Marked

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Theron stared at the ceiling long after Acacia fell asleep.

Gods, he liked this. Way too much. Her, here in his bed. Hidden away from the world. Warm and snug and his.

His. There was a word. The irony was like a knife to the stomach.

He rolled to his side so he could watch her sleep and knew they didn’t have long. The king had probably already called the rest of the Argonauts together. What he’d said in the king’s chambers—with Zander as a witness—would be considered treason. He fully expected one of his kin to come charging in at any moment and drag him away.

He could hear their discussion now. Cerek the peacemaker would convince the rest not to take action until the morning. They’d come at first dawn. Play to Theron’s sense of honor. If that didn’t work, Gryphon would crack a joke about getting the king good, in a lame attempt to lighten the mood. Zander wouldn’t care one way or the other—so long as what happened to Theron didn’t affect him. And Demetrius…yeah, Demetrius would be pushing to have Theron hanged.

Too late, Theron realized he’d never told his Argonauts how much he respected them. Though they served together, fought together, none of them were close. And as he looked down at Acacia, sleeping on her stomach with both arms tucked under her, her face tipped his way and one of her legs intertwined with his, he realized he’d never even thought of his Argonauts as separate individuals before. To him, they’d always been nothing more than fighters in a war they’d all been trained for. But now? Now it was as if his eyes had been opened.

He brushed a finger down Acacia’s cheek, watched her back rise and fall in deep sleep. Studied the way her lashes formed spiky crescent shapes on her pale cheeks. Her courage still awed him. Last night she’d been ready to take him on. There was no other female in the universe who would dare stand up to him when he was in one of his moods, but it hadn’t stopped her. She was fearless. And as selfless as he’d told the king. Everything he’d never wanted but now couldn’t imagine living without.

He’d known she was his from the first taste. Long before he’d ever slid deep inside her. If he’d been more in tune with his humanity, he would have recognized it the first time he’d kissed her back in her small house. But he hadn’t. Because he’d needed her to unlock that side of him he’d always repressed.

She was his curse. His soul mate. His life. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to keep her from dying.

His finger ran down her shoulder, over her back until he found the sheet covering her gorgeous ass. He gripped the cotton and pulled it down, then eased up on an elbow and looked at her marking.

Gods, it was fading. In a matter of days, it would be gone.

His chest squeezed tight, and though he wanted nothing more than to slide back inside her and wake her from the inside out, he knew he couldn’t. Shouldn’t. She needed to save her strength, not use it up pleasuring him.

One glance at the window told him the moon was setting and morning would be here soon. Careful, so as not to wake her, he pulled the covers up around her shoulders and headed for the shower.

Her scent all over his body was distracting and arousing at the same time. As he lathered and rinsed under the hot spray, he told himself he was doing the right thing. The king had been correct on one count. Sometimes a great sacrifice is necessary.

He cut the water, grabbed a towel and dried his hair. After toweling off his legs, he pulled on new jeans, lifted the terry to his shoulders and froze.

Someone was outside on his porch.

Skata, he’d been wrong. They’d come for him already.

A deep male voice echoed through the closed doors. Followed by Acacia’s surprised and wary one.

His heart rate jerked.

No. He was wrong. They’d come for her.

Casey sensed she wasn’t alone even before she came fully awake.

She sat bolt upright and stared into the darkness. A candle flared on the low table across the room, illuminating the man seated near the fireplace.

“Don’t let me interrupt your sleep,” he said in a deep voice. “I do so enjoy watching the innocents.”

Casey pulled the sheet to her neck in a protective move. That tingling from her birthmark intensified until it was a screaming roar up and down her spine, but she didn’t open her mouth. Some hidden instinct warned her not to.

The man slowly rose, and even in the dim light from the candle she saw he was at least seven feet tall, with enough power in his right pinky to decimate her and everything in this house.

He wasn’t an Argonaut. This person…being…was a god.

And oh, shit. That meant all of this was real.

He stepped toward the bed. “Yes, I am. Care to guess which one?”

She swallowed the lump growing in her throat and pulled the covers tighter to her chest. She was blindingly aware she was naked beneath the sheet. And had a horrifying thought.

What if…what if he can see through it!

His chuckle was low and menacing. “Of course I can. But don’t worry. I’m not here for your sex, human. I’ve plenty of my own sluts to choose from. Besides, the visitor who came to Tartarus to beg for your soul was enough Argolean for me.”

“Hades,” she whispered.

His evil grin widened, and he bowed once. “Alive and in the flesh. I’d like to say I’m pleased to meet you, but that would be a lie. And I never lie.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, ask me who my visitor was.”

Her heart pounded against her ribs. She glanced around for Theron, only to confirm he wasn’t anywhere near. She swallowed hard again as she looked back at Hades. “No one would go see you on my behalf.”

His black-as-sin eyes glinted. “No one but your sister.”

The door to the bathroom flew open. Theron, bare chested and wearing only a pair of low-slung jeans, with hair damp as if he’d just stepped out of a shower, charged.

With a flick of his wrist, Hades sent Theron shooting backward until he slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground. Pictures and shattered glass rained down around him. Hades held his arm out, as if creating an invisible force that kept Theron from getting up.

The god’s soulless black eyes refocused on Casey. “Your sister bargained with me, so that you might live.”

“Acacia—”

Hades shot out another beam of energy so sharp, Theron’s whole body jerked.

“Stop!” Casey leapt to her knees on the bed. Hades glanced her direction, but she knew she was no match for him. She forced the fear from her voice, for Theron’s sake. “Stop. Just. Don’t hurt him. I…I don’t understand any of this.”

“Why would anyone expect you to understand, human?” Hades looked in Theron’s direction with disgust. “As your Argonaut here omitted the real reason he brought you to this realm in the first place.”

If the tingling at Acacia’s back hadn’t already been going at warp speed, it would be now. She looked toward Theron, slowly easing himself into a seated position against the wall. “What didn’t he tell me?”

Hades actually smiled, and in the pit of her stomach, Casey knew he was enjoying all of this. “Should I tell her, Argonaut? Or would you like to?”

“Go back to hell,” Theron snarled.

He jerked and seized as Hades blasted him again.

“Stop it!” Casey tried in vain to keep the sheet wrapped around her as she held out a hand to stop the vicious god. “Please, just…stop. You tell me the reason he brought me here.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Theron whispered.

“To fulfill the prophecy,” Hades said plainly. “Established thousands of years ago, when Atalanta sold her soul to me in exchange for immortality. You are half of that prophecy, Acacia Simopolous. The marking on your back is proof. Your half sister, Isadora, the princess and future queen of Argolea, has the same marking. Like you, she’s sick and dying, but in her case, she’s losing her Argolean side, whereas you are losing your humanity. Alone, you’ll both die. Joined, the strongest of the two will survive to render Atalanta mortal once more and bring the beginning of the end of her war against the Argoleans.”

Hades inclined his head toward Theron. “Your Argonaut was sent by your father, the king, to bring you back to meet your sister. To save her life and end yours.”

Casey’s eyes slowly slid to Theron, slumped against the wall, eyes closed, with his arm across his abdomen. She waited for him to deny Hades’s words, to tell her they were nothing but lies, but he didn’t open his mouth. He didn’t even look at her.

“No,” she whispered. “That…can’t be true.”

“The truth is never a lie. Your sister even recognized how wrong these heroes were to try to mold your destinies. It’s why she came to me and bartered for your soul. And she did so against her father and her fiancé’s wills.”

“Fiancé?” Casey asked, having trouble following he god’s words.

“Oh, darn.” Hades snapped his fingers. “I guess your Argonaut forgot to tell you that as well.” His obsidian eyes sparked. “The good hero Theron here is scheduled to marry Isadora as soon as the prophecy is fulfilled.”

Casey’s heart slammed into her ribs as she looked toward Theron. He didn’t deny it. And he didn’t open his eyes, even now. The guilt-ridden expression across his face confirmed Hades’s claim.

Her heart shattered right there. Broke into a million pieces at her feet. The pain of betrayal in the center of her chest was as real as if she’d been stabbed with a blade.

Hades held out his hand. “Come with me and I will show you the truth, Acacia Simopolous. You will see, and you will believe.”

Theron shot to his feet. “No. Acacia!”

Electricity flashed out of Hades’s hand. Theron was rammed into the wall once more. He groaned and fell to the floor, this time surrounded by a pile of plaster.

“You will be safe while you are with me, human. No harm will come to you, I promise.”

Tears burned the backs of Casey’s eyes as she looked at the hand extended to her. Everything Theron had told her, everything she’d started to believe, was nothing more than a lie. Indecision warred within her. But one thing Hades said got through.

She had a sister. One who didn’t know her but who’d gone to hell to barter for her soul. There was still one person who needed her.

“I don’t have any clothes.”

Hades’s smile was laced with victory. “Taken care of.”

Instantly, she was dressed in a white billowing blouse and matching loose-fitting pants.

Casey dropped the sheet. And lifted her hand to slide her fingers into the palm of a god.

“No! Acacia!” Theron screamed.

She was floating. At her side she heard Hades’s voice, but when she turned her head she saw nothing but fog as thick as soup surrounding her. “It’s really too bad for your crappy genetics. It’s you who should be queen.”

“What do you mean?” His hand wrapped firmly around hers, almost as if it were holding her together from disintegrating into a thousand microscopic pieces across time and space.

“Your sister is weak. She’ll make a terrible queen, but fortunately for her, she was born Argolean and you were not.”

“She had to have some courage to come to you. That’s the mark of a leader, isn’t it?”

He chuckled next to her. “Desperate. That’s what we call her reckless actions. She’s the one who should be burning thyme. Not you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise, human.”

Nothing he said made sense, and she was distracted by the fact she didn’t have a clue where he was taking her.

“To see an army,” he said. “And believe me, you will soon understand all.”

“Stop reading my mind,” Casey snapped. “It’s rude.”

His hand tightened around hers, and for a frightening moment she feared he’d let go and she really would burst apart into a thousand pieces. Right then she realized the foolishness of her short temper. But then he laughed, a low and menacing sound that seemed to come from nowhere. “Oh, you really would be the better queen. Pity the daemon who tried to mess with you. I’ve been watching you, you know. Wondering how this would all play out. The others in past generations, they’ve been so disappointing. But you…you might just do yet.”

It was on her tongue to tell him to stop playing games with her when suddenly the fog lifted and they flashed onto the edge of a cliff. Casey gasped, and her arms flew out to steady herself as she teetered on the ledge. Pebbles at her feet skidded and pinged down the three-hundred-foot sheer drop to the burned valley below.

Hades pulled her back from the ledge. “Not yet. And not here. There are other plans for you.” He pointed with his long finger. “Look down, Acacia. And see the army Atalanta is preparing.”

Her breath left her in a rush as she saw the thousands upon thousands of daemons in the valley below. Looking closer, she realized their black skin was what was making the ground seem burnt. She took three quick steps back until she slammed into Hades’s chest.

“They can’t see you, human. So take a good look.” She shivered as her blood ran cold. There were so many. Sparring hand-to-hand, with swords and weapons she’d never seen before. In training. For a war.

In the center stood a woman in crimson robes, with flowing black hair, doling out directions and barking orders. When one daemon was outmaneuvered by another in a duel with bare hands, the woman lifted the whip in her hand and brought it down sharply across his back until blood the color of her robes stained the ground.

Action near her stopped. But not a single daemon stepped to the rescue of the punished one. The whip came down over and over until the one lying on the ground was bathed in blood and motionless.

Casey put a hand over her mouth as she watched the beaten daemon being dragged to the side of the training area. He was left there to suffer while the rest went back to their maneuvers.

“Do you know how a daemon comes to be?” Hades asked in her ear.

Casey swallowed hard and shook her head.

“Daemons are nothing more than the soul of a human, trapped in the Fields of Asphodel.”

“Purgatory,” Casey whispered.

“Something like that,” Hades said, sounding amused. “Atalanta loves to prey on the unfortunates, and as you can see, she’s convinced many that servitude to her is a thousand times better than what they will experience with me. Some are genuinely evil and know they’ll be sent for punishment. Some are just plain stupid. With her, they’re reborn in the image of what she’s made them. Strong fighters. Without conscience. Monsters. But there’s a catch.”

The smile in Hades’s voice put Casey on instant alert.

“If they’re killed a second time, they’re mine forever. To spend eternity suffering at my hand in Tartarus, whether they were truly evil or not.”

“You made her immortal.”

“I did. I’m a god who’s always looking for a deal. Balance in the universe. And her request? Centered on revenge? Oh, you can’t get better than that.”

Casey’s back tingled. “What did she offer you in exchange?”

“The soul of every Argolean she kills.” Casey’s blood went cold. “Every half-breed as well.”

Sickness swelled in Casey’s stomach. “Why are you showing me this?”

“Because I want you to see. And believe.” He leaned down to her ear. “What do you think she’s planning to do with that army, Acacia? It’s not just for looks.” When she didn’t answer, he moved closer, until she felt the long lines of his body against her back. Her stomach pitched. “They’re going to devour the half-breeds. Decimate the Argonauts. When those warriors aren’t guarding the portal anymore, Argoleans will seep into the human world and be destroyed in droves. And the daemons will spread like fire across Argolea.”

“Oh, God,” Casey whispered.

He chuckled in her ear, his hot and wanton breath sliding under her garments to send a shudder through her body. “Your human god can’t do anything for them. I think it’s time you see what it is she hates so much.”

He placed his large hands on her upper arms, and they flashed through fog again until she was once more standing on a rise, but this time the view beneath her was one out of a fantasy. A lush green valley, surrounded by woods and meadows and majestic snow-capped mountains. In the center sat a sparkling city made of what seemed to be all marble, with a centralized marketplace, bustling people and a castle that looked like it had been plunked there straight out of Cinderella’s fairy tale.

It was the same city she’d glimpsed from Theron’s house, only closer and more real.

“Oh…my.” Something warmed in the center of Casey’s chest. A feeling like she’d finally come home.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Hades said at her side. “Tiyrns. The city of white. Created for a hero, wouldn’t you say?” Casey could only nod. “Be a pity to see it and all of Argolea disappear.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your sister, Isadora, is the only heir. By Argolean law, no one but a member of the royal family may rule the land. Your father, the king, is dying from old age. And she’s as sick as you are. If she passes without producing an heir, the rule of Argolea will fall to the Council of Elders, who believe the Argonauts do nothing but instill fear. Imagine, Acacia, what will happen when your sister is gone.”

Dread welled in Casey’s chest, and suddenly she understood why Hades had taken her to the Underworld. “They’ll be wiped out by Atalanta’s army.”

“Yes.”

She looked back over the valley, and what was left of her heart broke.

“There’s only one way to prevent that from happening,” Hades said beside her.

“How?”

“Search your soul and you’ll find your answer.”

She did. And knew.

The only way was for her sister to live. As if she’d heard it a thousand times, the prophecy Hades had spoken of earlier ran through her mind.

And as it did, she thought of Theron and why he’d been sent to find her. All of his gruff actions suddenly made sense. Except…when she remembered the way he’d looked at her when she was beneath him only hours ago…Something didn’t add up.

He’d brought her here yesterday, and still he hadn’t turned her over. And when he’d come home last night he’d seemed angry, but not at her. He’d been angry with her father.

It hit her then.

He’d changed his mind. Even before they’d made love. Even knowing his actions were possibly going to destroy his world, he wasn’t willing to let her die to save her sister. His fiancée.

“Answer me one thing,” she said softly, staring at the castle, knowing Hades was reading her thoughts but needing to put this one question into words. “Am I his soul mate?”

“Yes.”

She drew in a breath.

“Nasty gift from my brother’s vindictive wife. Hera knew if Theron ever found you, he wouldn’t let you fulfill your destiny.”

Her destiny. Casey nearly laughed at the irony. Either way she looked at it, she was destined to die. And that truly sucked, especially when she realized she’d finally found the one place she belonged, and the one person she belonged to. But life for her had never been easy. It made sense that death wouldn’t be either.

The only question left was how it would happen. On her terms or not.

She slanted a sideways look at the god beside her. “Am I to be tortured in Tartarus as well?”

His smile was actually warm, so at odds with everything else she sensed about him. “No. You’ll sail to the Isles of the Blessed.”

She looked back at the castle. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It’s not. It’s actually quite nice.”

“And if I go to her? My sister?”

“She will rule until her time is at an end.”

That didn’t sound so bad either.

“And what about Theron? What will happen to him?”

Hades shrugged. “The Argonaut’s fate is none of my concern.”

“Surely you know, though.”

A bored look crossed his face. “If you go to Isadora? Nothing. Things will be for him as they were before. If you decide to go back to the half-breed colony…” He lifted one shoulder, dropped it. “He may be punished for not following orders and bringing you back.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “May be?”

His mischievous smile returned. “I’m not an oracle, Acacia.”

“You’re a god, though.”

“Yes, but even the greatest of gods cannot tell the future. Free will and all that crap, you know.”

Free will.

Casey looked out over the valley. Closed her eyes and tuned in to her senses. When not even a tingle ran over her back, she had her answer.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Hades. “Take me home.”