Page 40 of A Single Thread Of Hope

I chuckled. They might be like having three extra responsibilities right now, but they were already growing, and I knew I would eventually be glad the babies had their guardians, especially while they were young and vulnerable.

Hrist appeared in the way the Valkyries could do. It was kind of impressive, but also somewhat annoying. They sped into place so fast, it was like they portaled right in front of you. Great for the element of surprise in battle, annoying as hell when you were about to have a sip of your beer.

However, the look on her face replaced my annoyance with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Milo stood, prepared to race back toward the nursery and the babies. That was his job, should the worst happen and we were attacked again. He was the last line of defense between Wren and the triplets, and anything that wanted to hurt them.

“We have visitors.” Hrist didn’t seem overly alarmed, but she was tense. That ruled out the Moirai or any of the monsters.

Milo shook his head, already transforming into his bull-headed form. Guess he wasn’t waiting for the big reveal. “Spit it out. Who is it?”

“Apollo. And the Oracle Delphos.”

Well… shit.I looked at Milo. “Go, just in case.” He didn’t need to be told twice, and was gone faster than you would think a being of that size could move. I looked back at Hrist. “What do they want?”

She shrugged. “They say what they all want. To pledge to the new Fates. But…”

Nodding, I stood. “Yeah, but.”

But they were from the Greek Pantheon.

But Apollo was a powerful Mythic.

But Delphos was THE Oracle.

Hrist fell into step beside me as I headed toward the doors, in case they decided to do something stupid. “Get Demke. And Cy—maybe keeping this a family affair might help. And if you see Teron, tell him it might be a nice time for Griff to come and visit.”

Hrist didn’t reply; she was just gone. Trepidation crawled along my veins. Neither Apollo nor Delphos had been overtly antagonistic, but if the plight of the Minoans had taught us anything, it was not to trust a single damn thing that came out of their mouth.

I was unsurprised to see Demke and Griff at the door before I even made it there. Hrist didn’t mess around, and these two were definitely“kill first, ask questions later” when it came tothe Greek Mythics. Even now, Demke’s eyes burned holes in the door, like he could see Apollo just there, on the other side.

Cy sauntered up at a slower pace, and while his body language was calm and easy, his eyes looked concerned. This shit could go bad in so many different ways, but there was no point sitting around worrying about the what-ifs.

Then Wren appeared.

“You should go back to the nursery with Milo and the babies.” I was glad Demke had said it and not me, because the withering glare she gave him would have shriveled the balls of a mortal man.

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head in a way that would be cute, if it didn’t spell sudden death. “You should mind your own business. I’m not pregnant anymore, and I have just as much right to be out here as you do. In fact, maybe more. Let’s go.”

She didn’t wait for anyone’s permission, and honestly, that’s why I loved her. She was so sexy when she gave no fucks. Enough to give an immortal gray hairs, but still sexy.

Griff positioned himself beside her, like a huge Gryphon shadow, and I nodded. If it couldn’t be me watching her ass like that, I was glad it was him. Once again, I was kind of grateful that we’d fallen into this weird, giant harem.

Did I enjoy the idea that she was fucking them all? Fuck no. But in these moments, was I glad to have others at my back to protect her? Abso-fucking-lutely. I’d been in grand battles, but the thought of being the one solely responsible for the safety of Wren and the babies actually gave me nightmares when I fell asleep.

Pushing open the door, we were greeted by a wall of Valkyries. Beyond them, the two Gods in question stood around, looking completely at ease.

“Holy shit, Cy. Your dad is beautiful,” Wren whispered, and Cy huffed an amused sound.

“Only on the outside,” he murmured back, before moving forward and stepping around the Valkyries.

He went up to the second man, who was definitely younger, though it was more of a feeling than a visual age difference. The weight of Apollo’s power was only slightly less than that of Hades. The other guy—who I assumed was Delphos—felt powerful, but not even in the same realm as Apollo, let alone Hades.

Cy hugged Delphos, and it was full of affection. “Brother.”

The King of Oracles looked down at his brother fondly. “Cydon. It is good to see you after all these years. You look well. Happy.”

“As you knew I would.”

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