but from the set of his shoulders, I can tell he’s not inclined to talk. And anyway, with his newfound mother only a few yards away, it’s not like we can carry on a deep, meaningful conversation right now. In fact, the only thing I can think about is how terrifying she is, the kind who can make lemonade out of heads with a single look.
We walk down a forest road, the predawn darkness offset by illuminated mushrooms, the light coming from their gills. They’re classic fairy kinds, with deep red and yellow spotted caps growing in rings.
Through the trees ahead, I see what looks to be a city. Purple banners hang from the trees and sway in the early morning breeze, the ends trimmed with amethyst beads that tinkle like windchimes.
The sounds of flutes drift through the air, but there are no players evident.
Before we can get too much closer, Catalina stops and holds up her hand. “You will await my decision here,” she says, pointing to a small glade ringed with glowing mushrooms. She gazes at Mirk for a long moment before turning away.
The instant she’s gone, a slender red-headed Fae dressed in forest green leather appears, a quiver of arrows on her back, and a yew bow in her hand.
“Rest, please,” she invites, nodding at the glade.
“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” I ask Artemis as we lead Alfio’s donkey onto the grass. I feel time slipping away, and with each moment I worry about Earth and what might be happening to it now.
“I can’t say,” she replies. “But we’re going nowhere without their help. There’s nothing left I can do, even as a goddess. The Fae have their own power here.”
Mirk withdraws to sit under a tree. My heart feels for him, but sensing he wants to be alone, I join Ladron instead.
“If his people accept him, do you think he’ll want to stay here?” I ask, sitting on the grass by his side.
Ladron cocks his head to the side and gives me a thoughtful look. “I would guess that while Mirk may be Fae, he wants more than a life in the woods.”
I know it’s selfish, but that makes me relieved. I don’t want to lose him. Any of them. But then, what right do I have to hold onto them? They may have been assigned as my harem by Zeus, but he’s gone now, so technically, there’s nothing binding left. The thought of being without them leaves a hole in my heart, but in the end, I want their happiness more than anything. If that means a life away from me, I’ll have to accept it.
“When this Clay thing is all over, what are you going to do?” I ask Ladron. “You don’t have to stay with me.” He never did. He never should have. He was Hermes.
He leans back and slides a warm arm across my shoulder. “What will I do?” he asks, and then lowering his voice to a seductive rumble, he adds, “Something I should have done long ago.”
I stare back into his piercing blue eyes, and the heat of his body prickles my skin. I fell for Ladron first. Actually, way before I met him. I always had a thing for Hermes, but the real deal is so much better.
As his head dips, I lean close and our lips meet. His touch is feather-light, a whisper of a kiss, but it still sends cascades of electric tingles down to my toes. I melt. No one could ever take his place. No one could ever take any of their places. Torak. Mirk. Ladron. I need them all and in such different ways.
He deepens the kiss, but as I respond, meld myself against him, he pulls back and drops his hands on my shoulders. “I’m here with you because I want to be, Lily Lemon.”
I can only take a few seconds of those seductive eyes before I’m back in his arms, properly this time. I grab his tunic in my hands and pull him closer as our tongues meet and mesh.
The sound of approaching hooves shatters the spell building between us, and I pull back.
Catalina has returned. She stands with a half dozen attendants wearing white robes with hoods pulled over their faces. Each one holds the reins of a stunning white horse.
“Join me,” she says, her tone straddling the line between a command and an invitation.
When we arrange ourselves in front of her, Alfio included, she holds out