Page 18 of Fool's Bargain

She gave me a genuine smile and I blinked as the sun glinted off the rows of razor-sharp points that appeared. She sighed and ran her tongue along her teeth. “Yet another project before I can venture out into the world. New teeth are Chase’s Christmasss gift to me.”

I nodded politely. Fixing thosewouldhelp.

“Why did you bring us here now?” Time to get to the point of the visit. “We’ve visited your waterfall every day for the past six months. We were about to give up on ever receiving a response.”

Her brows lifted. “Every day? Today was the first day I heard you. I thought you might have decided you don’t need matesss after all.”

“We do. But the timing isn’t exactly ideal at the moment,” I said, hoping my impatience didn’t come off as impertinence. She seemed more relaxed now and after that epic fuck session I’d witnessed, I hoped she would be receptive to honesty.

“You called,” she said, shrugging. “For whatever reason, I heard you today. If you wish me to send you back without mates, I will.” She lifted her hand as if to cast a spell.

All three of us sat forward, blurting out protests. “Wait!” I held up a hand. “We don’t want to burn any bridges here. Can you really help us find mates?” I glanced at Kyril and Dorian. “Maybe we can do this and make it back to help Ione. She wasn’t exhibiting any truly worrisome symptoms, after all. It’s probably nothing.”

“I can,” she said. “But I ask for something in return. You see, Fate seems to believe that as the last three unmated satyrs, you fall within its jurisdiction to secure soul mates for. I disagree. As citizens of the Haven, you three are undermyprotection. It behooves you to accept my help because I underssstand what you three desire most. Don’t let that micromanaging control freak of a deity dictate who you are to mate. With my assistance you can have a mate who accepts all three of you at once. In the process we can show Fate that it cannot keep meddling in the lives of the higher races without consssequence.”

I winced. Only another nymph would understand what she was getting into by mating us, and no nymph had ever accepted us before. Yet anyone outside the Haven would be blindsided by this request. But we had no choice if we wanted her help.

Sharing a resigned look with Kyril and Dorian, I nodded. “Done.”

It wasn’t as if we could turn her down, and both my friends knew it.

“Now for the finding.” She pushed back in her chair and stood, raising both hands and beckoning to us. The three of us obeyed, standing as a unit, still in sync after eons of partnership. My skin prickled with the awareness that Chase was still somewhere in the vicinity, but I went to stand before Sybil anyway. I wasn’t sure which of them was scarier but I didn’t want to chance disobeying her to find out.

She hummed an odd, watery melody, lifting her hand and tracing a small pattern over my sternum. My skin felt icy cold for a second, the sensation growing more acute until it burned and I couldn’t tell whether it was from cold or fire—either one would be appropriate, since the Diviner was an immortal hybrid, the result of three different elemental gods breeding.

After marking me, she moved on to Kyril and Dorian. The pair of them hissed with pain and surprise when the glowing glyphs were etched into their skin at the bases of their breastbones. The marks glowed with blue-white magic before disappearing.

“What did you just do?” I asked.

“Subverted Fate,” she said with a sharp-toothed grin. “The rest is up to you. It is sssolstice tonight so the pull of the River will be strongest. Simply follow the River when it summons you. Once you find your mate, you must visit the chimera if you wish to sever your link to her. Meanwhile, you may stay here as our guests for a few hoursss until you are ready to go.”

“Where ishere,exactly?” I asked, tilting my head toward the horizon. We seemed to be on a rooftop—the vast expanse of a city stretched for miles, and beyond that, snow-covered mountains in the distance. I needed to know where I was if I was going to come back here.

“Las Vegas,” Chase announced, making me jump with his abrupt appearance. “You are on the penthouse floor of the Pandemonium Resort and Casino, boys. I’ve arranged a suite for the three of you downstairs where you can stay and enjoy whatever debauchery you desire until it’s time for you to mate. Don’t waste this offer because I don’t make it often. Consider this your home base if you wish. I imagine you have your own transportation covered.”

A harried-looking human man with thinning hair and glasses fidgeted in the doorway, eyes widening when my friends and I turned toward him. He cleared his throat. “Th-this way,” he said, gesturing into the room and toward a door on the opposite side.

“Serge will get you settled in,” Chase said. “Try to enjoy yourselves. And try not to bother me if you can help it.”

We followed Serge through Chase and Sybil’s huge penthouse apartment and to the exit.

“What the fuck,” Dorian said as we stepped into the elevator and Serge hit a button to take us down to another floor.

“My sentiments exactly,” Kyril said.

“I’m more conflicted about not being able to check in on Ione,” I said. “She’s going to miss us. And if there are fate hounds involved in any of this, the Diviner won’t like it.”

“You just rationalized staying,” Kyril said. “‘Oh, it’s probably nothing,’” he parroted in a mocking tone. “Not that we have a choice. But she has a strong will. I think she’ll be fine for a few days at least. I’m a little more concerned about what Neph will think when you miss your meeting with him and we don’t show up to participate in the solstice festivities tonight.”

The small man in front of us shot a look over his shoulder. “There is a phone in your suite if you need to call someone,” he said. “Mr. Chase instructed that all of your expenses be charged to his personal account.”

“Neph doesn’t own a phone,” Dorian said, barely acknowledging the man beyond his answer. “But...” he said in a musing tone, “Deva can probably get a message to the Haven if we’re lucky enough to get this done and meet with her. We can tell Neph to keep an eye on Ione until we get back.”

Serge’s demeanor shifted, his face lighting up with a bright smile. “You’re friends of Ms. Rainsong? Please tell her Serge says hello when you see her.”

“It’s as good a solution as any,” I said, answering Dorian while smiling politely at Serge. I didn’t believe for a second someone like Deva would have registered a human of such little significance, but I didn’t want to disappoint the man by saying so. He likely had control over our accommodations if Chase had trusted him to arrange the suite for us, so it would be best to stay on his good side.

The elevator opened a second later and he led us down a hallway lined with doors. At the very end, he opened a door into a suite every bit as sumptuous as Chase’s, though it was only half the size. But even though I imagined we had the freedom to roam, as landlocked as this place was, it still felt like a prison.

---