Page 7 of A Single Thread Of Hope

Why were these guys all so attractive? Was it an after-effect of being so long-lived?

I dragged my eyes from his pretty face. “I should be the one saying that. You saved my ass. Literally.”

He was opening his mouth to say something else, but at that moment, I spotted Demke, and the fury that had been simmering in my veins surged back up. The pain of believing him dead at my feet bloomed once more, and I was marching toward him before I even thought about it. How dare he put me through that?

He was righting some olive trees with Persephone, whose hands were repairing the damage and making them bloom once more. It was a cool party trick. Normally, I would’ve watched in awe. Right now, though, I had tunnel vision, and at the end of that red haze was one man.

He spotted me, and his eyes widened. I shuddered to think what I looked like right now—probably deranged.

“You!” I pointed at him.

He lifted both hands. “Wren, I’m sorry, I can?—”

I didn’t give him a chance. I didn’t care if he was a God, a man, my bond, whatever. Lifting my hand, I punched him square in the throat. In all honesty, I’d been aiming for his nose, but I was short and had terrible hand-eye coordination.

“I thought you weredead. I cried over your corpse, you royal fucking asshole.”

He wheezed, and I was glad he was immortal, because that looked like it hurt. My thumb ached, like I’d crunched it a little too hard.

Spinning away before he could give me a lame excuse, I nearly walked straight into a laughing Hades. “Fuck me, this was absolutely worth hanging around in this dingy fucking realm. You tell him, Wren!”

I was about to start crying again, so I did the only thing I could think of. I turned my back on them all, and went in search of Milo.

Chapter 4

MILO

Iwas losing patience with the humans, and I was snorting far more than appropriate with a human face. They were worried and scared; I got that, but I wanted to be at home with Wren, making sure she was okay, holding her close and ensuring that nothing could ever hurt her again.

Instead, I was here, moving rubble created by the monsters that had crawled out of the darkness, including fuckingTyphon.I couldn’t believe that they’d wanted Wren so bad that they’d released the Father of Monsters from his immortal prison. Talk about drastic measures. There was just as much of a chance that he’d turn on them, in revenge for his imprisonment, than do their bidding.

Ekhidna had also been there, and maybe that had been keeping him in line, because as soon as she’d disappeared into Hades’s Hell pit, Typhon had roared and disappeared. My chuckle was dark, scaring some of the humans working beside me. I hoped he tracked down those witches and tore them to pieces.

Cy ran up to me in his dog form, dodging the hands of the townspeople. I always wondered what they’d say about theirbeloved village dog being able to turn into a man. Some knew, of course—the elders with long memories—but they’d never told the younger generation. It had been a long time since Cy had changed forms, so maybe the fact had just gotten lost to old age.

He yipped in my direction, flicking his head back toward the compound. His meaning was clear, even if he did bark it at me.

“She’s out of her room?”

After the guys had told me what happened, I’d known I needed to leave or I’d wreck things: either Demke’s face, or my relationship with Wren. I wouldn’t be able to give her the space she demanded, because the very idea that she was angry at me was like barbs in my chest.

So I left to do something helpful, like clear the rubble from the roads and ensure the townspeople were okay. Anything so I wouldn’t just pace outside her door until she emerged.

Cy nodded, and I wondered if the townspeople noticed. Probably not. Humans were great at ignoring the supernatural right in front of them.

I found Stavros, who was sitting on a small stone wall, looking annoyed that he couldn’t help. He was walking with his stick more these days, and I knew our old confidant was rapidly spinning toward death. He was one in a long line of many. After all this time, I thought I’d hardened my heart to the inevitable demise of mortals, but apparently, Wren had ripped the scab off that wound too.

I clapped him gently on the arm. “I have to go, but I’ll return after dark to finish the rest of the cleanup.”

Stavros waved a hand. “It’s fine, Milonos. You’ve done the work of ten men already this morning. We’ll take care of the rest.”

I inclined my head, trying to chase away the guilt. They didn’t need to clean up after our immortal squabbles; their lives shouldn’t be made harder by our presence. It was a topic onwhich Teron and I disagreed. He argued that our presence had created a protective circle around this small village, and perhaps the island as a whole. We enriched the town, not just financially but magically, and the olive crops around here were some of the most bountiful on the island. We provided protection and medical aid to the town’s residents, and since many made it to well over a century in age, possibly longevity.

For hundreds of years, we’d been silent guardians. Now, it was a time of turmoil, and they would have to decide if the boons were worth it.

But that was a discussion Demke would have to have with the town leaders. My job was to find the woman I was bonded to, and make sure she didn’t hate me for lying to her by omission. Cy trotted along beside me, and I was insanely surprised when he walked through the wall gate too.

Demke had never letanyonefrom the Greek Pantheon into the compound, not in the entire history of this stronghold. Not even Cy, who we’d lived in harmony with for a relatively long time. It had been the place we’d retreated to when we needed to lick our wounds after the great battle, and it was a strictly No Greek Mythic zone.

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