He rolled his eyes. “You are higher than a—”
“No,” she said forcefully, refusing to let him sway her. “I’m not. Something’s building. Has been building for weeks, since the moment Casey and I united. I can feel it. Only it’s different from before, and I don’t know what it means.”
She stepped forward and pointed to the text she’d copied. “The omega with wings, that’s the symbol for the Horae, and there weren’t two, there were three. Goddesses of balance, half-sisters of the Moirae, or the Fates. Three is a powerful number in science, religion and mythology. The third dimension, the triangle. Beginning, middle and end. The three Fates, the Trinity—”
“You’re suddenly religious?”
She scowled. “The Triad, the three phases of the moon, the three Muses—”
“I thought there were nine.”
“—the three Furies, the three faces of Hekate—”
“Stop.” His humor faded. “Witchcraft is not something to joke about, Isadora.”
Her mouth closed. The green glow was back to his eyes. And the tense line of his shoulders told her she’d just hit on something big. “I’m not joking.”
“Leave well enough alone, Princess.”
“I can’t. The buzzing in my head won’t let me. You know what it means, don’t you? This isn’t just about me and Casey anymore, is it? There’s someone else.”
His jaw flexed. And in the silence she knew she was right. Just as she knew she’d been right to come here. Her adrenaline surged.
“What do you want from me?”
“What are you offering?”
“You…” Her mind spun. “I’ll make sure you live the way you always have.”
He frowned. “Not buying it. If you’d wanted to out me, you’d have done it a long time ago. You’re too softhearted for that and we both know it.”
“Fine. I won’t tell anyone about this little shop. You can go on smuggling materials and people to and from the human realm and no one will be the wiser.”
“No one is the wiser. You saw what I let you see. Try again.”
He had the power to alter perceptions? Wild.
“Gold,” she said quickly.
He harrumphed. “I don’t need your money, Isa. Look around you. This place is a gold mine.”
Glancing around, she realized he was right. “Fine then, what do you want?”
His eyes flashed green one more time. Only this time it wasn’t with malice. It was with heat. The kind that burned into the middle of a female and told her loud and clear what was on an ándras’s mind.
Daemons are impotent. The widely known fact floated in her brain even as her eyes ran over him from head to toe. Only he wasn’t just daemon. He was Argolean too. And if he’d been sired by a daemon after all, it meant that little fact was null and void.
“I think you know what I want,” he said in a low, rough voice.
She swallowed even as her heart hammered against her ribs. “You want me to…to sleep with you.”
“No, Isa,” he said, those burning eyes roaming over every inch of her skin. “I don’t plan to sleep. What I want is your body. Every inch. Mine to do with as I please. Whenever and wherever I choose. For as long as your training lasts.”
“Training?”
He nodded toward her right thigh, where her marking was hidden behind her slacks. “What you’ve got there is more powerful than you or your sister realize. It didn’t end with Atalanta’s immortality. It began. But to tap into its powers, you’ve got to learn how to wield it. You’re right. I can help you. But it’ll cost you.”
Her stomach churned, and an image from the Underworld popped into her brain.
“Don’t look so repulsed, Isadora,” he said with a hint of humor. “Something tells me you may just enjoy it.”
Her body.
It wasn’t really her body anymore, was it? In a matter of days it would belong to Zander. When she passed from this world into the next, it would belong to Hades. In the meantime, shouldn’t she have a say in what she did with it? This was her choice, no one else’s. And if it got her to her ultimate goal, then it was worth it.
Shaping her own destiny and not letting others do it for her was worth her virtue.
She lifted her gaze to his. Didn’t even flinch. “Yes.”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise. He was still leaning against the back counter, and it was obvious from his shocked expression he’d expected a different answer.
“I said yes,” she repeated. “For as long as my training sessions last, my body will be yours. But you will teach me everything, Orpheus. Everything I want to know and more. And if you don’t know it, you’ll find it for me.”
She took his silence for a yes. Turned for the door. “We’ll start the first session tomorrow. I’ll be here at the same time.”
“What about your husband?”
She paused but didn’t turn.
“Yes, Isa,” he said. “Even I know you’re to be bound to the Argonaut Zander. Word spreads all the way out here, virgin.”
She turned slowly and met his gaze. Level, cold, as hard as the one he was giving her. “Zander is injured. I’m fairly certain the binding ceremony will be postponed. Which means we have time to get started before then.”
“And your virtue?”
“Is mine to do with as I please.”
He whistled low. “Hubby’s not gonna be pleased to find out you broke the seal without him.”
Her jaw clenched. “Then he’ll just have to get used to living with disappointment. I sure have.”
She headed for the door.
“Isadora,” he called, this time in a softer voice.
She hesitated with one hand on the doorknob.
“There are severe consequences for adultery in this culture. Especially for a female of the monarchy. Are you sure you want to do this?”
She thought of the females who had been punished. Though many thought the archaic chastisements of the past were over, Isadora knew the Council was pushing to have them reinstated. Orpheus was right. They would come down hard on her if she was caught in a compromising position, but not on him. Males had always gotten off scot-free. Until she could rule and set things right, their…relationship…could be deadly. Especially for her.
The marking on her inner thigh tingled. No, it was still worth it. She’d rather die at the hands of the Council than never take a chance on something she knew in her soul could change the shape of her future.
She pulled the door open with one hand and lifted the cloak’s hood over her head with the other. Renewed determination flowed through her veins like sweet, rich wine. “I’ll see you here tomorrow night, Orpheus. Don’t keep me waiting.”
Chapter Ten
Someone was singing. And it definitely wasn’t him, because he couldn’t carry a tune for shit.
The sound was sweet to Zander’s ears, the voice relaxing. He didn’t recognize the song, couldn’t really make out the words, but he didn’t care. It sounded much too good just the way it was, even jumbled and muffled to hell and back. Something brushed his forehead. A hand? Then his shoulder, now his hip. Soft fingers moved to his leg. He breathed deep and relaxed further, listening to the velvety sounds of the voice as it grew stronger, clearer, and felt the silky smooth hand running over his skin.
His leg…
His eyes flew open. He could feel his leg. Only…shit…why was everything black?