The Fates might have declared Kleo was his mate, but even they made mistakes. When she’d discovered the mark, the disgust on her face was proof enough she would never accept him.
Huffing, he plodded from his bed and into the forest. It was time to go.
Arctus performed the morphos into his bear form and padded through the early morning woods, the grass damp with the kiss of dew. While his centaur form was swift on clear, even land, his bear form provided better stealth in the forest.
His chest tightened at parting from Kleo, but she’d made it damn clear she didn’t wish to breed with him. Besides, he had no intention of becoming a father before he secured his lands. Right now, he was a homeless mongrel with nothing to offer, unable to provide for anyone. Hell, he barely survived himself.
Arctus trod across an open meadow, his fur growing warm in the sunlight. As he approached the opposite side, his senses itched. Cautious, he paced about and spotted a figure on the far side of the meadow.
Kleo. She watched him, features drawn together in a hard mask. Was she going to stop him? Nay, why would she?
They assessed each other, until his shoulders deflated and he dropped his gaze, angling his head toward the woods.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath his paws. The vibrations traveled up his limbs, jerking him off balance. Across the field, Kleo let out a cry.
He spun about as the meadow crumpled into itself, Kleo vanishing within.
A moment later, the ground under his feet crumbled, too.
Kleo screamed as the earth beneath her feet dissolved and she fell. Ack. She thumped against rocks and dirt, until she landed on all fours, coughing at the dust rising in her lungs. Weak beams of light cut across her vision, illuminating a deep, dark pit.
“Argh,” a masculine voice groaned from far to her left.
She spun toward the figure. “Arctus?”
“Aye.” In his human form, he grunted and staggered to his feet, coughing and wiping dust from his eyes. “Damn.” He craned his neck upward.
She squinted toward the opening, fifty feet above them. Sweet gods, they were trapped. “How did you fall? You were on the other end of the meadow.”
“It’s gone, too.” He cleared his throat. “Are you well?”
She prodded her body. No injuries. “Yes, you?”
He patted his large frame. “All’s intact.”
Scoffing at his jest, she pointed to the opening. “How are we ever going to get out?” She pressed her hands against the rock walls, but somehow, they were smooth and sheer as glass. “This almost seems like a—”
“Prison,” Arctus ground, thrashing his hands in the air. “I can’t transform.”
“What do you mean?”
He waved his hands wildly, but didn’t condense into dirt like before. “My powers, they’re gone.” An ominous note loomed in his tone. “We’re trapped.”
“Gone?” She struggled over the word. Impossible. Who had the ability to seize his powers? Staring at her hands, she concentrated on her gift. Gone, too. “Sweet Artemis. Mine won’t work, either.” She bit her tongue against a curse on the goddess’s name. “Why would she trap us here, together?”
“Aye, precisely, together.” He dropped his hands. “I was leaving.”
“I know.” Her muscles tensed at his confession, at the emptiness overwhelming her. She barely knew Arctus, and yet… Her fate was somehow connected to his.
Perhaps that was the mating bond.
“What do we do?”
He shrugged. “Pray? You’re her supplicant. Mayhap she’ll answer you.”
She knelt, resting open palms on her knees and bowing her head. “Great Artemis, divine sovereign of the hunt and benevolent commander of the Amazons, pray hear our request and restore our powers.” Pausing, she held her breath. Nothing happened. Rising, she glanced at him. “She revealed herself to you, and quenched your abilities, too. You should try.”
He scraped a hand across the back of his neck. “Nay, I fear my departure displeased her. Let her cool before I open my mouth to declarations which might offend her further.”
“Fine.” She puffed and dropped to the floor. How long did goddesses take to calm? Hopefully not longer than her mortal lifetime. “What should we do instead?”
He sank beside her. “We could talk.”
“Humph. You can talk. I would rather not.”
His intense stare penetrated her. “I can see that. Why do you stay if you don’t ever wish to mate? I heard the others discussing their matches. Sometimes, the Amazons let the males win.”
She tensed. He was right. “I’ve been here since my first breeding season. I suppose, I don’t know where else to go. Besides, I’m the most skilled at aiding in childbirth.”
He shifted his chin into his hand. “Hmm, nay, there’s more. Don’t you wish for a child yourself?”
Thickness constricted her throat. “Once, yes.”
“And?”
“And I chose wrong.” She scowled at him, hopped to her feet, and paced to the opposite end of the pit. Motherhood wasn’t meant for her. She never should have attempted it.
“Fine, if you don’t wish to talk, I’ll sing.” Arctus hummed a soft tune, the notes opening into words in a language she didn’t speak, but its haunting lilt captured her attention.
His rumbling voice echoed off the smooth rock, vibrating through her bones.
Calming and lulling.
Just as he was.
One could become lost within that expanse. If one wished to.
Arctus thrummed through a good number of his childhood songs. His mother and father had both often sung him to sleep. The ballads were bolstering, speaking of long ago wars and brave men and women. The tunes, they haunted him. What if he failed his people? What if he never reclaimed what was theirs?
More than anything, he longed to stop Minos from harming another soul. Apparently, none of that mattered to Artemis.
Blasted goddess. Trapping them. For what? He’d tried coaxing Kleo’s confidence, but she closed to him. She wanted nothing from him.
His throat grew dry, so he let the last notes die on his lips. He couldn’t even shift into bear form and use his claws to haul himself upward. This trap was a bloody mess.
“Why did you stop?” Kleo seized a halting step toward him. “Your singing, it was lovely.”
He sat straighter. “Did you like it?”
“Yes.”
He bobbed his head. “My mother and father would sing to me often. Our people carry the grand deeds of our ancestors within our songs.”
“What happened to them?” she murmured, sinking beside him.
“The Minotaurs. A century ago, they invaded our lands.” He crushed his fists together. “They destroyed everything. Including my family.”
“You lived through this? How horrible.”
“Aye. I was ten.”
“We are of the same age then, but I couldn’t imagine what you went through. Nor have I ever heard tale of this, but Arctus, I am saddened by your loss.”
“Never?” He raised both brows. “Nothing of what happened in Krete?”
She shook her head. “Kyme told us she once battled a Minotaur there, but nothing about a false King.”
Odd. He narrowed his eyes. “Minos is crafty indeed. He must have kept his destruction from reaching across the seas. A century ago, he unleashed the Minotaurs to do his depraved bidding, and then he betrayed them, locking them all away in the bowels of the world. He left none to oppose him, but my siblings and I, we will.” He bared his teeth. “Or we will die trying.”
“Tell me about them, your family.” She placed a gentle hand on his arm, spreading warmth through his flesh.
“Rhoetus is the eldest of us. He commands the Aether, and it is from his line the throne was stolen. Demoleon masters Fire, and Lycus, the Air. Then there’s Cyane.” A wistful smile crept onto his lips. “She’s not a centauress, she’s a nymph. Sweet and pure as the waters into which she transforms.
The Minotaurs ravaged her people and her mother sought refuge with us. Even we could not protect them from those barbarians. They were too many.” He tossed his head. “Bloody savages. They struck our village like a tempest. Our parents hid us, and when the carnage was over, Cyane led us to Mount Ida, where we beseeched the gods for aid. Zeus answered our plea, granting us power over the elements. He declared if we proved ourselves worthy, we would reclaim our lands, our throne, and our honor.”
“That is so horrible.” Kleo squeezed his arm. “Arctus, you never lost your honor. I can see it in you—you have the heart of a warrior. Strong and true.”
“Two hearts.” Arctus thumped his chest and she smiled. “Centaurs have two, in our horse form.” He cast her a sideways glance and his throat grew ever drier. Her beauty stole the air in his lungs, but the kindness in her eyes stopped his heart. “You lost someone, too.”
Pain twisted her features. “A child.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “A babe who never would have been mine. I should be glad, for I’m not certain I could have given him up.”
“Oh, Kleo, lass.” He hauled her into his arms, embracing her as though he might heal her wounds. “So this is where you hide.”
She nodded, her cheek pressed against his chest. “Every year, I watch them. I behold their joy, their pain, but I can’t ever experience my own. I am alone, in so many ways. I tell myself it makes me stronger, but to be honest, I’m not so certain.”
“There’s more than one way to be strong.” His heart constricted inside his chest at the pain in her words. “I only survived because my bloodsworne siblings shared their strength with me. And I vow to share mine with you.”
Shifting back, she tilted her face to his. “Will you help me? Will you make me feel again? To not be alone anymore?”
“Alala,” he cradled her cheek, “I will do far more than that.” He lowered his mouth to hers, fluttering his lips across her silken mouth.
Kleo melted into Arctus’s kiss. He was gentle, yet demanding. Caring, yet the heat of him blazed across her flesh, comforting and tantalizing at the same time. She felt safe with him. A warmth in his eyes commanded trust.
She’d opened her mouth to release secrets she hadn’t shared with anyone else. Indeed, her private agony wasn’t the warrior’s way. Her sisters would shun her for it.
But not Arctus. He’d pulled her closer.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drank him in. Desperate, she clambered into his lap, knocking him backward.
His chest vibrated and his rich chuckle resonated in her ears. She was about to remind him this was his fault, when a glint across the chamber caught her eye.
“A way out!” She scrambled off him and dashed toward the light.
Groaning followed behind her. She smirked, but the promise of freedom was greater than her lust.
His plodding footsteps stomped toward her. “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure.” Closer, she examined the lustrous vein running through the stone. “An impurity in the wall, metal.”
“Ah, and how does this aid our escape?”
“Watch.” She stretched out her hands, linked her fingers, and flexed them. Steadying herself with a slow, deep inhale, she drew on her powers. The metal in the stone called to her, beckoning her to follow its path. Twisting and delving, coursing through the stone. Arctus whistled low. She placed her glowing argent hand on the wall and concentrated harder. Pulsing out her powers, she followed the largest vein, illuminating the shimmering metal.
“How is this going to help us escape? The metal might not lead out.”
“Oh, trust me,” she beamed at him, “it will.” Flaming out her powers, she blasted the metal through the rock wall. Stones clanked onto the ground and dust clouded the air.
“Are you well?” Arctus grabbed her arm, coughing.
She choked on the dust. “Look,” she pointed toward the hole she’d created, “a tunnel.”
“Well done, lass.” Arctus grinned at her and proceeded toward the hole. “I can see the sun!”
She relaxed at the relief in his tone, but frowned as she pondered what would happen next. “You’re not going, are you.” He slowly twisted to send her a sideways glance. “That’s why my powers worked. I bet yours will too now.”
The goddess had trapped them here, until they changed their minds. Why? Was Arctus’s cause so important for Artemis?
“Aye.” He lowered his head. “Leaving would be condemning my people. I can’t do that.”
She sighed in resignation and, a little, in acceptance. Arctus might be everything she ought to stay away from—and that was probably why she couldn’t.
“Let’s head back. I bet they’re about to begin.”
“Begin what?”
She slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll see.” Laughing at his puzzlement, she climbed through the tunnel, into the forest. Her eyes watered at the brightness, but the rest of her remained strangely at ease. She was rather looking forward to having a partner this year.
A clamor of female voices cascaded from the Amazon encampment. “Hurry, they’re commencing.” Without waiting for his reply, she sprinted away, winding through the trees. Huffing, she skidded to a halt inside the square, Arctus right behind her.
“Our first contest is archery,” Ainia’s voice rang. The female slanted her scrutiny at Kleo, reprimanding her for her tardiness. “Who will enter?”
“Forgive me,” Kleo mouthed, then stepped forward, waving for Arctus to join her. “We will compete.”
“We will?” Arctus mumbled.
“Yes.” She jabbed his side and dragged him toward Ainia and the other couples.
He bent to murmur into her ear, “Why is there a competition? I thought we were supposed to mate?”
She pointed at the beautifully painted red-and-black vase depicting the history of their breeding rituals. “Because of that.” After linking her arm in his, she lifted onto her toes and whispered, “Win it with me, centaur, and you will be lavishly rewarded. Lose, and I’ll ensure you regret it for the rest of your long-lived days.”
Chapter 4
His chest vibrated at Kleo’s jibe, but the resolute mask on her face as she regarded the prize drained his mirth. She wasn’t jesting.
Arctus gulped and rolled his shoulders. “Best get started then.” He accepted the bow handed to him, but curled his lip. “Archery isn’t my best skill.”
A dozen other couples lined up at the targets. The male and female pairs took turns loosing their arrows. Kleo’s struck the center with perfect aim. She waved her bow beneath his nose. “I told you, don’t disappoint me.”
He dipped his head, blowing out a low breath. After nocking an arrow, he aimed and loosed it through the air. His arrow landed on the target, right below hers.
“Not bad, centaur.” She smirked at him.
He chuckled in relief, eager for another game. But first, they shot a few more rounds, until the numbers had been tallied. He and Kleo were in third. “What’s next?”
Kleo led him toward a new set of targets and handed him a spear. “Same, but with spears this time. Amazons love arrows and spears, but you’d best watch yourself, because spear is my weapon of choice.”
“Oh, lass, I’ll be watching indeed. You.”
Was that a blush blooming across her cheek? He grinned, liking this softer side to his fierce warrior. As he was admiring her, she braced her spear, and with a shattering cry on her lips, shot it at the target carved into an enormous oak. The tip of her spear pierced the wood, splintering it.
“Not bad, Amazon.” He winked at her, and the flush of pink bloomed brighter.
At the end of the spear challenge, they were tied with two other couples.
“That’s it for today,” Ainia announced. “We’ll continue in the morning.”
Morning. Right. Which meant, an entire night spent with Kleo. My mate. Already, his arms grew heavy with the longing to hold her. To kiss her sensuous lips and drown in those lovely
curves.
All the more reason to avoid her. Mating with Kleo would only drive those urges higher. Would make everything worse.
He ought to have no ponderings save those of revenge. True, his parents would have scolded him for scorning his mate, but where were they now? Dead. He fisted his hands, resolve pulsing through his veins like steel, solidifying. What kind of a male brought his mate to his homeland where she might suffer the same fate?
Nay, the only way he would even contemplate mating Kleo would be to secure his own future first.
They retired to the camp square, where a large spread had been laid out. Roast meats, vegetables, and mead aplenty. His stomach growled with a new hunger. Eagerly, he accepted a platter and plopped onto a stump, settling among the group of men.
The Amazons left them to dine in another area. A reminder they weren’t equals, or partners. Nay, they were breeding males. Stallions. Here for one sole purpose. They might as well be hounds curled at their Mistresses’ feet.
None of this seemed to concern the other men. They laughed and bantered as though this was the greatest place they could imagine being. To them, it must be an honor—to become a father. To propagate their race.
Arctus pinched the bridge of his nose. The Gargareans were as bizarre to him as the Amazons. Did they not miss the warmth of their lover in their bed? For more than two months each year.
You might return, the voice of temptation coaxed. Next year, when his lands might be cleared of the Minotaur threat and his brother Rhoetus on the throne. It would be safe. Perhaps, Kleo would consider joining him then?
Yet…why would Kleo ever follow him home? When she had this?
Brows knit, he studied the encampment. The homes were temporary and sparse, yet established. Centuries of tradition were carved into these stones.
He would never ask her to relinquish that.
Slumping forward, Arctus lowered his head into his hands. Curse the Fates. They knew not what torments they wove.
Kleo tore her admiration off Arctus and forced it onto the glistening meat on her plate. While her sisters chirped about their breeding males, she had nothing to add to their boasts. Not that Arctus wasn’t a fine specimen.
Earth's Mark (Lords of Krete Book 2) Page 3