He was hers. And no one and nothing could ever change that.
She drew back once more, nodded, and forced her lips into a sad smile. One she knew on instinct he ached to kiss from her lips.
He lowered his head, but the deep, inhuman snarls stopped him.
The snarls coming from the shadows at his back that only one kind of creature could make.
Every muscle in Zagreus’s body froze. Every muscle except his heart, which kicked up like a doomed drumbeat in his chest.
“Wh-what was that?” Talisa asked, trying to see past him into the dark.
His eyes slid closed. He’d hoped defeating Pandora and her satyrs would head off his father. He’d been wrong. He’d always been wrong when it came to Hades.
Forcing his eyes open, he looked to Theron, already twisting toward the sounds with his blade drawn. Talisa’s father glanced once at Zagreus and nodded. The Argonauts fanned out with their weapons as well, forming a protective arc around them.
Talisa shivered in his arms, and as the temperature dropped, Zagreus realized those weren’t just hellhounds lurking in the dark. They’d brought daemons with them. A lot, judging by how quickly the temperature was changing.
“Oh gods.” Talisa realized it too, because she pushed back and reached for her blade.
“Talisa.” He stopped her with both hands at her upper arms and squeezed until she looked up at him. “Wait.”
Her horrified gaze shot to his. “We don’t have ti—”
“You were wrong. You’re not here because of me. The Fates, the Creator… They didn’t bring you back so I could fulfill my destiny. They brought you back so you could fulfill yours.”
Her brows darted together. “Why are you say—”
“The Orb, Talisa. They brought you back so you could fulfill your destiny with the Orb.”
Her gaze skipped over his face. Behind him, a blade whirred through the air and was met with a horrific scream, but neither of them looked. “What are you talking about? What Orb?”
“The Orb of Krónos. The one the gods have been fighting over for centuries so they can claim ultimate power. The one I stole from Zeus months ago. The one that’s been hanging around your neck since those satyrs tried to kill us.”
Her wide-eyed gaze dropped to her chest, where the amulet he’d draped over her head the night of that satyr attack was hidden beneath her garments.
“I charmed it. No one here can tell what it really is, but once you get home, you’ll see.”
Her shocked gaze met his. “I don’t understand. I don’t get what that has to do with anyth—”
“He knows.” He squeezed her arms again. “My father knows you have it. Pandora told him. She was after the Orb the whole time. She knew I took it. That’s why she was working with the satyrs, to get me to join forces with her. With a god, the Orb, her box, and an army, she’d be stronger than all of Olympus. Only I wouldn’t cooperate with her plan, so she turned to my father for help. I thought if we could defeat her and her box, my father wouldn’t show, but he’s here. He’s here for the Orb and for you because you’re the only person who can destroy it.”
“Me? But I can’t—”
“You can. Prometheus cast a spell so it could never be destroyed by man or god. Your people thought that meant it could only be destroyed by a demigod—by a hero—but they were only partly right. The hero also has to be—”
“A descendant of the Horae,” she finished for him, looking down at her arms covered by the long sleeves of her tunic.
“Yeah,” he said, watching her carefully. “A female warrior descended from the Horae, the only beings who can control the Orb.”
The hellhounds were getting bolder, snapping and snarling, a few charging here and there, but the Argonauts were holding them back. Giving them this moment. And even though Zagreus never wanted it to end, he knew they were out of time. “That’s why they sent you back to me. Because they knew I had the Orb. So you could get it and take it home. Then destroy it so no god can ever have that kind of omnipotent power.”
“B-but the last time any of us saw it, it didn’t contain the water element.”
“It still doesn’t. And it can’t be destroyed until your people find that last element. But in Argolea, it’s protected. The Olympians can’t cross into your realm, and magick prevents my father from accessing your queen’s castle. That’s why I need you to go there. Now. Where you’ll both be safe. You promised me if I asked, you would leave. That you would listen and go.”
“But…” Her fingers fisted his shirt at the arms, and her frantic eyes met his. Behind him, the snarls and growls grew louder. “But Ehrendia…”
“Ehrendia will be safe. I promise.”
“We have to go now.” Theron stepped up behind her, breathing heavy, his blade covered in blood. “We can’t hold them much longer.”
Zagreus nodded then looked down at her. Her eyes were wild as she glanced over the Argonauts, moving in closer, but he didn’t let that stop him. “I know why the Fates let me go from their service after twenty-five years.”
Her frenzied gaze lifted back to his.
“It wasn’t so I could finally do the right thing. I had that chance. I had it numerous times and failed. They let me go so you could be the hero you were always meant to be.”
Tears filled her eyes. “This is what you were keeping from me.” Her hands shook, but she held on tighter. “No. I won’t let you do whatever you think you have to do. Come with me.”
“I can’t. But oh, I want to.” He lifted his hands to her face and stepped into her, until her heat surrounded him and her strength was all he felt. “You were right when you said my past was not my destiny. You are. You always were. The you right here in front of me now. The one who saw through my darkness and brought me back to the light.”
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly, sweetly, with as much tenderness as he had inside, because of her. “I love you, mono mia. I will love you always, till my very end, no matter how long or short that may be.”
“Zagreus…” Tears fell down her cheeks.
Forcing himself to let go, he moved back and looked to her father. “Take her.”
Theron wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back several steps. Against him, she yelled, “No!” and struggled, but her father was as strong, if not stronger than her, and her thrashing did nothing to ease his grip.
“I’m sorry, mono mia. This is the only way everyone is safe.”
“No, Zagreus. No, you don’t have to do this!”
His heart clenched at the tears streaming down her cheeks, at the misery on her beautiful face, but he knew this was the only option. His father would never give up his search for the Orb so long as he was here and there was a chance she could return. She was too important to risk for his selfishness, and he would never again take chances with her life.
“Please!” she screamed. “Please listen to me. Zagreus, I love you, too. I need you. Come with me.”
His heart felt as if it shattered right at his feet, but he knew he was doing the right thing. The only thing.