“But what?”
Natasa held her breath.
“I sensed a very strong power within her. One not rooted completely in darkness but not bathed in light either. I can’t put my finger on what it was, but my senses tell me whatever it is, it’s on the verge of being released.”
Shit.
“Skata,” the Argonaut muttered. “That kind of power anywhere near the Orb is not a good thing.”
“I know,” Maelea whispered.
So the Orb really was in Argolea. That explained why Natasa felt different here than she had in the human realm. And why she had such an uncontrollable urge to stay.
“We need to share this with Theron and the others before we head downstairs to the celebration,” Gryphon said above. “Come on.”
The others.
The Argonauts. Including Titus.
Natasa’s pulse thumped faster. She pushed away from the wall and turned for the door she hoped was unlocked. Inside the room—another bedroom suite—she scanned the empty space, her mind already thinking ten steps ahead. To what she needed to do next. To the moment she was out of this castle and heading for the portal that would take her back to the human realm.
To where she would go after that.
Because, no matter what, she wasn’t giving up.
“You’re sure about this?” Theron asked.
Isadora stood beside Theron’s desk in what used to be her father’s office but was now the center for Argonaut business, arms crossed over her growing belly, listening to what Maelea and Gryphon had come to tell them.
The leader of the Argonauts looked less than thrilled with the news, and Isadora knew why. If this mysterious guest Maelea had encountered in the castle was the same female who’d shown up at the colony days ago, it meant things were heating up, not cooling down as they’d hoped.
Of course, the Fate had warned them after Atalanta’s death that they’d won the battle, not the war, and Isadora didn’t doubt for a minute that the gods were plotting a way into Argolea so they could get their hands on the Orb. She just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. Especially not now, when she should be out on the balcony overlooking the city of Tiyrns, presenting Maelea to the Argolean people.
“I’m not certain of anything,” Maelea answered. “I can only tell you what I felt. There’s more power in her than I’ve sensed in a very long time, from any one person who wasn’t a god.”
Theron glanced toward Isadora. “What do you think?”
Isadora chewed her lip. He’d told her of his suspicions and why he’d advised this Natasa to leave the colony and never return. “It sounds like the same girl. But how did she get here?”
“A delegation of Misos came across with Nick,” Demetrius said from the couch behind Maelea. “Could she have come with them?”
The babe in Isadora’s belly kicked out at the sound of Demetrius’s voice, as if he too took comfort in the guardian’s presence, and Isadora looked past Maelea and Gryphon toward her mate. Two more months until their son would be born. And hopefully then the permanent worry she saw in Demetrius’s eyes would dim when he realized everything was going to be okay.
She smoothed a hand down her belly to ease both herself and the little one. “I guess she could have. She was at the Misos Colony long enough undetected. The question is, why risk coming all the way to Argolea? And why now? Nick’s downstairs. I think we should include him in this discussion.”
Demetrius pushed his big body off the couch. “I’ll find him.”
He reached for Isadora’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze before heading to the door. And Isadora released a breath of relief as he left. Demetrius’s public displays of affection came easier these days, but the fact he had willingly volunteered to seek out his twin, with whom he’d never had any relationship other than fierce animosity, was the best sign of all.
“Send Titus up here if you see him,” Theron said to Demetrius.
Demetrius nodded and left. When he was gone, Isadora turned her attention back to Theron. “Tell them what you told me.”
On a sigh, Theron rubbed his fingers against his forehead and leaned back in his chair. “When Titus found this female in your room at the colony, Maelea, she was holding a small book. More like a journal. Detailing the lineage of the gods.”
With a confused expression, Maelea glanced toward Gryphon at her side, then back to Theron. “If she was looking for me, that makes sense, since Zeus and Persephone are my parents.”
“Right,” Theron answered, dropping his hand. “But the pages marked in her little book weren’t yours. And they weren’t Prometheus’s.”
“What pages were marked?” Gryphon asked.
“The ones related to Zagreus. Hades’s son.”
Gryphon reached for Maelea’s hand, and Isadora’s own stomach tightened at the fear and hatred she saw flash in his eyes. All the Argonauts knew what a loose cannon Zagreus was. Hades had unleashed his son on the human realm years ago, and though he had a reputation for being as vile and twisted as his father, since he didn’t seem to focus on humans and he generally kept his little world of torture to himself, they left him alone. Going after Zagreus meant starting a war with Hades himself, but now it looked like that might be inevitable.
“You think she’s working for Zagreus?” Gryphon asked.
“It’s possible,” Theron answered. “But more importantly, if she is, and she’s here for Maelea, it means Hades hasn’t given up his search for Persephone’s daughter.”
Maelea’s face paled, and Gryphon wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He drew her close and pressed his lips against her temple. “He won’t get to you, sotiria.”
“And how do you plan to stop him?” she asked on a whisper. “You yourself told me since he’s not an Olympian, he can cross into Argolea, like my mother.”
Theron pushed out of his chair before Gryphon could answer. “No one will get to you. You’re one of us now, and we protect our own.”
The finality in his voice warmed Isadora’s heart, and from the tinge of pink on Maelea’s cheeks, it clearly warmed hers too.
Theron shifted his gaze to Gryphon. “I know you were planning to take her to your place on the coast for an extended holiday after the ceremony, and you both deserve that more than anyone, but for the time being, she’s safer here in the castle where we can protect her.”
“I agree.” Gryphon looked down at Maelea. “Sotiria?”
“I’m okay with that.” She squeezed Gryphon’s hand. “As long as we’re together.”
Footsteps echoed near the open door, drawing attention.
“Demetrius told us to get up here,” Phineus said, stepping into the room with Titus at his heels. “What’s going on? I thought the party was about to start. Man, the council members do not look thrilled with all those Misos downstairs.”
“Yeah, tell me something I don’t already know,” Theron mumbled. “Zander and Cerek can run crowd control for a few minutes.”
He turned his attention toward Titus, whose hazel eyes were as focused as Isadora had ever seen them. As the guardian could read minds, he’d probably already picked up on what was going down. And though she couldn’t be sure, something told Isadora he knew more than he was letting on.
“I need your super spying skills,” Theron said.
Titus’s gaze narrowed. “Why?”
“Because your mystery woman’s back. And this time, she’s not playing games.”
Chapter Three
The sands of time were sifting through the hourglass faster than he liked. And every second he had to sit here waiting for this melding of the minds to begin, the more he had to fight the urge to rip someone’s fucking toenails out one by one.