Page 36 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

Teron ushered us out of the room we were in, and I realized it was some kind of sitting room. There was a desk in the corner, and I’d been lying on a chaise lounge. The halls of this fortress were made of the same stone as the outer walls, making the whole place blissfully cool in comparison to the heat outside. The floors were a darker slate stone, covered in bright rugs. Large arch windows with white painted moldings prevented the place from being oppressively dark and dungeon-like, but still our steps echoed as the sound ricocheted around the vaulted ceilings.

I peeked through one of the windows and saw a pool in the backyard, a paved area shaded by a small stand of what looked like orange trees. The blue water sparkled enticingly, and I stared at it longingly. Who came to Crete and didn’t swim immediately?

Teron turned and ushered us into the central part of the home. A big stone arch was rendered white, and through the arch were large glass doors that led out to what I assumed was the back patio area. The sitting room was flooded with light, which meant that I saw every single one of the monsters before me in stark, crisp technicolor.

There were two lion-headed men, though they were both wearing shirts this time. Their faces flickered back to human quickly, and I could see the one I met at the door looking a little guilty now that his features were something I recognized. And what beautiful humans they made, golden gods in mortal-looking bodies.

Beside them was the largest man I’d ever seen—even bigger than Nate.

No, not a man. I swallowed hard as he stared at me from a bull’s head. Large horns curved gently from his face, his broad nose looking velvety soft, a gold hoop through the septum.

“Concentrate, Milo. I don’t want to scare her any more than necessary,” Teron chastised gently, and suddenly, the bull’s head was gone, and in its place was a strong jaw and a pair of piercing blue eyes the color of the Aegean sea.

The guy lowered his chin. “Apologies. It’s been a while since we’ve met anyone who can see through the glamors quite so easily.”

I turned to the last man in the room. This one didn’t have any glamor, but he still made my knees shake. The raw power coming from him whooshed over me, shining so brightly that I squinted against it. The golden streaks spread from his body like fireworks, and I sucked in a breath. I wanted to touch him.

No, I wanted to rub my body all over his, like a cat marking its territory.

A pain pounded in my head from staring at him, and I closed my eyes against the lights completely.

A warm hand wrapped around my wrist, making Nate growl with disapproval. Teron made a soothing noise, and I wasn’t sure if he was trying to appease me or Nate. “What’s wrong, Wren? Why do you look like you’re in pain?”

I chewed my lip, squinting at him. “He’s too bright.”

“Bright?” he questioned, and I screwed up my nose. How did I explain my visual hallucinations to complete strangers?

Luckily, Nate answered for me. “She describes seeing golden streaks of light around people.”

Teron hissed out a breath. He looked over his shoulder. “Erus, get me your sunglasses.” One of the lion-headed guys disappeared and returned quickly. He stood in front of me, threading the shades over my ears until they sat perched on my nose. He was really very pretty, with his shiny brown eyes andthe small dimple in his chin that I kind of wanted to stick the tip of my tongue into.

The sunglasses were wonderfully dark, and my headache relented almost immediately. I smiled softly at the man—er, man-lion?—in front of me. “Thank you.”

He gave me a gentle nod, and I resisted the urge to lean into his body.

Teron slapped him on the back. “Indeed. Thank you, Erus. I think it’s best if you start at the beginning, Wren.”

The bright man grunted his agreement. “Why would an American be in Amourgeles?”

I sucked in a deep breath. This would be the moment they decided I was crazy.

Well, maybe not, considering the animal heads.

“An Oracle told me that if I didn’t come here, to Amourgeles, that I would be murdered and so would my babies. When the Lamia turned up on my doorstep, I decided that even if the Oracle was crazy, she might also be right.”

The big bull-headed guy—Teron had said his name was Milo—sucked in a breath. Even Erus looked perturbed.

I risked looking over at the big, overly bright guy. I could tell he was the leader, because everyone else was shooting looks in his direction as well, as if waiting to see what he would do or say. He crossed tanned arms over a broad chest, his almost-black beard just this side of scruffy. With the darkness of the sunglasses, I could look at him with minimal wincing.

“Explain.”

Hooboy.If Ihadan explanation, I wouldn’t be here. But I went right back to the beginning and hoped they’d understand, and maybe, just maybe, they’d have some answers too.

Chapter 18

DEMKE

Exile had its benefits. There was something soothing about knowing the days would be the same, that we were the lords of our domain, the most powerful beings on our little island paradise. But after thousands of years, it also led to an ennui so great, it threatened to suck you down into a darkness that you’d never be able to rise from. Not much ever changed. Days blurred together like seconds, weeks like hours, centuries like years.

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