It took every bit of willpower Talisa had to say, “Fine,” instead of kiss my ass. As the nymph reached for the covers and drew them back, Talisa quickly tugged her gown closed and pushed from the bed.
“Turn,” the nymph instructed, dropping the armful of fabric on the mattress.
Talisa bit her tongue and faced the windows.
The nymph grasped the nightgown at her shoulders and tugged. The flimsy white fabric pooled at her feet. Lifting the light blue gown over her head, the nymph said, “Arms up.”
The sleek fabric slid down Talisa’s arms and sides. It was some kind of soft shell covered in layers of matching chiffon that draped her curves like a Grecian goddess. The sleeves were long and bell-shaped, falling past her fingertips. The wide ballet collar left her shoulders bare then dropped to a heart-shaped neckline that hit low to showcase her cleavage. The dress gathered high at her waist with a wide, gold-braided belt then fell to her bare feet in waves that were silky smooth against her skin. As the nymph zipped the back, Talisa realized more chiffon hung off each shoulder, draping behind her like a cape.
“Sit on the bed,” the nymph instructed.
The gown was regal and eye-stopping, and as Talisa sat and watched as the nymph reached for a pair of gold lace-up sandals to slip on Talisa’s feet, she realized it was unlike any she’d seen on any other female in this castle.
It wasn’t made for a commoner. It was made for a queen. Or a princess.
“I see everything, and this, princess, is your new normal.”
Zagreus’s words from earlier echoed in her head. And as they did, her heart kickstarted, beating a hard, fast, bruising rhythm.
“There.” Ana pushed upright, a look of disgust on her face. “You’re finished. The prince expects you to dine with him tonight. If you know what’s best, you’ll acquiesce and join him. As long as you don’t do anything between now and then to draw his ire, I’ll help you escape.”
Talisa’s gaze shot up, and the panic threatening to take hold came to a stuttering stop. “Escape?”
“Tonight, after everyone is asleep, I will return and show you to the secret tunnels.”
Of course there were secret tunnels in this place. Even in Argolea, there were hidden passageways in and out of the castle.
Ana turned for the door. “Stay within the castle walls today. The sentries have been told to watch you.”
The nymph yanked the heavy wood door open, but Talisa jerked to her feet. “Why are you helping me?”
Ana hesitated with one hand on the rustic handle. “Because you are a distraction the prince does not need. The sooner you are gone, the better for all of us.”
She left the door open in her wake, descending the stairs into darkness until only silence remained.
Talisa’s heart continued to pump hard and fast as she turned a slow circle and tried to make sense of what had just happened. Not only here in this room now, but last night, yesterday, and every moment since she’d walked into that club and stepped into Zagreus’s path.
And as she did, she heard Zagreus’s voice again. A voice and words that now wouldn’t leave her head.
“Your being here is not a coincidence. It’s destiny. Running won’t save you. Not from what’s inside you, and never from me.”
Talisa paced the length of her tower room. Outside, darkness pressed against the cathedral windows overlooking the water, and a chill spread down her spine.
She wasn’t sure what time it was, only that it was late—close to midnight, at least. She’d spent the day exploring the castle and grounds but hadn’t found a single way to escape on her own. As Ana had said, the guards had watched her every movement.
The nymphs she’d encountered working in the castle had been courteous and pleasant. None engaged her in conversation, though. And everyone she passed—nymph and sileni—had stared at her as if she had a second head.
That made sense since she stuck out like a sore thumb in this expensive gown. She stopped pacing and frowned down at the thing, still unable to understand why she was wearing it or why Zagreus had left it, specifically, for her.
You know why he left it…
“Princess…”
She raked a shaky hand through her hair, letting the long locks fall against her shoulders, refusing to think about that word too much. Or why he continued to call her by it.
Then she remembered her dream.
Him, naked in that sunken marble bath, his muscular body damp and glistening as he stroked himself.
Her skin grew hot. Tingly. He’d called her princess in that dream, too. He’d also called her mono mia…
Her pulse turned to a roar in her ears. Stepping to the windows, she looked out into the darkness, toward the torchlight far below in the courtyard, searching for movement. She was too high to see anything more than shadows, but she sensed more than knew that Zagreus had yet to return from wherever he’d gone with his sentries this morning.
He’d never summoned her to join him for dinner. Instead, someone had brought dinner to her room. After she’d eaten, when she’d been restlessly walking through the castle corridors, she’d heard a few of the nymphs whispering about him. About how the prince and his sentries had left to head off some kind of attack. About the fact they’d yet to return.
She didn’t know what they were up to or why they hadn’t come back. But she couldn’t stop wondering if Zagreus had been telling her the truth.
Did he really have no affiliation with the satyrs anymore?
That still didn’t explain why he was protecting these nymphs, though.
“Do you know how Zagreus came to be here?” Nysa’s words from this morning echoed in Talisa’s mind. “…out of nowhere, Zagreus arrived. He’d been searching for someone.”
The marking on Talisa’s hip warmed, sending tendrils of heat all through her body. The Alpha marking all Argoleans were born with, though hers was dramatically different from any other she’d seen.
She’d always known she was different. Her parents had said her weird Alpha marking was somehow related to her Argonaut markings. But now…
“Mono mia…”
She pictured Zagreus in that bath again, pleasuring himself, speaking to her. Heat flooded her veins, leaving her achy and hot—everywhere.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs outside her room. Whipping toward the open door, she held her breath and waited for the immortal she’d just been thinking of to appear before her eyes.
Ana stepped into the room instead, wearing a dark cloak that draped all the way to the floor, the hood pulled up over her head. In her hands, she held a second cloak.
“Are you ready?” the nymph asked.
For a moment, confusion clouded Talisa’s mind. Then she remembered their conversation only hours ago.
The secret passageways. Her chance to escape.
Freedom. Argolea. Home...
Talisa’s adrenaline spiked. All she had to do was say yes. To follow the nymph. But if she did, she’d never get answers to the questions now swirling inside her. She’d never understand the weird tightness in her chest she’d felt at that club—that she was still feeling every time she saw or even thought of Zagreus.
Ana stepped forward and swept the second cloak over Talisa’s shoulders, latching it closed with a silver leaf at Talisa’s throat. Pulling the hood up over Talisa’s head, she said, “Make no sound. My magick will only last so long as we are within the borders of Ehrendia.”