his cousins Hector and Jason stayed submerged. He hadn’t known about this talent, and he was happy that circumstance had led him there to witness it. He had lost track of Lucas earlier, which happened often considering his little cousin could fly, and he had to settle for following Jason and Hector to this ridiculous beach party. As he watched his cousins breach the waves and stroll out of the thundering surf, he seethed with resentment. All that talent wasted on cowards who were too frightened of the gods to challenge them, and too interested in their own pleasure to consider the implications that flirting with human girls could have for their entire House.
Jason spent most of the evening talking to a tiny Japanese girl. He seemed to be able to control himself around women, but Hector was a different story. It wasn’t even midnight yet, and Creon had seen him rolling around in the sand with two different girls already. Didn’t Hector know how easy it was for Scions to impregnate women? Did his idiot cousin really want his firstborn to be from some foolish child with no character? Obviously, Hector didn’t care about their House, or he wouldn’t waste his time with such silly girls. It rankled so much, Creon had to look away and grit his teeth. There was only one girl on this island who was equal to any of them in status. Only one girl worthy of his attention.
Helen. But Lucas wouldn’t leave her for a moment, and it forced Creon to keep his distance from her. He couldn’t confront his cousins directly or his undercover mission would be spoiled, but there had been a few times when Creon had considered it. Helen’s face had stayed with him. He thought back again to their confrontation out on the moors. The fear and anger in her eyes while she chased him had been pure, so passionate it was almost too much to resist. She was powerful, and yet so unaware of her potential she was nearly helpless. His hands shook at the thought of conquering her, but he had to be patient.
His mother had begged him to wait until she could quietly ask around and find out if there was a possibility someone in the family had left a bastard in Massachusetts. Creon had reluctantly agreed to wait a week on her reply, but he knew what the answer would be. Even though he hadn’t seen the Furies when he first encountered her, he knew Helen wasn’t his cousin.
There were rumors that a few Scions in the past had found a way around the Furies, and Creon believed Helen was one of them. His mother said it was impossible—that all the other Houses had been destroyed—but Creon had more to go on than a gut feeling. The traitors were guarding her like she was the last enemy Scion, and she was so untrained, so ignorant of who and what she was, it seemed obvious to Creon that she had been purposely hidden away from all the Houses, even her own. But above any of these other reasons, it was Creon’s body that told him she was not related to him. He had met dozens of his female cousins, all beautiful as the daughters of Apollo should be, but not one of them kept him up at night the way Helen did. He knew she was from another House.
He was obligated by family duty to watch and wait for a few more days in order to remain true to the promise he had made his mother, but very soon he would prove himself. He was up to this challenge, and although there was an alternative for unification of the Houses other than combat, Creon forced himself not to think about it, no matter how tempting it was. This was his one chance at the glory he deserved, the last chance at this type of glory for any Scion. There was another Triumph waiting to be captured, and in his heart he knew that this Triumph would be the one to open the gates of Atlantis.
Creon was destined to be the Scion to make his family immortal, and for that his father would honor him above all others.
Chapter Twelve
Helen heard something up on the roof. She ran up the stairs to the widow’s walk and threw the door open as fast as she could, but the widow’s walk was empty. She sighed, relieved. She didn’t want any of