Page 90 of Leashed

He closed his eyes and lay back until the urge passed. The thirst was messing with him, weakening his head and his body.

He was close enough to taste victory.

Peeking at the gates again, he tossed an arm over his eyes.

Close enough to be completely destroyed when he failed.

*

Sage pressed aharder on the gas to catch up to Nixon’s car as they sped down the highway to Spokane. Her little car sputtered and jerked, a whining noise cutting through her thoughts for a moment before it settled into a quiet thrumming.

Separate cars would be best, he’d said. Then he could easily attend his other meetings without being tied to her comings and goings.

She took a deep breath and stared at the taillights in front of her.

The binding pressure intermittently bearing down on her for days had lifted overnight, an insatiable restlessness taking its place. The longer she drove, the more unsettled she became, shifting in her seat and adjusting her rearview mirror every few minutes, her eyes scanning the sides of the highway for signs of a giant black dog.

She’d spoken to Charlotte for well over an hour, relief mixed with frustration as the woman answered her questions with cautiously clinical responses. She now had a fuller understanding of Cerberus, of the hunt for the Pirithous bloodline, and the tumultuous relationship between Bo and Dio, but all questions about Bo’s whereabouts now were skirted, vaguely addressed, or outright ignored.

She’d learned how Persephone clung to the brothers in the underworld, parading them around like a proud, albeit overbearing, owner. Charlotte’s voice had turned to exasperation as she detailed a few of the numerous encounters she’d had with the goddess who was determined to see Alex marry so she could play the role of the doting mother-in-law.

But it had been the twin, Alex, who’d taken the phone and spoken of Dionysus. He’d sounded almost remorseful as he explained Dio’s preference for Bo, how Bo’s lifeline was woven with fibers from Dionysus’s line, a request Clotho fulfilled. Drunken revelry fueled the god, and Bo was a beautiful, willing conduit. And, Alex had stated, when Bo wasn’t willing, Dio’s hand ensured he would be, drawing forth the lifeline with his touch to amp up his own power.

Her stomach had turned at that thought, memories of a drunk dog leashed at Dio’s feet flashing across her mind.

“Bo has his weaknesses,” Alex had said before passing the phone back to Charlotte. “It’s not all on Dio. But he isn’t a bad guy. Just, I don’t know what I can say here, go easy on him if you see him again.”

If you see him again.

Tapping the brake when a car moved between her and Nixon, she shook her head to clear the memory of his eyes when she’d pulled away from her apartment for the last time.

After all, she had a wedding cake tasting to attend.

*

“Bo? Honey? It’stime to wake up.”

Bo nuzzled against the soft hand tracing his jaw, his eyes fluttering open for a moment before they closed, Sage’s lips grazing his. He could feel her weight on his chest, his arm lifting slowly to wrap around her and hold her tighter.

He loved these kinds of dreams.

“You did it,” she whispered, her lips moving down his throat and sending a jolt of lust through his exhausted body. He skimmed her soft skin with his fingers, his breath catching when she ran her tongue along the neckline of his shirt. “We can be together now, Boreus.”

Boreus.

His eyes snapped open and he scrambled back, shoving the Eidolon off him and spitting the taste of it onto the grass. “Nice try,” he rasped, adrenaline pumping through him and propelling him to his feet.

He ran his hands roughly against his jeans to erase the sensation of the Eidolon’s skin from memory, steeling himself against the crocodile tears streaming down the cheeks of Sage’s copycat.

Real or not, those tears were hitting him in the gut.

As he journeyed toward the looming gates, he channeled his energy into keeping his focus on staying upright, his stomach grumbling in hunger and mouth parched. However long he’d rested hadn’t been enough for his worn body. Or for his mind.

The Eidolon remained at his side, her fingers brushing against him periodically as she whispered memories stolen from his head into his ear, warping them into a new narrative. Try as he might to push Sage from the forefront of his thoughts, the Eidolon’s barrage was beginning to twist his recollections, tinging them with dark eyes filled with revulsion and pity.

The revulsion he could almost stomach.

The pity…not so much.

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