Iliana broke eye contact first, snapping herself out of whatever spell Hermes had nearly put her under.
Was he playing with her? She’d never had a man quote poetry to her before, and she found she enjoyed the attention.
She noticed Thanatos’ rigid shoulders, Hypnos’ exaggerated eye roll, and sensed Anubis stiffen as he remained by her side.
Hermes stood and sighed, turning away from her to look at the others and giving her a fantastic view of his ass in snug jeans. She bit her lip and forced herself to look away.
Not. The. Time.
“Nothing more, but I got the impression it was urgent. You shouldn’t stay here much longer.” Hermes’ carefree tone faltered. “Athena didn’t say much except that someone had given her that information.”
“Who?” Thanatos asked as he approached.
“I don’t know, but I overheard her mentioning the Fates to them before I arrived. Whatever she was told made her seem uneasy. And you know how infrequent that is.”
Thanatos turned to her. “We need to leave.” He glanced at the others.
She looked from face to face, wondering what they were doing. They only looked at each other as if carrying on their conversation.
Anubis extended his hand before she was able to ask them. Iliana hesitated only for a second before placing her hand in his, letting him pull her up from the couch.
He bent down to speak quietly in her ear. “Hold on tight to me. This requires a connection. If you are not touching me when I shift realms, you will be left behind. Or worse.” When she tensed, he continued. “I will not let anything happen to you, but we must leave here now.”
She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist and inhaled his spicy scent.
It had to be her imagination, but she felt otherworldly power coming off him, like electricity charging the air during a thunderstorm.
Then her world broke apart into rushing wind and circling shadows.
Chapter seventeen
HYPNOS
Once Anubis whisked Iliana away, Thanatos faced Hermes. “Thank you for the warning. Can I ask you to listen for other news about Iliana?”
The messenger god smirked. “I was planning to, but thank you for asking so politely.” His sharp eyes moved to the spot where the human had been. “Iliana, huh?”
Thanatos stiffened. Hermes had seduced countless women throughout history. Was Iliana his next target?
“Yes, that is the human’s name,” Hypnos answered.
Hermes winked and disappeared.
His brother let out a growl of frustration. “I had hoped to keep her here until we learned more about the curse.”
Hypnos had to agree. As much as he didn’t want to, he was worried about the human and the attention she was drawing. Not just to herself, but also to his brother.
“Should we stay here and see who, or what, shows up?”
Thanatos shook his head. “No. If they know she’s on the move, we should be at her side.” He paused. “Will you come with me? You were quiet earlier, so I was not sure if you had changed your mind about protecting her.”
Hypnos rubbed his temple. Staying behind would be easier, but his brother needed him. A gnawing sensation twisted his gut—one he refused to name but couldn’t ignore.
“I’ll go,” hesaid at last. When Thanatos’ lips twitched into a small, relieved smile, Hypnos held up a hand. “But only to figure out the curse. Then I’m coming home. For good.”
Thanatos crossed his arms. “You assume you will be allowed to walk away.”
Hypnos narrowed his eyes. “I said I’d help find the curse, but I never agreed to babysit her indefinitely. Who knows how long she’ll need protection? I don’t see how I’ll be of much use for that.”
