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Samuel chuckled, grabbing my elbow to lead me towards the side of the house and into a maze. He paused to let me put on my sneakers once we stepped outside, while he just went barefoot in the grass. “Checking all the escape routes?”
Grinning up at him, I stated, “A girl has to try.”
He laughed again, his grip firm. Nope, no getting away from him right now.
He navigated the leafy corridors with ease, dragging me to what I assumed would be the center. Entering it, he dropped his hand. “The maze changes every time someone goes through it. It won’t be the same now as it was when we came in.” He glanced around, noticing we were alone. “And it will change once more when Apollo gets here. Enjoy your time outside.”
He bowed slightly to me and then was gone, the exit he used closing behind him, the prickly shrubs looking as if they had always been there without any breaks.
I shrugged, moving towards the exact center where a fountain stood. Water was pouring out of a cherub’s mouth into a basin, which overflowed into a small pool. I sat on the edge and dragged my fingers through it. It was warm, like the day, and I wondered if the god would be upset if I took off my shoes and socks and put my toes in it.
“Please don’t.”
Startled, I turned around and almost fell backwards into the pool, catching my balance at the last second. I scowled at the man.
“Yeah, and don’t do that.” I sputtered.
He raised one eyebrow as he unrolled an enormous blanket he had been carrying under his arm.
I studied him. He seemed tired. And a bit worried. What did he have to worry about? What disturbed a god's rest? What was I not seeing?
As I watched him, he smoothed out the large square of fabric before placing a basket in one corner. Then, with an elegance only a god could have, he sat cross-legged on one side, his face up to the sun and his eyes closed.
The frown lines smoothed out, giving his face that ageless appearance he strove to retain. He took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, releasing it through pursed lips. Right. Sun god.
Lowering his head, he opened his eyes to gaze back at me. “People always think the gods have no worries. Instead, that is about all we have these days. Even my sister, Artemis, is worried and planning.”
He waved one hand towards the other side of the blanket and I inched closer to him before sinking down on it as far from him as I could.
Apollo turned to the basket, retrieving a small bottle of water and placing it within my reach. He pulled out a second for him.
“I would like to see if we can work together to look for a prophecy. Are you enough of a catalyst that I can determine what is going to happen? Or are you like all the others?”
Crossing my legs, I kept my movement slow and deliberate. “Why would I want to help you?”
He stared at me a moment, his eyes unreadable. “You might learn something as well. That which means something to me may mean nothing to you. And vice versus. We don’t have the same experiences. This is the problem with prophecies. Interpretations vary.”
I nodded, thinking hard after checking that my mental shield was in place. Was there a way I might hide what I learned from the god? How is it possible with him reading my mind? I only hoped if I found something important, I could shove it so deep inside me that even he wouldn't think to probe there.
He said nothing, just held out his hands.
I scooted a little closer and took them. His fingers were firm, not soft like I thought they might be. Then again, he was in great shape. Was it from day-to-day work or did he exercise daily, along with having exceptional genetics? I snorted. I suspected all gods had perfect physiques.
I wrapped my fingers around his warm ones, my eyes on his face. I watched as he closed his eyes and started deep breathing exercises.
Okay, I guess I was doing this. Let’s find out what we can learn. I shut my own and began my meditation exercises, centering myself. Something about Delphi made it easy to slip into that dream world where Soren and I went. Except my mate wasn’t there now.
When he was, he was always in raven form, sitting on my shoulder, preening my hair. I missed him and hoped he was successful in whatever it was he had to do right now.
Apollo appeared, a shining figure that was almost too bright to look at.
“Tone it down.” I shielded my eyes, even though nothing here was real.
“Oh, sorry.” The brightness dimmed, allowing me to see the outline of the god.
He was not solid, like I was here. No, he was a being of light, with the slightest murmur of voices coming from everywhere around him. Were those his followers, the ones that gave him his godhood? If so, it appeared his popularity had died considerably from what it had been in olden times. I briefly wondered if that was one of the things bothering him.
The power emanating from the god was still palpable. A part of me wanted to reach out and siphon some of it off, storing it for later, but I stopped myself. Godly energy was an unknown. I didn’t want to take it and then have something unexpected occur, like breaking my mate bond with Soren. Because, with my luck, that was what might happen.
