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“Okay.” I scowl, confused. “And anyone else?”
Not Hades. Please don’t say Hades. You can say anyone but Hades.
“No. It was just them,” he says. “But…Kara…” He moves a few inches closer. I’m beyond being chilled, especially as he drags a hand free and scrapes it along my neck. The contact of his damp hand and the warm skin beneath my hair… I’m electrified by him. Beautifully connected once more.
But hopelessly held by his open concern, even as it escalates into a weird despondence.
“They didn’t know I was there.”
“Wait. So you eavesdropped on their conversation?”
“Not their conversation. Theirconfrontation.”
I don’t even have to turn on the empathy to get his point. I startle back by an inch.
“They were arguing about you.”
“About me?” I hate sounding like a stuck video loop, but what he’s saying right now is worse. “I’m sorry. I can’t wrap my mind around this. Are you sure they were referring to me?”
He’s not happy about my skepticism. “Unless there’s another person around here that they’d refer to asthe girl. One who’s also taken a new lover recently and been kidnapped to hell because of it.”
“Oh dear.” My turn for pulling in a labored breath. “Okay. What were they saying?”
“Hecate is insisting on rushing your lessons. Circe feels you need some recharge time.”
I crunch a new frown. “That’s all? Why can’t I do both?”
Maximus shakes his head. “That wasn’t all. They also discussed how things have progressed between you and me.”
For some reason, that section of his account feels like a steel file on a hangnail. I’m grateful he finishes by sliding his hand down and around mine again. “Hecate was asking questions about that yesterday too,” I confess. “But there was nothing insincere about her energy. She was genuinely interested.”
“Oh, I absolutely believe that.”
“But?”
“The one thing they agreed on is the fact that you and I are destined to be. They even talked about their role in it all. About aligning coordinates for us.”
“Sweet but a little weird. Coordinates? To what?”
“They weren’t doling out details.”
“Because they were busy fighting.” I use my free hand to gather the sheet close again, needing a purpose for my fidgeting tendencies. “About stuffotherthan that.”
Once more, my stab at levity is quelled by his tension. He’s as still as a human thunderhead, in his wet dark clothes and droplets glistening in his yanked-back hair. The hairstyle means I can gaze my fill of his high, strong cheekbones, as well as the bold line of his Olympian jaw. I know it’s not right to be fixating on his magnificence when he’s clearly rushed here with an urgent message, but I can’t help my human side sometimes. And right now, despite his continuing gloom, I’m glad about it.
“Maximus,” I prod. “Come on. You’ve got to tell me the rest. We’re still partners in all this craziness, right?”
His head jerks up at last. “Of course.” He’s soothing about it now, likely speaking to the wobble at the end of my query. There’s so much flowing from him. Unease. Uncertainty. A larger dread that hits as soon as our gazes lock again.
“Then you need to trust me here. I’m not going to break.”
Another jolt hits him. Not as huge this time, but there’s no mistaking the unease that flows from him along with it. “Circe…she used those same words,” he explains. “She said…she couldn’t stand the thought of breaking you.” His eyes darken, intense to the point of indigo now. “And I don’t think she was being figurative.”
I make sure he sees the tender intent in my gaze. “AndIthink that we probably don’t have the whole story about this.”
His lips compress. “I know what I heard, Kara.”
“And I’m not doubting that.” I resecure our hands together. “But in the sala yesterday, there was a moment when I could’ve broken Circe, and she trusted that I wouldn’t. I think she probably deserves the benefit of the doubt here.”
