“Wait a minute.” Talisa’s hands grew damp, and her stomach pitched—this time in utter disbelief. “Are you saying your race is somehow linked to his…”
“Libido? Yes.”
Holy shit. Talisa’s eyes flew wide. The nymph had said the word.
But… It didn’t make any sense. He was Hades’s son. Why would Hades’s son be linked to a bunch of nymphs? Was it because she’d been a nymph in her past lives? Was this one more way the Fates had fucked things up?
Nysa chuckled and continued fiddling with Talisa’s hair. “Don’t look so shocked. When he’s celibate, we are infertile. It was never a big issue before, but five hundred years was a longer dry spell than any of us were used to. After last night, though, everything’s changed. And we need you to make sure his fires keep burning.”
Talisa’s cheeks heated when the nymph winked at her in the mirror. Before she could get too wigged out—or excited—by the implication, though, she remembered Cynna.
She turned on the bench and looked up at Nysa. “But he hasn’t been celibate. Not the entire time as you said. Twenty-eight years ago, before I was born, he had a female with him in his lair in the Yucatan. They called her the Mistress of Pain. I know because it was someone from my world.”
“He might have. I didn’t know him then. But he did not have sexual relations with her, at least not the kind that brought him to completion. That I can guarantee. The maenads would have become fertile if he had.”
“Even though he wasn’t in Ehrendia?”
“We are his devoted followers. We’re linked to him no matter where he is.”
Talisa’s gaze dropped to the nymph’s white dress. He hadn’t had sex with Cynna? Holy shit. If that was true…
No wonder he was in a perpetual bad mood. Five hundred years was a really freakin’ long dry spell for any otherworldly creature, but for a god as powerful as him…
Her whole body grew hot and tight when she remembered climbing over him last night, kissing him, taking hold of his magnificent erection…
She knew he probably didn’t remember a lot from last night—he’d looked more than a little shell-shocked when he’d seen her in the courtyard today—but she suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about doing all of that again. And consciously breaking that dry spell for him once and for all.
Nysa squeezed her shoulder, interrupting Talisa’s spinning thoughts. When Talisa looked up, the nymph smiled sweetly.
“I’m not trying to freak you out, princess. The prince is complicated. I know he’s kept females around in the past, but I can tell you with certainty they were not kept for his sexual gratification. They were kept as a distraction. Five hundred years is a long time to be alone. Emotionally, it hardened him. He turned in on himself. Moved back into the dark. No matter who he had by his side during that time, though, he was always looking for his mono mia—for you.”
Nysa’s expression softened. “He’s changed since you came into his life, Talisa. He’s stepped into the light. The most important thing at this point is keeping him in that light so he isn’t drawn back to the darkness. Because Ehrendia—the whole world, actually—is a much better place when he’s in the light.”
Talisa’s conversation with Lachesis last night rushed through her mind again, and her heart kicked up as she stared at Nysa.
The Fates had given up on Zagreus. On his destiny. But when they’d sensed a flicker of light still inside him, they’d sent him back with one last assignment. Talisa didn’t know what that assignment was, but Lachesis had made it sound as if he’d already accomplished it.
But what if he was meant for something more? What if—with her—he could be exactly what they’d originally hoped?
Excitement stirred inside her. An excitement that wasn’t just about sex or the maenads or Zagreus’s connection to them. It was about purpose. Something he’d had in the past. Something Talisa had been lacking her whole damn life.
She squeezed Nysa’s hand at her shoulder. “You’re not freaking me out. Not at all. And I’ll do whatever I can to make sure he stays in the light. I promise.”
“Well, then…” Nysa smiled again, reached for both of Talisa’s hands, and pulled her to her feet. “I think we both need to get dressed so we can get out to that feast. Because we both have a date with destiny, it seems.”
Chapter Fourteen
He should have put a stop to this silly festival.
Normally, Zagreus steered clear of the maenads and their ritual feasts, but tonight he was watching carefully. And he had no plans to leave.
Not until she left.
Music echoed through the courtyard. Lanterns cast twinkling light over the garlands of grape and jasmine strung across the space, illuminating the candlelit tables and partygoers sipping wine, the bodies filling the dance floor, the nymphs and silens already getting drunk and losing their inhibitions.
He stood in the shadows on the edge of the stones, watching as Talisa laughed up at her dance partner, then twirled under his arm.
The late-September night was warm. Warm enough not to need a jacket. Warm enough not to need much clothing at all, which was the point of this stupid feast.
“Damn nymphomaniacs,” he muttered.
A sileni at a nearby table—Dhar, Zagreus vaguely remembered was the male’s name—chuckled, drawing Zagreus’s attention. The male was focused on Talisa as if she were a treat he couldn’t wait to devour.
Zagreus growled low in his throat. The sileni’s gaze darted Zagreus’s direction then widened with fear. Looking quickly away, he abandoned his wine and rushed from his table.
Clenching his jaw, Zagreus went back to watching Talisa, not caring if he was being an ass or what Dhar thought of him. This party had disaster written all over it. And he was pretty sure he had Nysa to blame for whatever it caused him to do.
Talisa threw her head back and laughed again. Zagreus’s gaze narrowed as the male grinned, slid his arms around her waist, and pulled her in close. And before Zagreus realized it, he growled once more, watching as the male’s fingers flexed against the bare flesh at her lower spine.
He was certain he had Nysa to blame for Talisa’s “look” tonight as well. Her silky dark hair was pulled up on the sides and clipped back with green and gold grape leaves that glittered under the lights. Soft curls fell down her spine, swishing over her shoulder each time she turned. Her make-up was dramatic, accentuating her unique violet eyes and drawing attention to her plump red lips. But it was the outfit she wore that really set him on edge.
The top consisted of nothing more than a bra with cap sleeves, made out of some green shimmery fabrics that looked as if the only things covering her ample breasts were leaves. The matching skirt was so low on her hips every male in the place could see her toned abs and belly button, and so short it barely covered her ass.
Each time she laughed, the sound was like fingernails on a chalkboard, making Zagreus’s nerves go haywire. Every time the male moved his hand against her bare skin, he saw red. And when she glanced Zagreus’s way with those familiar, evocative eyes—as she was doing now—that heat he’d been trying to ignore all day flared hot and wild inside him.