“Wising up, she-devil.”
She yanked on the cuffs. The headboard rattled against the wall. “Let me go.”
“So you can run? Or murder me in my sleep? I don’t think so. You’re good, female, but you’re not irresistible. Should have asked Mommy Dearest for more pointers.”
“You asshole.” Fiery, jet-black eyes shot to his. “I’ll scream.”
“Go ahead. I’ll just kill any human who tries to rescue you.” He leaned close to her ear, so close he could feel the heat still radiating from her skin. “Get used to the fact that you’re mine. I’m the one calling the shots here, not you.”
“You bastard.” The nails of her left hand caught him across the cheek before he moved out of her reach.
A burn rushed over his skin as he straightened. He dabbed at his cheek, looked down at the blood on his knuckles. “Maybe you did learn something from that bitch of a mother.”
He glanced at her on the bed, her black hair a wild tangle around her face, her lips still swollen from his mouth. But the lust was gone from her black-as-sin eyes, replaced with a fury that made those obsidian irises blaze, made her chest heave, made her look every bit the daughter of the Queen of the Underworld.
Needed her? He only needed her for one thing—to calm the voice. The sooner he realized that, the better off he’d be.
“Get some rest,” he said as he headed for the door. “We’ve a long trip in the morning.”
Chapter Twelve
Maelea jerked on the handcuff for the umpteenth time. All her efforts did were rattle the headboard against the wall and send pain lancing through her wrist.
Anger rolled through her, followed by a hum that echoed all the way to her toes. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought the bed was vibrating, but that was ludicrous. As ludicrous as what she’d just let happen in this dive of a motel room.
She glared toward the door. Gryphon had been gone at least ten minutes. She wanted to scream, but didn’t dare. His mood changed so drastically from one minute to the next, she didn’t trust him not to follow through on his threat to kill anyone who tried to help her. And whether he was bluffing or not, she didn’t want to be responsible for an innocent’s death. Even if it might be her only chance at freedom.
She yanked on the cuff one more time. Clenched her jaw. She’d kissed him? She’d felt something for him? She’d obviously been out of her fucking mind. What the hell had she been thinking?
Bitterness brewed in her chest and hummed through her legs as she remembered the way she’d offered herself to him like a meal. But before she could get all the way worked up, a sliver of guilt crept in. One that took hold and grew little by little until it lodged in the center of her chest and wouldn’t let go.
Okay, so maybe he had a valid reason to be pissed. Maybe she had set out to seduce him. And maybe distracting him had been her original plan. But that wasn’t what had pushed her to kiss him, dammit. Something had changed during their conversation. Something even she didn’t totally understand.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. The bottom line was simple: no more kissing. None. Obviously, whatever humanity she thought she’d seen in him was long gone, if he could so easily turn on her. The first chance she had, she was out of here.
Olympus. That was what she needed to stay focused on. That was all that mattered anymore.
Plans she’d made back at the colony reformed in her mind. The only way for her to be granted access to Olympus, a home that would forever be safe from Hades’s wrath, was to prove her allegiance to the gods. To turn her back on the Underworld for good.
And she would. But first she had to break free. Everything hinged on that. She jerked on the chain again, grasped the metal with her free hand, and tried to pry the cuff off. Pain shot up her arm, and a burn ignited all around her wrist.
“Padded handcuffs are nicer. There’s nothing better than being strapped down and used by a male when you can’t fight back.”
Maelea jerked around at the sound of the voice so close, then froze. Her mother sat in the chair beside her bed, wearing a black gown cinched at the waist with a red belt. Her long legs were crossed at the knees. A red sandal dangled from her toes.
“I—”
“Speechless? You wouldn’t be the first, my child.” Persephone shrugged her straight black hair over her shoulder. Hair that was just like Maelea’s. “Now, I don’t have a lot of time, daughter, so I need you to focus. My husband doesn’t know I’m here, and if he did, we’d both be in deep shit. Plus my mother’s going to be looking for me soon. She’s always worried I’m ditching her to find Hades when I’m spending my allotted time of the year with her.”
Maelea’s eyes grew wide. Her mother was sitting next to her, for the first time in hundreds—no, thousands—of years. Her mother, Queen of the Underworld. Wife to Hades, the one god who couldn’t wait to see Maelea ground to dust.
“You look pale, child.” Persephone’s dark eyebrows drew low. “Are you all right?”
“No. I…” She swallowed hard. “What…? You…?”
“I wish I had more time, but I don’t, so I’ll make this quick. I know you’re searching for a way to Olympus. For a way to prove your allegiance to Zeus. I can make that happen.”
“You can?”
“I can,” Persephone said with a grin. “And trust me, it’s much better than what you’ve been planning. The guardian who has kidnapped you has given us the perfect opportunity. Convince him to take you to Argolea. The Argolean queen has something that I want. A small orb with four chambers. When you have it, bring it to me, and I will make sure the gates of Olympus are finally opened to you.”
Maelea’s skin chilled. Her mother wanted her to steal the Orb of Krónos for her. The relic that held the power to release the Titans from Tartarus and bring about the war to end all wars. The talisman every god was searching for, including her father, Zeus, and her mother’s sadistic husband.
No…way.
“Why…why me? Why can’t you get it yourself? You’re not technically an Olympian. You can cross into Argolea.”
“True, but I cannot get into the castle, which is undoubtedly where the queen has hidden my gem. But she will let your guardian in. In fact, her Argonauts are searching for him now, trying to bring him back. He has ulterior motives, child. Motives that will lead to your demise, if you are not careful. Convince him to go back to Argolea and get help. Then when you’re there, find the Orb and bring it to me. Once you do, Olympus will be yours.”
Wariness crept through Maelea. “Why are you offering me this deal now? Why did you never offer it before?”
“Because I couldn’t when I was in the Underworld. Hades would have known what I was up to. And before that…the Orb had not been located.”
“You’re not planning to give it to Hades?”
A wicked smile spread across Persephone’s ruby red lips. “Of course not. Do I look stupid? I may love the son of a bitch, but I will not let him control something that should be mine.”
Persephone wanted power. All the gods did. The fact Maelea thought her mother would be different just because she was her mother proved just what a fantasy she’d been living all these years.
“I don’t need your help,” she said. “I found Hades’s therillium mines. Once I tell Zeus where they are, he’ll grant me access to Olympus.”
“You found the mines?” Interest sparked in Persephone’s eyes. And too late, Maelea realized she should have held her tongue. Even if her mother plotted against Hades, she was ultimately loyal to him, and there was no guarantee the secret Maelea had just revealed wouldn’t make its way back to his ears. A secret that would only inflame his hatred for her. “Oh, now that is an interesting turn of events. One that might yet become useful to me.”