Tempted (35 page)

“I’m…” He stared up at her face. “You fought for me.”

She knelt in front of him and ran her fingers down his cheek. So warm, so soft…“Of course I did. I told you on Pandora you were worth saving. I meant it.”

“No one’s ever fought for me before.”

A warm smile slid across her face. “Get used to it, Guardian. As long as blood flows in my veins, I’ll be here fighting for you. Any and every time you need me.”

The blackness that was so much a part of him settled in that moment. Just laid right down in the bottom of his soul as if she were the key to controlling it. And warmth filled the space left behind. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so damn much.”

Her smile grew even wider. “Oh, it’s a good thing. Because I just made some serious enemies here today, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need you now more than ever.”

Her arms slid around his neck and she leaned down to kiss him. As he’d dreamed of for nearly two hundred years. As he’d been afraid of for too damn long. As he’d prayed for, this last lonely day. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, reveling in the warmth of her body tight against his, just where she should be.

Home. She was his home. She always had been. No matter where he went or what happened from here, she always would be.

When she eased back, her eyes sparkled, but his brain was slowly coming back online and there was so much he still didn’t understand. “How did you get your father to—?”

“Nick. He testified on your behalf.”

His gaze shot past her face to where his brother was standing near the far door. Their eyes met, held, then Nick nodded once and disappeared out the door. Demetrius’s brow wrinkled. “How—?”

“It turns out he doesn’t hate you quite as much as you think,” Isadora said, drawing his attention back to her. “And I promised him things were going to be different, now that I’m in charge. This isn’t just our war. It’s his too. He needs the Argonauts’ help.”

Pride swelled inside of him at what she’d done. At how she’d stood up to not only the Council but her father as well. At the lengths she’d gone to, to save him. “He’s got mine.”

She smiled, brushed her hand down his cheek, but before he could kiss her again the smile faded and she loosed her hold. “Just hold that thought. One minute.” She must have seen the confusion on his face, because she eased back in to kiss him quickly. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

She stood and looked around the room. Callia stepped up next to Demetrius to check his back. To the left, the Argonauts grinned like colossal fools.

Isadora grasped her skirts and disappeared out the door.

“Orpheus!” she called when she reached the hallway. The
ándras
stopped halfway down the long marble corridor and turned to look back. “Wait.”

“I’ve got things to do, Isa. Places to be, people to torment. Make it quick. What do you want now?”

“Just to thank you. I—” She stopped in front of him, placed a hand over her still-quaking stomach. The image of Demetrius strung up in the Council chambers would live with her forever. If she’d been moments later…“I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

“That’s right. You do.” A frown creased his forehead. “And how the hell am I supposed to collect on our little deal now? The whole freakin’ kingdom knows you’ve got the hots for Hellboy in there. And what’s the fun in seducing you when you’re already damaged goods?”

Her lips curved up and relief—no, gratitude—rushed through her chest. He thought he was such a badass, but he wasn’t. Underneath that devil-may-care attitude lay the heart of a hero. “I would have lived up to our agreement, you know.”

“I know you would have,” he said quietly. Their eyes held a moment, then he frowned again. “Which totally takes the freakin’ fun out of the whole thing.”

Her smile widened as she took a step forward. Oh, she did like him—always had. She’d just never trusted herself to see what lurked underneath his prickly exterior. Now she did. Her week with Demetrius had taught her that what you see isn’t always what’s real.

“Stay,” she said, sobering. “Stay and help me. I need you. Our people need you. The Argonauts need you. You have the markings from the gods now. And though I don’t quite know where Atalanta is at this moment or what she has planned next, I do know she’s not gone for good. We won the battle, but the war isn’t over.”

“We both know I’m not hero material, Isa.” His eyes flashed green before resettling to their normal gray, a reminder that what was hidden in him was a liability. But she didn’t see it that way anymore. She saw it as an enormous asset. “You are, though. More than you realize.”

“Not in this lifetime.” His jaw clenched and he glanced away. “Look, I gotta go. Are we done here?”

“We’re done. But before you go.” She lifted the gold chain from around her neck and held the earth element out in front of him. In the lights from above, the diamond sparkled and shone. “Take this with you. It might come in handy.”

He eyed the diamond as if he were afraid it would electrocute him. He knew what it was. And he knew its importance. “You’re giving this to me? Why?”

“I’m loaning it to you. There’s a big difference. I fully expect you to bring it back. And if you don’t, I know six burly guys who’ll be more than happy to hunt you down and haul you both back.” He didn’t smile at her joke, but that was okay. She knew she’d just shocked the hell out of him. She stepped close, gently laid the diamond in his hand, and closed his fingers over the stone. “It’ll help you save Gryphon.”

His eyes shot from the diamond in his fist to her face. “I’m not going after Gryphon. All I care about is the Orb.”

“Sure, I know. Take it anyway.”

He looked back down at his fist. Hesitated as if he was going to say something, then didn’t. When he looked up again, his gaze strayed past her toward the end of the hall, where she sensed Demetrius standing.

Confusion cleared from his features, was replaced with his normal I-don’t-give-a-rip attitude as he glanced back at her once more and pocketed the diamond. “Don’t fuck up the kingdom while I’m gone, Isa.”

She watched as he walked away. And in the silence that followed knew, even if he didn’t, that he wasn’t going after the Orb of Krónos as he claimed.

She heard Demetrius move close, felt the heat from his body wrap around and draw her in. Her heart picked up speed, and when she turned she found he was no more than a foot away, holding a blanket closed at his chest, his brow wrinkled in confusion at what he’d just overheard. His dark hair was a mess around his face, his cheeks hollowed out from the stress of the last week, his skin stained with blood and sweat. But to her he’d never been more handsome.

“Where’s he going?” He nodded toward the end of the hall.

“To find Gryphon.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I’m going on faith. And intuition. The same faith and intuition that told me to find Casey, to stand up to Hades, to trust in you. It hasn’t let me down so far. I have to believe it won’t this time either.”

“
Kardia
.”

He opened the blanket. She moved into him without hesitation, sliding her hands around his waist, careful not to touch any of the wounds on his back. Lifting her face to his, she drew in a breath as his lips lowered to hers and she took a little of his weight, giving him back her strength tenfold.

His eyes were as soft as she’d ever seen them when he eased back to gaze down at her. And though she knew the horrors of this day were never going to leave her, neither would this moment.

“I’ve been floating in a black mist of death and misery so long,” he said, “I couldn’t see that the one thing I was most afraid of had the power to save me. Lachesis was right. You didn’t just rescue my body in there,
kardia
, you saved my soul. Just like you did on that island every time you trusted me, every time you touched me, every time you loved me. You’re doing it now simply by looking at me like I’m everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“You are,” she whispered. “In more ways than you will ever know.”

He brushed his fingers down her cheek. “I promise you, with everything that I am, that I will find a way to break Hades’s contract on your soul. I’m not spending eternity without you. Not now, when I’ve finally realized you are my home.”

Had she once been afraid of him? It seemed like a lifetime ago. “Some things can’t be saved, Demetrius, but I’m okay with that. I’m not living my life for the future anymore. I have everything I want right here. I have you and”—she took his hand and placed it on her stomach—“the life you’ve given me. That’s all I need.”

He looked down where he touched her, and his eyes went so soft and dreamy her heart clenched. “Ah,
kardia
. Anything can be saved. I’m living proof of that. Believe in me like I believe in you. I won’t let you down. I won’t let either of you down ever again, I promise.”

Emotion closed her throat. “I already do, Demetrius. I love you. I love you so much.”

“You shouldn’t,” he whispered. “If I were stronger, you wouldn’t. But I’ll be damned if I’ll keep fighting this.” He lifted her around the waist and turned a slow circle with her in his arms. “I love you too, Hora, queen, soul mate,
mine
. Always.”

His mouth captured hers again and he kissed her, just as she wanted. There were a thousand unknowns hanging in the balance—the fate of her kingdom, her rule, this pregnancy, the Argonauts, and a war she knew wasn’t over—but this, how she felt about him, this was a truth that would never let her down. As long as she believed in that, nothing could ever tear them apart.

Not even Hades himself.

Eternal Guardians Lexicon

adelfos.
Brother

ándras
.
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, complete the Argolean Prophecy and break 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

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

Fields of Asphodel.
Purgatory

gynaíka
.
Female Argolean

Hora; pl. Horae.
Three goddesses of balance controlling life and order

Isles of the Blessed.
Heaven

ilithios
.
Idiot

kardia
.
Term of endearment; my heart

matéras
.
Mother

Medean witches.
Followers of the teachings of the sorceress Medea who live in the Aegis Mountains

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

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

paidi.
Medean word; child

patéras
.
Father

quai.
Medean word; stop

skata.
Swearword

Tartarus.
Realm of the Underworld similar to hell

Titans.
The ruling gods before the Olympians

thea
.
Term of endearment; goddess

yios.
Son