Marked (28 page)

Casey came awake in a rush. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was sky. Crystal blue and as clear as a mountain lake.

So this is what heaven looks like.

She took a deep breath, then another. And, surprisingly, discovered she felt better. No longer tired or weak, but strong. In both body and mind.

Wow. Okay. So far, heaven’s not so bad.

She turned her head to the side, and that’s when things got weird. Isadora was crawling toward her across the hard ground.

No, no, no. They weren’t both supposed to die. It was just supposed to be her.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be back there. You’re—”

“It’s okay, Casey.” Gently, Isadora brushed dirt from her hair. “Can you move?”

“Move?” She pushed up to her elbows. “Um. No. I mean, yeah, I…” Her words trailed off as she took her first look around. And discovered she was still in the center of the Stone Circle. Hades and Persephone were standing off to the side. Beyond Hades’s invisible shield, a group of superbuff men who could only be the famed Argonauts stood in stunned disbelief.

“Whoa.” Casey reached a shaky hand up to her head. “That was a little trippy.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Isadora mumbled.

Dazed, Casey searched the group for Theron and had a moment of panic when she didn’t see him. Then her heart
lurched when she caught sight of him on his knees at the edge of the group, partially hidden behind Hades, staring in wonder, just like the rest.

Isadora pushed to her feet and whipped toward the gods. “What was that?”

“Dumb luck,” Hades replied with a click of his tongue. “Looks like you were both stronger than I thought.”

That got Casey’s attention. Feeling at a disadvantage still plopped on the ground, she stood and brushed the dirt from her pants. “I don’t understand. That means the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled, right?”

“Wait for it,” Hades said, holding up a finger.

Isadora and Casey exchanged puzzled glances. The Argonauts on the edge of the circle spoke in muffled voices. And then it happened.

A roar blasted up from the bowels of hell and shook the kingdom with such ferocity, it had to have registered at least 9.0 on the Richter scale.

Casey fell into Isadora, and the two sisters clung to each other as the shaking went on. When it finally ended, long seconds later, Hades’s cryptic laughter filled the void left behind.

“What was that?” Casey asked, wide-eyed.

“That,” Hades said with a smug grin, as he wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist, “was one very pissed-off female.”

“Atalanta,” Isadora said.

“Yup,” the god replied. “I’m sure it sucks royally to be mortal again.”

Casey and Isadora looked at each other, and almost as if they could read each other’s thoughts, Casey said, “I thought one of us was supposed to…you know.”

“In order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, that bitch Atalanta had to make sure the perfect Argolean was never created,” Persephone supplied. “One-half human strength. One-half god strength. Doesn’t matter what the bloodline is, or the power, but the purity in the soul.
Mortal yet immortal. One-half of each whole occurs in every generation, but because Atalanta’s daemons have been scouring the world for them, they’ve never come together.”

“Until now,” Hades finished. “The prophecy never actually stated one of you would live and one would die. Only that the strongest would survive.”

“Then you did lie to me,” Isadora said. “You convinced me to barter my soul to make sure she was safe, even when you knew she would survive.”

“
Lie
is such a strong word,” Hades said. “I didn’t actually know she would live. For the record though, little queen, you amused me. I was curious just how far you’d go to save a sister you’d never met.”

Isadora’s eyes narrowed to thin slits. “I’d say pretty fucking far, wouldn’t you?”

Hades barked out a laugh and glanced at his wife. “I think she’ll make a much better queen than either of us expected.”

“Hm,” Persephone said, looking down her nose at Isadora. “Time will tell, I suppose.”

Feeling ten yards behind everyone else, Casey held up a hand. “Hold on. I still don’t understand—”

Hades’s eyes flashed, and Casey snapped her mouth closed. She sensed his patience was at a breaking point, and after what she’d just seen, she really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath. “I really loathe that ‘I don’t understand’ phrase of yours. Let me make it crystal clear so I can get out of this shit hole and back to my realm. Your sister still owes me her soul. There will come a day when she will be mine.” He shot Isadora a wicked glance that traveled up and down her slim body.

That earned him a smack to the back of his head from Persephone. He turned to the goddess with blazing eyes. “Do that one more time, and I swear—”

His wife smiled. “Promises, promises.”

His eyes flickered with an erotic light. “Guaranteed.”

Persephone looked back to Casey and Isadora. “What my husband is trying to tell you is that, assuming neither of you fall off a cliff or get hit by a stupid car, you’ll both live to be very old Argoleans.”

Casey gasped as her knees gave out. “Five hundred years?”

Persephone shrugged. “Or so.”

Thankfully, Isadora was right there to catch her.

“But Isadora—”

“Is fine,” Isadora finished for her quickly. “I’ll be fine. What about Atalanta?”

Persephone grinned. “Atalanta is once again mortal. She and her band of daemons were expelled from the Underworld with that little hissy fit you heard earlier.”

“And that’s it?” Casey asked. It couldn’t be. Not totally. They’d both live, but Isadora was going to be condemned to Tartarus for all eternity? That wasn’t right. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.

Hades’s dark eyes grew gravely serious. So much so, a chill slid down Casey’s spine, and she knew better than to ask for anything more. “No, that’s not it, human. Atalanta can’t recruit any new souls to her daemon army, but she’s well stocked. And with her god powers, she’s possibly an even greater threat now than she was as an immortal. Especially now that she can cross the portal again. Once she’s able to regroup, she’ll be gunning for you and every other Argolean she can find…in this realm and the human one. And that’s some entertainment I can’t wait to watch.”

“The Misos still aren’t safe,” Casey whispered, thinking of everyone back at the colony as his words sank in.

“Still as vulnerable as you now are. Cool, isn’t it? Oh, and there’s one more thing.” A ghost of a smile played at the corner of Hades’s mouth as he tipped his head and focused on Isadora. “Now that Atalanta’s daemons aren’t paying me the souls of their kills? And now that they aren’t getting their energy and power from Tartarus?
They still have to feed. Humans are fair game. And way more accessible than the Misos.”

Sickness churned in Casey’s stomach. She thought of those beasts and what they could do. The expression on Isadora’s face mirrored her own.

Looking smug, Hades glanced at Persephone. “Well, my love, I think we’ve done about as much damage here as possible, wouldn’t you say?”

“I would.” Persephone put her hand in her husband’s.

“Wait.” Casey said. “Why did you do this? Why did you bring me here? Surely you don’t care if the Argoleans are able to defeat Atalanta.”

Hades tipped his head. “There’s only one immortal ruler of the Underworld, and that’s me. And the payment…” he added, glancing at Isadora again. “Well, the payment was well worth the effort on my end.”

That look, the one of rank hunger and the promise of torture yet to come, sent Casey’s skin prickling, and she reached out to Isadora, closing her fingers in her sister’s hand tight while she kept her eyes locked on Hades.

“There is one other minor element you might want to watch out for,” Persephone added smugly. “You and your sister are joined because you are the Chosen. Don’t get too far away from each other for too long. Bad things will happen.”

Hades looked up and around, obviously bored. “That’s all the time we have for this little drama. The wife and I have some unfinished business before the wicked bitch of the west comes back to claim her.”

“Hades,” Persephone warned.

Hades chuckled and drew her close. “Come, daughter of the bitch.”

Persephone smiled over her shoulder as Hades pulled her in for a kiss. “Don’t forget our deal, little queen. One month.” And with that, both she and Hades disappeared.

“One month for what?” Casey asked, looking toward Isadora when they were alone.

Isadora’s face was pale, and she didn’t meet Casey’s eyes. “Nothing. Look, Hades’s force field is gone.”

Casey glanced up. The Argonauts and one strikingly gorgeous woman were slowly stepping into the circle and walking toward them. All of the guardians were brawny and built, and each one was even more gorgeous than the next. Real-life heroes. Two weeks ago, Casey never would have believed such a man was possible, and here she stood surrounded by an entire group. The woman, she quickly learned as she introduced herself, was the king’s personal doctor. Summoned, Casey suspected, to take care of Isadora in the aftermath.

Isadora introduced each to Casey, but Casey barely caught their names as she shook hands and smiled. Because she was looking for Theron in the group. And he was nowhere to be seen.

“Nice view, isn’t it?”

Casey turned from the window outside her father’s suite and dropped her arms. “Stunning.”

Isadora gestured toward the Aegis Mountains in the distance. “Better view from up there if you ever feel like a hike.”

“I know. Hades showed me.”

Isadora’s smile faded at the mere mention of the god’s name. Today the soon-to-be queen wore a long peach gown with a straight bodice and elbow-length ballet sleeves. Her blonde hair spilled down her back in waves, and she looked regal and grand and very much the princess she was, though Casey wasn’t clear why her sister had to dress the part even in private.

But there was something very sad about her. For a while, Casey had convinced herself it was Hades’s contract on her soul weighing heavily on Isadora’s shoulders. But the more she got to know her sister, the more Casey was convinced there was something more going on. The troubled look in her sister’s eyes had something to do with what had happened when Isadora had been in Tartarus. Casey had asked, of course. But Isadora had never uttered a single word about what had gone on there. And from the looks of it, she never would.

Casey heaved out a sigh. And told herself,
In time
. She was still learning a lot—and there was always more to learn—about Argolean customs and royal workings and just what place she had here. More often than not she was overwhelmed and a little homesick, but one thing they’d
quickly learned was just how tightly she and Isadora were bound. If one got too far away for too long, the same symptoms they’d each experienced before came back. They’d yet to push the boundaries, and each was curious to see how far and how long they could be separated, but they had time for all that. Like five hundred years’ time.

And five hundred years was plenty of time to figure out what had happened to Isadora, and how they were going to break Hades’s bloody contract.

She looked back out the cathedral windows over the parapet to the city below and watched as a woman—a
gynaíka
—stepped out of a shop door, stopped on the sidewalk, then disappeared into thin air.

Okay, now
that
was something else Casey was having trouble getting used to. Here in Argolea, cars and other forms of transportation weren’t needed, because the people all had the ability to poof from place to place like
Star Trek
characters being beamed around. Isadora had explained it was a gift from the gods, a benefit of living here as opposed to on Earth, but that there were still limitations. You had to be outside to flash, and walls and structures created barriers that were impenetrable, but it sure made moving from one end of the city to the other quick and easy. And really, it was pretty cool. Casey, of course, had inquired if this was an ability she’d soon develop and was told it was possible, due to her lineage, but so far, no go.

Just another disappointment in a long line of disappointments throughout her life. Her very
long
life.

“How was he today?” Isadora asked, clasping her hands behind her back and pulling Casey from her melancholy thoughts.

“He’s fine,” Casey said, not dwelling on what she still didn’t know. Since the king was dying, she was making an effort to learn as much as she could before his time was up. But it wasn’t easy. Especially when the old king talked to her as if she were Isadora and drifted off to sleep
in the middle of their conversations. “Sleeping now. He asked me when the wedding will be.”

Isadora harrumphed because she knew the king was mixing them up all the time lately, even though they looked nothing alike. Where Isadora was petite and blonde and beautiful, Casey was tall and dark and…not. “You told him never, I hope.”

“I’m not sure what to tell him.” Okay, now
that
sounded like she was having a pity party, didn’t it?
Snap out of it.

“Casey,” Isadora said softly. “Theron’s not going to marry me. He never wanted to.”

Casey’s heart pinched. She hadn’t seen the Argonaut in two weeks. The one who’d turned her world upside down, then vanished into thin air even before Hades and Persephone had disappeared.

She’d been trying not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to. Maybe he hadn’t cared for her the way she’d thought. Maybe the connection they’d shared had been all in her head. Maybe Hades was wrong and she wasn’t his soul mate after all.

Isadora shook back her long hair. “He only agreed to the marriage because my father—
our
father—thought it was the only way to keep the Council off my back. That’s not an issue anymore. I’m not afraid to stand up to them. I faced down a god already. Two, actually.”

Casey looked down at her hands and vowed they’d face him down again. “That’s true, you did.”

Isadora pressed a hand to her stomach. “Don’t tell anyone, but I was quaking the entire time.”

“Doesn’t matter. You did it. How many Argonauts can say they did that?”

“One.”

At Isadora’s word, Casey’s head came up. She looked back out the window.

“You know,” Isadora said, “rumor has it he would have ripped Hades to pieces to protect you.”

Casey frowned. “The Argonauts are a bunch of Chatty
Cathys. None of them was there. They don’t know what happened.”

“Chatty Cathy.” Humor lit Isadora’s voice, but she didn’t smile. Not once in the past two weeks had Casey seen her smile. “I like that one. I’m going to use it.” That humor faded. “But you know what happened, don’t you.”

Yeah, Casey knew. It was all she thought about whenever she was alone. Because she wanted to read so much more into what Theron had done—or been willing to do for her. But if that was the case, then where was he?

“He never loved me,” Isadora added quietly. “I was nothing more than another duty he was fulfilling. You…you’re his soul mate.”

Casey looked at her sister. “How do you know for sure?”

“Because guilt is the only thing that could keep him away. Guilt for having lied to you. For bringing you here. For thinking he could do his job and not see you as a consequence. Otherwise he’d be here right now, planning war strategy with Cerek and Zander. If there was only one word to describe Theron, it would be
loyal
. He’s loyal without fault to the people he loves. And he knows he let you down.”

Casey watched a bird sweep across the sky. She could think of a lot of words to describe Theron—
hot, sexy, overwhelming
and
generous
. But Isadora was right. Loyalty ruled him. After having that foundation crack, it made sense he’d be shaken now.

“What if he doesn’t come back?”

Isadora pursed her lips. “I’ve been thinking about that. And I have an idea. If you’re up for it, that is. It’s a little sneaky.”

“You know where he is?”

Isadora nodded. “As of yesterday, at least. Orpheus got a message from someone named Niko in the Misos colony. It seems they’ve got an interesting new colonist helping rebuild what was damaged in their recent daemon
attack. Only he’s not Misos. According to Orpheus, he’s way too big and strong.”

Casey’s heart kicked up to the beat of a marching band. He’d gone back to the colony? To a place where everyone despised him?

Her heart filled. Of course he had. That would be his way of making amends. He’d gone to help them rebuild and start over.
Her people.
He’d gone to protect what was hers.

“The only problem is,” Isadora said, “no one knows where the colony is.”

Casey turned slowly toward her sister. “I do.”

“I thought you might.”

Theron swung the hammer with more force than necessary. The nail shot through wood and flew out the other side. Swearing at himself and the hole he’d created, he reached for another nail from the pouch in the tool belt around his waist and gently tapped it into place. Damn aluminum nails here in the human world. If it were up to him, he’d be using iron. Or fucking steel.

“You look like you need a break, hero,” Nick said from across the room. He smacked a nail into place on the wall they were rebuilding and ran a forearm over his sweaty brow. “Water’s in the kitchen.”

“I don’t want water,” Theron grumbled, gently tapping another nail as if it were an egg.

“I didn’t
ask
you if you wanted water,” Nick said. “Gitcha ass in there anyway. You’re surly as a bear and I want five minutes peace from you.”

Theron shot him a droll look, narrowed his eyes in challenge and dropped the hammer into the toolbox at his feet.

Nick sent him a sour grin and went back to work.

When Theron first arrived at the colony and offered to pitch in on the reconstruction, Nick had been more than a little surprised. He’d never asked why Theron was there, and he’d never inquired about Acacia. Theron figured
that meant the half-breed either already knew what had happened or he was taking pity on him.

That last thought didn’t sit well with Theron, but it was the only thing that kept him from picking the half-breed up and tossing him out one of the hidden windows in the rock wall that looked down to the canyon below. “I’m not getting you one,” he muttered. “You can get your own damn water.”

“Hallelujah,” Nick said as Theron headed out of the room. “Some twisted god up there took pity on my soul after all.”

Theron flipped him the bird—a gesture he’d learned hanging around with the Misos—before he rounded the corner.

But there was no heat in the exchange, and as he walked down the hall toward the kitchen at the back of the lodge, he felt a strange sort of communion with the half-breed. He was still cautious around the man, because there was something just not right about Nick. But the scarred leader of the colony was growing on him. It took balls to stand up to a hero—especially one of Heracles’s line. Nick had done it without a second thought from the very start.

A pot of soup simmered on the stove, but Theron ignored it. As he pulled open the refrigerator and looked for a chilled bottle of water, he again tried to figure out what Nick’s connection was to Argolea. And just as it did whenever he thought of home, an image of Acacia lying in his bed, naked and spent from the best sex of his life, flashed through his mind.

His chest contracted as that familiar urge to go to her tightened his muscles. But he ignored it. Fought the desire from the inside out. The look on her face when Hades had told her the truth—the look of total betrayal—haunted him. Even now. Because that betrayal had been real. And there was no way he could ever forgive himself for it.

“Something smells good.”

He jerked at the sound of her voice, spilling water down the front of his shirt and onto his jeans. Sure he had to be imagining things, he turned slowly and stared bug-eyed at the woman he’d convinced himself would never want to see him again.

Her smile was filled with sweetness and sinful promises. And his body responded to her just as it had from the beginning, lighting up his veins and sending all his blood due south before he could consciously stop it.

She walked to the industrial stainless-steel stove and lifted the lid on the gigantic pot. Wisps of steam rose up around her face as she drew in a whiff. His eyes ran over her sumptuous breasts, prodding the front of her fitted pink tee, down the sleek line of her hips to her beautiful backside, which filled out her jeans like perfection. And the blood in his groin pooled stronger, harder, until he was sure he’d burst.

She set the lid back on the pot with a click. “I made you soup once. I wasn’t sure you liked it.”

“I loved it,” he said, before he thought to stop himself.

She flicked him a wicked grin. “Hmm…I’m not so sure. I think it wasn’t quite ready when you had it. Needed to simmer a little longer. I was thinking of trying again. If you’re still hungry. I’m better at everything the second time through.”

His groin swelled at her innuendo and a little voice inside his head screamed,
Yes!
But there was one small section of his brain that hadn’t turned to mush, and unfortunately for him, his conscience now ruled that part.

“What are you doing here, Acacia?”

Her smile wobbled, and though it made him more of an ass, he couldn’t play the flirting card with her. Not when it would leave him bruised and more battered on the inside than he’d ever been from any battle.

“The Argonauts have been looking for you.”

He tossed his empty water bottle in a recycle can and turned to reach for another. “They’ll be fine without me. Zander’s a better leader than he thinks.”

“Demetrius is making that difficult. But then I’m sure you know how he works.” She tipped her head to the side. “What’s the story there, anyway? I get the feeling Demetrius doesn’t like you and wouldn’t be overly upset if you didn’t come back, though he’s the only one.”

Of course Theron knew how underhanded Demetrius could be, but it wasn’t his problem anymore. He wasn’t the leader of the Argonauts now. There were more important things he needed to see to, like figuring out a way to protect so many in this world he’d neglected for too long. And talking about it with the woman he was never going to be able to stop loving and had no right to wasn’t his idea of a party.

“No real story. Just a long-standing family feud. Zander knows how to deal with Demetrius.” He brushed by her for the door. “I have work I need to get back to.”

“Theron.”

Her hand on his arm stopped him. And with just one touch, his resistance crumbled. He turned to look down at her and saw himself gather her into his arms and kiss her senseless until he made both of them forget just why it was he couldn’t have her.

But he didn’t. Because he couldn’t.

“Don’t walk away from me,” she said. “We need to talk.”

He closed his eyes because just looking at her was too painful. “Acacia—”

“No, don’t do that,” she said harshly, bringing his eyes open. “Don’t placate me and tell me I’m being unreasonable. Because
you’re
the one being unreasonable here, hiding out and ignoring your duties. My father is dying and the Council is breathing down Isadora’s neck. Even with everything that happened, they still don’t think
she’s qualified to rule. And with you gone, the Council’s claiming the guardians are unstable. You can’t just walk away and expect everything will be all right. It doesn’t work that way.”