Page 47 of Crescent Warrior

Being in the air with this many Werewolves is like wrangling a kindergarten for ‘outside time’.

It was impossible to keep everyone seated. They were all over the place, throwing themselves across the floor at each other’s feet to have conversations all together rather than apart.

She was currently trying to get Nicholas some quiet time to rest. He looked absolutely exhausted and Ares, who sat next to him, was guffawing across from their uncle, Ezio, while simultaneously on a video call with their cousin Evander in Greece.

The goofballs were already planning to use some of their free time to have a few rousing pick-up soccer games that would end up being more bloody than sportsmanly.

Selene was cuddled on her mate’s lap, chatting with Dru, her laughter bringing a smile to their king’s face. Dru himself seemed to be enjoying telling her stories of his childhood with his brother and cousins, yelling across in Greek to Ezio and making him laugh as well.

Leading Nicholas to the bedroom, she settled him in, having never seen him quite so disconnected from them. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and he grabbed her hand, his previously closed eyes snapping open, his eyes locked with hers.

“They will kill him.” His voice was hoarse and worried. Hippolyta clenched his hands between hers.

“Who, Niko? Who will kill who?”

“It can be one or the other.” His head shook from side to side and he yanked his hands away to squeeze his face, blocking out the light. “I cannot find another way. It will be either him or him.”

He was trembling now, shaking as tears fell down his face.

“Niko?” she whispered, reaching out to cradle him in her arms.

She had never seen her cousin this upset. He was given a gift when he was born, that manifested as he got older. He was able to communicate with the Gods in a way that none of them really understood. They sent him messages and prophecies of what the future could hold, but none of them ever considered the burden it could be to him.

“Shh, sweetheart, shh.”

She glanced up as she saw Cole enter the room, his eyes flaring at the way she was holding Nicholas, but beneath the jealousy was genuine concern.

“What happened, brother?” he whispered as he moved closer, crouching next to them.

“Do not let them do it,” Nicholas lurched up to say, his eyes frantic. “You have to be prepared. They will be there. He is there. The one I cannot see.”

He squeezed his head between his fingers again and Hippolyta wondered if he was hurting himself.

“I try, but I cannot. It hurts.” He moaned; the sound filled with pain. “He will rouse them. An army. They do not know us. We do not know them. One will die but I cannot choose.”

“What?” The furrow between his brows betrayed Cole’s utter confusion.

“I cannot choose,” Nicholas murmured again and again, his eyes gone blurry. Hippolyta stroked his hair off his face, tucking him under the blankets as he fell into an exhausted sleep. He was still whispering the words as his breathing evened out.

“What does he mean?” Cole whispered to her, his lips close to her ear. She shuddered as it sent a shiver up her spine, even in a situation as serious as this one. Shrugging, she turned to push him out of the room, hoping that Nicholas could get some rest.

“He hasn’t been eating, hasn’t been sleeping. I’ve tried giving him the sedatives that Nia prescribed, but he refuses to take them. He keeps saying that he needs to be awake to see his face. Whatever the hell that means.”

“The enemy?” Cole pondered, stroking his chin.

He turned to Damen at once and noticed that their king was looking at them. He nodded, lifting Selene with him and pressing a palm to his father’s shoulder as they made their way closer.

“How is Nico?” Damen asked, quietly, trying not to alert anyone else of their conversation.

Selene peeked into the bedroom quickly before silently closing the door.

“He said he was trying to see the face again. The one he talks about. And he had a warning this time.” Hippolyta’s voice was as low as possible.

Damen’s brow dropped, his hand going around his mate’s waist, pulling her close for comfort. “And?” The demand was clear in his voice.

“He said that the one he can’t see is going to be there.”

“There?” Damen asked, his voice gruff. “In Greece? Does he follow us?”

---