It was Artemis who had answered his cry for vengeance.
The last thing he'd seen was the Druid holding his head back and then making the savage cut across his throat.
Talon breathed deeply in and out and he sought to bury those memories. That was the past and now he had Sunshine to watch out for.
"It was youthful fury," he said with a calmness he didn't feel. "I had lost so much in such a short time-my aunt, my uncle, you, and our son. After I lost you, I walked around cloaked in grief. I struggled to make it through every minute of every day. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that the clan and Ceara needed me.
"When the Druids came to me and said that I would have to give up my life to the gods to protect the clan, it was actually a relief. I didn't think twice about allowing them to place me on the sacrificial altar."
Talon ground his teeth as he saw his sister in his mind again. The way she had looked that day. "Ceara was weeping, but she was trying to be strong. Everything was going as it should, until Murrdyd turned on her and told my clansmen to seize her. He said we both had to die to appease the gods."
"Was that the truth?"
"No. He wanted to be king. He needed both Ceara and me out of the way since we were legitimate heirs. I can understand his wanting me killed, but he didn't have to kill Ceara. It was the injustice of it that I couldn't stand."
She placed her hand over his. "Baby, I am so sorry."
He squeezed her hand as he blinked against the agony he felt. The only comfort he had ever known in his life was the touch of this woman. "So were they in the end."
"What did you do?"
Talon cleared his throat as he tried to squelch the memories of that night. The regrets. He had been like a single-minded monster raging through his village.
The only thought on his mind had been reaching his cousin.
Making the bastard pay.
"I went through the village killing every man who came between me and the ones who had killed Ceara. The women and children fled while I fought my way to Murrdyd. After I took my vengeance on him, I burned the entire village to the ground."
"And you've been serving Artemis ever since?"
He nodded.
"Have you ever met her?"
"Just the one time when she came to bargain with me for my soul. She met me in the nether region where a soul gets trapped after it leaves this world, but has yet to travel to the next."
"You haven't seen her since?"
He shook his head. "We're not allowed to have contact with the gods. They see us as an abomination."
"But what about Eros?"
He took a deep breath and felt a twinge of humor at the thought of the fun-loving, irreverent god of love. "He's a little different. For some reason, he likes hanging out with us."
Sunshine considered his words as they finished dinner. Poor Talon. He had been through so much pain. So much grief.
To some extent it bothered her that he was still confusing her with Nynia. They might share a soul, but ultimately, they were two entirely different people.
Not that it really mattered. So long as he was bound to Artemis and cursed by Camulus, he could never be free. He could never have a future.
While she'd talked to Psyche, the goddess had told her how to summon Artemis.
Sunshine really wanted to have a nice chitchat with that goddess and see if maybe Talon could earn his freedom again. If she accomplished that, then maybe they could do something to stop Camulus as well.
After they paid for dinner, they left the restaurant and headed for her father's club.
Sunshine didn't know why Talon wanted to take her home, but she snuck them in unnoticed so that they could have a little more time alone.