Bound (36 page)

It wasn’t just torture. It was a living hell, watching your soul mate suffer and nearly die. Except in Theron’s case, he could wrap his arms around Casey and hold her close. Reassure himself. And her. Convince them both that life went on. That everything would be fine. Titus couldn’t do that.

Theron pulled his hands from his pockets and leaned his forearms against the railing next to Titus. “It probably won’t make you feel any better to know it never gets easier, but I can tell you nothing is better, either. Finding your soul mate… I’d rather cherish one day with Acacia than live a lifetime alone. Not knowing her…that would be the true definition of torture.”

Below, Natasa turned to look up his way, and he tried to smile, to reassure her that everything was good, but from the worry he saw in her eyes, he knew he failed.

That knot twisted tighter.

“Anyway,” Theron went on, “I want you to know she’s one of us now. Not because of what’s inside her or what she can do, or even because Prometheus is her father, but because she’s your soul mate. We take care of our own.”

Brotherhood reverberated through Titus’s chest—a feeling he hadn’t felt with his kin in…he didn’t know how long.

“She always has a place with us,” Theron said. “No matter what happens with the Orb. No matter what happens between the two of you.”

A lump formed in Titus’s throat. He tried to swallow it back. Couldn’t. No one knew what was happening with the Orb just yet. Whether or not Natasa would be able to conjure tangible fire in the form of an element to place inside the Orb. Whether or not they’d eventually locate the water element. Whether or not the Orb could even really be destroyed once they did. But most importantly, none of them knew what was happening with Nick. And yet…one thing became crystal clear to Titus in that moment.

He would never be free of his duty. And…deep down, he didn’t want to be free. He was an Argonaut, not because of any vow he’d taken or any gift he’d been given, but because doing the right thing and protecting those around him were as much a part of him as was his heart. To shun that side of himself would be shunning what had drawn him to Natasa in the first place.

“Thanks,” he managed, not knowing what else to say.

Theron stepped away from the railing. He stared at Titus. But whatever else he was thinking, he blocked from Titus’s ability to read. Which was good. Because Titus wasn’t sure he could handle any more just now.

“I think you should take some time off from the Argonauts,” Theron said. “As much as you need. Things are quiet right now, and with O and Skyla here, we can cover for you for a while. When you’re ready to come back, we’ll be here.”

That lump grew bigger.
Just great
. All the Argonauts knew he was fucked-up right now
.
This was why he’d never wanted to find his soul mate. Because he knew once he did, he’d never be the same. But even realizing that, he knew he wouldn’t go back to the way he’d had been before, even if he could.

He forced himself to nod and looked back down at Natasa. She was manipulating fire again with Prometheus, but this time she was smiling and laughing. A glowing, twisting, swirling light in the middle of a world Titus had only known as dark and dreary.

“Okay,” Theron said in quiet voice. He moved for the door that led back inside.

“Theron?”

The leader of the Argonauts stopped with one hand on the door handle. “Yeah?”

“You might want to prepare yourself for a little more of that torture.”

“Why?”

Titus glanced over his shoulder. “Casey’s pregnant. Her thoughts have been banging off the castle walls. I tried to ignore them, but
skata
, the female projects…loudly.”

Theron’s face paled. “Oh my gods.”

Titus smiled. The first real smile he’d felt in weeks. “I’m sure she’ll tell you soon. She’s been trying to figure out a way. Try to act surprised when she does.”

Excitement brightened Theron’s features, then lurched to ice-cold fear. “Holy shit.”

Titus chuckled. “Torture. Yep.” He turned back to the courtyard. “Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it?”

The door slammed. Theron’s footsteps faded into the warm midmorning air.

Alone, Titus crossed his arms on the railing and leaned his chin against his arms. The humor he’d felt before leaked out as he watched Natasa and was replaced with the most intense yearning he’d ever felt.

Theron was right. Spending just one day with her was better than a lifetime of being alone, even if he couldn’t touch her. But gods, he missed her. Missed feeling her skin against his, missed holding her, missed falling asleep with her in his arms and waking with her draped over his body, warming him, making him feel something other than empty.

“She’s in front of you. Stop moping and go get her.”

Startled by the voice, Titus jerked up and turned. The petite, frail creature dressed in diaphanous white sat on the far railing, studying him with a
What the hell are you waiting for?
expression.

Lachesis. The Fate. The one who spun the thread of life. His pulse picked up speed. But instead of awe and surprise, anger and frustration condensed inside him. “What do you want?”

Her wrinkled cheeks creased with a smile. Her hair was long and white, her feet so small he wondered how she stood on them. “I’ve had unwelcoming greetings, but yours, descendent of Odysseus, probably tops them all.”

Titus clenched his jaw. She wanted him to be thankful she was here? Where had she been when he’d been alone all these years? Where had she been when his life had been in the shitter? When Natasa had been suffering because of that damn element?

“I’ve always been here, Guardian. You just weren’t paying attention.”

In that moment, he knew instinctively that she wasn’t here to change their situation. If she could—if she
wanted
to—she’d have done it already.

He moved for the door.

“I watch you always. Some guardians need me to steer them in the right direction when they blow off course. But not you. You’re one who hasn’t needed my advice. Until now.”

He turned and glared at her, then opened his mouth to tell her just what she could do with her advice.

“The knowledge you hold doesn’t just come from the Orb,” she said. “Or Odysseus. It comes from inside you. You were given a gift no other guardian could handle. The ability to read minds. That is an incredible power, Titus.”

Incredible power. Yeah right. “And I was punished for it.”

“You were cursed with feeling others’ emotions because you lacked self-control. The Fates never expected you to be perfect. But we’re very impressed with the way you’ve mastered that control over these long years.”

“So take the curse away.”

“I can’t. The curse did not come from the Fates. It came from witchcraft. And that is something neither I, nor my sisters, can change.”

Then why the fuck were they having this conversation? Titus took another step for the door.

“Think, Guardian. How does Natasa regulate the fire inside her?”

Titus’s feet stilled, and a tingling started in his chest then drifted through every limb. Slowly, he looked over the railing down toward Natasa.

“She made a great sacrifice for you,” Lachesis said softly. “Sometimes sacrifice can only be met with sacrifice.”

He glanced back at the Fate. But instead of the elderly female he’d been talking with, an eagle sat perched on the far railing.

He stared at the bird, then remembered the eagle that had swooped over him when he’d climbed the castle wall after Natasa. The one who’d led him to Natasa in that field. Who’d taken him to Calypso’s cottage. And the one that had sailed over this courtyard only moments before, taunting and screaming, as if…encouraging him.

The eagle spread its wings, screamed an ear-piercing squawk that vibrated through every cell in his body, then lurched from the railing. It flew over his head and dive-bombed the courtyard.

He rushed to the railing, gripped it in both hands and looked down. The eagle pulled up just before it reached Natasa. Her father yelled. She shielded her head. Gently, the eagle tapped the crown of her head with its claws, then screeched again and sailed high.

Surprised, Natasa looked up. The eagle circled the courtyard once, then soared through the sky, heading for the sun.

Natasa twisted, glancing up at the roofline to where Titus stood. Confusion and disbelief swirled in her gemlike eyes.

And in that moment, everything finally made sense. Every touch, every breath, every hour had come to this. She’d sacrificed all that she was for him. He had to be willing to sacrifice the same for her. Even if he failed, she had to know what he was willing to do for her.

For the first time in weeks, something other than misery bloomed inside Titus.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“What are we doing here?”

The service elevator shook, and Natasa waited—impatiently—for Titus to manually open the old wooden doors and tell her what was going on.

He didn’t answer her question. Just pried the first set of doors open, then separated the next. Metal hinges groaned. His musky scent slid across the space between them, igniting a burn low in her stomach. Muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed beneath the thin, black, long-sleeved T-shirt he wore, reminding her of what he looked like under that soft cotton. What he felt like pressed up against her.

Need seared her skin, shooting through her stomach and hips. She hated this. Hated being close to him, knowing one small brush of her hand could cause him excruciating pain. Hated that even after two weeks, he was all she could think about. She was supposed to be focusing on training her gifts, on helping the queen and the Argonauts locate the last element and the leader of the Misos Colony. But she was acting at best when she was with those who’d given her sanctuary. The only home she wanted was inches from her, and she couldn’t reach him.

“Come on,” Titus said, stepping off the lift. “Almost there.”

She didn’t know where
there
was. When Titus had caught up with her in the castle hallway, looking frazzled and gorgeous and had asked her to come with him tonight, saying that he had something important to discuss with her, she hadn’t known what to think. Or expect.

She stepped off the lift and stared down the dark corridor. They were in the basement of some kind of empty warehouse on the outskirts of Tiyrns.

Why did she have this ominous feeling something bad was going to happen tonight? A chill spread down her spine, and she shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“What?” She dragged her gaze from the steel door at the end of the hall and turned his way. Nerves gathered in her belly. “No, I’m fine. Titus, what’s going on? What did you bring me all the way out here to talk about? Why couldn’t we have talked back at the castle?”

He ran a hand over his wavy hair. It was tied at the nape of his neck again. She missed the way it had hung loose around his face when they’d been searching for her father, missed burying her face in those soft locks when he held her close.

“Don’t,
ligos Vesuvius
,” he said in a low voice. “Not yet. Thoughts like that are going to push me over the edge. And I’m barely holding on here as it is.”

She swallowed, and those nerves turned to a mix of pain and heartache she didn’t know how to stop. She kept forgetting that he could read her thoughts now. He was right. She had to find control. At least while they were together. When she was alone…then she could wallow in her misery.

She looked down at the concrete floor and clasped her hands in front of her to keep from reaching for him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry either.” His voice was stronger, louder, and she looked up into his clear hazel eyes. Her heart squeezed even tighter under that intense stare. This wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t going to be able to stay in this realm. She could barely handle sharing her suite with him at night even though she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him.

His eyes softened. He glanced toward the steel door. “I brought you here because there’s something I want to show you.” He looked back at her, and a nervous expression crossed his features. “I can’t do that at the castle. I… I think you’ll understand when you see for yourself.”

The ominous feeling she’d experienced the whole way here doubled. He pulled a key from his pocket and slid it into the lock. Something inside her said she didn’t want to know what was on the other side of that door.

“Titus—”

“This building’s abandoned. There used to be a club upstairs, but it shut down a few years ago.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Holding the door open, he waited for her to follow.

Her pulse picked up speed, and her breaths grew fast and shallow. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. But if he’d brought her here to tell her he was moving out of her suite or something worse, she didn’t want to know.

“Come on,
ligos Vesuvius
. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Heart thundering, she stepped into the room. The door closed behind her, the click echoing through the vast, dark space.

His footsteps sounded across the floor, and then he flipped a switch on the wall. One lone light hanging from a long wire illuminated the room.

Natasa sucked in a breath. To her right, a rack held various items—different lengths and colors of rope, leather cuffs, shackles, gags, masks, blindfolds…hooks she didn’t know how to describe.

She swallowed hard as she glanced toward the “furniture” in the room. A padded bench, a wooden contraption that looked like an X, a swing of some kind hanging from chains suspended in the ceiling, and a bed. Only this wasn’t a normal bed. It was a four-poster covered in black silk sheets, and in each of the four posts were hooks to tie or strap something—or someone—to.

Sickness gathered in her stomach, and she took a giant step back, toward the door and freedom.

Titus crossed the distance between them in two steps and held up his hands. “Don’t freak out yet. Just…just listen.” Panic filled his voice. “I told you before that there were things I…like. I brought you here because I wanted you to see. And because…” He drew in a shaky breath. “This is me. There have been so many secrets between us, I…I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want to hide anything from you.”