Chapter 22
Somehow, the decision was made that we would stay. And I meant we, because there was no way I was staying without Nate. If he’d insisted that we head back home, then that’s where we would’ve gone. I might’ve had to kidnap Milo as well, because that painful tugging in my chest last night wasn’t something I was in a hurry to experience again. But Nate had agreed to stay, and I wasn’t too proud to admit that I was relieved.
Erus led us through the house to the wing where we would be staying. House was the wrong word; it was far too large for that. It was almost like a castle, but not. A fortress might have been the best description for it, since it was huge and made of stone. Maybe once upon a time, it might’ve even been considered a palace, but the idea that I was staying in a palace made me feel weird.
“The only wing we have spare is one that once belonged to someone else…” Erus trailed off as he pushed open the door, and I could see why. This wasn’t a room, for one thing. It was a full suite, including a sitting room and private bathroom. It was decorated almost entirely in light blue and white, making it look like the room was set amongst the clouds. Tiny animal motifs ran along the walls of the room, and all the furniture was covered in large drop cloths. I didn’t need to see under them to know that it would all be finely made and probably crazily expensive antiques. Whoever had lived in this room had been someone seriously important.
That made me feel really fucking weird. “I don’t want to pry, but the person who lived in this room before me, she was…?”
“The Goddess. Our Goddess,” Erus said, his voice choking up. “Actually, she was more of a reflection of our Goddess. She was stripped of her powers a couple of millennia ago, then eventually just faded away.” He let out a shuddering breath. “It was hard. No one has lived in this suite since then. Tryp comes in to redo the motifs every hundred years or so, in her honor.”
He pointed to the mural, a tree with different animals and birds perched in the branches, including goats, which was kind of amusing. A dog ran along the exposed roots. The Goddess stood to the left, wrapped in snakes, with a bull wrapped in ropes near her feet, like a sacrifice.
Beside her, two lion-headed men poured liquid into a well from earthen jugs. On the other side, a man stood, wreathed in vines. Even with the primitive style of drawing, I could tell it was Demke. Beside him stood a Gryphon, large and proud. I couldn’t see Milo in the motif anywhere.
Erus bustled around the room, removing the sheets to uncover heavy wooden furniture. As he uncovered the bed, a cloud of dust flooded out around us, and he screwed up his nose. “I’ll go and pick up another mattress from Heraklion today. I don’t even want to think about what might be living in that mattress and how bad it would be for you and the babies.”
He led us to two doors to the left of the room. “There’s an attendant’s room through here,” he said, opening one door into a smaller suite that was still bigger than my apartment back home. “The door locks on both sides, you know, if you want to keep someone out.” Erus flushed, turning his golden cheeks a little pink. Closing the door, he opened the next one. “Your bathroom.”
I stepped inside the beautifully tiled room, its large sunken bath big enough to fit the defensive line of a football team. On the wall to the left, a shower head poked out from the tiles.
There was no doubt anymore; this place had definitely once been a palace.
Erus stepped back into the main part of the bedroom. “I’ll leave you guys to get settled in. Lunch will probably be in an hour or so. Demke cooks.”
I scratched my head, feeling awkward as hell. “I could cook too, if you’d like? I’m not great, but I don’t want to feel like I’m freeloading.”
Erus gave me a lopsided grin. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” He hesitated, then shook his head. “Demke wouldn’t say this, but we’re glad you’re here. Milo… Well, he hasn’t coped well with being anchorless, I guess. We were worried he’d be the next to fade away. Tying your fates together is a blessing, even if we do lose him in the end. At least it won’t be a slow death, where we have to watch him turn into a ghost before our eyes.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, and Erus didn’t wait for a response. He just strode out the door, pulling it gently closed behind him. I flopped down on the chaise lounge, putting my head in my hands. My life was out of control.
I looked up at Nate, guilt eating me alive. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I’m not.” He sat down beside me, and luckily the chaise was built sturdier than modern furniture, because it didn’t even groan. “Milo wasn’t the only one suffering from immortal ennui. I had no purpose, and now I do. I’d also like to avenge Zelda, if I can.”
My heart clenched at the thought of Mrs. Byrne, the first casualty in whatever supernatural fuckery was going to follow me around from now on. Rage at the injustice of such a good person being killed for what, some mythical power grab? It burned through my chest. “Me too.”
Nate pulled me into his arms and kissed me softly. “It’ll be okay.”
I shook my head. “You can’t know that.”
“I can. I’m a fucking God, mo stóirín. I’ll make it so.”
He sounded like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but something inside me lit up like the golden threads I saw wrapped around him. Teron’s words about not being able to see my own threads made me wonder if I was equally as bright, wrapping him as tightly as his threads wrapped around me.
“Come on, I’ll run you a bath in that monstrosity they call a tub. They must have to drain a lake to fill that thing,” he grumbled, but led me into the bathroom. He ran the taps, and when it was full, I descended the steps until I could sink into the huge pool.
The hot water parted around my body, and when Nate slipped in behind me, I laid my back against his chest. He wrapped an arm around my body just below my breasts, and I floated there in peace, for however long it lasted.
When we emergedfrom our suite, Milo was pacing in front of the large glass doors. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up like he’d seen the first sunny day in spring. “Wren! We are eating outside beneath the trellis.” His feet ate up the ground between us. “Feeling better?” He stopped when there was not an inch of space between us. Apparently, we’d moved past personal bubbles. I wanted to be mad about it, but being this close to him made me feel content.
I nodded. “Much better, thank you.” I looked over my shoulder at Nate, who was giving us one of those neutral looks I knew so well.
With a huff, he stepped around us. “I’ll meet you outside.” I reached out and squeezed his fingers, and he threw me a wink.
Swoon.
Looking back at Milo, I raised an eyebrow at the amused expression on his face. “He’s a protective friend,” he murmured.
“Lover,” I corrected, because we were going into this—whatever this was—with all our truths out on the table.
If I’d thought Milo would be upset by the idea that Nate was my lover, I was obviously mistaken. He just grinned. “Understandable.”
“Milo…” I started. Fuck, how did I tell a man I was sorry for catching him up in something I didn’t even understand, let alone mean? “I didn’t mean to?—”
He placed his finger over my lips. “I don’t want your apologies, Wren. We’ll figure everything out. Now, come and eat.”
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The way my insides melted was directly at odds with my god-given what-the-fuck-o-meter. My head and my gut were at war, but one of those had already gotten me in trouble, and it wasn’t my gut. So I leaned into his lips, trusting the contentment that washed over me.
He let out a small noise of surprise, then wrapped one of those tree-branch-sized arms around my shoulders and led me outside.
The pool in the backyard was sparkling invitingly. The stone deck had a couple of loungers and umbrellas around it, as well as one of those covered ottomans, which made me want to curl up like a cat on it with a good book.
Off to the side was a trellis covered in a leafy grapevine, creating an enticing shady area. A long wooden table sat beneath it, covered with food and large jugs of what looked like fruit punch.
Tryp was leaning back in his chair, the two back legs holding his weight precariously as he grinned at me. “Little Dumpling, are you feeling better?”
Erus reached over and pushed him backwards, making him land on the ground with a thud. “You don’t call a pregnant woman a dumpling, dumbass.”
I reached down to grab Tryp’s hand, not that I had a snowball’s chance in Hell of lifting him off the ground. A little shock ran up my arms, and I laughed. “It’s okay; he isn’t wrong. I’m more round than I am tall at the moment.”
Erus was frowning down at Tryp, who seemed impervious to his censure. “He still doesn’t have to say it out loud. Tryp has always been bad at watching his tongue.”
Erus wasn’t wearing a shirt, and honestly, I was having a hard time not drooling. Tryp was wearing one of those tanks with gaping arm holes that showed your nipples, not really covering anything.
“You haven’t ever complained about how I use my tongue before,” he purred at Erus, and there was heat in his gaze as he looked up at the other man. Erus raised a single eyebrow, but there was a curl to his lips that told me he was vividly remembering exactly how Tryp used his tongue. They were looking at each other like lovers.
Oh shit…Well, I guess that made sense. They were lovers.
I went to step away from Tryp before Erus got the wrong idea. That was when I noticed Tryp’s threads wrapping around my arms, and I jumped away with a yelp. Surely it didn’t happen that easily, right? Surely it wasn’t that easy to bond someone?
I shook my arm, like the golden streaks were actual ropes that might fall off, but nothing happened. If anything, they curled tighter around my arms, climbing higher and wrapping around my torso too.
“Oh, no, no, no. This can’t be…” I looked frantically between Tryp and Erus, who were both watching me with wide, confused expressions. “I don’t think… I’m sorry!” Teron was in front of me, reaching toward me, but I scrambled backwards. “Don’t touch me!” I shouted, tripping over my feet. Only Milo’s sturdy body behind me stopped me from ending up on my ass.
Teron lifted his hands. “What’s wrong?”
My frantic eyes bounced past him to Demke, whose frown told me he’d already guessed. “I think I just bonded with Tryp.”