He settled on the side of the bed, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror over his dresser. He’d been feeling randy ever since she’d served him that liberal dose of her own youth as they made love. He possessed the vigor of a very young man, and his groin stirred anew, forcing the leather binding of his loin covering to tighten.
One delicate hand came about his wrist, encircling it. Capturing him. She might be a gorgeous female, but she had Olympian strength when required, and he could tell that she had no intention of allowing him to move from her side.
“Not so fast, my lord,” she warned, and that other hand came up under the skirt of his loin covering. “I have plans for you today.”
She slid graceful fingertips along the leather bindings that restrained his groin and cock.
He sucked in a tight breath. “I . . . I can make no promises about my self-control.”
Daphne unfastened part of the covering with a deft movement of her fingers. “Why bother at all?” She moved onto her knees, right beside him, and began nibbling along his neck, even as her hands worked against his bindings.
As he sprang free, the cool air of his bedroom kissed his heated, masculine flesh—right as a loud rapping sound thundered against his chamber door. “My lord?”
They both jolted, Daphne sliding atop his naked lap, and he struggling to compose his armor.
“My lord, are you in there?” It was Ari’s booming voice, and that meant only one thing—something important had happened because they’d left Ari and Mason in Savannah, interrogating Caesar as to his role in current events.
Daphne snapped her fingers, becoming fully clothed. “One moment!” Leo called out, right as Ari and Mason came storming into the room—and before Leo could compose himself at all.
“Oh, sir!” Ari blurted, turning away sharply. “So sorry, Commander. Shay said you’d just entered . . . and we’ve learned some important intel. From Caesar.” Ari kept facing the door as he spoke. “Information that impacts what you’re doing here, in Cornwall, sir.”
Leo stood, letting his leather skirt cover his loin, but it sagged, revealing far too much of his lower anatomy. Mason blushed, glancing away with an awkward, “Uh . . . will wait outside.”
“Me, too,” Aristos agreed, practically shoving Mason Angel out of the way.
Leo glanced over at his shoulder at Daphne as he fastened the bindings. “I didn’t notice you snapping your fingers and helping me, my lady.”
She grinned, rising to her feet and taking his free hand. “I enjoyed watching you flush and stammer far too much to offer help. Now come, my shy king,” she said, “let’s see what news your warriors bring.”
Sophie was bringing a casserole dish of cheese grits into Leo’s massive dining hall, but stopped short when she realized that Ari and Mace had just arrived from Savannah. The duo’s voices rose and fell in urgent discussion as they gave King Leonidas an update.
She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason she didn’t enter the great room. She lingered in the hall, hoping she might learn more that way because, of course, one could often pick up the best tidbits while eavesdropping. Her instincts were confirmed when she heard Sable’s name, mentioned in low whispers, as if they hoped to keep something about him a secret.
Or maybe they just didn’t want her to know. And that wouldn’t do. She boldly marched into the dining room, bearing the breakfast casserole, and abruptly the conversation stopped cold.
Mace gave her a guilty, sympathetic glance. “Hey, cuz,” he said. “Miss me?”
“Oh, keep on talking.” She plunked the serving dish on the table in front of her cousin. “I mean, why stop because of me?” Aristos glanced significantly between Mason and Leonidas. She huffed out an impatient breath, blowing a loose curl out of her eyes. “You were saying?” she prompted, moving her weight from one foot to the other.
Leonidas leaned back in his massive carved dining chair, forming a temple with his hands as he gazed at her. “Sophie, why don’t you join us?”
Oh-kay. The king asking her to sit in on a powwow? Couldn’t be good news for Sable . . . or for her. Apparently she’d stood gaping for a few seconds because Leonidas rose halfway out of his seat, gesturing toward an open chair. “Come now, Sophie.”
She nodded, swallowing hard, and was aware that her chest literally hurt, her heart was beating that hard. Very slowly, she pulled out a chair and slid into it, never uttering a word.
Mace cleared his throat, then with one last guilty look in her direction, resumed reporting to the king. “So, my major question was why Caesar would have an interest in Aristos right now, after so many years. The timing was too damned convenient.”
Ari chimed in. “I’d had a vendetta against that wicked trader for more than a century. Then bam!” He slammed a fist on the table, jarring the plates and platters of food. “He’s on our doorstep right as Ares has raised the stakes.”
Sophie’s throat grew tight, a solid lump wedged there like a thick piece of bread. She couldn’t swallow past it, could barely breathe. It had been Sable who had led Ari and Nik after Caesar. Sable who had appeared with the news of his whereabouts and trail.
“And Sable was the one who knew where Ari and Nik were being held,” Mace added.
“But . . . he helped free you,” Sophie blurted in a tight voice.
Mason turned toward her. “Soph, we suspect he was part of Ares’s plan all along. The idea, as we gathered it from Caesar, was for Sable to lead Aristos away so that he couldn’t heal Leonidas or help counteract his aging.”
Ari scowled. “Yeah, with me out of the picture, our commander’s best hope for survival was eliminated. Same with you, Sophie. He had to keep you from healing Leonidas.”
The room seemed to spin as she recalled Sable begging her not to heal or help Leonidas. She’d thought it was out of concern for her—he had seemed legitimately worried about her safety. “But I did heal him,” she offered weakly.
“How many times?” Mason asked her and she didn’t dare answer—it would only make Sable seem more guilty.
She rubbed her forehead, which had begun pounding. The whole room swam and pulsed with the rush of her own blood. “Only . . . once.”
“Why only once?” Mason asked her pointedly.
Because Sable begged me not to touch the king—convinced me that I shouldn’t.
But that couldn’t have been his motive, not when he’d expressed concern and worry for her well-being for months on end. There had to be more to his actions . . . hadn’t there?
She felt a sob building in her chest, but refused to let everyone realize her faith in Sable was wavering. That was when Daphne softly cleared her throat.
“Sophie, the boys are right. I spoke with Sable in Savannah,” she explained softly, glancing at Leonidas as she spoke. “He did try and prevent you from healing Leo. Ares enlisted him and offered . . . quite a reward. But he regretted it and he’s here to faithfully serve Leo. That’s why he’s raised the demon army, that’s why he’s here, ready to fight at our king’s side.”
“You’re sure I can trust him, Oracle?” Leonidas asked, his dark brows cranking downward. “That he should be here, leading those diabolical creatures? It could all be a trap.”
Daphne became adamant. “It’s not, Leo. I sense his motives and they are pure . . . now. I’m sure of it.”
Sophie’s face flushed violently. He’d been lying to her. All along—when she’d had faith and belief in him, also all along. What a fool she’d been! He was all the things everyone had warned her he might be.
“I’ve got to go,” she blurted, excusing herself and heading outside in search of Sable.
Chapter 33
Daphne watched Sophie vanish out the front door and her heart clinched in pain for the young woman. Sable should’ve done as Daphne had cautioned him back in Savannah—told Sophie the truth.
Leo had his gaze on her. “I honestly believed I could trust that Djinn.”
“The only reason for his betraya
l was he believed Ares would return him to human form. My brother can be very persuasive in his lies. From what I gathered talking to him, Sable began to second-guess his actions almost immediately—that was the reason he helped Ari and Nikos escape.”
“So I can trust him as a captain in the coming battle then.”
Ari leaned back in his chair. “I wouldn’t trust Mr. Ed farther than I could throw him. But that’s just me. My wing still hurts like a mother from being caught in that net.”
Mace cast a glance at Nikos, his green eyes flashing with anger. “Maybe I’m funny this way, but I don’t like anyone who hurts the people I care about.” Mason’s eyes locked with Nik’s for a significant moment, until the Spartan blushed slightly. “Yeah, so I won’t be trusting Sable’s equine ass anytime soon, but I don’t think we have much choice about fighting with him. He’s the only one among us who can truly control that demon horde out there. They’re loyal to him.”
Daphne understood Mace’s outlook, but there was only one opinion she cared to hear at the moment—that of her beloved, their king and commander. “Leonidas, tell us what you think.”
Leo raked a hand across his silver beard and waited a moment to reply. “I believe in Sable’s potential,” he said softly. “He loves Sophie, that much is obvious. And he did lead us in the rescue of Aristos and Nikos, a sign of loyalty. Sometimes everyone deserves another chance, and I believe that Djinn has earned it. For Sophie’s sake, if nothing else.”
Ajax gave one resolute nod. “Much as I hate that thorny demon, and much as I never thought I’d say it—I agree that Sable should be trusted. The stench of demon sulfur out there is enough argument for me, because I don’t have particular interest in trying to organize that fiendish lot into our Spartan formation. Sable’s got to lead that charge.”
Leo rose from the table. “Speaking of which, it’s time to drill. I want us to have as much time as possible working with Sable’s team before the battle.”
“Leo, how do you plan to lure Ares here when the time is right?” Daphne stood to follow the others who were filing out to the training ground.
He gave her a sardonic smile, fastening his breastplate. “Love, we both know the battle will come at the time of his choosing, not ours. So we prepare as if we plan to meet him this hour, and dig into camp as if for a long campaign.”
Ajax followed the last of the warriors out through the doors of the great hall. Leo paused, turning back to her, and booted the door shut as he pulled her into his arms. “And we kiss as if it’s our last for a while.” He growled in her ear, raking strong hands through her curls. Capturing her mouth with his, he worked his thumbs down to her nape, angling her head upward to meet his hungry kiss. As always, he tasted masculine, earthy, exactly as he smelled.
He pressed her backward, up against the closed wooden door, pinioning her there with his bulky body. “Tell me that if I kiss you, I won’t rob you of any more years,” he asked, his breath hot against her cheek.
She cupped his face, tugging it downward so she could kiss him again. “Only when making love.”
He released a sigh, one that was fraught with sexual frustration. “But I’m not sure I can hold back from that once night comes.”
“You can plan on me making it very, very hard on you, Leo.”
His mouth opened to her again and she sank against the door, as the kiss grew deep and hard and urgent. As she lost herself in the sensations, feeling his heat all along her own skin, a slight vibration began along her back. At first she thought it was her demigoddess’s power, building explosively in reaction to her arousal, but the tremors grew more pronounced. A rumbling sound began, growing louder.
Leo froze, his hold on her tight. Cocking his head, he listened sharply, his alert gaze never leaving hers. The door began to rattle on its hinges, a sound like an earthquake growing much louder.
“He comes,” Leo whispered at last, already reaching for the door. “Be safe, my darling Daphne—our battle is now.”
“You lied to me!” Sophie cried, blinking up at Sable. Those summer-blue eyes hadn’t changed, but his jaw ticked, revealing his guilt.
“You know what I am,” he told her smoothly. “I’ve told you before: demons are made of lies. We live on them, bed down with them. Deception is as vital as the dark blood in our veins.”
She shook her head. “But you’ve never lied to me,” she half whispered. She kept hoping he’d reassure her. Explain that they had it all wrong—that he was on their side, not Ares’s.
He said nothing, only studied her with a fathomless stare until she began to tremble with rage and heartbreak. “You’ve been working for him—Ares—all along, then. You’re a traitor to me and everyone I care about here?”
Sable trotted away from her, bucking furiously until several of his demon soldiers began snickering at him, obviously amused by the argument—and Sable’s apparent distress.
“Only fools love,” they sneered, wings beating excitedly. “Commander Sable! Are you a fool?” More tittering and uproarious backslapping among the crew.
“Shut up!” Sable roared back at them. “I am your commander in this battle and you will not mock me!”
He cut a turn back toward Sophie, his expression suddenly both grim and resolved. For one long moment they stared at each other, neither speaking.
He sighed, stomping at the earth with first one hoof, then the other. “I did it for you,” he said at last. His expression was downright tortured, his eyes bright. “To protect you from Ares’s curse. I feared you touching the king and what it might do to you. Ares only played to that weakness, that worry in me.” He sucked in an agonized breath. “And I bargained with Ares so we could be together . . . it was the only way. He promised to cast me out of this unholy form.” He slapped himself on the withers. “How could I ever be a man for you . . . when I am half beast?”
She couldn’t answer, not that question. Her heart was too busy breaking, shattering into jagged shards inside her chest. It didn’t matter that Sable had chosen his path out of care for her; he’d been willing to sacrifice everyone and everything dear to her—and never told her the truth about it until he was confronted.
She shook her head, backing up, the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Gotta go,” she mumbled, taking another step away from him. “Must get moving here.”
Sable bounded forward, reaching for her desperately. “I did it for us, Sophie,” he cried, still trying to explain.
She only shook her head, and turned, running toward the castle. She didn’t stop to look back, or to see if he cantered after her—she just barreled toward her friends and family, aching for the emotional safety they’d provide.
But as she reached the fortress, everything was in chaos. Spartans were moving in every direction, arming themselves, and the humans were doing likewise. Mace came barreling up to her, semiautomatic in one hand, his chest covered in Kevlar. “Ares has brought the battle to us. Now, not later. Get inside there, okay? We’re at war, Soph.”
Mace chambered a round in his GLOCK, starting to holster the gun, but Sophie extended a hand. “I’m not waiting this out like a good little empath,” she told him firmly. “I shoot a weapon nearly as well as you, Mason Angel. So arm me. We’re going to need every fighter we’ve got.”
Before he could argue, a thundering voice sang across the open field and moors. “The battle is at the time of my choosing, not yours, feeble ones!” Ares. She shivered, and Mace stood stock-still, staring like the rest of them.
“I need a weapon, Mace. Nobody else is going to protect me—y’all have to fight.”
The earth and sky opened then, a bloodred color infusing the entire earth and air around them. Then a sooty blackness rolled over the moors, chased by a horde of demons—ones none of them had ever seen. It poured onto the field like acid rain, sending demon troops scattering and falling back toward the castle out of uncertainty.
Sophie found herself being shoved from behind, Kalias nearly plowing her down as he
charged forward onto the field. She lost sight of Mason, sidestepping as Nikos sprinted in his wake, and leaned against the craggy castle stones for shelter. For one moment, she blinked and stared at the apocalyptic destruction, a sickly odor wafting through the air, making her cough. Mason surged toward her again, tossing her the GLOCK. He launched himself into the fray without another look, leaving her huddling beside the castle alone.
No one would protect her; she had to watch out for her own life. She spun, about to seek refuge inside the castle—which she had no doubt would be ransacked first of all—but where else was there to go?
Chapter 34
Leo slashed his way through advancing demons—Ares’s minions, not his own. So the god had called his bluff, mounting his own hellish army to meet Leonidas’s. And he’d also brought down the hellfire early—too early for Sable to have gained enough control over his troops.
Ajax flew overhead, his massive hawk wings spread wide as he soared toward Leonidas. Leo began clearing a spot for his captain to alight, slaying half a dozen of Ares’s demons in the process.
Landing roughly, his captain began to breathlessly assess the damage. “Ares is on the far hill,” Jax informed him, pointing a clawed hand toward the rocky cleft where the god apparently hid himself.
“Lure him out,” Leo said coldly. “I won’t allow him to cower while the battle wages.”
Jax shook his head, panting from the exertion of battle. “Commander, I don’t think he’s hiding—he’s readying for battle. I flew over his position briefly, didn’t want to spend much time as he might’ve fired on me. But he’s in full armor, surrounded by warriors of his own who are equally well armed. I have the feeling that he has something spectacular planned.”
“Then he shall fail spectacularly.” Leo raised his sword, advancing into the fray without another glance back.
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