Chapter 14

14

Nemea

V esh’s hands crackle with purple lightning when he tells me how he’d do anything to keep me. My skin prickles with awareness of his power, every inch of my body’s surface alive, as if calling to him.

He puts distance between us, clenching his fists as if to keep himself from reaching for me too.

“I don’t trust you enough to give you more right now,” I say. Whether it’s an explanation or an apology, I don’t know, but I’m grateful for Alcides’ presence beside me.

Vesh returns my look with a rueful half-smile. “That’s okay. I don’t trust myself enough not to take too much. I will take comfort knowing that when you give yourself to them, you are also giving yourself to me. I can live with that, for now.”

“Even Alcides? Is he really part of you like the others are?”

“He is.” Vesh glances at the man by my side, lips tilting in a half-smile. “I don’t have quite the same power over him as I do the others, as you may have noticed. But he and I do share a bond. He’s served me for centuries. He’s almost as close to me as my brothers are, which is why his betrayal cuts so deep. He’s yours now, more than he was ever mine.”

I reach for Alcides’ hand where it rests at my hip and pull it across my belly, threading my fingers through his. I’m gratified by the gentle squeeze he gives me.

“He’s more than just a guard now. He’s also inside me the way the others are—Typhon, Erebus, Pan, Asterius, and Chrysaor.”

I deliberately speak each name so they know I’m aware they’ve been there all along, even if I haven’t acknowledged them. Some of the strange energy vibrating inside my mind calms and then slowly fades away as if they’re satisfied that I’m okay. Only a shadow of Pan remains lingering at the back of my mind, guarding.

Vesh’s irises flicker the way I’ve seen a dragon’s do when they shift their sight. Some of the tightness wound around his body dissipates, and I know he’s relieved they’ve returned to him.

“One of them will be with you always. If Alcides isn’t by your side, Campe will be. If she isn’t, one of the others will be with you on the inside. I don’t care how skilled these women are, or what divine magic they have at their command; they don’t know what we’re up against. They’ve never faced the powers we’ll have to fight soon. If the Titans come for you here, I want someone I trust to be with you.”

“You’re actually letting her out?”

He spreads his hands in front of him. “It’s a compromise. I can’t be with you here, even if the Amazons did allow it. It’s uncertain whether they’ll allow Alcides to stay long enough to see you through training, no matter how little time is left for that. Campe will be welcome, and she can offer training the other women can’t. She can also balance your magic better than most. Dragons are adept at absorbing excess power. She’s been steeped in chaos magic for eons so it won’t be difficult for her.”

“When is she coming?”

“Now, if you wish. I need to leave you, and as much as I’m sure Alcides thinks he’s enough for you, he isn’t.”

He trails off, and I can sense his hesitance to leave. Alcides squeezes my hand again, but it doesn’t feel like an objection to the suggestion that he isn’t enough for me.

“I’ll be okay,” I say, even though I’m overwhelmed by uncertainty and a strange sense of helplessness at the idea of him disappearing.

Then he nods and raises his hands in front of him. He weaves his fingers across each other, then pulls them apart with a snap. I gasp as the very air between us rips open in a whorl of crackling violet magic, smoke rising into the air around it.

When the smoke clears, the rift is gone, and Vesh is nowhere to be seen. In his place stands a tall, gorgeous woman in snug leather armor, a dark braid draped over her shoulder all the way to her waist, and sleek, shimmering horns on her head.

She sways as if standing on a wire, then steadies, and her dark green gaze lands on me. Her eyes are slitted like a cat’s, pupils dilating when she looks at me before snapping back to tight slivers, as if that shift was only a reflex she didn’t mean for me to witness.

“Hi,” I say, uncertain how to greet her and completely out of my element.

She doesn’t smile, just sizes me up in an almost predatory way, then glances at Alcides, one eyebrow lifting as she does the same to him.

“I could eat you both alive,” she finally says, and it doesn’t sound like a come-on, either, but an evaluation of our worthiness to fight.

I frown and cross my arms. “I’m sorry if I don’t measure up. First, you caught me naked. And second, it isn’t like I chose to be anyone’s secret weapon.”

“I’ll get you there. But it’s late, and you look exhausted. I do regret I didn’t arrive earlier, though. Did they give you a room?”

“I have a bed in the barracks,” I say, gesturing to the mouth of the cave.

“Not good enough. You need uninterrupted rest.”

“I have been given private quarters,” Alcides says. “I planned to let her sleep there with me.”

She nods curtly, her eyes flashing with what seems like a warning directed at Alcides. I hadn’t been aware of this plan of his, which sounds like a bit of an afterthought now that Campe is here barking orders.

“Are we going to have a problem?” I ask, looking between them both.

“No. Get dressed,” they say simultaneously.

“Okay,” I drawl, stepping slowly backward and letting them continue to stare each other down. While I find my clothes, they continue their silent standoff. Once I’m dressed, I gather Alcides’ clothes and walk back to him, handing him the bundle.

“Listen, you two are both here for the same thing. If we need to settle on a schedule or something, let’s do it now. We only have how many days left?”

“Three, by my count,” Alcides says. “Not enough to get much done.”

“I only have two days,” Campe says. “The mission to steal the key takes place two nights hence, and I must be there. My role is crucial.”

Alcides’ eyebrows rise. “You are going to steal it? I had hoped Vesh could convince the boss to just give it to us.”

“He asked too high a price, so this is the alternative,” she says, glancing pointedly at me.

Alcides follows her gaze, his expression going tight. My skin prickles when he nods. “Chaos must have wanted Nemea in exchange for the key. Because she is a Chimera, I imagine. Because the bastard can’t stand that Fate has something he does not.” He shakes his head and scrubs a hand over his face in frustration, grumbling something about insufferable primordials.

“Why in the world would he want me? I’m nobody.”

“Who you are doesn’t matter,” Campe says. “It is what you are that he cares about. The last Chimera within his reach was the woman on that island we found you on—the one with the abundance of dragon and ursa blood.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “April Vincent’s a Chimera? He tried to take her?”

She grimaces. “ We tried. We are his lackeys when it comes to chasing down his impulsive cravings. Ever since Fate claimed Deva Rainsong as theirs, Chaos has wanted to acquire a Chimera of his own for balance. April Vincent’s father led us to her. Chaos had hoped that he could leverage Andrew Vincent’s gambling debts to let him have his daughter, but of course it didn’t work. The conflict was… bloody. Ty lost three heads.”

“It was foolish to try,” Alcides interjects. “The bloodline are all guarded by Deva now. That fate barrier on the island is what protects most of them, but even before that, Deva would have come if a member of the bloodline was threatened.”

“But not me. Pan and Vesh made it through. Deva didn’t come.”

“You summoned Pan, if I recall,” Campe says. “I don’t know which came first: your desire to treat with a god, or Fate’s picking at the cracks of Tartarus. Either way, your ritual opened the prison up to Fate’s tendrils. And now Vesh has swung the doors wide open in his bargain to get that key.”

“You are also a very unique Chimera,” Alcides adds. “You are a true balance for Deva Rainsong, something April Vincent was not. I witnessed every bit of magic that severed Typhon’s heads that day. April was not made of chaos like you are; she was earth and fire, but that’s all she was. You are creation and destruction rolled into one, Nemea. There is no other creature in existence who could be our mate.”

“It isn’t my fault Vesh made the choices he did,” I defend. “I’m not in control of him.”

Campe starts to speak when Alcides cuts his hand through the air. “If you lay blame at her feet again, I will crush you,” he says. “Fate does not act frivolously. If Fate magic is at play, it is calculated. Vesh only conceded to the inevitable when he made that bargain for Fate’s half of the key. Fate was already in, whether we liked it or not. Perhaps they recognized Nemea for what she was—a force of chaos that they could use to piggyback into the prison. To hit Chaos where it would hurt him most. Well, it’s working, and we are all moving full-speed ahead on this path to destruction.”

His face is a mask of barely banked fury that is frankly terrifying. I wrap my arms around myself, holding tight.

“Why aren’t we trying to stop it? If Fate’s the real danger, why are we bothering with the Titans at all?”

Alcides gives me a helpless look while Campe stares pointedly off in the distance, her jaw clenched and her gaze glassy. Her voice is tight when she turns back to me and answers.

“Because you can’t fight Fate, Nemea. We all know this. Vesh knows this. I think Chaos is the only one in denial. But dangerous or not, the one thing we all agree on is that we want you and will face whatever perils are in our path if it means we get to keep you.”

“Two days isn’t much time.” Alcides gives a resigned shake of his head.

“It will have to be enough. We will both stay with her every second until it is time to go,” Campe says. Scanning down his large frame, she says, “Hurry and dress. We have no time to waste.”

Campe’s order cuts through the air, her tone leaving no room for debate. She watches Alcides with eyes like emerald daggers, making it clear who she believes is in charge.

Alcides meets her gaze without flinching, his broad shoulders set firm and unyielding. “It was my idea to bring her here,” he grumbles, pulling on his clothes with deliberate slowness, a silent challenge to Campe’s authority.

Their standoff crackles with tension, two forces of nature colliding, with me caught in the middle.

“I appreciate both of you wanting to protect me,” I interject, trying to smooth things over. “But arguing isn’t helping anyone.”

Campe’s gaze flicks to me, assessing, then softens ever-so slightly. “Fine,” she concedes, though her voice still carries the weight of command. “Let’s move.”

We exit the cave and trek toward Alcides’ quarters, tucked away on the outskirts of the compound behind the brewery. The scent of fermenting grain and hops is sharp in the air. I sense Campe’s disapproval as we approach; it’s as if she can taste the isolation of his lodgings on her tongue.

“They keep you out here to keep you away from the women,” she observes dryly, a hint of mockery in her tone.

Alcides just shrugs. “It suits me fine.”

“It’s not as protected as I would like, but it will have to do for tonight. I’ll see about an alternative in the morning.”

The one-room cottage is modest, but cozy—a small fireplace crackles with warmth, though it’s a relatively mild night, and there’s a sturdy table with a couple of chairs. But it’s the bed that draws my attention; large and inviting with plush blankets piled high.

Campe surveys the space with a critical eye before turning to us. “Nemea needs rest, uninterrupted. We will both stand guard.”

“We could take shifts,” Alcides suggests, clearly not keen on spending the night on his feet.

“No shifts,” Campe insists firmly. “She needs us both alert at all times.”

Alcides opens his mouth to argue but catches my look and lets out a resigned sigh instead.

“Fine,” he says grudgingly. “But I’m keeping watch outside.”

Campe nods once in approval, then turns to me. “Sleep, Nemea.”

I climb into bed, feeling like a child being tucked in by overbearing parents. It’s ridiculous—I’ve experienced more in the last few days than most do in a lifetime—yet here I am being coddled like I might break at any moment.

As I settle under the covers, I hear them begin their silent vigil—one inside by the door and one just beyond it. The weight of their presence is both comforting and suffocating.

I close my eyes and try to ignore their silent battle for dominance. Tomorrow is another day of training, another day closer to whatever fate awaits us all. For now, I need to rest—for them and for myself. But sleep doesn’t come easy with two gods standing guard over me, each filled with enough power and stubbornness to shake the very earth we stand on.