TWISTED (Eternal Guardians Book 7) (50 page)

C
ynna stumbled the second her feet hit solid ground. Dust filled her lungs, and she coughed, trying to clear it away. Blinking several times in the early morning sunlight, she realized she stood on the edge of a giant sinkhole. Water rushed in over the rocks, submerging Zagreus’s lair, sweeping over everything until there was nothing left.

“Holy
skata
,” she whispered. “If you’d been a few minutes later…”

Nick drew her back from the edge. “I needed everyone in position before we came to get you.”

On the other side of the giant sinkhole, voices drifted to her ears. She glanced across the distance toward several Argonauts and a few Sirens staring at the destruction.

“I wasn’t worried about taking down Zagreus,” Nick said. “But I couldn’t get to you and everyone else at the same time.”

“Oh my gods,” Cynna whispered, looking back at the water. “All those prisoners.”

“Don’t look.” He pulled her into his arms. “We tried. I didn’t know Hades was going to show.”

She closed her eyes and sank into him, relieved and thankful and—

She jerked back and looked up. “Isadora?”

“Fine. Better than fine. Cured.”

“Cured?”

He held out his forearm and showed her his unmarked skin. “I’m not an Argonaut anymore. Which means there’s no more soul mate pull between us.”

“No more soul mate pull. That means—”

“That means I am yours, female. Every part of me. If you still want me.”

“If I still want you?” She grasped his neck and pulled him down to her. “Are you kidding?”

He chuckled, but that laugh turned to a groan when she closed her mouth over his and kissed him.

His hands framed her face, and he tipped her head and kissed her deeper, making every doubt and fear and worry she’d had since the moment he’d left her for Olympus disappear into the ether.

When she was breathless, he drew back and rested his forehead against hers. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come for you?”

Her heart rolled. “I didn’t know if Zeus was going to let you go. Convincing Zagreus to take his army and leave was the only thing I knew to do to help.”

“It was a smart move. Smart and stupid all at the same time. I freaked when I came back and found you gone.”
 

“I’m sorry for that. But it was no stupider than you challenging Zeus.”

A half smile curled his lips. “Agreed. But it worked. Right now, though, I’m ready for a whole lot less excitement. At least of the cataclysmic variety.”

Cynna brushed her fingers over his sexy jaw. “How does it feel? Being immortal?”

“Pretty much the same.” He fingered a lock of hair near her cheek and smoothed it back near her ear. “Though I’ve heard sex is pretty fucking awesome for a god. And I’m itching to try that out.”

She laughed and lifted her mouth to his once more, but a soft cough drew her back.

She glanced to the right toward the elderly woman wearing diaphanous white, sitting on a rock beside them. Cynna startled, but Nick smoothed his hand down her arm and said, “Relax. It’s just Lachesis.”

Cynna nearly choked. “The Fate?”
 

“One and the same,” the Fate answered. “Well done, Niko.” A victorious grin curled her lips. “Very well done.”

Nick smirked. “You could have…oh, I don’t know…hinted that all I had to do was go see Zeus to finish this.”

“Fates can’t give answers. Only lead you to the choice. But you didn’t even need me for that. You had her.” She nodded toward Cynna.

Cynna swallowed hard. She’d never met a Fate before. Was this normal for a god?
 

“Take care of him, child.” Lachesis’s blue eyes grew serious. “He may be immortal now, but he will still be challenged. By his brothers. By his father. By his duty. Krónos will become even more determined now to break free from Tartarus. The search for the last element needed to complete the Orb will intensify, and darkness will try to win out. He will need you more than you think. Especially as he works to protect his people. The Council of Elders in Argolea is corrupt, as you know. But do not run from the fight. Embrace it. Together. And make a difference in your world.”

“I will,” Cynna managed.

To Nick, she said, “And take care of her, warrior. She is a special one.”

Nick smiled down at Cynna, a warm, loving, for-her-only smile that heated every inch of Cynna’s skin. “I already know that.”

Lachesis floated to her feet. “When she passes from this world into the next, the choice to stay or pass with her rests in you.”

Nick looked back at Lachesis. “It does? I thought immortality meant…immortality.”

“Choice is always with you, Niko. No one controls you. No one ever did. Every god has the same choice. Most are simply too caught up in the trappings of power to be anything but selfish. If love is your guide, however, I know you’ll make the right choice when the time comes. Live and be happy. Use your gifts for good. But be wary of Zeus and Poseidon.”

She disappeared as abruptly as she’d arrived, and as soon as she was gone, Cynna looked up at Nick. “Zeus and Poseidon?”

“I’ll explain later.” When she lifted her brows, a wary expression crept over his face, and he added, “In exchange for their help, I agreed to do them a favor.”

Being indebted to the gods could not be good. “That sounds ominous.”
 

He glanced toward the sinkhole filled with water and frowned. “It might be. Now.”
 

Before she could ask more, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “Enough about them.”

She lifted to his kiss. Reveled in his strength, his warmth. His love. And as she slid her arms around his neck and stroked her tongue along his, she felt herself flying and knew he was flashing them away from Zagreus’s lair forever.

She opened her eyes and discovered he’d brought her back to the same bedroom where they’d stayed together last night. The one at Delia’s house in the settlement. “Don’t you have work to do? Helping move your people back from the mountains?”

“Someone else can deal with that. For the next few hours I plan to work only on you.”

She smiled, loving that answer. But before she could ease up and show him just how much she loved that with her mouth, a shiver rippled across her spine. One look told her he’d obliterated her clothing again.

Her brow lifted. “Not interested in unwrapping?”

“Not right now.” He lowered her to the bed, and warmth bloomed all through her belly when she realized he was already naked too. “Right now I just need you.”

Love and happiness filled her soul. “You have me, Nick.” She stroked her fingertips over the scar on his cheek. “You always will.”

He rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him so she was straddling his legs, then slid his hands to her bare hips. “Prove it to me, my strong, sexy, sinful Cynna. Show me that I am yours and you are mine. I’m completely at your mercy, exactly as I was before.”

A wicked, erotic smile pulled at her mouth. He was remembering the tunnels, when she’d pleasured him with her hand. Her whole body tingled with a surge of white-hot lust as she thought back to that moment too. Only this time, she planned to use way more than her fingers to bring him to a soul-shattering release.

She grasped his wrists and pinned them to the mattress above his head, then leaned down and gently brushed her lips across his. “Brace yourself, handsome. I can’t promise this won’t hurt.”

His lust-filled grin consumed his entire face. And as she pressed her lips to his neck, his collarbone, his chest, and worked her way south, he groaned. “Mm… That’s it, baby. That’s exactly how I like it. Don’t you dare stop.”

She wouldn’t. If it took the rest of her life, she’d show him just how much his love meant to her. Because, thanks to him, she was finally home.

ETERNAL GUARDIANS

LEXICON

adelfos
. Brother

agapi
. Term of endearment; my love.

ándras
; pl.
ándres
. Male Argolean

archdaemon. Head of the daemon order; has enhanced powers from Atalanta

Argolea. Realm established by Zeus for the blessed heroes and their descendants

Argonauts. Eternal guardian warriors who protect Argolea. In every generation, one from the original seven bloodlines (Heracles, Achilles, Jason, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, and Bellerophon) is chosen to continue the guardian tradition.

Chosen. One Argolean, one human; two individuals who, when united, completed the Argolean Prophecy and broke Atalanta’s contract with Hades, thereby ejecting her from the Underworld and ending her immortality.

Council of Elders. Twelve lords of Argolea who advise the king

daemons. Beasts who were once human, recruited from the
 

Fields of Asphodel (purgatory) by Atalanta to join her army.

Dimiourgos
. Creator

doulas
. Slave

élencho
. Mind-control technique Argonauts use on humans

Fates. Three goddesses who control the thread of life for all mortals from birth until death

Fields of Asphodel. Purgatory

fotia
. Term of endearment. My fire.

gigia
. Grandmother

gynaíka
; pl.
gynaíkes
. Female Argolean

Horae. Three goddesses of balance controlling life and order

Isles of the Blessed. Heaven

ilithios
. Idiot

kardia
. Term of endearment; my heart

Kore. Another name for the goddess Persephone. “The maiden”

ligos-Vesuvius
. Term of endearment; little volcano

matéras
. Mother

meli
. Term of endearment; beloved

Misos. Half-human/half-Argolean race that lives hidden among humans

Olympians. Current ruling gods of the Greek pantheon, led by Zeus; meddle in human life

oraios
. Beautiful

Orb of Krónos. Four-chambered disk that, when filled with the four classic elements—earth, wind, fire, and water—has the power to release the Titans from Tartarus

patéras
. Father

sotiria
. Term of endearment; my salvation

Siren Order. Zeus’s elite band of personal warriors. Commanded by Athena

skata
. Swearword

syzygos
. Wife

Tartarus. Realm of the Underworld similar to hell

therillium. Invisibility ore, sought after by all the gods

Titans. The ruling gods before the Olympians

Titanomachy. The war between the Olympians and the Titans, which resulted in Krónos being cast into Tartarus and the Olympians becoming the ruling gods.

thea
. Term of endearment; goddess

yios
. Son

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading TWISTED
,
the 7
^th
book in my Eternal Guardians series. Nick has been a huge part of this series since the very first book, and I was thrilled to finally have the opportunity write his story.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Nick and Cynna as much as I enjoyed writing them.

If you’re interested in reading more books in the Eternal Guardians series,
visit my website here
to check out exclusive excerpts and access buy links for the different books. While each book in the series can be read as a stand alone, it is, of course, more fun to read them together. The books in the Eternal Guardians series include:

MARKED – Book 1

Theron & Casey

ENTWINED – Book 2

Zander & Callia

TEMPTED – Book 3

Demetrius & Isadora

ENRAPTURED – Book 4

Orpheus & Skyla

ENSLAVED – Book 5

Gryphon & Maelea

BOUND – Book 6

Titus & Natasa

TWISTED – Book 7

Nick & Cynna

And coming soon...

RAVAGED

If you enjoyed TWISTED, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy it too by doing one of the following:

Lend it:
This e-book is lending-able, so please share it with a friend.

Recommend it:
Please help others find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups, and discussion boards.

Review it:
Tell readers what you liked or didn’t like by reviewing it at one of the major retailers, review sites, or on your blog. I appreciate all reviews whether positive or negative.

To find out when my next book is available, you can sign up for my new release e-mail list on the first page of
My Website
.

To see a full list of all my books by series visit
Elisabeth Naughton Books
.