Page 44 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

They were selfish, murderous bastards. Wren didn’t stand a chance. The idea made me want to shout at the moon like a mournful wolf.

She sucked in a shuddering breath. “And what about this bond with Milo?”

“I think, somehow, your threads and his have tangled together, and now he is yours.”

“Mine?” she repeated.

“His life is entwined with yours. Your fate is his fate. As is that of Néit.” Demke looked like he wanted to spit the words like poison from his body.

Wren shook her head. “Impossible. I don’t have any golden threads. Maybe I’m just a blank spot and that’s why they want to kill me? I can’t be all that. I can’t—” She started to breathe heavily, and Néit pulled her onto his lap, stroking a hand up and down her back.

“It’ll be okay,mo stóirín.I won’t let anything happen to any of you.”

Teron looked at her sympathetically. “It’s my belief you can’t see your own threads, Wren, but if you live and breathe, they are there. We all have them: humans, Demigods and Gods alike.” He gave Demke a pointed look.

“So what he’s saying”—she lifted her chin at Demke—“is that I’m screwed, and I’ve dragged Nate and Milo down with me, all because I ate a piece of fruit?”

Tryp looked unusually solemn. “Welcome to being a Mythic, babe. It makes no sense.”

Words trickled away, and only Wren’s panicked breaths and the soft friction of Néit’s hand running up and down her spine broke the silence.

Finally, she seemed to get herself under control. She looked up at Demke, her jaw tense and her eyes blazing with determination. “So what do we do?” There was still fear there, but her hand rested over her stomach. She was determined, for her young, if not for herself.

Demke raised an eyebrow. “We?”

I shot him an aggravated look. “Yes, fuckingwe. When have we ever just stood by and let an innocent woman die?”

Erus huffed. “The Bronze Age? Women and children died at the drop of a hat back then.”

I growled at him. “You know what I mean, Erastus. Besides, my fate is tied to hers now. Would you so easily cast my friendship aside, after four thousand years?” I pinned Demke with a stare. “Just roll over and let us—letme—fall to the people who fucked us over in the first place?”

Teron rested a hand on my shoulder. “Of course not, brother. Demke is just making a point. Even without the prophecy of the Oracle, we would not let Wren be harmed.” He gave the others a hard look. “Besides, the Ouroboros has turned, and perhaps this could be the Age where we are unwoven from the web completely. We cannot go into oblivion without a struggle. It is not our nature. At least, it’s not mine.”

He was taunting Demke, who’d become more and more apathetic over the years. As each cycle came and went, marked only by death and rebirth, he’d lost more and more of himself. Teron might’ve seemed confident that Demke wouldn’t hang me out to dry, but I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Demke sucked in a breath. “We’ll help, the best we can. You’ll have to stay here, in the compound. It is warded against other Mythics.” He glared at Néit, and I wondered how Néit had made it through the ward. Maybe it was because he’d had Wren in his arms?

“I can’t stay here forever. I have to go home. I have appointments, and the babies…” Her voice trailed off, the panic returning.

I found myself edging closer and closer to her seat. I tried to inconspicuously touch her skin, but I should have known better. As I wrapped a gentle hand around her ankle, sitting at her feet, the eyes of all my brothers took in my position.

Fuck it.I had no regrets. I was tying myself to her voluntarily, and they could make of that what they wanted.

“It isn’t safe for you to go home. We can’t protect you back in America. We can protect you here,” I told her as gently as I could. “Teron has more knowledge trapped in that giant head of his than all of your specialists combined. I promise, whatever happens, we’ll take care of you all.” I looked up into her pretty face. “Trust me.”

Her eyes were big and damp as she stared down at me, and I saw Néit’s hands flex where they sat on her hips. But he didn’t contradict me, perhaps because he knew we were right. He didn’t have to like it, but right here with me?

Nowhere else in the world was as safe.

Chapter 22

WREN

Somehow, the decision was made that we would stay. And I meant we, because there was no way I was staying without Nate. If he’d insisted that we head back home, then that’s where we would’ve gone. I might’ve had to kidnap Milo as well, because that painful tugging in my chest last night wasn’t something I was in a hurry to experience again. But Nate had agreed to stay, and I wasn’t too proud to admit that I was relieved.

Erus led us through the house to the wing where we would be staying. House was the wrong word; it was far too large for that. It was almost like a castle, but not. A fortress might have been the best description for it, since it was huge and made of stone. Maybe once upon a time, it might’ve even been considered a palace, but the idea that I was staying in a palace made me feel weird.

“The only wing we have spare is one that once belonged to someone else…” Erus trailed off as he pushed open the door, and I could see why. This wasn’t a room, for one thing. It was a full suite, including a sitting room and private bathroom. It was decorated almost entirely in light blue and white, making it look like the room was set amongst the clouds. Tiny animal motifsran along the walls of the room, and all the furniture was covered in large drop cloths. I didn’t need to see under them to know that it would all be finely made and probably crazily expensive antiques. Whoever had lived in this room had been someone seriously important.

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