous white seemed to hover over the surface of the water. Skata, was he hallucinating now too? That shouldn’t surprise him. After the shit he’d been through, nothing should fucking surprise him. But it did. “What…? How…?”

“Now that’s the reaction I usually get,” she said with a grin.

A Fate. Before she even leveled those white irises on him, he realized she was Lachesis, the Fate who spins the thread of life. And though he tried to contain it, he just couldn’t stop the anger and rage from spilling over. “You’re here now? I could have used you five fucking months ago. Not now.”

Her features softened. She floated toward the end of the dock and stopped. Not, he noticed, close enough for him to touch her. Or grab her. Or drown her for abandoning him when he needed her most.

“The choices were not yours to make in the Underworld,” she said. “Hence I would have been of no use to you there. Now is when you need guidance, Guardian.”

Fuck guidance. He needed a lobotomy so he could forget the hell of the Underworld. So he could stop hearing that damn voice. He leveled his steely gaze on her. “I don’t need you or any of the gods. Go screw over someone else’s life.”

He turned for the shore, vibrating with a fury that came from the core of him. A fury—an emotion—he realized he hadn’t felt before Maelea came into his life. But the Fate appeared in front of him before he could step off the dock. And the depths of her white irises stilled his feet. “Choice was taken away from you, Guardian, and it was wrong, but you endured. You will endure now because you are strong. Maelea is more important than you know. Keep her safe.”

Wariness crept in. “What’s so important about Maelea? She herself said no one wants her.”

Mystery swam in the glow of the Fate’s blinding eyes. “I cannot answer that. But I can tell you this. There is a reason you are together now. A reason you were sent to the Underworld. A reason that will someday make sense to you.”

She faded before he could ask what the hell she was smoking.

Shaking his head at her vague advice, he headed for the road. Gravel crunched under the soles of his boots. Like he needed more voices telling him what to do? And what the hell was she telling him anyway? To be nice to Maelea? The princess of the fucking Underworld? Screw that.

He reached the road, his temper bubbling with each step. Where had the Fate been when he was being tortured in the Underworld? Where were the rest of the Argonauts? Orpheus was the only one who’d cared to come after him, and then only because he’d felt guilty. And Maelea? Too fucking bad if she was an innocent victim in all of this. So the hell was he.

A roar sounded from the direction of the motel. He narrowed his eyes to see through the darkness. And spotted two, three…no, four daemons rounding the corner of the building.

His adrenaline surged. He grasped the knife he’d strapped to his thigh before heading to the lake. That was exactly what he needed. A knock-down, drag-out, shit-kicking fight to remind him he was alive. That he wasn’t in hell anymore. That the only hell around him now was the result of one vindictive brunette locked in his motel room.

Maelea…

He’d left her chained to the bed. Without a weapon. While he’d walked away to clear his head. Panic closed in and choked the air in his lungs. Glass shattered across the parking lot. A scream ripped through the darkness.

Fear pushed Gryphon’s legs forward. His lungs burned as he raced across the pavement to reach her in time. He didn’t bother with the doorknob, just threw his shoulder against the wood and crashed into the motel room, tearing the door from the frame, sending splintered wood flying across the ground.

One daemon had already come through the broken window. Another was on its heels. Maelea stood on the bed, throwing lamps and pillows and anything she could reach at the monsters with her free hand.

He hurled himself in front of her, arced out with the blade, caught the first daemon across the chest. Blood streamed. The daemon roared. His claws connected with Gryphon’s shoulder, knocking him back into Maelea. She screamed, jumped back as far as her cuffed arm would let her go. Gryphon’s head cracked against the headboard, but he slashed out again with his knife, this time connecting with the daemon’s thigh, slicing right into its femoral artery.

The daemon screamed a deafening sound, dropped to its knee. Blood gushed over the bed and floor. The second daemon knocked the first out of the way and charged. At the window, three more were scrambling to get into the room.

They were outnumbered and about to be overrun. And he had no idea where he’d left his sword.

He swung out, but the charging daemon plowed into him, knocked him off the mattress and into the wall. His shoulder and head hit with a crack. Pain raced along his limbs. He kicked out, swung with the puny knife in his hand. Caught the daemon across the neck. Blood spurted. The daemon howled and staggered back. Gryphon tried to push up to his feet, but a vibration knocked him back into the wall. One that seemed to come from the ground and made the other daemons in the room stumble, grab on to whatever piece of furniture was close, and steady themselves.

“Get up!” Maelea cried. “Do something!

He scanned the room, took in the seething monsters ready to annihilate, Maelea standing on the mattress, cuffed to the headboard, her face alight with fear and horror. And knew there wasn’t time to free her. No time to mount a defense. No suitable weapons to protect them.

Keep her safe.

Gryphon was down to his last option. And using it—the gift he’d gotten from his forefather Perseus—meant losing Maelea forever.