London ran past him and through the door. Once she was out of sight, the man's eerie lavender eyes flicked in the direction of Adonis. But he didn't look at Sage even once.
"Melancton," Adonis said. The tension between the two was light, but tension all the same. There was a history there. A distrust. Adonis, however, didn't seem intent on rehashing their past and got straight to the point. "When you say he was left for you to find, what does that mean?"
"Jacen was lucid enough to talk when I carried him to his room. Theron instructed him to tell us, 'It is too late. It is already done.'"
"What's done?" Sage asked, curiosity overtaking her need to observe silently. Melancton's head whipped back into her direction, and he blinked as though he hadn't known she was standing there. He took a step forward, pushing Daphne behind him. "Whoa." She raised her hands in a hopefully peaceful gesture. He looked ready to attack.
Daphne gripped Melancton's shoulder as Adonis moved between her and the other man, which was more confusing than noble. He sent mixed signals better than anyone she'd ever known.
"This is Sage. She's the nymph Adonis brought with him, remember?" At Daphne's reminder, the rigidness fell away from Melancton. To Sage, she added, "It's part of the curse. You didn't make yourself known to him before you spoke. Because he's a satyr, he couldn't see you until then."
"I forgot about that already." She peeked at Adonis who hadn't eased in the slightest. "This is all so new."
"My apologies, Sage. You startled me." Melancton raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Adonis, and then turned back to her. "We do not yet know what Theron has done, but should in a matter of time. Possibly mere hours." After a slight hesitation, he added. "It is not safe for you two to leave here until we determine and can assess the threat. Sage, though the Boeotians cannot see you, we must show extreme caution until they make their purpose known. You are welcome to any of the rooms."
"Um…" Sage shifted from one foot to another, feeling very awkward. She wasn't comfortable encroaching on their time more than necessary when Adonis had made it clear he didn't want her around. "Separate rooms would be nice." Both of his eyebrows raised as Adonis' lips formed a straight line. Why was he mad when he didn't want her? "This one—" She jerked a thumb at Adonis. "Wanted some magic pill thingies, and I was supposed to go home. Since I am not really part of the group, no need making me bunk with him. I'll do my own housekeeping if it is any trouble to spare a second room until the threat is dealt with or whatever. I have always wanted to stay here."
Daphne and Melancton stared at her, then each other. "Uh," she said and waved a hand toward the front desk. "That's not a problem. Come with me and I'll get you situated into a room so Adonis and Melancton can talk about what happened with Jacen." After slipping behind the desk, Daphne opened a cabinet containing keys. She grabbed one and then cocked her head to the side. "What was that about?" she whispered.
Sage didn't answer until the men disappeared behind the same door London had earlier. Then she turned her gaze back to Daphne's face, which had filled with concern. She sighed. "Long story short, he doesn't want me around because his curse prevents him from having sex with a nymph or something, and then he wouldn't let me leave because my being around him meant he didn't suffer from lust. Like at all. Especially not for me. But then he found out there was a magic pill thing so he couldn't wait to be rid of me once he got his hands on those."
Okay, that had come out as way more of a rant than she would have liked. Yikes.
Daphne's mouth opened and then shut again. "Ah. That's what Pan's curse did to him." She cringed. "That's really…unfortunate."
Understatement.
"Worst part is," Sage said bitterly, "I can't tell if I am more upset about his mixed signals or because I didn't get laid. And when I think about that, I feel terrible."
Daphne's expression softened and she smiled. "You're newly into your powers. Your sex hormones are going to be a bit irrational about being ignored, so don't think there's something wrong with you for feeling upset about that. As for Adonis…" She looked back toward the door the men had disappeared through. "He wasn't quite emotionally mature when he became a satyr, and Dionysus cultivated that in him. Recently he broke free of the influence and has been trying to redeem himself, to prove he's changed."
"And his curse. Is it even fair to hang around him if I can't break it?"
Daphne leaned in and asked, "Do you want to break his curse?"
Sage shrugged. "I sought out a one-night stand, so why not?"
"And, does it have to be Adonis? If you can't help him, you can have your pick of satyrs. Many of them are eager to lose their curse as well."
Her libido kicked into overdrive at the thought, yet…her heart hurt to think about it. Something had drawn her to Adonis, and only he would do. Too bad he didn't want her. "I don't know if I even want to."
Daphne smiled and gestured toward the staircase. "Sometimes you find a person you're meant for, and you just know. It's rarely easy to settle into a relationship though." Before Sage could interrupt, she waved a hand toward the stairs. "I'll show you up to your room. Hopefully we know what Theron is up to by morning and it's safe to come and go, or go home if that's really what you want to do."
She glanced back at Sage, who could only shrug. "I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted." She'd already tried that, and
