by Kate Nova
“You’re working with fucking Poseidon behind our backs and you have the nerve to doubt me? Are you serious?” Callan asked, his expression one of disbelief.
“Hey, guys, come on.” I cut in, lifting my hands. “We just gotta get everything out in the open. For her sake.” I cast a tender look over at the girl who’d somehow managed to capture the hearts of three ferocious monsters. Medusa, possibly dreaming that we were talking about her, stirred slightly and we all grew silent until she was sound asleep again.
Yes, for Medusa’s sake—because everything had changed now. It was far less important to me to figure out Orcus’s plans so I could report to Apollo and far more important for us to find out how to keep Medusa safe.
“Well, then let’s get it all out,” Callan said, then took a deep exhale. “So, I was sneaking around trying to figure out where Orcus had taken Medusa. I had a bad feeling. Anyway, I overheard him talking about the missing girls and saying he needed more to send down in the labyrinth. It seems Orcus isn’t just trying to feed a few random human girls to the minotaur for some sadistic pleasure. He’s got a much bigger plan than that.”
“To take over Olympus,” I replied, impatiently. “We know.”
“No.” Callan shook his head in frustration. “Orcus isn’t just coming for Zeus’s throne. He wants all of it. He wants to take over the ocean and the underworld, too. And that’s why he’s got the minotaur here, to slaughter as many people as he can.”
“Why would you have gone into the labyrinth knowing there was a Minotaur down there?”
“I thought I could destroy it. I had to try.” Callan looked down at his hands as though he were embarrassed by his failure to kill the beast. When he looked back up, his gaze shifted to Medusa and I saw a flash of emotion which told me exactly why he was willing to sacrifice himself.
“You should have told us, so we could’ve gone down with you.”
Callan nodded. “I know. That was a mistake. It won’t happen again, but I didn’t know how much I could trust you … especially you,” he said looking pointedly at me. “And that was before I knew who you were working for. Now…now I just don’t know if I ever will.”
The expression on his face told me exactly how hard it was him to accept the fact I was working for the god he held responsible for the death of his mother.
“I understand,” I replied solemnly. And I did. None of us could argue the fact that as monsters used to fighting for our own individual survival where it ever beast for himself, it wasn’t exactly easy to put our full trust in anyone. I looked at him and Liam each in turn. “But we need to work together. I promise, you can trust me.”
“Wait,” Liam interrupted. “Why does he want to slaughter students? Just to cause mass destruction? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Callan shook his head. “He’s creating an army for the underworld. A whole score of dead girls he can command and use to fight for him. This is bigger than just Olympus. This is a massive takeover. We’ve got to stop him.”
“And we will,” Medusa’s voice was crackly with sleep, but her eyes were open as she rolled off her pillow and swung her legs to the floor.
The three of us stood there, while she stretched her arms up and walked over to the window. Her snake-hair coiled and uncoiled almost like it, too, was stretching itself out after slumber. “We have to find a way to keep Orcus from taking more girls down there,” she said. “And we’ve got to figure it out fast.”
She turned around to face us and my heart skipped with desire and appreciation. Her face in the shadows was all angles, all curse, but I’d come to find incredible beauty and power in it. Her eyes were bright green, and she narrowed them as she grabbed ahold of the curtains.
There was something different about her—a new calm. Maybe facing her own death had made a new monster out of her. Perhaps last night in the locker room had stopped a raging storm within—or started a new one. But it suddenly seemed laughable that she’d feel intimidated by any of us, much less our ridiculous threats from early on.
“We have each other,” she said and threw open the curtains, the morning sun blasting into my dorm room. “And that’s all we need. We’ll find a way to stop him. Together.”
We shielded our eyes against the light, or possibly against the threat of being turned to stone, which made her laugh.
I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face as I sat there mesmerized by her determination, her fierceness, her strength.
She was everything a man like me could ever hope for. More than any of us deserved.
Our Gorgon, our goddess.
Our girl.
Thank you so much for reading Stone Cold, the first book in the Gods & Monsters series.
To continue the adventure, look for Monstrous Things, the second book in this exciting reverse harem fantasy series.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Kate Nova writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance featuring fierce girls and guys with growl. Magic, Mayhem and Happily Ever After’s.
She loves to hear from her readers, so if you've got a question or just want to reach out, feel free to contact her at https://www.KateNovaBooks.com
Kate Nova also writes contemporary romance under the New York Times Bestselling pen name, Adriana Hunter.
Other Books by Kate Nova
Monstrous Things: Gods & Monsters Book 2
Shattered Curse: Gods & Monsters Book 3
Songs of Sorrow: Crows of Carnage Book 1
Strange Magic: Misfits of Magic Book 1
Have you read any of Kate Nova’s books? Please consider leaving an honest review at your point of sale outlet.