Before the dawn’s first rays crossed Halcyon’s valley, Nazrin was at the stables, saddling Xanthos. Despite the anxiety eating away at his gut, he was determined to fulfill his mate’s wishes. To woo her, without touching her.
By the gods, so long as Essa remained at Halcyon, he’d give her every reason to stay. Beginning with her amulet. He’d placed a note beside their bed, asking her to join him in its retrieval.
He mounted his steed and clicked his tongue, coaxing the beast to join the others. “Nay,” he growled the second he spotted Essa, poised atop her own horse.
“Yes,” she countered, dismissing him and leading her mare around his group of men, toward the road. “Are you coming, or shall I battle the beast myself?”
Gaven’s easy laughter bellowed to his right.
Nazrin scowled and pulled up alongside Essa. “You should ride with me.”
“No, thank you.”
“Please ride with me?” he dragged out the words through gritted teeth.
Essa’s laughter chimed. “No.”
“If you desired a mare, you should have asked me. I would have sent for Xanthos’s mate.”
His statement did give her pause—her shoulders tensed at his reminder. Essa was his mate. She shook her head at him, steered her mare to Xanthos’s head, and patted his neck. “Good boy. Now, who’s this filly? She must be something to have caught the eye of such a magnificent stallion like you.”
Nazrin swore the beast blushed. “Llamrei is a rare white beauty—one of the Hippoi Monokerata, unicorns. She’s his true mate, his complement.” He lowered his voice. “Though she far outshines him in every virtue.”
“Essa.” Gaven’s horse shoved between them. “Allow me to accompany you. I shall acquaint you with the details of our mission.”
Gaven sent the words Trust me, into Nazrin’s mind.
Striving to do so, he coaxed Xanthos forward.
For several hours, Nazrin led the way, followed by Gaven and Essa, who rode together. The other four recruits guarded the rear. They made their journey northward, through dense forests. Thick green moss overtook the enormous trees and the rocky sides of the cliffs surrounding them. The horses’ hooves fell silent on the packed dirt paths.
“What do you know of the cyclopes?” Gaven asked Essa.
“Not much. They’re huge monsters with one eye,” she offered.
“The myths proclaim they’re primordial giants, born of the Titans Uranus, the Sky, and Gaia, the Earth,” Gaven recited. He had a penchant for such histories. “They’re famous for their forging abilities, having created Zeus’s thunderbolt, Poseidon’s trident, and Hades’s helmet of invisibility. The creature spotted with your amulet is one of their descendants. With varying degrees of success, they bred with other monsters and sometimes with humans. We’re uncertain of what powers this one may possess. The cyclopes themselves are formidable opponents, and in possession of irascible temperaments. In addition to their great size and strength, they are unpredictable.” He shrugged. “In short, we aren’t sure exactly what we’ll encounter. But best be prepared for the worst.”
***
Essa rode alongside Gaven, listening intently to his tales. Though she’d never ridden a horse by herself, the mare followed the other horses and proved easy to guide. Besides, distance between herself and Nazrin would be imperative, especially beneath Apollo’s ever-watchful eye. Did her god know that she had a mate among the enemy?
Apollo’s rays rested on her, a reminder of her duty, but… With Nazrin’s revelations, her footing had slipped on the precipitous edge of her faith, and now, she dangled by the mere tips of her fingers. She hadn’t determined enough to be certain that either Hades or Apollo deserved her fealty.
Gaven cleared his throat, evidently finishing his narrative. She jolted, smiling weakly and hoping he hadn’t realized she’d drifted off in her own musings. Now would be a good time to distract them both. “How old are you, Gaven?” He appeared a year or two younger than Nazrin.
With sly grin, he leaned forward, resting his elbow on his horse’s neck. “I turned one hundred a couple of months ago. Aedre hasn’t ceased pestering me yet.” He laughed. His demeanor was so light and relaxed. Anyone would lower his or her guard around him.
“How did you meet her?”
“About twenty years ago, I took an arrow in the shoulder.” He peeled aside his shirt, revealing a faded patch of scarred skin.
She recalled the times she’d drunk in Nazrin’s flawless body with a thirsty gaze. Why didn’t he have any scars?
Gaven continued, “Like any young man, I was foolish and arrogant, assuming the wound would heal itself. Of course, it festered and I suffered from a delirious fever. Aedre healed me.” He smiled tenderly at the memory. “Afterward, I swore she would be mine. I pursued her until she agreed to be my wife, and my mate.” His chest puffed in pride as he displayed his bonding mark. The thin black band around his upper bicep bound him to Aedre. A mark of utter devotion to his mate.
Would Nazrin one day carry such a mark for her? Why didn’t he now?
Just because he declared her his mate didn’t mean that she had to consent. The path of Pythia still loomed before her. Dear gods. How could Cassandra have omitted this? With her powers of foresight, surely, her aunt must be aware.
What future did Nazrin intend for them? Didn’t he perceive she had other plans?
A future that did not, could not, include him.
Unless his warning about Apollo rang true.
She studied Nazrin, sighed, and then frowned. Once again, they’d venture into battle together. Once again, she wore no armor and only that dagger. Why? The two brothers sported identical attire. Each wore a bronze bell cuirass with a brown tunic underneath. Long blue cloaks, decorated with geometrical designs, flowed over their graceful bodies. Their mid-calf leather boots laced up the front with flaps hanging from the tops.
“Ah, do you like it?” Gaven caught her inspection and twisted to display his attire. “It’s Thracian armor, fifth century. This is called a romphaia.” From his side, he unsheathed a long, two-handed iron sword. “An exceptional weapon, able to sever a man’s limb in one blow—trust me, I know.” He winked as she gaped at him.
Essa observed the others. The four recruits each wore tunics with breastplates overtop, and carried long swords and round shields. However, she dressed in the plain camp clothing. Despite her training session with the other Water Borne, none of them accompanied Nazrin’s men on this excursion. She shrugged and concluded they mustn’t be accomplished enough.
A few moments later, they stopped to rest the horses and she slid under the shade of an olive tree.
“You’re not like most of the noble ladies I’ve met, my own sisters included.” Gaven plopped beside her, munching on a chunk of bread. “Tell me about your childhood, Essa.”
Hidden from Apollo’s rays, she answered truthfully, “My mother passed in childbirth. My aunt raised me, away from my father. I’ve trained my whole life to assume the role of Apollo’s Pythia, after my aunt’s servitude comes to an end.” A human Pythia served a term of twenty-four rotations of the sun. Cassandra had served twenty-three.
She peered past Gaven, focusing on Nazrin, who perched on a rock with his back to them. His body shifted and stiffened. He was listening.
Gaven grunted, regarding Nazrin. Did he pity his brother’s plight? “Someday you should accompany my family to the Windstone Mountains. They’re lovely in the summertime.”
“Thank you, but as the Pythia, I’ll renounce all earthly ties.” Still, the mention of his family piqued her curiosity. “Your armor is Thracian. Isn’t that where your parents live? In Thrace?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “Yes, though many years have passed since I’ve returned home.”
“Why?”
Sighing, he dropped his hand from his neck. “Let’s just say they don’t approve of my chosen associations.”
“Do you mean Aedre and Amaya?” His bonding? A recollection tingled in the back of her mind. They are devoid of love, her aunt’s voice echoed. Wind Borne rarely took mates.
How odd for Nazrin to claim she was his. Perhaps, he was mistaken. She frowned at the sudden pang in her chest.
“Aye.” He shrugged. “Then again, I was never Father’s favorite, so it matters not.” She was about to ask who was Lord Zephyrus’s favored child but she caught the quick glance Gaven sent in his brother’s direction and the almost imperceptible tensing of Nazrin’s shoulders.
Odd. Nazrin had never spoken fondly of his parents.
***
As night fell, they stopped to make camp. After they unsaddled the horses, Nazrin’s men set about making preparations. Everyone seemed to grasp their tasks. Essa leaned against her mare and watched the camp. A large fire blazed in the center of a clearing. She sensed a stream nearby—fresh and to the north. The trees were thick and dark, providing a canopy so that little of the night sky was visible. Men arranged their sleeping furs around the campfire.
One of the men passed around rations, and she was impressed at how organized and methodical they were. As commander, Nazrin was nothing if not precise. She huddled beside the fire and listened to the men reciting tales of long-ago wars. The atmosphere was relaxed, although a bolt of excitement buzzed through the air. These were warriors and it had been too long since their last conquest.
After a while, she rose and stretched. “I’m going to go check on my horse and after, I shall retire,” she told Gaven—and subsequently, everyone in the camp. She was, after all, surrounded by males with oversized egos and superior hearing.
She plucked her second act of defiance out of her saddlebag. The thick cloak Nazrin gave her that night on the Cliff would keep her warm through the night, and out of his arms.
He glowered at the fur, and she sensed that if the animal weren’t already deceased, his burning scrutiny would have done the job. She snatched her cloak and settled on the far side of the campfire, away from the men.
As she lay awake gazing at the twinkling stars above her, a suspicion nagged at her. If she was Nazrin’s mate, had the Fates carved a different path for her? If so, why had Cassandra and Apollo never spoken of it?
Their omission disturbed her more than she liked to admit.
***
In the early morning light, Nazrin crouched beside the stream, cupped his hands in the cool water, and splashed his face. The flowing water was shallow, a few inches deep, but it served his purposes just fine. And the canopy of thick leaves kept him shaded from Apollo’s view.
Damn the sun god.
He stilled as Essa approached. She hunched beside him, washing her hands and face as well.
Grumbling, he tugged the leather thong from his hair and combed through his locks with his fingers. One snagged on a tangle and he cursed.
Her laughter twinkled at him. Rising, she removed a brush from her skirt’s deep pocket. “Here, allow me.” She reached for his hair, but he ducked away with a low snarl. “Oh, come now,” she clucked. “Hold still.”
Poised behind him, in between his wings, she gathered a handful of his locks and swept through them. His feathers tingled with awareness and his blood heated. She spent longer than was required, letting his hair run through her fingers while sighing in approval.
He wanted more of those moans.
Shooting out his hand, he wrapped it around hers and the brush. He stood and lured her to him. Then he circled her, the prey he stalked, and stopped behind her, his body inches from hers. “What can I do to convince you to stay with me?” He tried to hide the desperate tone in his voice, but he feared it came through nonetheless.
She tilted her head to the side and whispered, “Why do you claim I’m your mate? It’s not common for your race.”
“Nay, it’s not,” he agreed, stroking his fingertips along her arms. He exhaled and answered the truth. “The Fates grant bonded mates how and when they please.” Pressing his lips to her hair, he murmured, “You are mine.”
She whimpered as he placed his hands on her waist, the strength of his erection irrefutable against the small of her back. He feathered his lips along her neck, and purred, “When the beast inside me claims you, it will be like this.”
Ever the siren, she mewled and leaned back, her lush bottom tempting him.
Growling, he gripped her hips and held her steady. “Essa, I’ve waited an eternity for you. I’d do anything you asked of me. I’m at your command.”
“What if I asked you to join Apollo?”
He peeled his hands from her, clenching them. Blood pooled in his palms where his talons cut into them. “You have no idea of what you ask.”
Her glare flicked to his crimson fists before lifting to his face. “You have no idea what you ask of me.”
Tensed, he swallowed that bitter truth. “Let’s fetch your amulet, then.”
“Why? I assumed we’d moved beyond these games, Nazrin.”
Scowling, he snared her arm and led her away. “Because you bloody well want it.”
***
They rode their horses hard and fast, until darkness crept along the horizon. Dusk had fallen as they neared the creature’s lair. The cyclops lived in a cavern nestled into the side of a hill. Nazrin’s men obeyed his silent orders and blended into the dark with the stealth of shadows.
“Do not leave my side. Not even for a second; no matter what,” he commanded Essa, and she nodded her compliance.
Nazrin crept into the entrance, Essa on his heel. A narrow winding tunnel with cool stone walls led them into a luminous cavern. He tilted his head to check the ceiling. At least a hundred feet. Surveying, he appraised the rest of the room. A hole in the ceiling allowed the smoke from the hearth to escape. The few pieces of furniture carved from wood and stone were arranged within the living space. A fire and numerous candles lit the chamber. He sniffed and caught the scent of stew simmering over the fire.
This wasn’t what he’d anticipated.
However, there he was, the filth-covered beast from the shore. The cyclops reclined on the sofa, his legs crossed and feet propped on the low table.
Nazrin sent a quick order to his men to surround the creature.
Gaven rushed him, leapt atop the beast, and crashed him to the ground.
The cyclops roared in shock and anger, but his men were quick. They soon had him bound and gagged, despite his attempts to lash out. Nazrin approached him out of the darkness, ordering Essa to stay hidden. He strode with an air of command and cool hostility in his step. His wings twisted black and his talons were drawn, ready for battle. Beneath the hold of his men, the cyclops trembled.
Aye, this beast was right to fear him.
***
This wasn’t right. In the shadows, Essa shuffled her feet. The cyclops stopped fighting back. A flash of desperation crossed his face as his gaze shot to her right. No exit that way.
What was so important that he’d submit without a fight? The creatures Gaven described were ravenous in their rage, battling to the bitter end.
Why didn’t this one?
She slipped behind Nazrin, who was too focused on interrogating the creature to notice. Essa trailed her fingers along the cold stone of the wall until it transitioned into wood. A door. She pushed it open and gaped at the sight within.
Everything made sense—the neatly arranged room, supper cooking on the fire, and the creature’s lack of struggle. A female version of the cyclops whimpered, huddling in the corner and clutching a bundle. Essa detected a muted cry. A babe.
Her jaw dropped. Oh, gods, no, not a babe. The male was protecting his family. How terrified they must be.
Nazrin, join me. You must see this, she pressed into his mind. He was at her side in an instant. Violence dripped from him, but she didn’t fear his menacing countenance. Nazrin would never harm an innocent.
He paused, observing the cyclops’s family, before sprinting to the main room. She raced after him.
“Stop,” he ordered his men.
Horror twisted the cyclops’s features.
Essa had to intervene. She sensed the creature would unhinge if he feared for his family. Treading to him, she extended a placating hand. “Forgive us. We didn’t know about your family. I swear they’ll come to no harm.” Distrust flickered in his russet eyes. “I’m going to free you, but could I ask you a question first?”
The men grumbled protests, but Nazrin cut them off. “Let her speak.”
She smiled at him, thankful for the chance. “Pray pardon us if we frightened you.” Essa crouched to his level. “We’re here because you have something of mine. An amulet.”
The cyclops blinked.
“The amulet belonged to my mother. She died and it’s all I possess of her.”
A hint of sympathy warmed his eyes. Then it was gone.
“I’d like to make you an offer, an exchange if you will. Name your price and these men will pay it. I give you my word,” she added, noting the deep furrow in his brow.
It would take more. Before anyone guessed what she was going to do, she unsheathed the dagger from her thigh and cut loose his bonds.
“Essa, nay,” Nazrin shouted.
It was too late.
The creature grabbed her about the waist and grew. His form expanded until he was at least twenty feet tall. Massive and monstrous, indeed. Two eyes merged into one. His enormous claw-tipped fingers held her tight. Panic clawed at her chest. Breathe and think. She squirmed to glimpse Nazrin. He crouched as if to launch himself at the cyclops, sword in hand.
“Wait,” she wheezed, her chest constricted by the beast’s hand. “He won’t hurt me.”
Face to face with its gigantic, hideous eye, she fought the urge to flinch. No lashes rimmed the muddy russet orb and its dilated pupil expanded as it focused on her.
The beast beamed at her with a mouth full of yellowed pointed teeth. His other hand stretched toward a chandelier hanging from a ridge in the ceiling of the cavern. An object glinted as he removed it. “Found it in a fish,” he grunted. “Too pretty to sell. They’d claim I’d stolen it.”
The cyclops placed the amulet in Essa’s hand. A wave of gratitude flowed through her and she kissed the creature’s smudged cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He rewarded her with a deep red blush and set her on the floor. Nazrin flashed to her side, possessively shifting her behind him.
She shoved at him to reassure the cyclops, but Nazrin remained impassable, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him back instead. “A deal’s a deal. Name your price.”
The creature shuddered and shrank to its original size.
“Work.” His gruff, low-toned plea was full of desperation and hope.
“Work?”
Nazrin’s muscles relaxed beneath her grip. “The cyclops wishes to support his family, yet he has been unable to secure any permanent occupation. Descendants like his breed find it hard to blend into the human world.” He shifted his focus to his brother. “Gaven, arrange something for him.” Then he steered her toward the entrance.
“Wait.” She gripped the amulet in her hands, overwhelmed with gratitude. “We must compensate him also.”
Nazrin nodded to Gaven, who withdrew a sachet brimming with gold coins and placed it on the table.
She smiled at the cyclops and waved farewell. Her fingers curled tighter around the amulet.
Outside, night coated the world in its blanket of darkness. Her pulse pounded in her veins with each shallow breath she drew in. Nazrin had kept his promise to retrieve the amulet for her.
Because you bloody well want it.
Her heart squeezed inside her chest at his masculine declaration. He’d done exactly what she’d asked of him. Was this what having a bonded male would be like? Someone who’d always place her needs above his own? She swallowed against the increasing tightness in her throat. She’d never been permitted desires. As the next Pythia, she’d been trained to serve others and not herself.
Essa studied the necklace in her hand, then the male in front of her. The male who claimed she belonged with him. The male she just might be falling in love with.
And the one she might soon forsake.