Sage wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tight. He hugged her back, gritting his teeth against the soreness, comforted by her presence even though he could strangle Pan for bringing her out there. What in all of Hades had he been thinking? Maybe, just maybe, she could evade the Boeotians, but letum? None of them had encountered them before and there was no telling what could happen.
Pan handed Ariston his phone. "Call Melancton and have him and Zale meet us here." He turned back to Adonis. "Did you see how many letum they unleashed?"
"Unfortunately, no. Got kicked in the face. Woke up to you lot fighting them off, but I am pretty sure they were in those vans over there." He pointed in the direction of the three vans with the rear doors wide open.
"Wonderful," Pan said without enthusiasm. Ariston handed him is phone. "I'm going to take to the skies and look for trouble as I call Zeus. This might be more than we are capable of dealing with ourselves."
Bypassing Hermes and going directly to the big guy? Adonis supposed it wasn't too outrageous considering that Zeus was Pan's grandfather. It felt strange not having Hermes around with his wisecracks and incessant chatter, and something told Adonis the god would enjoy finding and destroying letum.
"Wait," he said, stopping Pan before he went invisible and unfurled his wings. "Take Ariston and Sage back to the inn first." He could flash them to safety and then the rest of the immortals could deal with the situation without distraction from ensuring they survived.
"No way," Sage shouted, glaring at him as though he'd grown a second head.
Ariston crossed his arms. "Not a chance."
Pan turned to await his answer and Adonis' neck heated under the scrutiny of the three of them. "You're both mortal, and I don't want you to get hurt." Why was this difficult for them to accept? He wasn't trying to deny them glory or some shit. He wanted them to survive.
"Not your call, brother," Ariston ambled over to him and patted his arm. "I make my own choices. But it is nice to see you thinking about others. You've changed, and maybe Dionysus and the Boeotians really were holding you back more than anyone knew."
Uncomfortable, Adonis muttered a quick thanks, but the words meant more to him than he'd dare admit. Was Ariston going to attempt to reconcile with him despite all of his mistakes? He couldn't worry about that now though. Not until everyone was safe and the threat was dealt with.
Zale and Melancton strolled up, yet Sage stayed rooted to the spot next to him, loosening and tightening her grip on a dagger. Fairly simmering with aggravation, she didn't pay the other satyrs any attention as they joined the group. "And I'm not leaving you. You might be immortal, but they still knocked you out and zombies tried to eat you."
"They don't—" Adonis held his thumb and forefinger up to his nose and breathed in deeply. "They don't eat people, only their blood." He left out the part that they could fairly rip a man apart to get to said blood because, well, he didn't want to think about it much either.
"They consume your blood like vampires then." Sage rolled her eyes. "What difference does it make?"
Zale snorted and coughed to hide a laugh. "You aren't gonna win this argument, man. Save your dignity." Melancton, who had stayed quiet through this whole exchange, nodded in agreement.
Great. Just great. "But… You… Oh, come on." He looked from Sage to the rest of them and back again. "All of you would have taken your women to safety."
Pan studied his fingernails as though they were reeeeeeal interesting. "If we had, we would have paid for it for weeks. When a woman is determined, reason doesn't stand in her way."
Adonis suspected the god agreed with him but was too coward to admit it. He narrowed his eyes. Wait a second… Sage had been critical of him since he'd arrived. Did Pan allow her to come out here, siding with her even now, to get into her good graces? For fuck's sake, why? He didn't need to impress her. Hell, after tonight, he didn't even have to see her again. Yeah, Adonis saw right through this act, all right.
"See? I'm staying." Sage stomped a foot. "Besides, I can hide if I have to since that is my primary skill for some reason." Her bitterness about that was tangible. "They can't bite me if they can't see me." She frowned and turned to the others…. "They hunt by sight, right?"
Melancton shook his head. "We have not encountered them before, so I cannot say. However, if they can get their hands on you, going invisible won't be enough."
Pan added, "Maybe they hunt by sight and sound, maybe sense of smell. If anyone comes up to you looking haggard or with bleeding gums, either attack first or stay out of reach."
Sage made a face of disgust. "Don't worry about me. I'm quicker than I look."
Adonis could attest to that. She had gotten across the field by the house he'd been staying in fairly fast. Still, that didn't mean he wanted her in danger, but it looked like she wasn't going to relent, and no one was going to back him up either. "Why are you fighting me on this?"
The fury washed from her expression until only concern remained. "You were on the ground when we got here, Adonis. I'm not leaving your side until you are safe."
All he could do was stare at this woman in disbelief. His heart clenched. No one had ever cared about his safety. His wellbeing, even. No, they cared about his dick and how he could pleasure them in bed, but that was about all.
That wasn't fully true. He shot a sideways
