Wicked Lord of Thessaly (Halcyon Romance Series Book 3)

by Rachael Slate

  Mine.

  “It’s me, Agrius,” Eione called before shuffling inside.

  He twisted the knob of the lamp, illuminating the earthen chamber.

  Her cheeks flushed pink, eyes burning bright.

  “Here.” She dropped a heavy sack onto his lap, the objects within clinking, and whirled to the opposite corner, extracting a flask. After unplugging the top, she gulped and the scent of rum permeated the air.

  “You might have shared the liquor, lass,” he grunted, pressing a hand against his wound.

  “Oh, yes.” She plugged the vessel and tossed it to him.

  He caught the flask mid-air and uncorked it, sniffing once before partaking deeply of the blissfully numbing liquid. Wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, he grinned. “I thank you. Now, what is this?” He dug into the sack on his lap, removing a silver chest.

  “That,” she scoffed, “is all I’m worth.”

  He knitted his brows together. Beneath the fury in her tone, he sensed resentment and hurt. “What do you mean?”

  “I always knew they would sell me.” She snorted. “I just foolishly believed I had more time.”

  Sell her? Rage sparked in his veins and he clenched his fists to conceal the tremors. His horse stomped. He didn’t want to hear this.

  “My sister will be Queen.” She snagged the vessel from him and chugged. “I am to be the gift of goodwill to the Prince’s wretched comrade. Lord Adrastos,” she sneered. “He couldn’t trap some other poor woman for a wife.”

  Panic rushed through his veins alongside the rage. His mate could not wed another. That would kill him.

  “I’ll be damned if I play into their plans.” She tugged a large saddlebag from the shelf and stuffed objects inside. Then she spun and tipped the flask toward him.

  He snared it from her grasp before she became too intoxicated to continue.

  “I’m leaving. And you, good sir, this chest is yours if you will guide me to your lands.”

  His heart rammed against his ribcage, but the elation mixed with trepidation and concern. He couldn’t steal away a Lapith noblewoman, no matter how much he wished to. The minute her family discovered her absence, they would retaliate against his.

  “Eione,” he shook his head, “your family will not release you. They’ll deem I’ve captured you and will demand your return.”

  “Yes.” She held up a finger to halt his protests. “But you’re assuming they know of your presence. Which they don’t. Besides, we’re not heading into centaur lands, or anywhere else they’d look for us.”

  “We’re not?”

  “No. I may not be familiar with the area outside of my family’s lands, but I know how to conceal my trail. We’ll gather the waters for your brother first and, after, we’ll approach centaur territory from the north. No one will be searching for me there.” She cast him a victorious smile that shot straight to his groin. “I’ll finally be free.”

  He wrenched his admiration off her to contemplate the strategy. True, her family would presume she’d head for the nearest village, the closest borders.

  “I penned a note declaring my intentions to head south, and I made certain they will conclude I acted alone.” The glint of a blade flashed as she wielded the dagger toward her head.

  Toward those delicate golden locks.

  “Nay, Eione.” He leapt to his feet and stayed her hand. “Cutting off your locks wouldn’t disguise you well enough.”

  She arched a brow at him but nodded. “Fine, but I’ll dress as a man.” After tucking her blade into the waistband of her breeches, she deftly wove her hair into a thick plait. Tying the ends, she twisted toward him. “Once we’ve reached your lands, will you aid me? I can hunt, gather, farm. I’m as strong as any man and I’ll work twice as hard.”

  The earnest pleading in her pout struck at his heart, pinching it. He scowled at the notion of this lady forced to relinquish the comforts she was accustomed to. And at the idea that, once they returned to his lands, she would be anything but his wife.

  “Aye. I will aid you.” He slid his hand atop hers. “Are you certain this is the course you wish to choose? There will be no turning back. Once you have fled, you will become the hunted.”

  She lifted her lashes, determination sparking in her eyes. “Yes.”

  ***

  Agrius inclined his head at her and hope filled Eione’s chest. The Fates had surely sent him to her. Would she have been brave enough to flee on her own? Perhaps yes, but with this formidable male at her side, any trepidation vanished.

  “Thank you.” Her focus dropped to his mouth and she bit her bottom lip. This poor male. She’d done nothing but hinder his own quest and, now, she placed his life and the lives of his family and people in danger. Whatever had driven him to kiss her before had surely retreated.

  She cleared her throat and seized a step back, tugging her hand from the warmth of his. “If you wouldn’t mind, I should still change. No one will be searching for two males in the woods.”

  “Indeed.” He strode to the far corner and faced the wall while she slipped into the hunting garments she kept stowed here.

  “Finished.” She flashed him a bright smile and continued packing her saddlebag. They’d expect her to steal a horse from her family’s stables and head along the town roads, perhaps escape to a cousin’s estate. Where she ventured, they would never predict.

  Eione stuffed the last of her supplies into her bag. Thankfully, she stored everything she required for survival in this den. She would hunt and gather their food along the journey.

  “You will be well enough to travel, will you not?” She cast a wary glance at his abdomen, then toward the base of his neck which had flushed so hot earlier.

  “Aye, Agrotere.” He patted his wound. “I’ll be healed by tomorrow.”

  “We don’t have that long. We must go now.”

  “Then lead the way.” He swept his hand toward the entrance.

  She slung the saddlebag across her shoulders and crawled out of the den into the moonlit forest. Tilting her face in the direction of her family’s manor, she sighed. This would be the last time she’d ever step foot on her family’s lands.

  Her home.

  No more.

  Eione steeled her shoulders, gripped the strap of her bag, and marched into the woods. Mount Pelion lay north, so she steered them toward their destination, using the stars to guide her.

  In human form, Agrius kept pace behind her as they treaded through the forest in silence. Every half hour, she doubled back and erased their tracks. Finally, they came upon the stream bordering her family’s lands.

  “Once we step foot across this stream, I will have left my home. Forever.” She stared at the clear, rushing waters gleaming in the moonlight.

  Agrius pressed a hand onto her shoulder. “It’s not too late to turn back, but, Eione, you are the bravest woman I have ever met. If this is what you wish, you can do this.”

  She squeezed his hand atop her shoulder and stamped down any tears. Someday, her family might forgive her and mayhap she’d visit with them again.

  Until they realized they couldn’t force marriage upon her, she had no choice.

  “Thank you.” His kind words and support lent her courage. “I must do this.”

  “Then you will not be alone.” He wrapped his arms around her and scooped her against his chest. She gasped and laughed as he transformed into a centaur and waded across the stream, bearing her in his arms so her boots wouldn’t get wet.

  Gallantly, he planted her feet on the other side. Agrius performed the morphos into human form again and together they faced a new land.

  He entwined his fingers with hers as they regarded the horizon. “We should hurry. The sun will rise in a few hours and your family will note your absence.”

  “Yes, you’re right.” Regretfully, she slipped her hand from his and trekked forward through the forest.

  At dawn, they paused by a flowing stream and Eione handed him a pie
ce of bread. “Once we’ve gained enough distance, I’ll hunt and we can risk a fire.”

  Soon enough, she would be naught but a distant memory in her family’s dreams.

  ***

  Agrius chewed off a piece of the fowl Eione had hunted and regarded the fire he’d built and cooked it over. He hunted as well, but his skill didn’t compare to hers. Artemis had gifted the maiden a talent with the bow he’d never witnessed before. Whenever she strung her bow, a silver spark would flare from her hands and her arrow would fly, sure and true.

  They made a great pairing. These past few days, they’d traversed dense woods during daylight, made camp at night, and he’d thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her enchanting company.

  Once they’d passed her family’s lands, the tension had eased, and they’d openly shared about their childhoods and their plans for the future.

  Though Eione continued to speak of finding work, he couldn’t bring himself to discuss the topic with much enthusiasm. Each second he spent with her proved his suspicions about being her mate, yet every discovery about her nature enticed him even more.

  Lapiths didn’t bond, not like the descendant creatures. They were a race of humans. Eione would not live as long as he. She would grow old and die long before he ever bore a grey hair or a wrinkle.

  Unless she agreed to be his mate. He scoffed at the foolish musing. She’d fled her home and family to avoid becoming someone’s wife. To even suggest she might be his could very well cause her to flee again.

  From me.

  No, it was far better to conceal the truth, to give Eione the freedom of choice she deserved. No matter how it might tear his heart from his chest.

  The fever from the lyssa had dissipated. Although a male centaur would suffer if left unbonded to his mate, much time would pass before Agrius succumbed to any form of madness.

  Right now, his greatest tasks were ensuring Eione’s safety and recovering these waters for Oreius. Protecting those closest to him must outweigh any desires he carried for himself.

  On a log across the fire from him, Eione stirred the flames with a long stick and poked at the dying embers, coaxing life back into them. Night had fallen once again, the stars sparkling across the darkened sky.

  At night, to battle temptation, he remained in his impotent centaur form and stood watch instead of joining her in bed. Tonight, though, the weather had shifted, and the sudden chill would only grow worse once the fire died. He glanced at Eione, torn. The longing to wrap her in his arms as they slumbered pulsed through him, yet he didn’t quite trust his horse not to seduce her.

  “So, how do centaurs spend their evenings, when they’re not rescuing damsels from dastardly betrothals?” Mirth shone from her eyes, glittering like the stars above.

  Reclining on his log, he tipped the flask of rum to her. “We sing.”

  “Sing?” Leaning forward, she braced her elbows on her knees. “Do demonstrate.”

  “Aye?” He cocked a brow and took a swig for courage.

  “Yes, please.” Eione flashed him that smile he had no power to resist. Not when she’d bade him to pluck fruit from the highest boughs, not when she’d requested he shake out her sleeping furs so she wouldn’t stumble across any loathsome insects.

  Certainly not when she entreated him to sing.

  “Oh,” he rang out, bellowing into the woods.

  My Lady Eione

  My hearts are yours to win

  Beautiful, brave, and fair

  The sun sets in your hair

  The stars twinkle in your eyes

  The Moon is none less wise

  Oh, my Lady Eione

  My hearts are yours to w—

  An owl screeched above them, joining in his off-tune caterwauling.

  “Enough!” Eione clamped her hands over her ears, hunching from laughter. “That is the worst ballad I have ever heard.”

  He clamped his hand above his heart and tumbled backward over the log, hooves stuck straight into the air, pretending to be wounded by her words. Lifting his head, he winked at the still-snickering lady. “Now, you see why I have no wife, no children.”

  “Indeed, that was enough to scare off any maiden within fifty miles. But I’m sure you have other…charms.” No mistaking the seductive twist to her words, or how she broke contact with his gaze, heat from more than the fire blossoming across her cheeks.

  Sighing, she stabbed her stick into the center of the flames, rose, and padded to his side. “I only have one set of sleeping furs and the nights are growing colder. We should share.”

  Her extended hand tempted him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. He switched into human form and seized her hand, following her to the pile of furs she’d laid out earlier.

  Agrius eased down and Eione curled alongside him, resting her head atop his chest. He draped his arm around her, tugging her close and pulling the furs around them. “Centaurs bear enormous warmth, so you’ll not grow cold this night.”

  She hummed and tilted her chin to smile at him. “You are delightfully warm.”

  This was surely a test. Those lush lips begged for his kiss and her eager responses last time suggested she would submit to whatever he demanded.

  But she was his mate. A maiden torn from her home. Vulnerable.

  She might find solace in any other male’s embrace as easily as she did his.

  He clenched his jaw, striving for control. For clarity of thought. And for anything to tear him from this crippling temptation.

  “Agrius,” she murmured, her tone low and sultry. “I never apologized for shooting you.” Her fingers traced a hesitant circle across his abdomen, causing his muscles to jolt in warning.

  “Eione.” He snagged her fingers and laced them with his, edging them toward her body. “’Twas my fault. You needn’t suffer guilt.”

  “Perhaps not for that, but most likely for this.” She swung her leg across his waist and hopped to straddle him. Snaring hold of his shirt, she pressed her lips to his.

  His cock shot hard in an instant. Her soft lips ate hungrily at his mouth, bearing none of the hesitation from their first kiss. He groaned and surrendered to a fight he’d never had any chance of winning. Gliding his fingers through her locks, he tugged her mouth harder onto his.

  One kiss, only a kiss.

  He could satisfy them both with a kiss, could he not?

  She shifted, rocking her hips lower down his waist.

  Damn. He squeezed his fist and pounded it into the earth at his side, grappling for any semblance of restraint. Never had he kissed a maiden and lost his sanity.

  Never had he allowed the darker side of his nature to seduce him toward acts his reason would never condone.

  Every argument against him claiming her twisted through his mind, yet Eione had ensnared him. Her innocence was all that kept him from being inside her this very moment.

  She panted against his mouth and he wrenched his lips off hers, feathering them along the silken skin of her neck.

  He knew how this ended. Tomorrow, they’d awaken and Eione would realize how foolish and destructive their actions had been.

  She would hate him.

  The truth sobered him enough to tear his lips off her neck and nudge her backward to regard her.

  Those flushed cheeks and glittering eyes resulted from his kiss, yet he took no pride in her aroused state.

  As his mate, she would experience great pleasure from his touch, but because they weren’t bonded, he had no right to her.

  He’d already stolen from her family—an act which could provoke a war. The right thing to do would be to seek his father’s council, and likely surrender his claim on her.

  Though unbearable, the truth was simple.

  She could not be his.

  Eione scanned Agrius’s face and spotted the resignation within the grim set of his features. Just like before, he was about to reject her.

  She scurried off his body, a new heat flushing her cheeks. How many times must she humiliate herse
lf before accepting that this male did not hunger after her? Though he might appear to enjoy her company, their connection extended no further.

  “Agrotere, please don’t be angered.” His hand clasped her shoulder but she refused to face him.

  The ache in her core had made her nigh irrational in her lust for him. Yet he clearly didn’t suffer the same. She swallowed her tears and curled onto her side, squeezing her eyes to force herself to sleep.

  He sighed and released her shoulder.

  Soon, the whispers of the night forest lulled her to sleep.

  Eione awoke the next morning, alone. The embers of the fire emitted no glow. Damn the centaur for allowing their fire to die. Where is he? She scowled and slipped from the furs, her foul mood growing with each step while she scanned the ground for his trail. There. Leading toward the stream.

  She marched through the trees, down a small embankment, and drew up short at a pile of clothes that dragged her perusal toward the water.

  Agrius stood in the waist-deep stream, scrubbing moss across his nude upper body.

  Her throat dried. The flexing of those brawny muscles displayed their potent strength.

  “Eione.” He twisted around, his shock narrowing into a glower. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Forgive my intrusion.” She stamped down any attraction blooming for this male and spun on her heel.

  “Please,” Agrius whispered, behind her. So swift. His fingers brushed her back, jolting her. “I have struggled to keep my distance from you, lass, because I desire you so bloody badly.” His rasped words rumbled beneath her skin. “Sweetling, I haven’t been truthful.” He braced both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face away from him. “Lapiths do not bond, but centaurs do.”

  “What are you speaking of?”

  “Eione, you’re my mate.”

  Mate? She’d heard tales of the bonding, mostly from intoxicated nymphs. Their bawdy storytelling had seemed like jesting. Could this bonding be true? She frowned, twisting toward him. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “No, of course you wouldn’t.” He raked a hand through his damp hair. “The goddess Aphrodite bonds descendant species. Male and female pairs. It is an unbreakable union for the male. As a symbol of his undying devotion, he bears a mark—a black band around his upper left arm. She, in turn, experiences extreme pleasure at his touch.”