"I'll be right back, and then we can leave." He didn't offer more of an explanation than that, turning away from Pan and his brother and disappearing down the stairs to the bedrooms. This night would be a real trial of his nerves, and if he didn't keep his temper in check, he'd be cast out on his own again in no time at all.
He could do this. He would do this. If not for himself, for Sage.
14
"The nerve of him to come in here so smug." Sage smacked a fist into her palm and faced London, who sat in the chair in the room she'd slept in. Looking at the bed made her feel things she wasn't ready to think about, so she avoided putting it in her eyeline as much as possible. Instead, she stared at the floor while she ranted and faced London, unfazed by her temper at all.
She probably sounded like an utter lunatic. She didn't know these people, and she was already bitching about the freaking Greek god who led them. Well, sort of led them. Apparently, a satyr named Evander was the one officially in charge around here, but he was on vacation with a vampire Amazon lady. Sage had to give them some credit: satyrs weren't boring by any means.
Male voices carried up the stairs and past her broken door. "Ah," London said, rising to her feet. "They are getting ready to go out and hunt for the Boeotians. With any luck, they can find them before sunset."
"Why sunset?" she asked dumbly then laughed at herself as she followed her out into the hall. "Oh, right the horns and what not. It's Halloween though, so people probably wouldn't look twice at them." Man, who knew Halloween would be the night satyrs roamed the night instead of ghosts and ghouls. The thought nearly made her smile. And here she'd thought she was a witch.
London didn't smile as they descended the stairs. "Except the police are still searching for Jacen's attackers—who had horns and hooves. But you're probably right. With Cyprian's band doing so hot on the charts, satyr costumes are pretty popular this year."
Sage held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait…Cyprian Agrios from A Mythical Dilemma is for real? Like… for real?" She freaking loved that band. Ever since the original singer left and Cyprian stepped in to replace him on vocals, the songs had gotten increasingly better.
"Uh, yeah." London grinned. "He got in a bit of trouble for throwing it all out there, but it has worked out for him quite well. Hopefully it doesn't bite him and the others in the ass if his secret comes out."
Sage could see where that could be a problem. Thinking about the many ways that could go wrong, she wasn't really paying attention to the happenings around her when Adonis walked out into the lobby. He'd changed clothes, black jeans and a green sweater with a leather jacket—much different from his band-shirt aesthetic—and didn't seem to notice London or her as they approached.
"Hey, sorry for losing my temper earlier," Sage said as she came to a stop in front of him. "I was so mad on your behalf and couldn't bite my tongue, you know?"
Adonis looked down at her with surprise and—confusion?
"When I snapped at Pan," she clarified.
His expression didn't change.
"Ah, well, I'll be here learning some more control over my abilities with Daphne. I'd rather be with you though." She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him toward her. As her lips landed on his, someone cleared their throat from behind her. Maybe if she ignored whoever it was, they'd go away.
Adonis went rigid, his lips tightly clamped shut. This was as unresponsive as he'd ever been. Sage opened her eyes. She couldn't fathom what she had done to produce this reaction. He placed his hands on hers and removed her grip from his clothing, then took several steps back.
"What's going on?" She turned in the direction of the throat-clearing from earlier. There, in the doorway, Adonis glared at her, still dressed in his clothing from earlier aside from a new jacket and in human glamour. London and Daphne looked intensely uncomfortable from where they stood beside him. "What the hell?"
She whipped her head back in the direction of the Adonis she'd kissed. Now that she paid full attention, his hair had a slight wave to it Adonis' didn't. That was literally the only difference she could spot between them. Sage turned back to Adonis, slowly recalling mention of his brother, Ariston—a twin brother.
"Oh my goddess. I am so sorry." She didn't know which twin she was apologizing to. She gawked at Ariston. "I-I didn't realize, I thought you were…" Her gaze met Adonis' furious gaze. "I thought he was you. I wanted to kiss you goodbye, not cause more problems." Sage tried to race from the room back to the stairs, but Adonis darted in front of her and blocked her path.
"Are you all right?" Concern had replaced the anger she'd seen on his face before. She might never scrub that image from her mind. Christ, did he think she was choosing Ariston over him? That she thought the way Aphrodite had and wanted both? "Hey, now. No need to cry." He thumbed moisture away from her cheek.
She hadn't even noticed her eyes watering. "I should have been paying better attention. I didn't even know he was here, I—"
"Sage," he interrupted calmly.
But she couldn't find the will to shut up. "I'm so embarrassed. I—"
"Sage!" Adonis didn't shout. Not really. He'd merely raised his voice enough to get through to her. "I'm not upset."
"You looked mad."
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, and she sank into his comforting embrace. He was so warm, strong, and smelled of pine and citrus, and
