TWISTED (Eternal Guardians Book 7) (18 page)

The door to the office pushed open before Callia could respond, and Casey stuck her dark head into the room. “I’m not too late, am I?”

Isadora glanced back toward Callia. “You called her?”

“Yes, I did.” Callia pushed away from her desk. “This is heavy, and I think the three of us need to discuss it.”

“Oh, for gods’ sake.” Isadora rolled her eyes and moved back toward the window.

“Okay, fill me in.” Casey stepped into the room and closed the door at her back. Placing a hand on her belly, she rubbed her palm over the baby that would be here in only a few short months while Callia explained Isadora’s test results.

“I haven’t felt anything,” Casey said when her sister finished.
 

“That’s what I needed to know,” Callia answered. “I haven’t either. But something is definitely going on with Isadora.”

Exasperation toyed with what little patience Isadora had left. “I’m a new mom, I’ve got a mate who can’t stop blaming himself for his brother’s disappearance, an Argonaut who loves to antagonize the Council, the Misos to get set up in their new settlement, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance as we search for Nick, who may or may not be the key to releasing Krónos from Tartarus and starting the apocalypse. If anything’s going on, it’s that I’m just a
tiny
bit stretched in all directions. So you can both stop speculating about what’s wrong with me and just let me get back to my job.”

She stepped toward the door, but Casey moved into her path.

“Whoa.” Wide-eyed, Casey looked toward Callia. “I think I know why you and I aren’t feeling anything.”

“Why?” Callia asked.

Casey glanced down at her belly, then back at Callia.

“Because you’re pregnant?” Callia asked.

Good gods. Isadora clenched her jaw. They weren’t even listening to her now. She didn’t have time for this. She needed to get back to the Kyrenia settlement, where the Argonauts were working to get basic services set up for the Misos before the Council came in and declared martial law.

“Remember when Isadora hemorrhaged after delivering Elysia, and you immediately felt the effects?”

Callia nodded. “Yes.”

“I didn’t feel them,” Casey said. “I was here in Argolea, but I didn’t feel anything. I was already pregnant then. I just didn’t know yet.”

Callia’s brow dropped. “You’re speculating that because you were pregnant, it caused you not to feel any adverse effects from our connection?”

“No,” Casey answered. “Not just because I was pregnant. Because I was pregnant with an Argonaut’s child. Genetically, the Argonauts are stronger than humans and Misos, right?” She splayed her fingers over the roundness of her belly. “Isn’t it highly possible this baby is strong enough to keep me from feeling any ill effects Isadora is experiencing?”

“Yes,” Callia said, a crease forming between her brows. “That’s entirely possible. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Casey asked.

“Well.” Callia shifted her weight. “If that’s the case, then I should be feeling the same things as Isadora. I’m not pregnant.”

“Are you sure about that?” Casey tipped her head. “You told me a few weeks ago that you and Zander were hoping to give Max a sibling soon.”

A faraway look filled Callia’s violet eyes, and she glanced around the room as if not seeing it. Slowly, her eyes widened, and she turned quickly for a door that led into an exam room. “I-I’ll be right back.”

She was gone without another word.

Isadora frowned at her sister when they were alone. “This is a stretch. Even for you.”

“Why?” Casey asked. “Because you don’t think it’s possible?”

“No, because there’s nothing wrong with me. And I need you and Callia to back me up on this so I can get Demetrius to stop worrying. He has more important things to deal with right now.”

Carefully, because her center of gravity had shifted thanks to the pregnancy, Casey lowered herself to the arm of the sofa. “Still no word on Nick?”

Isadora wrapped an arm around her waist and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, nothing. It’s like he’s completely vanished off the face of the planet.”

“If Hades has him, that’s entirely possible.”

Casey had been to the Underworld, when Hades had taken her there in an attempt to convince her to give up her life for the sake of a prophecy and his attempt to hold the goddess Atalanta in check. At the time, she’d been raining havoc over a portion of the Underworld and he’d wanted to keep her under his control. His plan had backfired, however, when Isadora made a deal with the god-king of the Underworld to save her sister’s life. A deal that had led to that moment when Isadora had been dying and Nick had made the same deal to save hers. Only Hades hadn’t wanted Nick’s soul like he’d wanted Isadora’s. No, what he still wanted was Krónos’s powers, which were locked inside Nick.

“No,” Isadora said. “He’s in the human realm somewhere. Hades wouldn’t risk taking him to the Underworld where Krónos could influence him. He’s left him with his son until he can access those powers.”

“Did you foresee that?” Casey asked.

“No.” Isadora rubbed her fingers across her brow, wishing the tension headache taking up space behind her eyes would just go away. She felt Nick was still in the human realm. The same way she felt he was alive. Which was weird because she’d never been able to sense something like that before.

She dropped her hand. “Even if Zagreus doesn’t succeed and Nick is—”

The door to the exam room pushed open, and Callia’s ashen face filled the space.
 

“Callia?” Casey asked, pushing to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“You were right. I just ran the test. I’m…pregnant.”

A slow smile spread across Casey’s lips, and she stepped forward and gripped her sister’s hand. “That’s wonderful. Zander will be so excited. When are you—”

“No.” Callia’s eyes locked on Casey’s. “It’s not good news at all. It means you were right. Whatever’s affecting Isadora is not affecting us because of the Argonaut genes we’re carrying. And as rapidly as Isadora is weakening, it means whatever’s happening with her is serious.”

A chill spread down Isadora’s spine. And that vision she’d had before, of her future with her mate, flashed in front of her eyes. Only this future wasn’t the future she’d planned on. And the man in the center of it wasn’t Demetrius.

Isadora’s stomach tightened. Cautiously, to Callia, she said, “You told me you didn’t sense any disease or illness in me.”

“I didn’t,” Callia answered. “But we’re all linked to the Horae. It’s possible whatever this is, it’s hidden.”

Skata
. That did not make Isadora feel any better. She held up a suddenly shaking hand. “Okay, not that I buy in to any of this, but I want to go on record as stating that I’m sick and tired of being the sister who’s sick and tired. One of you be sick for a change and let me have a break. How about that?”

Callia didn’t react to her joke. In fact, Isadora wasn’t even sure her sister heard her. The healer moved around her desk and reached for a book from the shelf along the wall. “I need to do some research.” To Isadora, she said, “I don’t want you going out to the Kyrenia settlement. It’s too strenuous for you. Until I figure out what’s going on, you need to stay close to the castle.”

Irritation pulsed inside Isadora. “I have work to do.”

“No one’s stopping you. Delegate it from here.” When Isadora huffed, Callia dropped the book on her desk. “This is important. It isn’t just about you. It’s about all of us. You’re weakening rapidly. Whatever’s going on with you is more than just stress and lack of sleep. It’s something that will eventually affect Casey and me as well.”

Isadora’s stomach tightened at the fear she heard in her sister’s voice. “Okay,” she said cautiously. “I’ll stay close.”

“Good.” Callia looked toward Casey. “In the meantime, I could use your help.”

“Name it.”
 

“I need to check the ancient texts. For anything related to the Horae. If I can’t figure out what’s going on medically, then that means it has to be something genetic.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Callia nodded, sat in her chair, and flipped the book open.

“Callia,” Casey said. “What about Zander?”

Callia’s hand stilled on the page, and she exhaled a long breath. “I’ll tell him.”

“He’s going to be thrilled.”

“I know.” Callia shook her head and turned a page. “But this isn’t exactly something to celebrate. If we can’t stop Isadora from growing weaker, and she continues to decline and eventually dies—”

“
What?”
Isadora’s head snapped up. Dies? No way. Now her sisters were getting way ahead of themselves. “I’m fine. A little tired but fine. This is complete paranoia at its—”

“Oh, holy gods,” Casey breathed.
 

The color drained from her cheeks, and she placed a protective hand over her belly. And in a flash, a whole new understanding dawned, bringing a wave of dizziness to Isadora’s head.

Callia looked up. “Yeah. It means we will too. And Zander, because I’m his weakness. I already abandoned one child to the world alone. I won’t do it a second time. Whatever it takes, we’re going to figure this out. After everything we’ve been through, I refuse to accept that this is the end.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“D
ammit.” Nick ground his teeth together as the Chevy he’d snagged from the small village slowed and sputtered out. He cut the wheel to the right, jostling the vehicle over holes in the side of the narrow dirt road.

The rig came to a stop. At his side, Cynna startled awake and lifted her head from the passenger window where she’d been leaning. “Wh-what happened?”

“Ran out of gas.”

She grimaced, pressed a hand against her side as she sat up straighter, and looked out the windshield with cloudy eyes. “Where are we?”

Nick didn’t have a clue. It was still dark outside, probably around five a.m., he guessed from the position of the moon. They hadn’t passed a settlement for at least an hour, and the jungle rose on both sides of the one-lane road, encroaching in several spots like monstrous tentacles. If there was an actual airstrip out here, he’d eat his own damn shoes. It’d be just like Ari to fuck with him on this.

He checked the coordinates on the cell phone he’d taken from that house and frowned. “It’s not far from here. We’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way.”
 

The greenish glow from the dashboard illuminated her pale face and the way she winced. She leaned back against the seat, still pressing her hand to her side. “Maybe I should just stay here.”

Dammit…
He’d told himself he was getting her out of this jungle, and he meant it, whether she cooperated or not. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with her after, but something in his gut wouldn’t leave her behind for Zagreus to find and torture. Not after she’d risked her life to free him. Not when she might still be important.

He climbed out of the truck, stalked around the hood, then pulled the passenger door open. Sliding his arm under her knees, he lifted her out of the truck. She bit back a groan, and he knew the movement had to cause her excruciating pain, but she didn’t protest. “It’s only about a mile away.”

Survival skills. This female had them. After everything she’d been through, that made perfect sense. But one thought wouldn’t leave his head as he carried her into the jungle. One thing she’d told him when he’d been tending her wound, which he didn’t like. The bitter reality that she’d
chosen
to make a deal with Zagreus all for the sake of revenge.

“Not all prisons have walls…”

No, they didn’t. He knew that better than most. It was highly possible she hadn’t known what she was getting into and that her deal had become its own form of torture. But still…what kind of hatred must a person harbor to make a deal with the Prince of Darkness? What kind of anger had to drive them?

The same kind of hatred you had for your mother. The same anger you feel right now for your father for cursing your life.

An odd tingle took up space in his chest. He zeroed in on his senses, hoping something new would make him able to read Cynna’s mind so he could figure out what she wasn’t telling him, but that clearly wasn’t a gift he’d acquired. Because, no, he wasn’t that fucking lucky, now was he?