CHAPTER 10
Ted took a couple of minutes to collect his thoughts while Mikolas stared out the window. Finally, Ted ran a shaky hand through his hair. “What do you mean you were born with a Guardian’s mark? You couldn’t possibly know that. The prophecy doesn’t mention what it looks like.”
“The birthmark on my hip is shaped like a waning moon just like my grandfather’s.” Mikolas didn’t move. “My grandfather is a Guardian, and my grandmother is the Muse of Astronomy.”
The birthmark. Ted had caught a glimpse of it the first time he challenged Mikolas to a racquetball game at the club. Ted rubbed his forehead. “You called me a piece of shit for betraying Trinity, how do you reconcile being part of the Order of the Titans after the gods marked you to be a Guardian to one of his daughters?”
Mikolas spun around. “I did it to protect them.” He sighed, shaking his head slowly. “My grandfather discovered the Order in Greece. Pamela was a member there, too, but she went by Paige back then. My father didn’t bear the Guardian’s mark, but he wanted to help keep his mother safe. He joined the Order to gather information. When he heard about Belkin Oil’s offshore drilling project, he invested heavily, so that if the opportunity arose, I could get involved.”
“Wow.” Ted sat in his chair, digesting the new information. “Have you found her yet, your Muse?”
Mikolas balled his hand into a fist. “I was too late to save my muse, I’m not going to let Pamela take another.”
“How do you know she’s…gone.” Acid bubbled in Ted’s stomach. He’d ordered the enforcer to kill the Muse of Astronomy, and he had helped chain the doors closed before the theater fire that took the life of the Muse of Hymns. He hadn’t murdered them himself, but their was still blood on his hands.
“My grandmother was the Muse of Astronomy…” Mikolas went to the window again.
“Is that how it works? Your family line will always protect the same muse?”
“No one knows for sure.” Mikolas clenched his jaw. “But it makes sense.”
Ted nodded, but he couldn’t help adding, “Have you met the other muses, just to be sure?”
“There’s an idea.” Mikolas scoffed. “I’m sure they’d be thrilled to meet the head of the Order of the Titans.” He rolled his eyes. “No, my best chance to help them now is to stop Pamela and keep the Order from killing more muses.”
“Do you think we can find Rhea before Pamela forces our hand to go after the Muse of Dance?” Ted asked, eager to change the subject.
His gaze was cold, all business. “Kevin was eager to join the Order until we mentioned Philyra, and then he backed off. Something is wrong.”
“He said she can’t be stopped. That only Rhea can take her down.”
“That’s bullshit. I’d bet my life on it.” Mikolas crossed his arms. “There’s got to be another way.”
“What if there isn’t? Maybe that’s why Kevin is hesitant to get involved.” Ted frowned. “If Pamela is walking among us and has been since Kronos was imprisoned, it stands to reason that Kronos’s wife could be in this world, too. We just need to find her.”
“I don’t even know where to start.” Mikolas rubbed his forehead.
Ted kept his distance, waiting for the Greek to come up with a plan, but Mikolas had gone silent, and the silence was weighing on Ted. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for…you know.”
“Killing the Muse of Astronomy?” Mikolas shook his head, his voice gruff. Color flushed the Greek’s face, and his shoulders visibly tensed. “I never met the muse you murdered, but judging by my grandmother’s personality, she was probably the light in every room she entered. It would be impossible to maintain a negative mood around her.” He glared at Ted. “You snuffed out the light of inspiration. I didn’t need to meet her to know she was incredible, but I didn’t find her soon enough to save her from the Order.”
“If I could go back and change things, I would,” Ted said, meaning every word. “I thought that once Kronos was free, all war and famine and drought would end. We wouldn’t need the muses. But I lost sight of the fact that the muses are also women, sisters, friends, lovers. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t. All I can do now is try to keep the rest of them from dying.”
Ted took a chair, staring at his desk to avoid the scorn in Mikolas’s eyes. “I’ll start with trying to find Rhea.”
Mikolas gave a curt nod and went to the door. “Let me know what you find. I’m going to surveil Kevin. He’s hiding something, and I want to know what it is.”
He closed the door behind him, and Ted ran a hand down his face. He didn’t know how he was going to track down the Mother of the Gods, but he was damned sure going to try.
Clio’s phone buzzed, jarring her from her delirious afterglow. Mason had treated her to four of the most incredible orgasms she’d ever had, and now she wasn’t sure if the noodles she called legs would carry her over to her phone.
Mason ran his hand down her back and kissed her shoulder. “Do you need to get that?”
“Probably,” she answered without lifting her head from his chest. “But I’m not sure I can.”
He chuckled. “Want me to get it?”
“Then you’d have to move.”
He nodded. “Unless you’ve got some Jedi powers I don’t know about yet, one of us is going to need to get up if you want to answer.”
“Fine.” She rolled off him. “You get it.”
Mason threw the sheet back and went to get her phone. His naked body was chiseled from hard work, not bulky from the gym, and damn, she wanted him all over again.
He grinned as he came back over and slid into bed. “That smile looks good on you.”
“It’s totally your fault.” She took the phone from him and unlocked the screen.
“Good.” He lay beside her, and she snuggled in close as she read her texts. “Oh shoot.” She groaned. “We need to get over to Callie’s place. Now.”
Mason raised a brow. “Everything okay?”
“I told her you were my Guardian and we should get everyone together for a meeting, but apparently she forgot the part where I mentioned tomorrow, not tonight.” She sat up, combing her fingers through her bedhead hair. “I’ve got texts from Callie, Trinity, and Tera. They’re probably starting to worry.”
They hurried to get ready, but by the time she and Mason got to Callie and Hunter’s house, the rest of her muse sisters and their Guardians were already seated around Callie’s long dining room table. All eyes turned their way. Clio didn’t know who Callie had told and who she hadn’t, so she slipped her hand into Mason’s and cleared her throat.
“Mason is my Guardian,” she announced to the group. She looked up at him, the gleam in his eyes melting her heart. “And most of us are still here because he gets really strong when he needs to, even tearing down metal security doors with just a hammer.”
Nate got up from the table and clapped a hand on Mason’s shoulder. “I had my suspicions. Glad to have you at our table.”
Mason chuckled. “I had no idea my work crew was moonlighting as Guardians for the muses.”
Clio and Mason smiled at each other, then took the last two open chairs at the end of the table. When she looked up, Callie was watching her.
“Are you all right?” Callie asked. “Pamela did a number on you.”
Resting her hand on Mason’s thigh under the table, Clio nodded. “Thankfully, whatever power she has to induce paralysis does wear off eventually, and Mason found me before I drowned. So other than a couple bruises, I’m okay.”
Callie welcomed Mason to the family, and moved on to discuss plans for handling the Pamela threat. While the conversation went on around them, Tera slipped Clio a note.
Told you so.
She glanced at Tera, and the Muse of Dance gave her a little wink. Clio grinned, nudging her.
“Sorry to interrupt, but are we just going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room?” Trinity asked.
Everyone looked over at Clio’s new roommate. Trinity gestured to Mason. “Our contractor here told me and Erica that muses were real. I’d like to know how he knew that before any of us told him.”
Erica ran her fingers over her round belly. “He also knew Pamela was dangerous.”
Oh shit. Clio glanced over at Mason. They hadn’t talked about how much he was comfortable sharing.
He brought one hand down to cover hers. “I’ve known that the muses are reborn each generation since I was small. My older cousin was the Muse of Music…” His grip on Clio’s hand tightened, and his voice got gruff and aggressive. “Pamela drowned her in front of me. Paralyzed her with a wave of her hand, just like she did with Clio.” He shook his head. “As soon as I was old enough to leave home, I began tracking her.”
Clio noticed he didn’t mention his father or anything about being a Lycan, so she hoped to change the course of conversation a little. “He didn’t know about being a Guardian until I told him about the prophecy, but he had already figured out that his strength increased when I was around.”
Trinity bit back a smile. “How did he take the news?”
Clio narrowed her eyes at Trinity and Erica. “Well, someone threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t believe me.” Clio cracked a smile. “Mason took it pretty well.”
Cooper, Lia’s Guardian, smiled at Mason. “Sounds like you handled it well, man. Much better than I did. Did Clio tell you about our gifts?”
Mason glanced at Clio and then back to Cooper. “Not really.”
Cooper tapped his chest. “I can heal Lia, but I needed some help from Apollo when we almost lost Reed.”
“Seriously?” Mason’s eyes widened. “You work with Apollo himself?”
Reed, the firefighter and soon-to-be father of Erica’s baby, grinned, shaking his head. “Coop is also the modest one in the group. I was dead and gone, and Apollo shot into Cooper’s body and brought me back. It almost killed Coop in the process. He’s the hero at the table.”
“Bullshit.” Hunter, a retired Navy SEAL and Callie’s Guardian, punched Reed’s shoulder lightly. “Don’t go all humble on us. You ran into a burning building to pull my ass out. Cooper wouldn’t have had to save you if you’d left me to barbecue.”
Mason raised a brow. “So, Reed is fireproof?”
“I wish.” Reed chuckled. He shook his head, sobering. “Finding Erica made me able to move things with my mind.”
Mason grinned. “No shit.” He laid his cell phone on the table. “Take my phone.”
Clio rolled her eyes, pushing Mason’s phone back. “I forgot to tell you the gift from the gods only works to save a Guardian’s treasure—us.” She gestured to the others. “That’s why your birthmark only burns when I need you.”
“I thought I was going nuts when mine kicked in,” Hunter added. “I can hear the thoughts of anyone who is thinking about Callie. Pretty distracting sometimes, and I’m often tempted to kick many asses.”
Mason smiled at Clio. “I’ve only had eyes for one girl at this table.”
Nate chuckled. “And everyone here knew it.”
“Except the one I had my eye on.” Mason rested his hand at the small of her back, sending a ripple of awareness through her entire body.
Clio’s face flushed with heat. “He was too much of a Southern gentleman for me to notice.”
Erica shook her head, laughing. “Oh, honey, there was nothing subtle about the looks Mason’s been giving you. You just weren’t paying attention.”
Callie cleared her throat. Clio didn’t envy her. Trying to lead a bunch of muses was like herding cats.
“We have to assume Pamela knows Mason is a Guardian now.” Callie tapped her pen on her tablet. “And since Tera and Trinity haven’t found theirs yet, they’re the most vulnerable.”
Clio sighed. “That paralysis thing she’s got going on makes all of us vulnerable.”
“True,” Callie said, “but if you’re right and she just wants to hurt Zeus, then she’d go for the path of least resistance. She probably didn’t know about Mason before and that’s why she went after you.” Callie sighed. “And let’s not forget the warning Apollo gave us when Cooper was under hypnosis. When Belkin’s off-shore oil rig exploded, Kronos broke free from Tartarus. We need to be alert at all times.”
While they all made plans to keep Trinity and Tera from being alone, Clio studied Mason’s profile. His jaw was set, determined, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about his intent to end Pamela on his own. She’d been hoping that bringing him to the table would somehow make him see that he could have some backup. Or maybe Callie could convince him his plan would be his undoing…
But Mason didn’t say a word, and Clio wasn’t sure she could do so without spilling the one thing he asked her to keep between them. He’d already admitted to the group that Pamela had murdered his cousin in front of him, but he didn’t offer up anything more.
She’d never been in a real relationship before so she didn’t know how this worked. Her friends with benefits in college were more about experimentation than mutual trust. There had to be a way to save Mason without betraying him. She just needed to find it.
Mason half expected Clio to blurt out his relation to King Lycaon, but she kept his confidence. They left Callie’s house after Trinity and Tera had finally agreed to travel in groups and to try to have a Guardian with them whenever possible. Although their gifts might not activate since Trinity and Tera weren’t technically their muses, it couldn’t hurt to have a cop, a firefighter, or a Navy SEAL hanging around.
After a pit stop for fast food, Mason took Clio to her new place and walked her inside. Trinity was already at the kitchen table. “Hey, you two.” She had a glass of red wine in front of her, and it was almost empty. “No sense unpacking your boxes, right? You’ll be moving in with Mason soon.”
His gut twisted. His evening with Clio naked in his arms had been better than he could have imagined. Sharing a home and life with someone had never been on his radar.
Until now.
It made knowing what he needed to do that much harder. For so long, his quest to stop Pamela had been his reason for living. He watched Clio sit beside her friend and console her, and for the first time, he realized that his life could be so much more. But Clio would never be safe with Pamela around. He had to see this through.
She’d get her happily-ever-after someday with a guy who didn’t have a curse weighing him down. His hand curled into a fist without his permission.
Okay, so the thought of her with another man wasn’t helping.
“Wait. You did what?” Clio looked up at Mason, and then back at Trinity. “He’s coming here?”
Mason blinked. He’d missed the first part of their conversation. “Who’s coming over?”
Trinity swirled the remaining wine in her glass. “Ted. My first love.” Her gaze met his. “He’s also the son of the previous leader of the Order of the Titans.”
“The group trying to free Kronos?” Mason asked.
Trinity raised her glass. “That’s the one.”
Mason frowned, glancing around the kitchen for something he could use as a weapon. “But he could be the one who wants you dead.”
She put her glass down and poured more wine. “Well, he claims he’s going to stop Pamela now, too. Or at least try.” She took two big swallows from her glass. “It makes me sick to look at him. He chained those doors on the theater.” She shook her head slowly. “I’m the reason he knows our names.” She took another sip. “He followed me to Crystal City, and because of me, Nia and Polly are dead, and you were almost number three. I can’t handle the guilt.”
Mason pulled out a chair, spun it around, and straddled the seat. “Hope you don’t mind me buttin’ in, but I spent the better part of my life blaming myself for my cousin’s death. If I had been a stronger swimmer, maybe I could have saved her, but the truth is, her death is on Pamela’s hands. And this snake, Ted, is responsible for your friends’ deaths. Not you.”
A knock came at the door. Mason tensed. “I’ll get it,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. He got up and went to answer it.
He opened the door to find a tall man with short brown hair in a business suit standing on the doorstep. This had to be the guy—Ted from Belkin Oil.
The man on the porch frowned. “Is Trinity here?”
Mason’s voice was tight, no trace of his usual easygoing drawl. “Are you Ted?”
“Yeah…”
“Just wanted to be sure.” Mason buried a punch in the man’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. Ted crumpled to his knees, and Mason hauled him up, walking him inside to a chair at the kitchen table. He set him down, hard. “That was for the fire, you asshole. If you ever try to hurt these women again, I’ll knock you to tomorrow.”
“I’m not here to hurt them.” Ted looked across the table at Trinity. “I’m trying to save them.”