1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Five

by Julie Kenner

  The Argonaut went down with a grunt, but before the male could pounce, Aristokles did a backward roll and jerked back to standing. “You’ve really been practicing. I guess it’s time I stopped going easy on you and—”

  As if he sensed her, the Argonaut’s gaze darted toward the stairs and focused on Daphne. And in those mismatched eyes, interest immediately flared.

  Daphne’s first instinct was to shrink back into the logs behind her, but unfortunately she didn’t possess the power of camouflage. Her second was to run, but her legs wouldn’t let her. Because as the Argonaut’s heated gaze washed over her, her traitorous body was already responding—her nipples pebbling beneath the thin cotton shirt, her belly warming and sending waves of heat straight between her legs, her skin craving a dangerous touch she shouldn’t want.

  Her breaths grew shallow, her head, light. But this was more than just responding to an attractive male. This was instant arousal with just one look. Arousal on a scale she’d never experienced before, not even with a god.

  The male Aristokles had been sparing slammed his fist into the Argonaut’s stomach. Aristokles pulled his gaze from Daphne, grunted, then wrapped his arms around his belly and doubled over.

  The other male stood upright and turned toward the stairs with a surprised expression. “Ah, you’re awake. We expected you’d sleep at least another day.”

  We. Daphne had no idea who he was or what that meant, and she wanted to ask, but her gaze darted right back to the Argonaut. Aristokles shot the male a hard look, then stood upright and crossed to the far side of the room. After swiping a towel over his face, he reached for a shirt from a bench near the wall, tugged it on, and muttered, “You know what to do.”

  The second male looked Aristokles’s way, but the Argonaut didn’t meet his gaze. Didn’t even turn to look at Daphne again. Just disappeared through a doorway on the far side of the room and was gone.

  The heat in Daphne’s belly slowly cooled, and a shiver rushed down her spine.

  “Sorry about that.” The male turned toward her and grimaced. “He lacks basic social skills.”

  His words seemed to snap her out of the trance she’d fallen into. Daphne cleared her throat and gripped the banister at her side. “I...” No, that wasn’t how she wanted to start this. She needed to play it cool. Whoever this guy was, hopefully he could help her. “Where am I?”

  The male crossed to the bench and pulled on his own T-shirt. “Stonehill Hold. Don’t worry. You’re safe here. No daemons can get to us. And if they did”—he nodded toward the door Aristokles had exited through—“he’d sense them.”

  Sense them. Right. Argonauts could do that. One of their many awesome hunting skills, ironically bestowed on them by the very god who wanted Aristokles dead.

  Remembering she needed to play the damsel in distress, Daphne brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Stonehill Hold? I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Not many have.” He moved to the base of the stairs and looked up at her five steps above. “How do you feel?”

  “Fine,” she answered hesitantly. “Tired.” When his gaze dropped to her side, she remembered her wounds. “Sore.”

  “I’m sure you are.”

  Daphne couldn’t help but notice the angled scars that ran across his features. A series of thin, white lines that stretched from one cheek, across his nose, to the opposite jaw. Claw marks, she realized.

  She wanted to ask about them but decided now wasn’t the time. Instead, she tried to figure out who he was. He wasn’t an Argonaut like Aristokles. She would have picked up on that. As an otherworldly creature, she had the power to sense a being’s race, and she already knew he wasn’t a god or a nymph like her. But to be here with the psycho Argonaut and not be intimidated meant he had to be someone important.

  Her eyes widened when his lineage finally registered. “You’re a half breed.”

  He moved up the steps toward her. “We prefer the term Misos.”

  Misos. The race of half-human, half-Argolean beings. Argolea was the realm established for the descendants of the ancient Greek heroes, a utopia of sorts, one Daphne had studied during her time with the Sirens. But many Argoleans didn’t remain there. They often traveled back and forth between the human realm and their own, and whether they’d intended to or not, they’d created an entirely new race. The Misos. Because of their link to Argolea and the heroes, each Misos was born with a special gift, and their lifespans were longer than those of mortal beings, but they weren’t immortal in any sense of the word. As far as Daphne knew, they weren’t even that special.

  “I...” Words faltered on her tongue. If anyone knew what it was like to face a daemon, surely he would. Half breeds had been hunted by daemons for years simply because they were different, and to daemons that meant weak. “I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

  “Don’t worry. Where you come from, I’m sure Misos are few and far between.”

  That was true. He was the first Misos she’d ever met. But that didn’t mean she condoned stereotypes. In the otherworldy universe, nymphs were considered less than the other races, interested only in sex. She hated that perception. It was part of the reason she’d worked so hard to become the best Siren she could be.

  Even if she wasn’t all that great.

  That’s why you’re here. To fix that point.

  He stepped past her and motioned for her to follow. “I’m sure you have a million questions. I’m starving though. We’ll talk while I cook.”

  Daphne couldn’t seem to stop herself from glancing toward the doorway where Aristokles had disappeared. “What about him?”

  “Ignore him. He’s being moody.”

  She had no idea what the male meant, but she wasn’t sure she was with it enough to go exploring on her own just yet. She followed the Misos back up the stairs and into the massive kitchen.

  “Have a seat.” He nodded toward the hand-carved barstools near the counter. “I’ll get you something to drink. I remember being extremely thirsty when I first awoke.”

  Daphne’s mouth was suddenly bone dry. As she pulled out a chair and sat, she licked her lips, thankful someone seemed to know what she needed because right now, she had absolutely no clue.

  He handed her a glass of clear liquid. “Drink.”

  Daphne drained the entire glass, then lowered it to the counter and swiped the back of her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t realize how thirsty I was. Thank you...”

  “Silas.”

  “Thank you, Silas. I’m Daphne.”

  He opened the refrigerator and pulled out lettuce and other salad fixings. “How is it you came to be out here in the wilds all by yourself, Daphne?”

  She’d known the question would be asked, she just hadn’t expected it to be asked by anyone but her target. Either way, she needed to relay the same story Zeus had suggested because it might trigger a useful reaction in the crazed Argonaut. “I was... escaping.”

  “From?” Silas reached for a tomato.

  She thought about lying. She didn’t know this male. He could be Aristokles’s henchmen or even his slave. But he didn’t act like either. His shoulders were relaxed, and there was a look of contentment across his scarred features as he worked. And when she thought back to what she’d seen of the two sparring downstairs, it was clear he wasn’t afraid of the Argonaut.

  She suddenly didn’t want to lie. It wasn’t in her nature to lie anyway. But she couldn’t tell the truth either. She figured a half-truth was her best bet. “There’s a god who wants something from me. I was in the wilds because of him.”

  “Running from him?”

  Daphne definitely wanted to run from Zeus. His lecherous gaze put her at instant unease, and she hated the way he kept referencing her mother. In a way, accepting this assignment was running from him, wasn’t it? “You could say that.”

  He sliced through another tomato. “If it was a god, I’m guessing you came through a portal.”

  “I did.”

  “Which expl
ains the dress you were wearing when Ari found you.”

  Ari... Her body warmed just thinking of the Argonaut. He’d been the one who’d found her. Rescued her from those daemons. Brought her here and stripped her of her shredded garments.

  Arousal stirred in her belly all over again, but as her gaze drifted to the knife in Silas’s hand, it cooled. He sliced through the flesh of the tomato. Juice spurted across the cutting board, instantly reminding her of that daemon’s claws slashing through her skin.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, “for taking care of me.”

  “You’re welcome. But I didn’t do much aside from make sure you were comfortable. Ari’s the one you should thank. Without his healing gift, you’d be dead.”

  Daphne stared at the Misos’s scarred profile, unsure she’d heard him right. The Argonaut. He was implying that the Argonaut hadn’t just rescued her from those daemons, but healed her as well.

  That went against everything she knew of the monster.

  Silas glanced up. “I take it from your reaction you didn’t expect that.”

  “I...” Heck no, she hadn’t expected that. “I recognized the markings on his forearms. He’s a warrior, not a healer.”

  Silas looked down at his vegetables. “He is. But Ari also has a healing gift. One he doesn’t often use. Only when the situation is dire.”

  What situation would the crazed Argonaut consider dire? Daphne’s gaze swept back over Silas’s scars. “He saved you as well?”

  Silas nodded.

  “Why?”

  A smile pulled at the corner of Silas’s lips. “Because it’s in his nature to help those in need.”

  Daphne’s brow wrinkled. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  Silas moved the diced tomatoes to a salad bowl. “The Argonauts are duty-bound to protect the human world. My people are part of that world.”

  “Yes, but...if he lives here instead of in Argolea, he no longer serves with the Argonauts.”

  Silas looked up again, only this time when his eyes met hers, they narrowed. The knife in his hand hovered above the cutting board. “Now that, I know, you did not pick up from the markings on his forearms.”

  Oh Hades. A quick shot of fear rushed down Daphne’s spine.

  Think...quickly.

  “I...” Her mind spun. “No, I-I didn’t. But in my circle, I’ve heard whispers of a rogue Argonaut. One with mismatched eyes who no longer serves with his Order. I just assumed—”

  “Naturally, you assumed the worst.” Silas’s jaw clenched as he went back to slicing. “Not everything those gods you surround yourself with say is true. Ari might not serve with the Argonauts anymore, but that doesn’t mean his duty is any less.”

  An odd tingle spread across Daphne’s nape. She’d offended the Misos. Her memory skipped back to the laughter she’d heard from the lower level. The two were friends. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Wasn’t sure just what to say.

  After several awkward seconds of silence, Silas said, “My village was attacked by daemons. We lived in a remote area high in the mountains. Kept to ourselves; were a peaceful community. We thought we were safe. Turns out we weren’t. A daemon horde attacked us in the night. The raid was bloody and vicious, and before we could defend ourselves, it was all but over.”

  “I...” Daphne didn’t know what to say. She knew what it was like to lose her entire village, too. “I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. It happened.” He moved all the salad fixings to a bowl, cleaned off the cutting board, then stepped toward the refrigerator again and pulled out a casserole dish covered in tinfoil. “I made peace with it a long time ago. Ari found us after. He’d been patrolling the area as he often does. He tried to heal as many as he could, but in the end, I was the only one who survived.”

  A humming sounded in Daphne’s brain. Everything she’d been told about the Argonaut seemed at sudden odds with what she’d just learned. She wasn’t sure what to believe. All she knew for certain was that the Argonaut could have killed her. He could have left her for dead in those woods. But he hadn’t. He’d saved her, brought her here, and healed her. And though she wanted to chalk that up to his weakness for nymphs, she was starting to wonder if that was true. Because he’d done the same for Silas.

  Her gaze drifted toward the open door. She had no idea where the Argonaut was or what he was doing, but her mind skipped back over that moment in the woods. After he’d killed those daemons. When he’d stalked toward her, knelt at her side, and reached for her. She’d been too afraid to listen then, but now two words echoed in her mind. Two words she hadn’t realized he’d whispered until right this very second.

  Chapter Four

  Daphne wandered through the halls of Stonehill Hold late in the evening while Aristokles’s words continued to ping around in her mind. It was late, well past midnight, but she couldn’t sleep.

  You’re safe...

  Had she ever felt safe? Maybe as a child with her parents, but they’d been gone so long she barely remembered what safety felt like. She’d never truly felt safe with her foster family, even though they’d been nice. She’d been too afraid something bad was lurking around the corner. And she’d certainly never felt safe on Olympus. Even with all her years of training, she still worried daily that someone would see she didn’t have what it took and kick her out. Every day she struggled just to fit in. And every day she knew she really didn’t.

  Hating where her thoughts were heading, she ran her fingers over the spines of a series of books in the library. Tomes from all over the world filled the shelves, covering topics from gods to history to woodworking. Daphne had always loved books. As she glanced over the titles in front of her, she couldn’t help but see the irony.

  Books separated man from the animals. Learning kept him from becoming a savage. And the savage Zeus wanted her to kill was obviously very well read.

  Turning on a sigh, her gaze drifting over the fireplace, the comfy seating area, and the table near the window holding a globe. After dinner, Silas had given her a tour, explaining that Stonehill Hold had been nothing but ruins when Aristokles had found it over fifty years ago. Silas was the one who’d pestered the Argonaut into rebuilding the fortress. Silas was probably the one who’d collected all these books.

  She froze when she realized she wasn’t alone, and her heart rate shot up. Seated in a high-backed chair in the corner of the room, a book in his lap, the Argonaut she’d just been thinking of watched her with wild, mismatched eyes.

  Warmth gathered in her belly. A warmth that was both unwelcome and painfully arousing. He didn’t speak, only continued to stare at her from the shadows, and with every passing second, her adrenaline surged higher and that warmth trickled lower, awakening places she wasn’t willing to think about just yet.

  Say something. Anything.

  “I-I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

  Aristokles didn’t move a muscle, didn’t look away, still didn’t speak. And his face was so shadowed, she couldn’t read his expression. All she could see were his eyes, fixed only on her.

  Nerves bounced all over in her belly, and she pulled her gaze from his, glanced around the room, and tried to sound nonchalant when she said, “This is a fabulous library. I’m always so tempted by books. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow a few. I’m not used to the quiet here.” She wrinkled her nose. “Kinda hard to sleep.”

  When he still didn’t answer, she fought back a wave of unease. “I’m sure you’re used to being here. I mean, why wouldn’t you be? This is your house, after all. It’s a great house. Just a little big for me. And cold. You must like the cold though. I mean, to have a house way out here in the mountains, you’d have to, right?”

  Oh gods, she was babbling. She’d spent years on Olympus training herself not to babble like she used to do as a child.

  He didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Pressing her lips together, she twisted her arms behind her back and clasped her hands. One quick look toward the dark corn
er told her he was still staring only at her.

  Sweat broke out along her spine. His hand resting on the arm of the chair was so big, she knew it could crush her skull in a matter of seconds. But even as fear churned in her belly, she held on to the fact that he’d saved her life. If he wanted her dead, she’d already be there. That meant he wanted her for something else.

  Seduction. She needed to be a seductive, alluring nymph, not a rambling fool. You trained for this, idiot.

  Right. She had. This was the easy part.

  Straightening her shoulders, she unclasped her hands from her back and cocked her hip. The movement accentuated her breasts, which she knew were her best feature. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she rested her hand at her waist and looked right at the Argonaut as she licked her lips in a move she knew would draw his attention right to her mouth.

  “But enough about me.” Lowering her voice to a throaty whisper, she added, “Is there anything here that tempts you?”

  For a heartbeat, the Argonaut didn’t move. Then very slowly, he unfolded himself out of the chair and rose to his full height.

  Her pulse pounded. Arousal stirred low in her belly. He crossed the room and stopped mere inches from her, the scents of fresh pine and citrus wafting around her. Scents, she suddenly realized, she’d smelled before.

  When he’d rescued her in the woods? She wasn’t sure. And right now she couldn’t think. Because this close, he was bigger than she’d first thought. Broader across the shoulders, more muscular everywhere, so tall she had to tip her head back to look up at his face. And hot. His body heat sizzled across the distance between them, seeping into her skin until that arousal slinked lower and her thighs trembled.

  She didn’t fight the arousal this time. Told herself it was because her arousal would produce pheromones that would draw him in. And drawing him in meant she could finish this job, maybe tonight. But something in the back of her consciousness knew that was a lie. She wasn’t fighting it because he excited her. Because a wicked place inside her wanted to know what it would feel like to be devoured by a savage like him.