He sank into the high-backed chair near the fireplace and fingered the leather tome. This one had come from Zeus’s personal collection. The complete history of Argolea. Updated automatically, by magick, of course.
He opened the book and flipped pages until he came to the section about the Chosen—the descendants of the Horae—and their unique gifts.
His gaze quickly scanned passages then shifted to the winged omega marking, illustrated on the page. And in a rush of understanding, it all made sense.
Why the Fates had released him. Why they’d given him that task. Why his mono mia had been reincarnated in an Argolean female—in a guardian Argolean female. And just what her role really was in this cosmic immortal game.
His eyes slid closed. The book fell to his lap. Leaning back against the chair, he drew in a deep breath and tried not to panic.
He’d finally done the right thing. He’d let her go. But she hadn’t left. She’d stayed. And now he understood why. Understood that every whisper and touch and kiss and groan flashing in his brain had been real—not a hallucination. And that short of forcing her to leave, which she’d never give in and do willingly now, he’d just fucked up again.
All he’d had to do was resist her last night. All he’d needed to do was fucking die, and she’d be safe. The world would be safe. But because he hadn’t—because he’d never been able to resist her—she was now doomed.
They all were.
Nerves coiled in Talisa’s stomach as she sat on the padded vanity bench in Nysa’s chambers and watched in the mirror as the nymph fiddled with her hair.
Nysa had started by putting all kinds of curls in her normally straight locks. Now, she was pulling the sides up and adding leaves and twigs and sparkly accessories that were both foreign and a little bit fun.
Talisa was not one for getting dolled-up. On the rare occasion she had to dress formally for royal family events back home, she usually went for comfort over style, then changed back into her worn boots, snug pants, and easy-moving tops as fast as she could. But tonight, she had to admit, she was looking forward to accentuating her feminine qualities.
The nymph had already done Talisa’s makeup, giving her that smokey-eye effect and bright red lips. The female staring back at her didn’t look like a warrior for once. She looked mysterious. Exotic. Dazzling. And Talisa couldn’t help but wonder if Zagreus would notice. Or if he’d like it.
Memories of the night before echoed in her mind. The softness of his lips as she’d kissed him. The warmth of his bare flesh as she’d climbed over him. The thick, hot, overpowering pleasure when she’d taken him in and he’d thrust up to meet her.
Her face heated. She definitely hadn’t planned that. Still wasn’t completely sure how that had even happened. But she wanted it to happen again. Wanted it to happen many more times again. As soon as possible.
Her gaze lifted from her reflection to Nysa’s, where the nymph stood at her back, still messing with her hair. Now that she knew the truth, she had a thousand questions.
She licked her lips. “So, um, about Ana…”
Nysa’s lips thinned in clear disgust. “The traitor?”
Talisa smirked, thrilled with the reaction. “Yeah. Is she the only nymph who was close to the prince? Or are there any others I should be aware of?”
“Aware of?”
“Yeah. You know… with?”
“You think the prince was in a relationship with Ana?”
“Wasn’t he? She hated me with a vengeance. She all but tried to have me killed because he brought me here.”
Nysa smiled and looked back down at whatever she was doing to Talisa’s hair. “Ana didn’t just dislike you because the prince showed interest in you, but because he never did in her.”
“Not ever?”
Nysa shook her head. “We all knew she kept trying to seduce him, but…” She shrugged. “The female clearly didn’t do her research.”
“What research?”
“On the prince. It’s well-known he doesn’t play with nymphs.”
Whoa. Wait… What?
“Not with any of them?” When Nysa shook her head, Talisa’s eyes widened. “Ever?”
“Not with a single one. Not since he came to Ehrendia, at least. I’m pretty sure not before, either.”
Talisa sat in stunned silence, trying to make sense of that answer.
Nysa glanced up, amusement crossing her pixie face. “That surprises you?”
Ah… yeah. “What about the nymphs I saw the first day I arrived? There was one, a redhead with a blonde child, who was flirting with him in the grand hall as if she knew him, intimately.”
“All the nymphs flirt with him that way. They’re infatuated with him because of who he is, but it’s not reciprocal. And that child is not Zagreus’s, if that’s what you’re thinking. Helia and Aia are wood nymphs who were fleeing the satyrs when Rhen and a few of the other silens found them outside our borders. They were brought into our kingdom for safe keeping. That was months before Zagreus even arrived here.”
Talisa blinked at the mirror, barely seeing her reflection anymore. Nysa had said earlier that Zagreus had arrived in Ehrendia three years ago. That he’d been searching for someone.
“Wait.” She looked up at Nysa’s reflection again, disbelief swirling inside her. “Are you saying he hasn’t had any female companionship in three years?”
“That and longer.”
Whoa… “What?”
Nysa’s fingers froze in Talisa’s hair, and she met Talisa’s gaze in the mirror. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”
“Figured what out?”
“Why you’re so important to us.”
Talisa had no idea what the nymph was implying.
“Have you seen any children in Ehrendia besides Aia? Have you seen any nymphs with child?”
A tingle rushed down Talisa’s spine. No, she’d seen no other children. No pregnant nymphs, either. Which, now that she thought about it, was pretty freakin’ weird, considering the population of the kingdom and how the nymphs and silens were always all over each other. Nymphs were said to be highly fertile creatures, especially in the presence of their companions.
Nysa dropped her hands from Talisa’s hair. Stepping to the side, she looked down at Talisa so they were no longer staring at each other in the mirror, her expression not one of amusement anymore, but of urgency. “I might not look it, but I’m five hundred and twenty-three years old. The last time a maenad child was born in this kingdom, I was twenty-four. My race was blessed with long life, like yours, but we’re not immortal. We have timelines, and our timelines are running out. The prince is important to us for several reasons. Last night you didn’t just give him something to live for, you gave us something as well. And that’s why tonight is so important. And why we need to make sure you look irresistible.”
Nysa moved behind Talisa and went back to fixing her hair, and as Talisa watched her in the mirror and tried to make sense of the nymph’s words, she remembered what the Fate had told her. About the last time she and Zagreus had been together—before the Fates had decided to stop interfering.