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She takes a deep breath and clears her throat, but Adrian is already there by her side. He doesn’t touch her, but she instantly regains her composure at his closeness. She almost lost Nelle because of them—which is something none of us will forget anytime soon.
They’ll never understand the depth of the pain their actions led to, the consequences it nearly had on all of our lives. But if there is any chance they acted willingly, I’ll be the one to make sure they feel every agonized ache they put my mate through.
“We didn’t do any of that willingly,” Agathon assures, swallowing thickly. “But I understand some of us—” he pauses to stare pointedly at Victor “—have brought the depth of our involvement into question.”
Victor’s brows furrow and he lets out an indignant sound of protest, but Anastasia cuts him off.
“We met in the human realm, but Helene still found us. We had only begun our meeting when she appeared on the island with Romulus in tow.”
“Yes,” Agathon nods, his eyes shuttering as he pulls on his memories. “Romulus asked us to swear an oath to him, to follow his instructions, and he’d give us all the power we’ve ever wanted in his new world, but we refused.”
“He turned on Helene, but she brought the sea crashing over us,” Victor snaps, grimacing as though he’s reliving the memory. “She sent the salty sea water down our throats while Romulus cast a spell, and after that—”
Victor grinds his teeth, waiting while the others search their memories. Agathon’s lips purse, and Anastasia’s shoulders slump in dismay.
“There’s nothing.” Agathon finishes for him.
Is it all an act though?
“They’re telling the truth,” Nyssa says, clearly sensing the palpable skepticism wafting off each of us.
“I know it might be hard to believe, especially after hearing just what we’ve done to you under this spell, but I swear to you that I will help fight against them however I can,” Anastasia says as the rope flickers red, sealing the vow into blood.
“What was that?”Olivia projects to us, not letting her confusion show as she watches the former council members.
“When a promise is sworn in the binds of justice, it’s written in blood,”Kyros answers.“Nyssa will be tasked with imprisoning her if she betrays us now.”
“I vow to help you bring them to justice in whatever way I can,” Agathon says, nodding his head to Olivia and then Nyssa in acknowledgment of the promise.
Our attention shifts to the god of fire, tension brimming in the small room as we wait for his response.
He frowns down at the golden binds, as though he thought he would immediately be released. When that doesn’t happen, he glares at Nyssa, who shrugs in response, uncaring of Victor’s silent protest.
“Fine, I’ll help too, but only because I hate them more than I despise all of you right now,” Victor sneers. He goes to cross his arms over his chest with an indignant huff, but he doesn’t make it very far with the binds cinching his arms to his chest, and ends up just flailing slightly.
“Right back at you.” Olivia takes a step forward, quirking a brow in challenge as she scans over him, utterly unimpressed with what she sees. “But if the fates change, I’ll have fun finding out just whose flames burn hotter.”
Fire dances on her fingers, casting an orange hue over Victor’s face. It curls its way up her arm in a tender caress before it extinguishes in a puff of smoke—right in Victor’s face. He sputters, coughing on the smoke that fills his lungs, his cheeks red as he tries to curse but instead chokes again, only a strangled sound of rage escaping his lips.
I can’t help the grin that curls on my lips as she turns on her heel and strides away from the furious god of fire. My fiery princess upstaging the obnoxious god of fire without a care in the world, sends a thrill of excitement up my spine. My possessive need to have her only grows with that display.
Whatever I did to bless the fates to have this woman as my mate, I’m grateful for it, because I don’t remember what my life was like before this woman came colliding into me and filling every recess of my life.
Chapter Four
Kyros
“Doyouthinkwecan actually trust them?” I ask. My fingers trail over Olivia’s shoulder, the soft leather and warmth helping to ease some of the tension in my muscles.
She leans against me slightly, and my skin tingles beneath my sweater, lighting up just at my mate’s proximity. It feels right to be here, to be home with my mate finally here by my side. The house had felt empty without her, like the heart of this home was missing.
“I don’t trust them, but I don’t know any of them without the spell,” Olivia admits.
I can’t help but study her face, appreciating every line and curve like they were painted by the Fates themselves. She was incredible in that battle, and her quick thinking when Romulus called for the dagger saved countless lives. I shudder at the thought of what Romulus would have done if he knew then that the dagger that appeared before him was fake.
“We’ll have to proceed with caution,” Osias says from the plush leather couch across from us, his hand twined with Octavia as she sits next to him. “Nyssa and Orrin are doing a few extra tests, and we know they won’t try anything with Maximus staying behind to watch over them.”
“We might not trust them, but there is some weight in the vow they made,” I say, playing devil’s advocate. “We’ll need all the help we can get, so we’ll have to put our egos aside.”
