“Makes sense. What’s the easiest way in?”
“Through the orchard on the back side. We’ll have to go out and around Olympus to get there.”
“Let’s go, then.” Ari took three steps deeper into the trees before Cerek reached for his arm, stopping him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just…” Emotions tightened Cerek’s throat. Emotions he wasn’t prepared for. “I’m glad you’re here, patéras. With me now. At the end.”
“It’s not the end, yios. Not even close.” Ari closed his hand over the ancient Greek text on Cerek’s forearm. The same text that ran over his forearms. “No matter what happens tonight or tomorrow or next year, our spirits will live on. You’ll see your mate again. And your kin. And when you do, they’ll know what you did for them here. That I promise.”
The words steeled Cerek’s resolve. He nodded. Let go of his father’s arm. Knew what he was doing now was as right as binding his life to Elysia’s.
He stepped forward. The crackle of twigs around them brought his head up. Every muscle in Cerek’s body went rigid as eight Sirens emerged from the trees, bows drawn, arrows pointed right at them.
“Well, well, well,” Zeus said in a deep voice at Cerek’s back. “The Orb and two Argonauts for the price of one. This day is turning out better than I planned.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They were fucked. Completely fucked. Before they’d even gotten out of the damn trees.
Cerek’s pulse raced. He gripped the blade tightly and turned.
Ari moved up at his side and glared at Zeus. “Your little stone spells won’t work anymore. Cerek knows how to break free of them.”
“No thanks to a witch, I’m sure.” Zeus’s dark gaze narrowed. “I’ll deal with her later. Right now, I’m going to enjoy killing both of you once and for all.”
“I want the girl,” Athena hissed, moving up next to Zeus, her eyes filled with fury.
“Patience, daughter,” Zeus said. “As soon as we’re done here, you can have her. She hasn’t passed the gate yet.”
True fear swept through Cerek as he shifted so his back was to Ari’s. His gaze darted right and left at the Sirens around them. His gift of augmentation wasn’t going to help them here. He lifted the blade. The weapon was useless against flying arrows, but he had to hold them off long enough for Elysia to get free.
Run, emmoní…
“The only good Argonaut is a dead Argonaut as far as I’m concerned.” Zeus grinned. “Ladies? Fire away.”
“Remember this isn’t the end,” Ari muttered at Cerek’s back.
Not the end… The words had a calming effect as Cerek drew a breath. He pictured Elysia rushing past the gates of Olympus where the gods couldn’t touch her, flashing back to Argolea where she would be safe, the wedding band that matched the one he wore snug around her finger.
No, this wasn’t the end. He would see her again. He’d wait for her on the other side as long as it took because she was worth the sacrifice. She was worth everything. And he knew the next time he saw her, he could hold his head up high and not feel ashamed for all the things he’d done here because of Zeus.
The Sirens drew their bows back. Twigs crackled. Cerek tightened his hand around the hilt of the blade.
Silence met his ears, followed by Zeus’s muttered, “Fucking Argonauts.”
Cerek squinted to see past the Sirens to where an Argonaut stood behind each one, a blade at their throats.
“Draw off your bitches,” Theron yelled. “Or each one of them will die.”
“I’d do what they say,” Skyla called toward Zeus, her blade also at a Siren’s throat. “These heroes are unpredictable.”
“This is my realm,” Zeus growled.
“And these are our boys,” Theron said. “Tell your warriors to drop their weapons, or we’ll make mincemeat of them.”
Zeus lifted his hands. Before he could draw on his powers, Nick, Demetrius’s half brother and a god himself, stepped out of the shadows and shot a beam of energy forward that knocked the god off his feet and slammed him up against a tree.
“Your power is broken until we leave this realm,” Nick announced.
“You can’t do that,” Zeus growled, scrambling to his feet.
“I just did, adelfos.” Nick held out his hands, ready to use them again. “I’m as strong as you. Now tell your dogs to lower their weapons.”
Zeus’s black-as-night eyes narrowed, brimming with retribution and rage. But he motioned for his warriors to drop their weapons.
The Sirens tossed their bows on the ground and muttered derogatory comments. Orpheus shoved the Siren at his front forward and moved from tree to tree, picking up the bows.
“You can’t let them do this,” Athena hissed.
“Shush,” Zeus said to her.
Cerek ignored the gods and looked from face to face, stunned the Argonauts were all there—Theron, Zander, Orpheus, Gryphon, Phineus, Titus…even Demetrius. They’d all come after him, even knowing he’d given up the Orb.
The Argonauts released the Sirens. The females glared back at their captors before moving to stand behind Zeus and Athena.
“You think this means you win?” Zeus shook his head. “Whether you rescue these two traitors or not, you still lose. The Orb is mine.”
“We didn’t come for the Orb.” Demetrius moved up on Cerek’s right. “Some things are more important than trinkets and jewels. You wouldn’t understand that, but then you don’t understand anything about brotherhood and sacrifice.”
“Brotherhood doesn’t win wars.” Zeus sneered. “You’re all going to die when I use the Orb.”
“That will never happen.” Theron stepped up next to Ari. “You don’t have the water element, and you’ll never find it before we do. We have two gods on our side now. One of whom knows exactly where the water element is hiding.”
Zeus growled at the mention of Prometheus, the Titan currently lurking in the mountains of Argolea, a realm the Olympians could not cross into. With one last glare, Zeus nodded toward the gate. “Leave Olympus now. And take your pathetic traitors with you.”
Athena startled at Zeus’s side. “But—”
Zeus grasped the goddess’s hand and poofed them away in a cloud of dark smoke. The Sirens glared at the group before turning up the hill and heading for their compound.
Voices echoed around Cerek. One by one the Argonauts each slapped him on the shoulder, muttered encouraging words he couldn’t quite grasp, before moving through the trees toward the gate. Orpheus and Skyla followed.
When Ari and Cerek were the only ones left, Ari grinned down at his son. “What do you say we get back to our women?”
Still too dazed to answer, Cerek nodded and followed his father into the trees. But nothing made sense. He should be dead. They hadn’t retrieved the Orb. The Argonauts should be gunning for him as much as Zeus, but they weren’t.
He stepped out of the trees onto the stone path that led down the hill and spotted Demetrius, standing only a few yards ahead. A scowl pulled at the guardian’s mouth, making the hairs on Cerek’s nape stand straight all over again. Swallowing hard, he stopped in front of the Argonaut he’d served with for fifty years before Zeus had taken him, understanding—now that he had his memory back—just what he’d done. Not to the Argonauts as a whole, but to someone he’d once considered a friend.
Demetrius didn’t speak. In the silence Cerek shook his head, more confused than ever. “Why are you here? You were right about me. You were right about everything. If I were you, I’d be handing me over to Zeus, not defending me.”
Demetrius angled his head to look down at Cerek in the moonlight. At six-eight, Demetrius was the biggest and most intimidating of the Argonauts. But in his dark eyes, Cerek no longer saw threats. He saw camaraderie.
“You have a long way to go to earn my respect,” Demetrius said. “I’m still pissed about the way you and Elysia kept your relationship a secret, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay with yo
u and her, well…” He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “But we’re kin. The bonds of brotherhood run deep. Regardless of what you think, you’re not a traitor. Not even close. I—we—all knew what you did was not done intentionally. But more than that, I know my daughter. I know she would not risk everything for someone who wasn’t worthy. The second I learned she’d gone after you, I knew you were innocent.”
Elysia… “Is she—”
“Already on the other side of the gate. Probably freaking the hell out because we’re not back yet.”
Cerek glanced down the hill past Demetrius.
“Know this, though.” Demetrius stepped in front of him, blocking Cerek’s view. “If you ever hurt her, I’ll find out.”
“I won’t. I promise I won’t.”
Demetrius stared at him. Frowned. Finally shook his head and turned away. “I know you won’t, dumbass.”
He moved down the path. Alone, Cerek drew in a shaky breath. Ari chuckled and slapped Cerek on the shoulder as he followed Demetrius. “You’re screwed with that one as a father-in-law. Totally fucking screwed.”
He was. Cerek knew there was no way around it. He vowed to find a way to earn back Demetrius’s respect.
“Hey,” Ari said. “Slow down.”
Footsteps sounded on the path, and Cerek spotted Elysia rushing past his father seconds before she threw herself into his arms.
His heart leapt, and he captured her around the waist and pulled her close. “You’re supposed to be back in Argolea. What the hell are you doing on this side of the gate?”
“Rescuing you, ilithios.”
All the worry and stress and disappointment and fear leaked out of him. Smiling, he lowered his face to the curve between her shoulder and jaw and drew in a deep whiff of her sweet honeysuckle scent. “You did. More times than I can count. Did you send the Argonauts?”
“No.” She drew back and looked into his eyes. “They were already at the gate when Max and I went through. They believe in you as much as I do.”
He brushed a silky lock of hair back from her face. “Not quite as much as you do. I don’t think anybody could.”
“That’s true.” Her beautiful eyes narrowed. “Which is why sending me away was a really bad idea.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I know. That’s the only reason I’m not spitting mad right now.”
She would always challenge him, always push him, and he loved that about her. Loved everything about her, especially the way she loved him back. He’d never believed anyone before her could. He’d been so afraid of that witch’s prophecy that he’d lose his courage because of lust, he’d never let anyone try. Something for which, now, he was so very grateful.
“We didn’t get the Orb,” he said softly.
“I know. But it’ll all work out.”
Amusement toyed with the edge of his lips. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because, ómorfos, I’m never wrong.”
He thought back to the choices she’d made on Pandora. To the decisions she’d made when they’d been attacked by those harpies. To her unwavering belief that binding her soul to his was the only path. His gaze narrowed. “You are never wrong. Why haven’t I noticed that before?”
Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Because I’m so completely talented in the ways of seduction, I distract you from my unwavering perfection.”
“Talented in the ways of seduction… You must have had a really good trainer.”
Her grin widened. “The very best.”
Her lips found his, and as he kissed her, he knew that regardless of the ups and downs and twists and turns of his life, everything was finally the way it was supposed to be.
“If you get my daughter killed because you couldn’t get your ass outside these gates before Zeus’s Sirens showed up again,” Demetrius called, “I’ll take back everything I said and deliver you to the fucking god myself.”
Elysia dropped to her heels and giggled.
“That’s not funny.” Releasing her, Cerek steered her in front of him and pushed her down the path. “I’m pretty sure your father still wants to kill me.”
“I know.” Swiveling back toward him, she grasped his hand in both of hers and pulled him with her toward the gate. “Isn’t it awesome?”
Cerek couldn’t stop himself. He laughed. She was right. It was awesome. Awesome and normal and messy and right. And it was his life.
A life he couldn’t wait to get back to living.
EPILOGUE
“Where are you taking me?” Elysia reached out with her hand to try to feel her way in the darkness. The blindfold Cerek had tied around her head blocked out all light, and she stumbled up the step.
“Gods, you’re so impatient.” Cerek’s warm hands against her upper arms sent tingles rushing all across her skin as he guided her forward. “Just a little farther.”
“You like when I’m impatient.”
“In bed. I like when you’re impatient in bed, not when I’m trying to surprise you.”
She smiled at the memory of her impatience last night. He’d recently rejoined the Argonauts, and last week was the first time they’d been separated since their binding. His four-day mission in the human realm as the guardians intensified their search for the water element had felt like twenty, and she’d been more than impatient when he’d finally come home. So impatient they hadn’t even made it to the bed. She’d torn off his clothes in the living area of their suite and rocked both their worlds right out from under them before he got even three steps into the room.
“Okay,” he said, drawing her to a stop. “That’s far enough.”
His hands lifted from her shoulders to untie the sash from the back of her head, and as the fabric fell from her face, she blinked several times at her surroundings.
“Oh my gods.”
Cerek turned to look over the suite. Pale yellow walls framed a living room with plush furnishings and a rock fireplace that rose to the ceiling. The great room opened to a kitchen with granite counters and gleaming appliances. A hallway led back to what she guessed were the bedrooms, and a wall of windows overlooked the white-capped, blue-green Aegis Mountains in the distance.
Wide-eyed, Elysia moved toward the windows to gaze out at the view. “This is the north wing of the castle.”
“Yep.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s been empty for years.”
He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and smiled, a warm, sexy smile that did crazy things to her insides. “I talked your parents into letting us have it. If it were up to me, we’d have our own place outside the city, in the trees, far from anyone who might interrupt us. But we can’t.”
She gazed back at the view. She wanted that too, but being heir to the throne came with a number of sacrifices, and on this point she’d had to agree with her parents. It wasn’t safe for her to live outside the castle walls. There were still political factions within Argolea that wanted to see the demise of the monarchy. Until that changed—or until her parents produced a son who would overtake her in succession to the throne—she had responsibilities, and those responsibilities outweighed her personal wishes and desires.
He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What do you think?”
She lifted her hands to his and ran her fingers over his rough and sexy skin. “I think it’s incredible. Did you do all this?”
“Your mom helped. And Daphne. It was their binding gift to us. They did the decorating. All I did was some of the renovations.”
“When?” She angled her head to look up at him.
“At night. When you were sleeping. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“I love it.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded.
“So do I.” He turned her in his arms and brushed the hair back from her face. “Especially because this far from your parents’ suite, they can’t hear your throaty, sexy screams
when you fuck my brains out right here on the floor.”
She laughed, then sighed as his mouth found hers. And as she sank into his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, she thought back to the day she’d run from this castle. Back then, she’d believed binding herself to another and accepting her role as heir to the throne would signal the end of her life. She’d had no idea then that it would be the start of something wonderful.
He drew back and gazed down at her with warm, gorgeous brown eyes she sometimes couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to stare into for the rest of her life. “Happy?”
“Yes. Sublimely.” She trailed her fingers through the silky hair at his nape and grinned. “Or I will be. If this carpet you picked out is half as soft as it looks.”
His eyes lit with an erotic light, and he chuckled. “Oh, it is, emmoní. Extremely soft.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to the floor. “Let me show you, right now.”
She fell on top of him and giggled. But her laughter turned to sighs of pleasure when he rolled her over and kissed her. And as their hands explored and their mouths fused, she couldn’t help but be thankful that Zeus’s Sirens had kidnapped her all those months ago. Because if they hadn’t, she never would have found Cerek, and she wouldn’t have the one thing that now mattered more than anything else.
She wouldn’t have love.
“Ah.” Lachesis sighed and leaned back from the bowl of water in the courtyard behind the home she shared with her sisters and waved her hand so the image of Cerek and Elysia faded in a swirl of water. “They both fulfilled their destinies. And we didn’t have to intervene after all.”
Frowning, Zagreus went back to deadheading roses in the courtyard. Leave it to the fucking Fates to cut the feed just when things were about to get interesting between the Argonaut and his hot little mate.
Atropos harrumphed as she tucked her hands behind her head and reclined on the chaise in the sunlight. “I still think we could have cut that boy loose and the girl would have ultimately fulfilled her destiny.”
Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) Page 30