Page 21 of Fool's Bargain

My stomach sank. “Those bastards,” I muttered.

Neph’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know something?”

“No! I mean, not that they’ve said anything to me, but I suggested this morning to Kyril that they needed a vacation. I didn’t think he’d take my suggestion seriously.”

“That isn’t like him,” Neph said, shaking his head. “They’ve been avoiding leaving the Haven because their draw to my daughter is so strong. Kyril promised me that the three of them would remain here throughOstarato give Deva time to forge a deeper bond with her mates... with the hope that their bond to her would fade by her birthday.”

I blinked at him once, then again, absorbing this new detail. “They were going to stay until the equinox? So, Llyr’s gravitation to Deva wasn’t thanks to her charms?” I flushed, not sure if I should have used a different title for Neph’s daughter. I’d known Deva before she became a goddess, so it was difficult to separate that innocent image of her from the legend she’d become after taking down an actual god and ascending herself.

“No, Ione. She was sustained on satyr blood when Meri first created her. Thiasoi blood. They’ll keep that bond with her until they find and blood meld their own mates.”

“Seems likeshe’sthe best candidate, don’t you think? Already being half blood melded to them and all.” I paused as he started to shake his head. “But... I suppose there’s a good reason she isn’t and you’re about to tell me.”

“Her nature doesn’t allow for more than the five she has. Her soul is complete.”

“Then is it any wonder that the guys went off to find mates? Tonight’s the best time to do it, after all. Maybe her hounds called them. Or Fate itself.”

“Fate and I have an agreement that it wouldn’t call them until Equinox. Deva needs more time, not just with her own mates, but with the task she’s taken on. If those three satyrs show up and disrupt her efforts to help the bloodline, she’d never forgive me. This is why I need you to go find them.”

Ah,thatwas the secret. I’d heard bits and pieces about the bloodline that had filtered in with visitors from outside the Haven. Zephyrus’ brothers had even shown up with the one they’d mated back at Beltane. I was intensely curious about these humans who were supposedly infused with Dion’s own blood after he’d saved them from Meri’s clutches.

A sharp tightness pulled at my midsection, like the flow of adrifthad begun, except the tug of power pulled from one direction instead of passing through me. I winced and rubbed my sternum.

Neph dipped his head and furrowed his dark brows, his eyes swirling like whirlpools. “Are you ill or is there something else going on, Ione? Tell me the truth.”

Shaking my head, I said, “I can’t say for sure. I don’t think I’m ill. I’ve just had this weird feeling that comes and goes. Plus this crazy beautiful song stuck in my head.”

He let out a snort and I could swear he muttered the chimera’s name. “Then you definitely must go. I don’t know if this means you should search for your teachers, but since that’s the task I came here to give you, it stands to reason that’s the direction you’re meant to go.”

“I don’t understand. How does a song in my head mean I’ve got to go trekking after their sorry asses for missing an appointment or two?”

“Because that song means Deva’s hounds have come to you, little one. She’s found you a mate. If you fail to answer, the life of one of the bloodline may be in jeopardy.”

My skin tingled as the images from my recent dream flooded back. Could she be real? “Wait, if she’s found me someone, should I just go to her and say, ‘Here I am! Show me my mate!’?”

“It isn’t that straightforward. Deva helps thousands of members of the bloodline at a time, so not even she would necessarily know which of them the hounds had marked for you. You simply need to let the fate hounds guide you. In other words, circumstance will push you where you need to be. Fate magic is funny that way.”

“Well, we have a bit of a problem. I’m not a full Thiasoi yet, and the Diviner’s off on walkabout. I don’t have the power to drift myself out of here.”

“Easy enough to remedy,” he said, stepping forward. I tensed at the proximity of this virile satyr—the son of Dionysus himself—closing in on my personal space. Nymphaea were rather touch-happy creatures in general, but we still had boundaries. But I held my ground because my gut told me whatever he was about to do was something I wanted. “I apologize for the lack of a ritual to induct you into the Thiasoi ranks, but circumstances demand we do this now.”

He cupped my face with one big palm that grew even larger as he shifted right in front of me. When he was done, he towered over me, a wall of rippling muscle with legs covered in thick, black fleece. The pants he’d worn must have been dragon conjured because they’d disappeared rather than being ripped to shreds, and I had to force myself not to stare in awe at the enormous, hard cock jutting up from between his thighs. I licked my lips, fully prepared to accept whatever revised induction ceremony he suggested we must carry out.

“It isn’t like that, little one,” he rumbled. “All you need is the River’s blessing to go where you need to go. You didn’t think the Diviner was the only one with the power to bestow that, did you? She’s merely the only one capable of granting it to an entire class of initiates at once.”

I blinked up at him, jerking my head back and forth a little. “I didn’t know... I don’t even know what she does, but the stories...”

He chuckled. “She has her fun in return for the task she carries out. Open your mouth.”

I did as he asked, closing my eyes though I had no idea what to expect. He might kiss me. He might shove his cock down my throat. Whatever he did I was ready for and would eagerly accept.

I heard the sound of a stopper coming out of a bottle, then cool, flavorless liquid hit my tongue.

“Swallow, Ione, and look into my eyes.”

The anticipation made it impossible to breathe, I drank down the water and opened my eyes to meet his gaze. Power flowed off him in waves in his primal form and his eyes were bottomless maelstroms. He said nothing, but he didn’t need to utter a word for the magic to reach my soul. That throbbing orb that ached for something outside the Haven was suddenly buoyed by whatever Neph had given me. Magic flooded my veins, washed through my very being. The rhythmic crash of waves nearby now seemed to come from within me as well, and a rushing sound filled my head.

The River was part of me, and I was part of it. Was it really that easy?

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