Enslaved

Chapter Nineteen

Gryphon grabbed a butcher knife from the block on the counter and tore the screen door open.

Maelea was climbing up on an outcropping of rock to the left of the bay in an attempt to escape. Across the sand, five snarling hellhounds were advancing on her.

Gryphon screamed to get their attention. Waved his arms above his head, tore off the deck, and raced toward the water to put himself between them and Maelea.

They had to have been waiting for the therillium to lose its power. He was so stupid. Stupid to think she would be safe here alone. That Hades wouldn’t continue to track her. That no one had noticed he’d taken that therillium in the first place.

He charged the closest beast, already at the rocks, ready to lurch toward Maelea with snapping jaws. Sand and water flicked up from Gryphon’s feet. He hurled himself at the beast. They rolled across the sand, a tumble of arms and legs and teeth. Gryphon scrambled to his feet before the beast could pin him down and arced out with the knife in his hand. He caught the beast across the foreleg. It howled and dropped back. Then snapped its massive jaws and charged.

Maelea screamed again. Gryphon looked over just as she reached the top of the five-foot-high boulder. She twisted around, threw mussel shells and pebbles, whatever she could find, at another hound trying to reach her.

He stabbed out with his knife again. Blood dripped down the snarling hound’s neck. Behind him, growls echoed as the other three advanced on Maelea. Then the ground shook beneath his feet, just as it had in the colony’s caves, just as it had in that motel room. Only he didn’t know where it was coming from or if it could help.

There were too many, he realized. His only hope was to use his gift and freeze them so she could get away.

He arced out, caught the hound at the jugular. Blood squirted all over him and the ground. The beast stilled, made no sound, then dropped to the sand. He looked for Maelea. Three hellhounds jumped and snarled and snapped at the base of her rock. The fourth was headed straight for him with glowing red eyes.

He centered himself. The ground shook harder. His eyes fell closed as he drew on his gift. But Maelea’s scream jolted him out of focus.

His eyes shot open. Maelea’s arms swung out for balance, but her footing slipped on the rocks. And then she was falling.

No!

Panic and bone-chilling fear rocketed through him. He pushed his muscles forward, sprinted through the water toward her. A hound slammed into him from the side. They rolled through the shallow surf. The knife went flying. The hound pinned him to the ground and closed his jaws over his shoulder.

Pain spiraled through his body, and he roared. A blinding red ignited behind his eyes. He jabbed at the beast’s face, couldn’t seem to get the thing to let go.

Maelea. He had to get to Maelea…

He shoved up hard with his knee. Clawed out with as much force as he could. A whir sounded close. Then another. The beast let go and howled. Then dropped to his side next to Gryphon in the surf.

Chest heaving, Gryphon pushed himself up. Two arrows stuck out of the side of the dead hellhound. His gaze shifted out over the beach, to Titus and Skyla killing what was left of the hellhounds. Then to the water, where Orpheus was hauling a soaking wet and bloody Maelea to her feet in the waist-high surf.

She sputtered, coughed, held on to Orpheus as he lifted her into his arms and walked toward the beach.

She was alive. Relief poured through Gryphon like a tidal wave. He pushed to his feet. Needed to touch her. To hold her. Blood gushed from his shoulder. A wave of dizziness dropped him back on his ass. Water sprayed around him.

“Shit,” Skyla said. “Orpheus! He’s hurt. And, uh, boys? Look up there.”

Gryphon looked toward the cliff Skyla was pointing to. The cliff was covered in seething, glowing green-eyed daemons.

Holy fuck, they’d been found by everyone.

“We need to get them both back to Argolea,” Skyla said. “Like now.”

Argolea? No. Gryphon tried to push up again. A wave crashed into him, jostling his body against the sand. “Maelea—”

“I’m all for that,” Titus said, stalking Gryphon’s way at a fast pace. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” Orpheus said somewhere close. “Let’s get the fuck out of here before those daemons figure out how to get down that cliff.”

“Relax, Gryphon,” Skyla said at his side, kneeling beside him. “We’ll get you home.”

He didn’t want to go home. He just wanted Maelea. He struggled to see past Skyla, but Titus stepped in his way. Then looked down at him and shook his head with a you’re such a dumbshit expression.

Before Gryphon could ask where they’d come from or what the hell was going on, Titus brought his fingers together and opened the portal. A burst of light blinded Gryphon’s eyes. And then he was flying.

“I’m fine,” Maelea said for the hundredth time. “I’m not hurt. Stop fussing over me.”

She tried to get up, but Callia pushed on her shoulder, keeping her prone against the bed. “You hit your head and have a concussion. You’re not going anywhere just yet, missy. Relax. You’re safe here.”

Maelea wasn’t worried about being safe. She was worried about Gryphon.

She hadn’t seen him since they were brought to the castle in Argolea. The Argonauts had whisked him off somewhere as soon as they came through the portal, and every time she asked what was going on, she’d been told not to worry.

Not worry? That wasn’t possible. She knew the Argonauts hadn’t been happy with Gryphon before he kidnapped her. Likely were even less thrilled with him now. She needed to find them. To set things right. She’d seen the anger in Orpheus’s eyes when he hauled her out of the water. Had seen the way he cut Gryphon a bitter glare, as if her falling in the water and hitting her head was his fault. He couldn’t be more wrong. It was her own stupid fault. She knew now there was some sort of hidden power in her, one she’d called on out there on that rock. One that vibrated from her into the ground and caused it to shake. And it was that power that had knocked her off her own feet and tossed her into the waves.

All of them couldn’t be more wrong about Gryphon. She had to get to him. She had to make them understand…

She pushed up again. “If you’ll just let me—”

The door whooshed open, and Skyla stuck her blond head inside the room. “Is it okay for me to be here?”

Skyla. Relief pinged through Maelea’s chest. Yes, Skyla would help her.

Callia glanced toward the door. “Actually, you have good timing. I need to go check on Gryphon. Can you stay with Maelea?”

“Sure.”

Callia looked back at Maelea. “You, stay put.”

Maelea’s nerves bounced in her stomach as Callia left. When she and Skyla were alone, she focused on the Siren’s green eyes. “Tell me how he is.”

“He’ll live. Getting patched up. I’m a little surprised at your concern, though.”

“He didn’t do anything to me.”

“That’s not what it looked like when we got there. It looked like you were trying to get away from him and those hellhounds showed up.”

Maelea blew out a breath of frustration. “That’s not what was happening at all. I was looking out at the water, trying to get my head on straight when those hellhounds appeared. Gryphon was in the house packing to leave. He wasn’t anywhere near me. And even if he had been near me, I wouldn’t have been trying to get away from him.”

Confusion crossed Skyla’s face as she eased down on the side of Maelea’s bed. “Maybe you’d better tell me just what happened while you were with Gryphon these last few weeks. Because when Orpheus saw you with him in the caves beneath the colony, just before the floor broke open, getting away from him was the only thing you—or we—wanted.”

Maelea swiped both hands over her still damp hair as her pulse picked up speed. How could she explain what had happened? She couldn’t. All she could do was try to convince Skyla he wasn’t the monster the rest of the Argonauts were undoubtedly sure he’d become.

She fought back the rush of emotions. But wasn’t strong enough to stop the tears that stung her eyes. “You want to know what happened?” When Skyla nodded, she said, “I realized how special he is. And I fell in love with him. That’s what happened.”

The voice was back.

Which meant Maelea wasn’t close.

Gryphon ground his teeth as he sat on the bed in nothing but wet jeans while the med tech wrapped his shoulder, fighting to hold back his temper.

“What the hell were you thinking, Gryphon?” Theron roared at him. “Do you have any idea what kind of fucking mess you’ve made for the rest of us to clean up? Hellhounds. Skata. Not to mention the line of dead daemons you left in your wake. You’re damn lucky Titus and Orpheus came through after you. Not that it fucking matters, since the Council’s already caught wind of this disaster.”

Gryphon cut a look at Orpheus near the door. His brother’s arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes as hard and cold as Gryphon had ever seen them.

Oh yeah, his brother was pissed at him. And with good reason.

He looked toward Titus, leaning against the wall behind Theron, a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Luckily, the Argonaut had healed from his wounds. Which was about the only good news right now. Even so, a burst of remorse trickled through Gryphon’s veins.

“Nick’s ready to have you skewered,” Theron went on, pinning him with a look. “He’s banned you from the colony.” His black eyes narrowed. “Are you listening to any fucking thing I’m saying?”

No, actually, Gryphon wasn’t. All he could think about was Maelea. “Where is she?”

“Safe from you, finally,” Theron said with dead calm.

Gryphon’s heart cinched down tight. And panic slid through his veins. “You have to let her stay. She can’t go back to the colony. She won’t stay there, and Hades is hunting her.”

“Why the hell would you care?” Theron asked. “You fucking kidnapped her.”

His pulse pounded hard in his chest. Yeah, he had, but he’d also found something in her he’d never expected to find anywhere else. Something he now knew he couldn’t live without.

“Well?” Theron asked.

Before Gryphon could answer, the door opened and Cerek stuck his head in the room. “Um, Theron. Sorry, man. I need you for a minute. We have a…situation downstairs.”

“What kind of situation?” Theron asked.

“A Council situation.”

“This is all I need,” Theron muttered. He looked to Gryphon. “You. Stay put. We’re not done.”

As he left, Gryphon couldn’t help but worry that the Council had found out Maelea was in their realm. They’d never allow that. Not the daughter of Persephone and Zeus. His stomach tightened.

Titus pushed away from the wall. “O? Can I see you outside in the hall for a minute?”

Gryphon’s wariness kicked in as he watched the two leave. Now what the hell was going on? As the med tech continued to bandage his shoulder, he tried to listen to what was happening beyond the door. Couldn’t hear anything but that voice echoing in his head. It was there, but not strong, which meant Maelea had to be somewhere in the castle. If she were outside the castle walls, the voice would be a blaring roar in his ears.

The door pushed open again, but instead of his kin, Callia stepped into the room. “I’ll finish that for you,” she said to the tech.

The female nodded, then slipped out of the room without a word.

Callia glanced at the bandage job, then pressed her fingers all around the outside of the wounds on his shoulder, using her healing gift to feel for problems. “It’s not as deep as it could have been. You were lucky.”

“How is she?” he asked, knowing Callia had to have seen Maelea. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’s fine,” Callia answered as she continued to wrap his shoulder. “She has a slight concussion from hitting her head. Nothing more. Skyla’s with her now.”

Skyla. Gryphon’s eyes slid closed, and he drew in a breath, let it out slowly. Just hearing from someone that Maelea was okay eased the pressure on his chest.

“She seems quite worried about you,” Callia said.

The space around his heart warmed. “I—I need to see her.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good id—”

The door pushed open, but instead of Theron and the others, Orpheus came back into the room alone. The anger was gone from his eyes. In its place was shock and…confusion.

“Orpheus?” Callia asked as she applied the last bit of tape. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” He ran a hand down his face. Then nodded Gryphon’s way. “Are you done with him?”

“Yeah. He’s done.” She set down her supplies, handed Gryphon a new shirt from the counter at her side and said, “Put this on.”

“Good,” Orpheus said. “I, uh, need to talk to my brother.” When Callia glanced at each of them curiously he added, “Alone.”

“Sure.” Callia cast him a weak smile. “I’ll just be outside.”

Gryphon pushed off the bed and tugged the shirt over his head as the door snapped closed behind Callia. Every muscle in his body hurt, but he couldn’t relax until he saw for himself that Maelea was okay.

As he pulled the shirt down, he looked toward Orpheus, who was staring at him with a freaked-out expression. He dropped back onto the side of the bed, bent down to tie his boots. “I know you’re pissed at me. Just lay into me already and get it over with.”

“I—” Orpheus shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “When did you figure it out? That she was your soul mate?”

Gryphon froze. Looked up. How the hell did Orpheus know that?

His brain spun. And then he realized…Titus. He must have thought it when Titus was standing in the room.

No wonder the guardian had pulled Orpheus out into the hall.

He braced his hands on his knees, pushed up. Blew out a shaky breath. “Not soon enough.”

Anger raced back over Orpheus’s face. “Did you—”

“I didn’t hurt her,” he snapped, hating the burst of jealousy he felt at Orpheus’s obvious concern. He knew his brother was head over heels in love with Skyla, but there was a connection between Maelea and Orpheus. One that rubbed Gryphon the wrong way. She was his soul mate, dammit.

Still…he’d really done a fucking good job protecting her, hadn’t he? How many times had she almost been killed because of him? His anger dissipated. Morphed to guilt.

“I didn’t hurt her,” he said again, gentler this time, more for his benefit than Orpheus’s. “I… I…”

Shit. What could he say that would make any kind of logical sense? He’d kidnapped her, made her his prisoner, dragged her halfway across the country, then fallen for her. If he said that, he’d sound more insane than they already thought he was. And the longer he sat here trying to explain something he couldn’t, the longer it would be before he could see for himself that Maelea was in one piece. That she wasn’t hurt. That she truly was okay.

“Did you know before you left the colony?” Orpheus asked.

This one, he could answer. “No. I’d wanted to leave for weeks. Getting out of my room was easy, but I didn’t know how to get past the tunnels. I’d been watching her for a while and I knew she’d figured it out. So I intercepted her. I only planned to use her to get away, but then the tunnel crashed in and we ended up underground, and then…”

“Then what?”

His heart cinched down. “Then I figured out she was more than I thought she was.”

“Skata,” Orpheus said in a stunned voice. “She’s not just your soul mate. You’re in love with her.”

When Gryphon’s eyes snapped to his, Orpheus added hesitantly, “Does she feel the same way about you?”

Gryphon thought back to their last night together at the beach house. And his heart warmed when he remembered Maelea’s words. Words he was pretty sure he was going to remember for the rest of his life. I love you, Gryphon. Nothing else matters to me. Nothing from before can change that. This—you and me together now—this is all that matters.

“Yeah,” he said, unable to fight the curl of his lips. “She does. Crazy, huh?”

Voices echoed from the hallway before Orpheus could answer. They both looked toward the door. “Where is he?” One voice rang out above the others. “I want to see him.”

“Fuck,” Orpheus muttered.

Gryphon tensed and pushed off the bed. He knew that voice. Knew it well, because it belonged to Lord Lucian, the leader of the Council of Elders. His—and Orpheus’s—uncle. “How does he know what’s going on?”

“Beats me,” Orpheus muttered. “But that’s why Titus and I didn’t tell Theron when we figured out where you and Maelea were holed up.”

“You think the Council’s planted a spy at the half-breed colony?”

“You bet your ass I do. Otherwise they wouldn’t have known about your escape, about the fact you took Maelea with you, about those daemon remains you left behind. And before I forget, let me just ask…what the hell were you thinking, not destroying them? Lucian and the rest of the Council’s gonna use this as another excuse to try to get rid of the Argonauts altogether.”

Gryphon knew Orpheus was right. The Council saw the Argonauts as rogue warriors who weren’t needed. Even after everything Atalanta had done and was doing to try to destroy Argolea, they still didn’t think she was a big enough threat to warrant the guardians. They’d been trying to disband the Argonauts for ages. But underneath, Gryphon knew the Council’s hatred of the Argonauts had nothing to do with perceived threats or protection. It had to do with power. They saw the Argonauts as the monarchy’s personal warriors. And they couldn’t overthrow the queen until the Argonauts were gone.

It didn’t matter that Orpheus and Gryphon were Lucian’s nephews. Familial ties meant nothing to their uncle. They’d both learned that long ago. Power was all that mattered.

The fact that Orpheus seemed so pissed off by that thought hit Gryphon right in the chest. Because before—before Gryphon had gone to the Underworld, before Orpheus had stepped in to fill his shoes with the Argonauts, before Isadora had asked Orpheus to stay on, even though Gryphon was back—Orpheus had despised and undermined the guardians as much as Lucian.

Gryphon sighed. “I couldn’t. There were hellhounds chasing Maelea. We barely got away from the first bunch of daemons alive. I didn’t have time to destroy the remains before Hades’s hounds were on us. And the second set—at the motel—they surprised us. There were too many. I had to use my gift to freeze them, then Maelea killed them because I was too weak to move.”

He omitted the fact he’d handcuffed Maelea to the bed, which was why he hadn’t been able to protect her in that fight, but from the look on Orpheus’s face, it was clear he’d already figured out something else had gone down in that motel room.

“Maelea killed them,” Orpheus said with a hint of pride in his voice. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“The lords and I want to see him,” Lucian bellowed in the hall. “He has much to answer for. The first of which is why he brought Persephone and Zeus’s daughter into our realm. We will not stand for this.”

Panic rushed over Gryphon as he glanced toward the closed door again. Out in the hall he could hear Theron arguing with his uncle. He had to get to Maelea before the Council did. He didn’t doubt for a minute that they wouldn’t just boot her right out of the realm on her ass. And if they did that, she’d be a prime target for Hades.

He looked to Orpheus. “Where is she?”

Orpheus turned from the door. Didn’t even hesitate to say, “Second floor. Northwest wing. Skyla’s with her.” When Gryphon moved for the balcony of the suite he’d been tucked into, Orpheus added, “What about your shoulder?”

Gryphon was already thinking through how he’d climb one floor up the outside of the building onto another balcony, then find a back set of stairs down to Maelea’s level. “It’s fine.”

He was out on the balcony before Orpheus caught his good arm, stopping him. “Gryphon, wait. Take this.”

He took the small, clear electronic device from Orpheus. “What is it? A phone?”

“Some kind of fancy techno gadget Titus came up with. This one works like a human sat phone but is way cooler. Integrates your brain waves or some shit. I don’t know how it works, but all you have to do is have this puppy turned on in your pocket and think about contacting me, and it sends a signal. Only problem is it only works here, not in the human realm. Titus hasn’t perfected it yet. But at least you’ll be able to get in touch with me.”

Gryphon looked down at the device in his hand. “Titus…”

Shit. He needed to apologize to the guardian. Try to make up for what he’d done.

“Callia couldn’t keep him in bed,” Orpheus said. “He was as adamant about finding you as I was.”

“Yeah, to kick my ass, I’m sure. I have it coming.”

“No,” Orpheus said, “To make sure Nick and his men didn’t. He doesn’t blame you, Gryph. He understands. If anyone knows what was happening in your head, it’s him.”

That thought didn’t exactly put Gryphon at ease. But it helped. At least, leaving, he knew Titus didn’t hate him.

“If you get into trouble,” Orpheus added, “look to the witches. Tell them you’re my brother. Delia and her crew will do whatever they can to help you.”

Delia was the leader of the witch enclave that resided in the Aegis Mountains. Her witches had been instrumental in helping the Argonauts rescue Isadora from the warlock Apophis’s castle. And Orpheus’s mother had been part of their coven.

Gryphon didn’t know what to say. His relationship with Orpheus had not been one of brotherly love and admiration. For years Gryphon had tried to break through Orpheus’s outer shell, but Orpheus had always done whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. And then, after Gryphon had come back from the Underworld, it was Orpheus trying to get through to Gryphon. So many years lost and wasted because of animosity and jealousy and lack of understanding. And now, after everything they’d both been through—lies and mistakes and secrets on both sides—they’d finally found common ground. All because of the Underworld.

But when he looked into his brother’s gray eyes, he didn’t see anger or even sympathy anymore as he’d seen since coming back from hell. He saw respect. A respect he hadn’t realized he was missing.

“Get her out of Tiyrns,” Orpheus said softly. “Take her into the mountains if you have to. The Council will be looking for her. And you.”

“I know.”

“You’re safer here than you are in the human realm.”

He knew that too. He also knew that what Orpheus was doing now, letting them both go, he wasn’t doing as an Argonaut, but as his brother. And that it would mean the end of Gryphon’s days with the Argonauts. “What will you tell Theron and the others?”

One side of Orpheus’s mouth tipped up. “That I finally came to my senses.”

“You’re gonna bring down a shitstorm of trouble. Not just from the Argonauts, but from the Council as well.”

Orpheus’s smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. “I’ve been on the straight and narrow for several months now. It’s time I did something to shake things up. Besides, Lucian’s still considering retiring, which means I’m still in line for his Council seat.”

“You’re an Argonaut now. They’ll never let you sit on the Council.”

Orpheus’s eyes sparked with challenge. “All the more reason I’m gonna push for just that.”

Gryphon didn’t doubt that. When Orpheus put his mind to something, he usually found a way to make it happen. He closed his hand over his brother’s forearm, locking them together. “I owe you. For…a lot more than I can ever repay.”

“Just take care of her. That’s all the payment I ask for. She’s special, Gryph.”

“I know.” Emotions closed his throat. “And I will. I promise.”