TWISTED (Eternal Guardians Book 7) (17 page)

When she’d drunk her fill, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. He capped the water bottle and set it on the ground at his side, then ran one big hand over her scalp, drawing her damp hair back from her face.

Holy gods, this was…so wrong, his being nice to her in any way. But it felt so incredibly right, she didn’t have the strength to fight it any longer.

They sat in silence for several long minutes. Then quietly, he said, “You’re Argolean.”

Surprise rippled through her. She’d never told him her heritage. Then she realized he must have seen the Alpha birthmark on her hip. The marking all Argoleans were born with, signaling their race.

There was no reason to lie. Not now. “Yes.”

He was silent for several seconds, then said, “Your Council prohibits Argoleans from crossing into the human realm. How the hell did you wind up with Zagreus?”

A burst of anger whipped through her at the mention of the Council of Elders, the governing body that advised the monarchy of Argolea, but tonight it melded with the hatred and stupidity swirling inside her at the sound of Zagreus’s name.

Memories bombarded her. Ones she didn’t want to see tonight. She forced them back and told herself the specifics weren’t important. But she knew she couldn’t tell him everything. Even though Nick wasn’t technically an Argonaut, he had the markings on his forearms, and she knew from Zagreus that he’d aligned himself with the Eternal Guardians.

Her first instinct was to lie, but he was being nice to her. And with his increased strengths of late, she didn’t know if he could tell when she was lying. She figured a partial truth was her best bet. “My family was murdered. When I was old enough, I crossed into the human realm via the witch’s portals. And I went looking for Zagreus.”

“Why?”

Why?
Because it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Because she’d heard stories of the Prince of Darkness’s ruthlessness. Because she knew Zagreus was the only person who could train her to fight and set her plan for revenge in motion.

But she couldn’t tell Nick any of that, so she simply said, “Because I knew he was a god who was always looking for a deal. And because he promised to help me find the person who killed my family and make them pay.”

Nick’s hand went back to stroking her hair, and gods, that felt good. Too good. Her eyes drifted closed once more.
 

“Revenge always comes with a price.”

His voice was low, just above a whisper, but it made her lashes flutter and her eyelids open once more. She stared out into the darkness, seeing nothing but shadows and mist as she thought about that price.

Not just her freedom. But the very heart of who she was. Or who she’d once been.

She hadn’t known when she’d made that deal with Zagreus that it would bring her to this moment. To questioning everything she’d done and believed in. But now…now she wondered if revenge was really the solution. She still wanted retribution against the one who’d destroyed her family, but she didn’t want to lose her soul in the process. And she wasn’t willing to go through with her plan if it meant taking someone else’s soul with her.

“So what changed your mind?” he asked in that same deep, sexy voice, the one that made her think about everything
but
revenge. “What made you finally decide to walk away from something you so desperately wanted?”

You did.

The words hovered on her lips but she couldn’t bring herself to say them.

“Did you find a phone?” she asked, changing the subject.
 

“Yeah.” His chest vibrated with his words, the sensation passing from him into her, warming her insides. “I also found us a car. In a few minutes, we’ll head that direction and rendezvous with someone who can help us get the hell out of this damn jungle.”

Us. We. He still intended to keep her with him. Warmth bloomed in her belly all over again, followed by a tiny burst of panic. “You…you called the Argonauts?”

“Hell, no.”

Relief and confusion clouded her thoughts. “But you’re one of them. Why wouldn’t you call them?”
 

“I’ve never been one of them. And they’re the last people I’d call in a pinch, trust me.”
 

Curiosity got the best of her. The Argonauts weren’t on her top-ten friend list by any means, but the animosity she heard in Nick’s voice was strong, and it made her wonder what they’d done to cause such a vehement reaction.

“You were gifted with the markings.”

“Cursed is more like it. Don’t get any ideas, female. I’m no hero.”

But…he was. The fact he’d insisted on freeing those prisoners and tended her wounds and was comforting her now when he should want her dead only confirmed that fact.

Her pulse picked up speed, but she told herself not to get worked up. He’d already told her she was now his prisoner. Common sense said if he was taking care of her, it was only to make sure she didn’t die, in case he needed her for leverage down the line against Zagreus.

“Wh-why wouldn’t you turn to the guardians for help?”

He was silent for several seconds, and she was sure he wasn’t going to answer. But then he surprised her by saying, “Because calling them means alerting my soul mate to the fact I’m still alive. And I’m not in the mood to deal with that shit right now.”

Soul mate…

Something in her chest pinched. Something she recognized as jealousy but felt so out of place, she knew it was a ridiculous emotion.

She focused on a dark palm frond ahead. “You have a soul mate? One would think you’d be anxious to see her. Or maybe it’s a him.”

He snorted. “Do I give off that vibe? Man, I am out of practice.”

Oh, hell no, he didn’t give off that vibe. But she wasn’t about to tell him that right now.

“It’s a her,” he went on. “And she’s the last person I want to see or think about. Trust me, having a soul mate is not a blessing. It’s a curse.”

“How so?”

“You don’t know about the Argonauts’ soul mate curse? You’re Argolean.”

“I was raised outside Tiyrns. My parents were refugees hiding from the Council’s strict laws. The Argonauts and anything that happened within the capital were not things we focused on.”

“Lucky you,” he mumbled.

He shifted against the tree at his back, forcing her to sink farther into the warmth of his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her good side, laying his hand on her thigh as he continued to stroke her hair with the other. Warmth infused her skin all over again, making her relax back into him. Making her feel…safe. Which was something so totally foreign, she didn’t know how to react.

“The way the story goes,” he said, “Hera had a special hatred for Heracles, and when Zeus established the realm of Argolea, she retaliated by cursing Heracles and all the Eternal Guardians with a soul mate. The one person in the world they would be forever drawn to but who was the worst possible match for them. The person who would torment their existence. Since I was born with the guardian markings, even though I’m not technically one of them, I lucked out. My soul mate is bonded to my brother.”

Oh, ouch. Yeah, she could see how that would be a curse. “And she—this female—is able to just ignore the soul mate curse? She’s not tortured by it? How is that possible?”

“Because she isn’t cursed. Only those of us with the markings feel the draw. She’s perfectly happy in her protected realm, playing house with my brother. They even have a child now.”

That had to bite. Not only had Cynna overseen Nick’s physical torture the last few months, but now she knew the poor guy was emotionally tortured on a daily basis.

“How often did you see her…you know, before?” Before Zagreus had imprisoned him and she’d put him through another kind of hell.

“As little as possible.”

There was definite animosity there, and her hatred for the guardians and everything Argolean jumped another notch.

Which was fucking ludicrous, because he was nothing to her. Nothing but someone she’d felt obligated to free.

Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that, girlie…

A plethora of emotions churned inside her, ones she wasn’t ready to face. When his hand lifted from her hair, she was both disappointed and relieved.

“We need to get moving,” he said. “I parked the truck about a mile from here. Do you think you can walk, or do I need to carry you?”

“Walk.” Definitely walk. She lifted her head from his shoulder, gritted her teeth, and sat upright, moving away from him. “But you should just go without me.”

“We’ve already been through that. Not happening.”

Even though pain ripped through her side, she turned to look at him, frustrated and…confused as hell. “
Why
are you doing this?”

His amber eyes narrowed and held hers. And though she couldn’t read his thoughts, she felt his determination in the intensity of his stare. “Because you told me in that cell that you were freeing me because neither one of us should have been there. And because if you didn’t do the right thing then, you were afraid you never would. For now, I’m keeping you with me for the very same reason.”
 

She searched her feelings and locked on to her gift, the one that was now working since she was free of Zagreus’s hold, and realized…he was being honest. He wasn’t saving her just because he might eventually use her as leverage. He was saving her because he could.
 

Her heart raced against her ribs, and her cheeks grew hot. She watched carefully as his knees bent and he pushed to his feet, then stepped around her and held out his hand. “You can either go with me willingly, or you can fight me. But either way, I’m getting you out of this jungle. What’s it going to be, Cynna?”

She looked from his face to his hand and swallowed hard. He didn’t see himself as a hero, but that was exactly what he was, saving his enemy when he had every reason not to. And in that moment, as she stared at his wide palm and long fingers and thought back over the terrible events in her life that had brought her to this moment, she felt something inside shift. Something that had been hard and dark for so long, she was sure it would never bend. Something that was softening…because of him.

Anger and hatred were easy. But forgiveness—especially forgiving herself for the awful things she’d done and could never change—that was the true challenge.
 

And the unknown aftermath of what she chose right now scared her more than Zagreus ever had.

“I
’m not happy with these results.”

Isadora looked away from the window and the view of the harbor she’d been staring at from Callia’s office and eyed her sister. “And I don’t like you worrying about something that’s clearly not a big deal.”

Leaning against the edge of her desk in the medical clinic she ran, Callia frowned, tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear, and shot Isadora an irritating-as-hell I’m-always-right look. “You’ve lost almost ten pounds in a month, your skin is sallow, and you yourself told me you’re exhausted.”

Isadora dropped her crossed arms. “Is this sisterly love? Pointing out all my flaws? Because if it is, I can definitely do without.”

“No, this is the queen’s official healer telling her something isn’t right.”

“I have a six-month-old and a kingdom to run. Cut me some slack. I’m just a tad bit run down.”

“This is more than exhaustion, and you know it.”

Isadora drew in a deep breath to hold her temper in check. She didn’t know what
this
was, but she didn’t like her sister worrying. Demetrius did that enough for everyone. And lately he’d been way worse than usual.

“Look.” She turned fully from the window. “You did a scan, and you didn’t find anything, did you?”

As a healer, Callia had the ability to sense disease and injury within the body, and, in most cases, her gift gave her the power to heal it. “No. Nothing that would explain your symptoms.”

“And you’re not feeling any strange effects yourself, are you?”

Callia frowned. “No. I’m not.”

Since the three sisters—Isadora, Callia, and Casey—were all linked by their bloodline through the king to the Horae, the ancient goddesses of the order of nature, whatever ailment one sister suffered, the others did as well. “Then it’s nothing.”